Manual food processor?

Has anyone had any experience with a "Salad Master" hand operated slicer/processor?

it's gotta be better than the    Slap Chop

I would rather have a ceramic knife for the same  money

Using your fingernails to guide your knife blade (safer than it sounds, if you know what you're doing) is super easy and quick. Except for large batches, it's faster and easier for me to use a knife than the mandolenne attachment of a food processor.

I've also heard good things about mezzalunas and molcajetes.

If it's the thing I'm thinking of, it looks flimsy and liable to break. I'd be more inclined to get one of these stainless steel food mills from Lehman's. It just seems like it would be sturdier and probably operate more smoothly. I'm working on developing those knife skills, though, Joel!

Kerric, I call the tool at Lehmans a foley food mill not the same at all, I use one all the time when making apple sauce or when canning.
I have a mandolin and a mezzaluna but when slicing large quantities of vegetables of a consistent size for dehydrating. I was wondering if any one had tried a Salad Master.

I never used a saladmaster, but I've used a crank slicer in several restaurants that I've worked in. I can't seem to fine one online, but they were similar in concept to the saladmaster. There were one or two blades radially mounted on a round plate, kind of like the mandolin blade of a food processor. The depth of cut was adjustable with a screw. You placed the food to be sliced in a V-shaped table and pushed it into the blades with sliding block. You could probably find one on Ebay for a reasonable price. Or check restaurant auctions.

I'm with Joel on knife work, but I tend to use my knuckles or side of my hand. This is also safer than it sounds. I think it provides much better tactile feedback. The side of the knife rides against your skin thus your nerves can better sense the position of the knife. Just be sure to tuck your fingers back away from the blade.

jeremiah bailey wrote:The side of the knife rides against your skin thus your nerves can better sense the position of the knife. Just be sure to tuck your fingers back away from the blade.

Ah, okay. I would think if you got going fast, all that sliding would give you blisters.

The adjustment for me is how far the food-hand has moved since the last slice. My nails are definitely sensitive enough to tell whether the blade is toughing them or not, and of course I use my eyes a lot for the job, too.

I found a King Kutter brand manual food processor at a thrift shop when I first started lacto-fermenting.





I really, really liked it, but the problem was that it has a suction bottom and eventually the suction quit working. So I went back to a knife and chopping board. This thread got me to looking around for a Saladmaster, and I discovered that there are now a number of brands of manual food processors, all similar. They are pretty pricey though, so I'm going to try and figure out how to do something to my King Kutter so I can clamp it to my kitchen countertop. I don't mind cutting by hand, but it was very helpful when I had a lot of food processing to do.

Leigh Tate wrote:

They are pretty pricey though, so I'm going to try and figure out how to do something to my King Kutter so I can clamp it to my kitchen countertop.

I've been very disappointed with the things I've got that have to be clamped. To clamp them, you need them quite close to the edge of the counter.  Often counters have a bit of a raised edge which tends to get in the way. If it doesn't, things tend to drip where you don't want them to.

Sooo... have you considered buying a solid, reasonably heavy cutting board and fastening the Kutter to it? You could drill matching holes through the board and the Kutter, but you'd need to countersink the heads on the bottom so the board was flat. I'd spend the extra to use Stainless Steel fasteners. If you got wing nuts, it would be quick to spin them off for washing and storage.

Just be aware - if the Kutter is stainless, drilling holes in the base will be tricky and require drill bits designed for stainless.

What holds the original suction base to the machine? Did you see if it is replaceable?

I don't remember the brand, but I grew up with one of these back in the day and it was a beast. It was really heavy and worked well for big family scale veg processing, low tech and effective. I've got knife skills on lock but for scaled up processing or for times when manual dexterity or mobility is an issue, I think this would be a good tool to have. It could potentially reduce a lot of fatigue, which is a big plus for people with health issues or limitations due to age.

If I were looking to buy one now, I would want to get my hands on it and see how heavy it is (heavier is better) and I would look for an older model that still fits/clicks/locks together well. I'd check over the blades and see if it looks dinged up or still pretty sharp (it may be able to be sharpened but that's not in my wheelhouse).I liked the metal "knuckle guard." I'd probably try to get it where it can be clamped rather than suctioned to a surface.

I'd be curious if there is a model that could double as a tomato mill, that would be helpful to have, that would be quite the multi tool. I don't currently own either a manual mill or a food processor but could see a lot of value in it for certain situations.

Jay Angler wrote:I've been very disappointed with the things I've got that have to be clamped. To clamp them, you need them quite close to the edge of the counter.  Often counters have a bit of a raised edge which tends to get in the way. If it doesn't, things tend to drip where you don't want them to.

Sooo... have you considered buying a solid, reasonably heavy cutting board and fastening the Kutter to it?

No, i hadn't! I have a large cutting board that I use for my manual meat grinder that way, but I have to clamp the cutting board to the countertop to keep it in place, lol. My Roma juicer had both suction and clamp attachment, and the suction gave out on that one too, so now I use the clamp. I know what you mean about counter edges, but my kitchen peninsula works really well for clamping.

What holds the original suction base to the machine? Did you see if it is replaceable?

I can't recall off the top of my head, but your suggestion got me to searching for a replacement suction cup. I actually found a whole base at webstaurantstore.com.



Now I just have to decide if I want to spend $76 plus shipping, or try to work out something with a clamp!

Think it's difficult to use and messy to wash

Really, it's not difficult to set-up or clean. Faster and easier to clean than my blender or an electric food processor.

Leigh Tate wrote:Really, it's not difficult to set-up or clean. Faster and easier to clean than my blender or an electric food processor.

I find blenders to be the easiest things to clean. Stick blenders can be partially-submerged in hot water and dish soap and turned on for a few seconds. Jug blenders filled with hot water + soap and turned on for a similar effect!

Jay said, "I've been very disappointed with the things I've got that have to be clamped. To clamp them, you need them quite close to the edge of the counter.  Often counters have a bit of a raised edge which tends to get in the way. If it doesn't, things tend to drip where you don't want them to.

I have never had the kind of kitchen counters that I could clamp something to so I have always used the kitchen table to process items.

Because my mother gave me one and another to my grandma, I've had a couple hand-crank food processors (no longer) made by tupperware. They were nice and quick for light-duty things, easier to wash than our "real" food processor and maybe quicker than using a knife for some things. Honestly, I've mostly used them for whipping cream. The ones I'm talking about looked like the picture below (except they were red):

Luke Mitchell wrote:

I find blenders to be the easiest things to clean. Stick blenders can be partially-submerged in hot water and dish soap and turned on for a few seconds. Jug blenders filled with hot water + soap and turned on for a similar effect!

I have some family members that clean blenders like this. Occasionally, I have to use their equipment when visiting and I always shudder when I take everything apart to scrub, which is my way. These things are NOT clean. There's always gunk built up around the base of the blade.