The 2,000,000-year-old food processor
Written: Aug 22 '02 (Updated Aug 22 '02)
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Pros: Quickly and easily reduces just about anything to mincemeat
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: Part of the low-tech, slow-lane, old-wave approach to cooking, this set will take you back to the days of hands-on cooking with ease and efficiency.
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| Penguinlady's Full Review: J.K. Adams Herb Bowl With Mezzaluna Chopper HB-101... |
Cooks have been chopping things ever since they first figured out how to combine foods for taste and nutrition. Lucy, our 7-million-year-old ancestor, probably used a sharpened stone on a flat piece of downed tree to cut her food into manageable pieces. And archaeologists have found variations on that theme is almost every dig: some sort of curved blade that was used on a hard surface.
As a child, I used to watch my mother reduce eggs and sardines into a coarse mush to spread on crackers, and chop just about anything that needed chopping, using her maple bowl and curved chopper. So when I set up my own kitchen, one of the first things I bought was a solid unfinished maple chopping bowl and a mezzaluna, or half-moon, chopper. I hacked away happily until I got my first Cuisinart (I'm now on my third in 26 years,) whereupon I put them away in favor of this more sophisticated and seemingly effortless machine.
But in the last year or so, I've found myself using them again, more and more frequently, probably because I'm unwilling to haul out the Cuisinart, set it up, plug it in, dismantle it, and wash and put away all the pieces every time I need to chop a bit of something. I still use it a lot, but not for small jobs; for that, I count on my trusty mezzaluna and maple bowl. So I want to share them with you.
DISCLAIMER: This review is for the J.K. Adams Herb Bowl With Mezzaluna Chopper HB-1010. The principle of the maple bowl and mezzeluna chopper is the same regardless of the brand you buy. Although my bowl is more rustic, I've given this set to a number of people as shower and housewarming gifts, and subsequently used it in their kitchens, so I'm quite familiar with it. If, however, you feel the need to downgrade your rating of this review because I don't actually own this item myself, follow your conscience.
WHAT IT IS
• The J.K. Adams Herb Bowl With Mezzaluna Chopper HB-1010 is a 2-piece set consisting of a hand-held curved chopper and a hard maple bowl.
• The chopper has a 6"-long maple handle. Attached to the handle is a curved stainless steel blade.
• The bowl is a solid block of maple, 10" long by 10" wide x 2" tall. Cut into the top of the block is a round indentation into which you put whatever you want to chop.
• The undersides of the bowl are cut away so you can slide a plate under it. That way you can easily scrape your chopped foods onto the plate right from the bowl without having to tip it.
• The curve of the blade fits beautifully into the curve of the bowl, which reduces the amount of effort you have to use to chop your foods.
• Although not as sharp as a knife, the blade is quite sharp, so keep it away from kids. If it gets dull, it sharpens up nicely with a few swipes in the knife-sharpener.
HOW TO USE IT
• Simply put the food to be chopped into the bowl. It's helpful to break it into pieces first, although that's not absolutely necessary.
• Grasp the chopper by the handle and rapidly chop up and down, reducing the food to increasingly smaller (that doesn't sound right - shouldn't it be decreasingly smaller?) pieces.
• You can also rock the chopper, turning it or the bowl as you go, to work around everything in the bowl.
• The chopping action disperses the food, so stop every so often to scrape it all back into the center of the bowl.
• This process works best on soft or semi-soft foods; my mom used to make a wonderful spread from sardines and hard-boiled eggs, but I don't know what else she put into it, so I dare not give you the recipe. You can also chop nuts, although they may jump around a bit. I use mine mostly for herbs, as the following recipe will show.
• When the rood has been reduced to a uniform size, slide a plate under the bowl and scrape the food onto it.
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT
• I'm becoming increasingly low-tech as the world becomes increasingly high-tech. There's something very soothing and absorbing about using old tools and technologies in the kitchen. Every time I use my mezzaluna and bowl, I think about my mother.
• Clean-up is easy. I scrub my chopper blade and bowl with hot sudsy water, dry them, and put them away. Voila. I don't put them in the dishwasher, for obvious reasons.
• The bowl in this set is really beautiful: nicely grained and smoothly finished. There are no rough edges, unlike my old bowl, which is simply a hollowed-out piece of maple. Maple is very hard, so although frequent use will scratch the bottom of the bowl surface, it can't hurt it, even if you bang away pretty hard with the chopper. And the smooth top surface will remain attractive as long as you have the bowl.
• I love the fact that the curve of the chopper so closely approximates the curve of the work surface of the bowl; that's a real energy-saver.
• I love being in contact with the ingredients when I'm cooking. I'm a hands-on cook; I'm the only person I know who mixes doughs and batters by hand - literally! And my control over the fineness of the chop is total when I do it by hand.
• Best of all, it's quickly and easily accessible. I just reach for mine, use them, wash, and put away: nothing to assemble or plug in or disassemble, no fiddly little pieces to wash. I use mine a lot for that reason as much as any other.
Marcella Hazan, the queen of Italian cuisine, doesn't like to make her pesto sauce in a food processor because she wants greater control over the processing. She recommends a mortar and pestle. I've done it that way, but it takes a long time to reduce basil leaves to paste. So when I'm not in a hurry, I chop them up first with my mezzaluna and bowl, and then mash them with the other ingredients in my mortar and pestle. It reduces work time significantly, and makes for a more consistent sauce.
WHAT I'D CHANGE IF I COULD
• I'd make the bowl a little larger in diameter and a little deeper. This one is just big enough for a handful of herbs, and if you overload it, the contents will fly over the top before you get them chopped down.
• I'd also contour the underside of the chopper handle, for easier and more comfortable gripping.
This J.K. Adams Herb Bowl With Mezzaluna Chopper is an attractive and handy addition to the kitchen of anyone who loves to cook and is willing to take the time to do things the "old-fashioned" way. It delivers a superior product, is easy to use and clean, and doesn't use electricity, all of which rate it four stars - a deeper bowl would earn it a 5-star rating. Even so, I recommend it highly.
*****
HERBED ORZORICE
Orzo is rice-shaped pasta. I've made this with both orzo and rice, and love it either way, although it tastes quite different. Try them both! It's a wonderful side dish, but you can turn it into a vegetarian main dish by adding some nuts or beans; canellini, white kidney beans, go nicely and don't detract from the attractive appearance of the dish. I often make it without the garlic, to give the herbs a chance to shine. But it's also delicious with garlic added. You can also use garlic-infused olive oil; just soak a few mashed cloves in the oil before adding it.
As usual with my recipes, quantities are approximate.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups orzo or rice (I always use Uncle Ben's because it's not fluffy and sticky but cooks into separate grains)
3 handsfull of fresh herbs: (I use basil, oregano, thyme, Italian parsley, and chives, but experiment with your own combination)
minced garlic (optional)
juice of two lemons
grated zest of one lemon
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
PROCEDURE
Cook the orzo or rice until done. Drain well.
If using orzo, rinse under lukewarm water and drain again.
If using rice, fluff with a fork to ensure that all the water is gone.
Chop the herbs into a fine mixture.
Combine the herbs and orzo/rice in a bowl. Mix to combine.
Stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and olive oil.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve hot or at room temperature.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 50
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