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Most of us are so busy with work and family affairs that spending time and effort on such a primitive process as slicing food seems completely absurd. However, in our technological world, the vast majority of us still use the type of knife that was invented by cavemen.

Many will answer that the knife performs its functions perfectly. However, before the horse performed the function of transporting people, but times are changing. And if there is an opportunity to save time, then you need to use it; a meat slicer allows you to cut meat, cheese, vegetables, and other foods in seconds. In our article, we will discuss who needs it and how to choose this device.

Types of meat slicers

Despite the seemingly direct title, the meat slicer can be used to cut virtually any product: meat, potatoes, cheese, onions, cucumbers, etc. Properly, the type of meat slicer you need depends on the kind of food you cut and how often you do it.

Electric meat slicer

Best for people who have a large family, often cook for guests, regularly cut large volumes of food, or deal with very hard foods such as frozen meat or cheese, then you should choose only an electric slicer.

As the name implies, the process of cutting products takes place using an electric motor that automatically moves the carriage with products. In fact, all you need to do is put the slicing product on the carriage and turn on the slicer. The system will do everything for you.

Most electric slicers can also be switched to manual mode if, for example, you have lost the light or the engine has failed. 

Such devices are produced by a very large number of brands, so you can buy them in any home improvement store. Therefore, in 99% of cases, we recommend choosing the electric slicer, because it is easy to use, quickly cuts any food, and has a relatively low price.

Manual meat slicer

Best for: people who cut products in small household volumes and want each sliced ​​piece of meat to have an individual texture, we recommend using a manual slicer.

These slicers are much less convenient and efficient when cutting any product, as they require you to move the carriage by hand. That is, you need to put much more effort and spend more time for the same result.

However, no electric slicer will be able to provide such a sense of control over the cutting process as the manual model, in the case you need to accurately calculate the texture and thickness of the meat during each cut. This can be especially important for you if you regularly grill meat because different formats of cooking on a grill directly depend on the texture of the meat.

It is also worth noting that finding such a slicer on sale is much more difficult than the automatic version, as most manufacturers have long abandoned the old-fashioned models. However, you can still find some options in specialty stores.

3 factors to consider when choosing a meat slicer

Motor Power

The power of the electric meat slicer motor is a key factor when choosing this device. The motor largely determines how quickly you can cut food.

There are three types of meat slicer according to their capacity:

1. Light power slicers have a 1/4-1/3 horsepower engine. They are suitable for slicing products such as thin meat, onions, and greens for no more than one hour a day. If you use such a meat grinder for longer, it overheats and can fail very quickly.

2. Medium power slicers have 1/3-1/2 horsepower. They are good for slicing any kind of meat. It is recommended to use such a slicer no longer than 2-3 hours a day, otherwise, the engine may overheat and fail. In general, few people cut products longer, so this power is more than enough for home use;

3. Higher power slicers have greater than 1/2 horsepower. With such power, these devices can cut products of any complexity, even cheese with a very viscous consistency and extremely solid frozen meat. They should be chosen if you plan to use a meat slicer every day for 4-6 hours. It is absolutely true that 99% of households do not need such capacity, so if you do not plan to open a catering establishment, you do not need such a device.

In general, if you plan to use a meat slicer only for slicing sandwiches for breakfast or to cook meat for barbecue several times a year, you will have enough meat slicer with minimal power, but if you regularly cut products such as frozen meat, potatoes or cheese, then you more powerful options need to be considered.

Blade size

The second factor to consider when choosing a meat slicer is the size of the blade.

In this case, the rule is that more is not always better. It is important to understand that no blade will cut equally well, such as frozen meat and onions, so any meat slicer will be better in some ways and worse in others. That’s why the size of the blade should be chosen depending on which products you are going to cut most often:

1. If you buy a meat grinder for cutting solid products such as frozen meat, cheese, or eggplant, you should choose a model that has large blades, ranging in size from 12 to 14 inches;

2. If you plan to cut softer foods such as onions, sausage, and bread, or you need the opportunity to cut very thin pieces, such as potatoes for chips, you better choose a model that has small blades with a diameter of not more than 7-10 inches.

Cost

Of course, the price is also a very important factor when choosing a meat slicer:

1. If you plan to use a slicer no more than 1-2 hours a day and cut mostly unfrozen meat, sausage, and vegetables, then you can choose a budget model worth 100-200$;

2. If you plan to use your slicer every day for many hours and cut such solid products as frozen meat and cheese, we recommend choosing models priced at 200-400$. Due to the higher price, such premium models are a very profitable investment in the long run, as they will serve you and your family for many years;

3. If you choose a manual slicer, their price is 50-100$. As already mentioned, we recommend buying a hand slicer only if you are a culinary esthete and the texture of each cut piece of meat is important to you. In all other respects, even the most expensive manual slicer loses to the most budget automatic model.

In general, the average price of an electric meat slicer is from 100 to 400$. If the price tag is higher, it is likely that you have seen a very powerful commercial meat slicer, which makes no sense to buy for home use.

Summary

In our fast-paced world, we always try to save time. But, each of us spends an average of 15 minutes a day on such a primitive process as slicing food. This is 91 hours a year. 11 working days. Sounds fantastic, but it’s true. Every year you spend 11 days of your life just cutting food. You lose all this time. Agree, not a very pleasant fact.

However, for a long time now it has been possible to minimize the time spent on cutting products by using a meat slicer. This is a technologically very simple and budget device that you can buy in almost any home store, but thanks to it you can save a lot of time and spend it on something much more important: family, work, friends.

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