Published July 1, 2003. From Cook's Illustrated.
Can gimmicky models cut it?
Is there an easier way to achieve finely minced parsley than rocking a chef's knife back and forth a hundred times? We tested several kinds of herb choppers and mincers to find out.
The first gadget tested was a stainless steel mill. It has a hopper in which you put the herbs and a series of small blades that chop them when you turn a hand crank. For all of the herb choppers tested, we used basil, parsley, rosemary, and garlic. The seemingly solid mill gagged on each one, and they had to be pinched and pried out of the hopper.
Next in line were herb rollers, which depend on a row of wheel-like blades that are pushed back and forth over the item to be minced by means of a handle or some sort of protective casing. Rollers are comfortable, easy to use, and fast—so fast that they crushed and bruised the parsley and basil leaves into a slimy green mush in about 30 seconds. The rosemary and garlic didn't fare too much better, being reduced to odd-shaped bits and pieces, and the garlic tended to stick to the blades.
The most newfangled entry in our lineup was a product that featured a round plastic case with a ripcord inside that, when pulled and released, turned a blade that tore up everything we gave it into large, rough, unevenly sized pieces. And more pulls of the ripcord didn't help much. A beat-up clove of garlic looked much the same after 75 pulls as it did after 25.
The only worthwhile alternative to a chef's knife that we tested was the mezzaluna, a cutting tool named for its half-moon shape that has been in use for hundreds of years. We tried three styles: one with a single handle and a single blade meant to be used in a wooden bowl, one with a single blade and two handles, and one with a double blade and two handles. The first of these produced a nice-quality mince but was a bit awkward as well as labor-intensive. The latter pair, each with a handle on either end, let you get a rocking motion going that cut through herbs--especially the tough, woody rosemary—cleanly and quickly. The double-bladed mezzaluna was faster (usually 30 to 60 seconds faster than the single blade when producing 1/4 cup of minced herbs), but it was tough on the basil, bruising it badly. Neither mezzaluna could mince garlic as perfectly as a garlic press.
What do we recommend? If your knife skills aren't quite what you'd like them to be, try a single-bladed, two-handled mezzaluna. It's not only effective, it's fun. And purchase one with a 7-inch blade rather than a 6-inch blade. The 7-inch really knows how to rock.
