I am looking for something that will allow me to throw my veggies for my salads into it, I can pulse them, and will get nicely chopped, not mushy, fairly uniform sized veggies. Mainly I use cherry tomato, cucumber, red onion, carrot, and celery. Will this chopper meet that need? Will it require a ton of prep work (obviously I'll need to cut down things like celery to fit and that is fine) or having to chop each type of veggie separately?I am also interested in having this for making small batches of salad dressing or soups/purees. Love my blender but it is way too big for making a cup or so of dressing/soup. I am looking for something that will allow me to throw my veggies for my salads into it, I can pulse them, and will get nicely chopped, not mushy, fairly uniform sized veggies. Mainly I use cherry... » Read More I am looking for something that will allow me to throw my veggies for my salads into it, I can pulse them, and will get nicely chopped, not mushy, fairly uniform sized veggies. Mainly I use cherry tomato, cucumber, red onion, carrot, and celery. Will this chopper meet that need? Will it require a ton of prep work (obviously I'll need to cut down things like celery to fit and that is fine) or having to chop each type of veggie separately?I am also interested in having this for making small batches of salad dressing or soups/purees. Love my blender but it is way too big for making a cup or so of dressing/soup. « Show Less
1091197
It would seem to me that there would be too little space to properly "fluff" salad fixin's unless you had a very deft touch on the pulse switch. I use my KitchenAid 3.5 cup food chopper almost daily and love it for a 'zillion' sundry uses. However, I use a hand chopper to prepare my salads. Just pound on the top and a spring-loaded multi-bladed knife quickly and perfectly every time, no matter the skill level of the operator. You really ought to have the 3.5 cup KitchenAid, but not for chopping salad... In my opinion.
1091198
I believe the KitchenAid will meet your need. You will be able to control the motor with the pulse control to do what you want.
1091199
Both speeds are pretty fast, it might depend on just how small you want your salad pieces. I think it might still work, I love mine.
1091200
This chopper will meet your needs--it is powerful, so you won't have to pulse for long.....you also won't have to chop things down too much--as long as it fits in the chopper, it will do the job.
809452
Right now, I'm only using my chopper to chop uncooked vegetables for salads and stews, and it does a grand job for the veggies I chop; I get them "chopped" into pea-sized pieces after 6 - 8 pulls. I do not know what "capsicum" is, however, if it is a type of pepper, it should chop very nicely if cut into chunks to pack into the chopper, although I do not "over fill" my chopper cup. However, it does not do cherry tomatoes very well at all (and I haven't tried larger tomatoes), and it is not as thorough on baby carrots, as it will leave some unchopped or partially chopped calling for me to get out a sharp knife for a little hand-work. It is fabulous for cauliflower, broccoli, "matchstick" carrots, onion - - I usually do cut the veggies into big chunks to load them into the chopper which works better than maybe dropping in a whole onion or very large chunks. I like my potatoes nicely "diced", not "chopped", so I do them by hand; I get bags of baby potatoes and do not peel them, so it is very easy to cut into 4ths or 8ths. Good Luck!!!
990505
I would say yes if you're using meaty tomatoes like romas and pulse slowly rather than just turn it on. The blade is so sharp that it wouldn't take much to turn it into tomato juice if you just ran it. Like every other food processer, it will leak around the shaft if there is too much liquid in the bowl (voice of experience!). I have done this for other things (omelets for one) and it works very well... onions and peppers in first chopped to a little bigger than I really want it, then the romas, pulsed one or 2 times and then it's ready to go. I think this is one of the best food processers out there and the price makes it doubly good! I would say yes if you're using meaty tomatoes like romas and pulse slowly rather than just turn it on. The blade is so sharp that it wouldn't take much to turn it into tomato juice if you just ran it. Like every other food processer, it will leak around the shaft if there is too much liquid in the bowl (voice of experience!). I have done this for other things (omelets for one) and it works very well... onions and peppers in first chopped to a little bigger than I really want it, then the romas, pulsed one or 2 times and then it's ready to go. I think this is one of the best food processers... » Read More I would say yes if you're using meaty tomatoes like romas and pulse slowly rather than just turn it on. The blade is so sharp that it wouldn't take much to turn it into tomato juice if you just ran it. Like every other food processer, it will leak around the shaft if there is too much liquid in the bowl (voice of experience!). I have done this for other things (omelets for one) and it works very well... onions and peppers in first chopped to a little bigger than I really want it, then the romas, pulsed one or 2 times and then it's ready to go. I think this is one of the best food processers out there and the price makes it doubly good! « Show Less
703677
I have only used it for carrots but I imagine zucchini or small cucumbers might work. For the results you get with the carrots alone, it is well worth the price.
281688
Just chopped onions yesterday. Whether the onion is chopped or pulverized depends upon how long you operate the chopper. I watched as the onion was chopped and stopped when the desired fineness was achieved. Worked great.
819068
It does chop veggies - but it does a better job mincing them, like Harlan Harris says. I used it to "chop" celery, carrots, tomato, bell pepper, cauliflower, and broccoli with ease! Softer things like tomatoes don't do too well in there - it turns out like a puree.
848795
Hey Lisa, After my a few tried with beets, it works for us. We have some experience you might like to know regard to how to use our Envy slicer for best results: - Regarding getting a better experience with carrots, zucchini, beets...I remember that the first time we used carrots ourselves, the strips didn't come out from the blade as long strips. Because carrots are hard, often their strips won't be as long as with soft vegetables such as summer squash, zucchini, eggplant, beets, etc. I practiced with zucchini (as you can see on the package) and were quickly able to get nice, long strips with our carrots. Be sure to use fresh carrots, zucchini that are thick enough to fully utilize your slicer blades. - Strongly recommend using fresh and thick veggies enough for best results. If it doesn't work, it might be due to very rarely item which defective during shipping processing. Although this product is very easy to use which is designed for "no-brainer" to use, it might need a little practice depend on various people's desire. Hope this help! -Jessica
2208875
If you put enough spinach in it and just pulsed it a few quick times it would do a rough chop. If you put too little it won't do much of anything. I'd just do it by hand honestly. It best with things like making guacamole, or making breadcrumbs. Too much chopping/ grinding of ingredients like onions and spinach just brings out the moisture and gives an undesired amount of liquid with the veg.
343998
It comes with only one blade, and the instructions say to "use the chop function for chopping, pureeing and mixing (soft, fragile foods such as herbs, celery, onions, garlic and most cheeses). it is also the right choice for pureeing cooked vegetables, mixing mayonnaise and mixing salad dressing. Pulse action is best when using the chop function... Use the grind function for grinding spices and chopping hard food such as peppercorns, seeds, chocolate and nuts." I don't know if I would trust it to grind very hard cheeses, as my experience in grinding chocolate has resulted in it coming loose from the base. Good luck! It comes with only one blade, and the instructions say to "use the chop function for chopping, pureeing and mixing (soft, fragile foods such as herbs, celery, onions, garlic and most cheeses). it is also the right choice for pureeing cooked vegetables, mixing mayonnaise and mixing salad dressing. Pulse action is best when using the chop function... Use the grind function for grinding spices and chopping hard food such as peppercorns, seeds, chocolate and nuts." I don't know if I would trust it to grind very hard cheeses, as my experience in grinding chocolate has resulted in it... » Read More It comes with only one blade, and the instructions say to "use the chop function for chopping, pureeing and mixing (soft, fragile foods such as herbs, celery, onions, garlic and most cheeses). it is also the right choice for pureeing cooked vegetables, mixing mayonnaise and mixing salad dressing. Pulse action is best when using the chop function... Use the grind function for grinding spices and chopping hard food such as peppercorns, seeds, chocolate and nuts." I don't know if I would trust it to grind very hard cheeses, as my experience in grinding chocolate has resulted in it coming loose from the base. Good luck! « Show Less
1333017
I have not done raw cucumbers but I am sure it will work fine. I slice onions and firm tomatoes and have even sliced salami a few times. It takes a bit of force with salami but it does the job.
384814
I tried coarsely chopped raw carrots in a couple of smoothies and it blended them nicely. Kale is fine, too. Haven't tried beets or seeds, but they are probably OK.I am not a fan of this blender, but it is doing the job right now, which for me is making smoothies.
1331735
I have had mine for almost a year. I use it every day on multiple kinds of veg. It works very well for most vegetables (I have never tried with asparagus), although I find that unless enough water is used, celery, apples, and carrots can be quite gritty. It may be slightly louder than my blender, but it works fast, so you don't have to listen to the horrible noise for as long :)
1002758
The smallest dicer blade/insert on my "Genius Nicer Dicer"- [rectangle chopper] looks like it dices about 1/4" pieces; all the blade inserts are dual sided, 2 diff. sizes on each half of rectangular blade. So, on the other half of the 1/4" dicer is about 1/2" size. Even tomatoes will dice up fine on the 1/2" on mine. Onions, celery, etc. do great on the smallest- 1/4" size dicer, esp. for salsa, pico de gallo, potato salad, tuna or chicken salad, etc. Just have to slice tomatoes and others acrossfirst. My does not have a booklet but now I also have a larger chopper-"Genius Salad Chopper" - and use that for ideas for this smaller Nicer Dicer. QVC did sell this smaller blade separate. Good luck! The smallest dicer blade/insert on my "Genius Nicer Dicer"- [rectangle chopper] looks like it dices about 1/4" pieces; all the blade inserts are dual sided, 2 diff. sizes on each half of rectangular blade. So, on the other half of the 1/4" dicer is about 1/2" size. Even tomatoes will dice up fine on the 1/2" on mine. Onions, celery, etc. do great on the smallest- 1/4" size dicer, esp. for salsa, pico de gallo, potato salad, tuna or chicken salad, etc. Just have to slice tomatoes and others acrossfirst. My does not have a booklet but now I also have a... » Read More The smallest dicer blade/insert on my "Genius Nicer Dicer"- [rectangle chopper] looks like it dices about 1/4" pieces; all the blade inserts are dual sided, 2 diff. sizes on each half of rectangular blade. So, on the other half of the 1/4" dicer is about 1/2" size. Even tomatoes will dice up fine on the 1/2" on mine. Onions, celery, etc. do great on the smallest- 1/4" size dicer, esp. for salsa, pico de gallo, potato salad, tuna or chicken salad, etc. Just have to slice tomatoes and others acrossfirst. My does not have a booklet but now I also have a larger chopper-"Genius Salad Chopper" - and use that for ideas for this smaller Nicer Dicer. QVC did sell this smaller blade separate. Good luck! « Show Less
1583744
Hello JLJ, definitely the one I purchased because it has 4 suction cups it sits on for stability while slicing. Also you can put veggies of all sizes in the one I bought. I sliced a large onion last night in less than a minute. I am in my 60's and cook a lot. I hope this helps you decide. Wendy
1092097
I have a chopper and a food processor. I like using the chopper when I chop a small amount such as a bowl of slaw but I use the processor when I have a large amount. Also the chopper is small so it does not take much space and it does a good job. I use the chopper much more than I use the processor. I do not about the ability to emulsify because I have never tried. C. Dale
384811
Good luck...I returned this piece of junk and finally got a Vitamix! If you are into blending hearty veggies like those (as I am), then you should invest in a Vitamix or Blendtec. You won't regret it! :)
1215269
Sorry; don't know how well it would handle "hard" vegetables. I only use it for making "smoothies" with soft fruits such as strawberries and peaches, and it does that extremely well! I suspect you really need some kind of food processor for items of that nature, even if it's just a mini version. They're meant for the heavier work. This type of blender would wear-out much sooner than normal having to deal with hard vegetables. However, this blender does chop ice, if that's any help.