Topic: Automatic garlic chopper

[natterjak]

Well it certainly works!  The XL version I have will take about 5 medium/small cloves of garlic at once (perhaps only 3 large ones) so I certainly wouldn't recommended buying the standard size unit which must be tiny by comparison.  It has proper rubber tyres on the wheels so will grip a worksurface ok. 

the design is pretty clever actually with a small top access flap for dropping in the garlic and separately the whole body is hinged to open up for removal of chopped garlic and cleaning.  Because the blades are geared from the wheels one revolution of the wheels translates into lots of turns of the chopping blades, so a quick whizz backwards and forwards 3 or 4 times yields quite finely chopped garlic.  The whole process is pretty laugh-inducing actually!  ;D

Cleaning is a quick rinse under the tap.  It's all dishwasher safe but garlic is a natural antiseptic so no need to be too fussy.  Also any residual garlic smell is not going to contaminate anything else as I can't think of anything apart from garlic to be chopping in there (too small for onions).

All in all I recommend it but suspect a more sensible way to spend the money is to put it towards a good kitchen knife.... but since when was life about being sensible anyway?? 
 

[martinvic]

Sounds fun.

Must admit I'm really surprised at how little it actually manages to chop at one time though.

[natterjak]

I'll bring this little device to today's BBQ in Frimley so anyone who is intrigued can have a live demo.