Does It Really Do That: Slap Chop

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- If there's a way to save time in the kitchen, we want it, and as the infomercial claims, the Slap Chop is the way to get it.

But does it really do it? KDKA's Consumer Editor Yvonne Zanos puts it to the test along with Molly Jubeck, a mother of two who could use the help.

To test the Slap Chop, they bring in potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, other vegetables, fruits and nuts.

The directions seem easy enough; just cover and slap. They start with an onion, skin and all. The skin comes off okay, but the onion gets jammed between the blades.

However, the problem here is user error. They did not attach a plastic blade guard, which is a key part of Slap Chop.

They try again, another onion with the skin. The onion does not get stuck in the blades this time, and the skin comes off. And when it comes to the chopping, Jubeck said she found it was better but not that much.

But without the skin, Jubeck says the Slap Chop does a nice job of dicing the onion.

However, she also says the Slap Chop is a little small if you are cooking for a family. She finds you have to cut the food in small pieces in order for it to fit.

In trying to mince a tomato, our testers say it's the skin that ruins the end result.

But when trying to chop peeled baby carrots, they say the Slap Chop minces them perfectly. Also, they find mushrooms are easy to chop as are walnuts.

What about the easy clean up the Slap Chop promises, though? Jubeck says she does like the way the it opens for cleaning, but it doesn't always open easily.

Our testers also find that the more they slap the Slap Chop, the harder it is to get the plastic guard to fit the blades.

Next, Jubeck moves on to fruit and has a problem again with the skin on apples.

"If there is a skin, it does not take the skin off and that is what it promises to do," says Jubeck.

Every time she chops something with the skin on, Jubeck says the results are not good. Also, she says at one point the guard comes off.

"That's actually dangerous," says Jubeck. "If this came off in a small piece, you wouldn't know it, that is sharp and that is dangerous."

So, even without the broken guard, Jubeck says she doesn't think the Slap Chop lives up to its hype.

"I didn't think that it worked very well, especially on things that had skin," she adds. "I thought that as we used it, it became more and more difficult to disassemble it and reassemble it."

Overall, Jubeck gives the Slap Chop a thumbs down.

"I think I would just use a knife and put it right in the dishwasher when I was done," she adds.