Quick Chop – Speedy Death

As promised, I made the Almond Coriander Chicken from Rouxbe for dinner last night. I’d planned on blogging about the site and resulting recipe, but Murphy dropped by to say hello.

The recipe called for 4 whole onions. That’s a lot of chopping, so I hauled out my Quick Chop chopper — my third such devise for those keeping count.

To operate this simple gadget, you smack the plunger with your palm. The blades come down, slice your onions, mushrooms, almonds, etc. Release the plunger and the blades retract, rotate a quarter turn and are ready to go again. A dozen or so smacks and the blade has diced your food into nice, even pieces thanks to the rotating blade. The more you chop, the finer the results.

No batteries, no cords, just old-fashioned manual exertion. Simple, straightforward. What could go wrong?

Well, with my first chopper, the rotating mechanism broke, which meant the blade simply acted like a guillotine. I was ready to behead the manufacturer since I’d only used it a few times.

My second chopper was a different make and worked like a charm for several months — until I washed it. The damn thing refused to reassemble.

This one? While I love the concept and the results, I’ve come to believe these gadgets have a life expectancy of about 500 hits.

And these photos were taken at 498.

Murphy and the defunct chopper made a hasty exit. Wise move. My handy chef’s knife needs no assembly.