Cheese Slicers and Accessories

• Hand-held slicers
• Cheese knives
• Cutting boards with blade
• Cutting boards with wire

Hand-held slicers are small, quick, inexpensive, and convenient. They fit easily in a kitchen drawer, can usually be immersed in water and are dishwasher safe. While not as elegant-looking as most cutting board models, there are upscale hand-held models like the porcelain handle cheese slicer.

Cheese knives are more often used for entertaining than hand-held cheese slicers, and are available with inexpensive wood handles or more upscale marble or pewter handles. Cheese knives are often used in conjunction with decorative cutting boards or cheese and cracker serving trays.

Cutting boards with blade are larger than hand-held slicers, but easier to use and faster for slicing a lot of cheese. They typically do slice thinly as well as the cheese slicer boards with wires. However, the blade tends to be more sturdy and does not break as the wires can. Most cheese slicers with blade are dishwasher safe and can be immersed in water.

Cutting boards with wire are quite popular, and are available in many different varieties. They are the most stable and easy to use, and allow the most control over the cutting of the cheese. A high-quality cheese slicer board with slicing wire allows the thinnest, most even slicing of cheese possible with a manual (non-commercial) slicer. The slicing wires can be replaced easily, and many companies offer a lifetime warranty on the wire. The most common varieties of cheese slicer boards with wires are:

• Wooden rectangular (beechwood, bamboo, and others)
• Wooden serving trays (with cracker well or marble inlay)
• Stainless steel
• Marble (white, black, gray, and green are the most common colors)

Which style of cheese slicer board you choose depends the kitchen decor, price, and ease of cleaning.

The wooden boards, while they are not dishwasher safe and cannot be immersed, can be easily cleaned with a damp sponge. Wooden cheese slicer boards tend to be more economical than the marble models.

Stainless steel models offer the easiest cleanup, because they are dishwasher safe and can be immersed in water. The clean look of stainless steel complements many modern homes.

Marble cheese slicer boards are preferred by many as durable, attractive, and elegant. A major advantage of marble is that it keeps the cheese cool, so that it slices cleanly and does not take on an oily appearance. Marble cheese slicers are available in more economical compact varieties (usually 5 x 8 inches), including white and green marble. If you have room for a larger, more sturdy piece, choose an elegant premium gourmet cheese slicers in white, black, gray, and green marble.

To summarize, which cheese slicer you choose depends on size, convenience, ease of use, price and, of course, the decor of your home. As a general rule,

• If price is a major factor, choose a hand-held cheese slicer, wood or compact cheese slicer board, or check for sale prices.
• If size matters most, choose a hand-held cheese slicer. If you want the efficiency of a slicer board on a budget, choose a compact cheese slicer board.
• If ease of use is most important to you, select a cheese slicer board with a wire. For entertaining, consider a serving tray with cracker well or marble inlay
• If ease of cleaning is most important, stick to a hand-held or stainless steel cheese slicer
• If appearance and elegance are most important, choose a gourmet cheese slicer in white, black, gray, or green marble

Happy slicing!

# posted by CheeseSlicer @ 12:06 PM