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Especially for a cucumber salad, it is important that the cucumber slices are cut evenly and thinly. What is hardly possible by hand with a knife, the cucumber slicer does brilliantly. With a cucumber slicer, you can cut cucumbers into evenly thick slices in a short time and with little effort, thus perfecting your recipes.
With our large cucumber slicer test 2021 we want to help you find the perfect cucumber slicer for you. Whether it is made of stainless steel or plastic, electric or manual, depends on your preferences. We have compared the different pickle slicers with each other and listed the respective advantages and disadvantages to make your purchase decision as easy as possible.
Contents
- 1 Weekly newsletter with the best personal finance tips
- 2 Summary
- 3 The Best Cucumber Slicer: Our Picks
- 4 Cucumber slicer: buying and evaluation criteria
- 5 Cucumber slicer: Frequently asked questions and answers
- 5.1 What is a cucumber slicer?
- 5.2 For whom and for what is a cucumber slicer suitable?
- 5.3 What types of cucumber slicers are there?
- 5.4 How much does a pickle slicer cost?
- 5.5 What are the alternatives to a cucumber slicer?
- 5.6 How do I clean a cucumber slicer?
- 5.7 How do I sharpen the blades of the cucumber slicer?
- 6 Conclusion
Summary
- A cucumber slicer is a utensil for the kitchen that can be used to cut cucumbers, other vegetables and also fruit or cheese into evenly sized slices.
- Cucumber slicers can be made of different materials, for example stainless steel, plastic or wood. The blade is usually made of stainless steel.
- The blades of a cucumber slicer can also vary. There are wave-cut, V-cut or straight blades. There are also cucumber slicers with adjustable blades to vary the thickness of the slices.
The Best Cucumber Slicer: Our Picks
There are many different cucumber slicers on the market, but they differ in quality and functions. We have selected the best cucumber slicers below to help you make your choice.
Cucumber slicer: buying and evaluation criteria
In the following, we would like to show you the most important buying criteria that you can use to find the right cucumber slicer for you among the many different models. The criteria you can use to compare the different cucumber slicers are:
In the following paragraphs, we will explain to you what is important in the individual buying criteria.
Body material
The blades of a cucumber slicer are usually made of stainless steel. However, the cucumber slicers differ in the material of the body around the blades.
There are cucumber slicers made of stainless steel, plastic or wood. There are also mixtures of materials. For example, a cucumber slicer may have a plastic handle, but the rest of the body is made of stainless steel.
In any case, it is important that you weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each material and choose the pickle slicer that suits you best. You can find out more about the advantages and disadvantages of the different models under "What types of pickle slicers are there?
Adjustability of the blades
Depending on what kind of dishes you want to cook, the sliced vegetables must have a certain thickness. As already mentioned in the introduction, the cucumber slices in a cucumber salad, for example, need to be very thin. There are very simple cucumber slicers whose blades are not adjustable and where no other blade or slice inserts can be added.
With such a cucumber slicer, you can only cut your vegetables to a certain thickness. Again, there are cucumber slicers with adjustable blades or with additional knife or slice inserts. This makes the cucumber slicer versatile and you can not only change the thickness of the slices, but also (depending on the additional material) plane sticks or cubes.
Cleaning
A cucumber slicer is generally easy to clean. You can wash it by hand with standard washing-up liquid and have no problem getting to all the places you want to clean. However, not every cucumber slicer is dishwasher-safe. Most cucumber slicers can be put in the dishwasher, especially those made of stainless steel.
In the case of wood and plastic, you should read the manufacturer's product information to find out how the pickle slicer should be cleaned. A pickle slicer is like a sharp knife: the more often you put them in the dishwasher, the faster they lose their sharpness. So if you want your grater to stay sharp for as long as possible, you should rather clean it by hand.
Handling: manual or electric?
The "classic" cucumber slicer works manually. This means that you have to grate the vegetables with your own strength. Manual cucumber slicers all work in the same way.
Electric cucumber slicers are particularly worthwhile if you want to cut vegetables and fruit in large quantities and are looking for an appliance that is versatile.
However, there are also electric cucumber slicers, although these have a variety of other uses and can therefore hardly be called "cucumber slicers" any more. With these appliances, all you have to do is press a button or hold the vegetables up to the blades; everything else runs automatically.
Safety
For a cucumber slicer to do its job without too much effort, the blades must be sharp enough. This increases the risk of injury. To prevent injuries when using the slicer, there are models with an integrated finger guard or remnant holder. Other models have an anti-slip function so that you do not slip and injure yourself while planing. Cucumber slicers with a heavier weight and a comfortable handle also help to prevent injuries.
Cucumber slicer: Frequently asked questions and answers
In the following, we will answer the most important questions about cucumber slicers so that you have all the important information at a glance.
What is a cucumber slicer?
You can use such a vegetable slicer not only to slice cucumbers, but also other vegetables and fruits. However, this usually also works with a simple cucumber slicer. Vegetable slicers also allow you to cut vegetables not only into slices, but also into sticks or cubes. However, this depends on the accessories used.
For whom and for what is a cucumber slicer suitable?
The primary task of a cucumber slicer is to cut cucumbers into evenly thick slices. With a simple cucumber slicer without additional functions, you can nevertheless also slice cheese, for example, because a cheese grater and a cucumber slicer are basically constructed and function in the same way.
A cucumber slicer can also be used to process different types of fruit. For example, if you want to grate the peel of an orange, this also works very well with a cucumber slicer, as most cucumber slicers also have a small grating surface for grating food.
What types of cucumber slicers are there?
| Type | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|
| V-cut blades | Less effort is needed for cutting and cucumber slicers with V-cut blades are safer and usually more non-slip | The vegetables or fruit can be crushed by punctual pressure |
| Wave-cut blades | The dressing sticks better to the cucumbers and it looks more decorative | Cutting in a wave cut is usually more time-consuming |
| Stainless steel cucumber slicers | They are dishwasher-safe and odourless and tasteless | They often have few other functions and if they do, they are more expensive |
| Cucumber slicers made of plastic | They are usually very inexpensive and easy to clean (most models are dishwasher-safe) | They are less stable and can break more easily |
| Cucumber slicers made of wood | They are particularly solid and durable. They are also naturally antibacterial | wooden cucumber slicers need to air dry for a long time before they can be cleaned up again. Regular care with oil is also necessary |
| Electric cucumber slicer | Cutting is not strenuous in the long run, the device is easy to use and safe. Electric cucumber slicers have more uses | they are often more expensive and harder to clean. They also need electricity or batteries |
As you can see from this table, the different types of pickle slicers are quite similar and differ primarily in the type of blade or the material of the body. Only the electric pickle slicer differs more from the others.
How much does a pickle slicer cost?
| Type | price range |
|---|---|
| Simple pickle slicers (made of plastic or stainless steel) | approx. 4 to 25 euros |
| Wooden pickle slicers | approx. 16 to 70 euros |
| Pickle slicers with adjustable blades and/or accessories | approx. 8 to 85 euros |
| Electric pickle slicers | approx. 30 to 80 euros |
Simple cucumber slicers without additional blade and disc inserts made of plastic or stainless steel start at a price of around 4 euros. If accessories are included and the blades are adjustable, the price rises considerably. There are price differences between the various manufacturers, but such a cucumber slicer can cost up to 85 euros.
Cucumber slicers made of wood are available from around 16 euros and are therefore considerably more expensive than those made of other materials. The price of these can rise to over 70 euros. Electric cucumber slicers start at around 30 euros. There is no upper limit, with appliances over 80 euros being less of a cucumber slicer and more of a versatile food processor.
What are the alternatives to a cucumber slicer?
- Cutting by hand: If you want to achieve a similar result as with a cucumber slicer, you can cut the vegetables by hand. However, you won't get the thin and uniformly thick slices as with a cucumber slicer.
- Spiral slicer: With a spiral slicer you can spiralise your vegetables in a short time. Some models have different attachments that allow you to cut vegetables into other shapes, such as slices.
- Drum grater: A drum grater usually has different inserts that you can use to cut your vegetables into small grates, sticks or slices.
However, you must bear in mind that a spiral slicer or a drum grater do not directly fulfil the same task as a cucumber slicer, but are quite similar to it. However, the same goal can be achieved with different blades and attachments.
Since there's hardly any real alternative to the cucumber slicer, it's worth getting one. Because slicing by hand not only makes it harder to cut even slices, but also takes more time.
How do I clean a cucumber slicer?
- Natural cleaning agents: If you want to use natural, gentle and environmentally friendly cleaning agents, take some baking soda and vinegar and clean your cucumber slicer under hot water with a sponge.
- Avoid discolouration: Put your cucumber slicer in vinegar and lemon juice for a short time to remove discolouration from the wood. Then rinse the wood thoroughly with water.
- After rinsing: After rinsing, allow the cucumber slicer to air dry before cleaning it up.
- Further care: From time to time, we recommend cleaning your wooden cucumber slicer with cooking oil. This will make it last longer.
If you choose a cucumber slicer that is not dishwasher safe, you have no choice but to clean it by hand. Read the manufacturer's product description, as there are models that should be cleaned under running water. Otherwise, you can clean the cucumber slicer normally with a sponge or brush and washing-up liquid.
How do I sharpen the blades of the cucumber slicer?
If you do not put your cucumber slicer in the dishwasher, but clean it by hand, the blade will stay sharp longer.
Don't have time to go to a specialist shop and would rather do it yourself? Try using aluminium foil. Shape a piece of aluminium foil so that you have a ball that is compressed as much as possible and therefore has no edges. Now you can rub it over the blade a few times. Make sure that you clean the cucumber slicer afterwards, as small pieces of aluminium can come off.
Sanding with sandpaper or sandpaper is also possible. Fold it so that the rough side faces outwards and rub it against the blade a few times. Make sure that you use fine-grained sandpaper, otherwise you run the risk of removing too much metal.
Conclusion
A cucumber slicer can do much more than just slice cucumbers, because you can also use it to slice other vegetables, fruit and cheese. With a cucumber slicer, you can cut food into thin, evenly thick slices. With adjustability and different types of blades, you can perfect your recipes.
Wooden cucumber slicers are naturally antibacterial, whereas stainless steel cucumber slicers are odourless and tasteless. Plastic cucumber slicers are particularly convincing because of their good price-performance ratio. With an electric cucumber slicer, you can cut large quantities of vegetables into different shapes without any effort. Once you have decided on a cucumber slicer, you can start right away.
Image source: 123rf / 47502197
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