bit-tech Shopping: Chefs Choice 610 Premium Electric Food Slicer

Rating: 10

Time with product: 1 Month

Strengths: Slicing meats super thin. Also this slicer is heavy enough and stays put unlike my other slicer.

Weaknesses: I haven't found any yet.

Summary: I use to dread slicing a roast beef with my old slicer because the meat would shift and the slicer would move and I felt like a need another hand. By the time I was finish, my counter would be a mess. Cleaning up would keep me in the kitchen while everyone else relaxed elsewhere. I needed something that could handle larger roasts and be sturdy enough not to move on my counter. This slicer is perfect. It slices roasts thin, stays put and cleanup is a breeze.

Rating: 10

Time with product:

Strengths: Sturdy; High precision

Weaknesses: Shouldn't every food slicer come with both a serrated blade and a non-serrated blade?

Summary: My wife and I were shopping for a food slicer to complement our kitchen utilities and we were having difficulties deciding between this 610 (around $90 - $100) and its higher models 630 and 632 (around $200 - $250). It appeared to us that the only limitation on this 610 is the lack of tilt function and hence the food has to be pushed horizontally (v.s. possibly dropped vertically). But since our utilization of food slicer is not very frequent and we thought heck why should we spend $100+ for just one or two not so critical functions? And once this food slicer arrived and we gave it a try, we were very impressed! It is very well made and very solid and works like a charm on everything we feed it! It is also very easy to set up and easy to clean. The only pity is that the machine came with just one serrated blade which is fine for deli-thin cut. And in order to have more precise "paper thin" cut, we had to buy another $25 non-serrated blade, which we think should really come with the initial purchase. But all in all, we are very satisfied with our purchase of this slicer!

Rating: 10

Time with product: 2 Weeks

Strengths: Low price, reasonably sturdy, uniform slices with large adjustment in width possible, safe but still easy to clean.

Weaknesses: Large and fairly heavy, new blades and sharpeners are expensive

Summary: Recently, I began to search for an electric food slicer. The main reason that I wanted one was to cut bread for sandwiches. I make a lot of homemade bread, and those of you with this hobby know that baking a very light bread can be quite a challenge. Squishing it with a poor cut is therefore very undesirable. Manual cutting also makes it more difficult to achieve uniform, even slices. I did a lot of searching of the different slicers available, and the Chef?s Choice products repeatedly came up as the best choice for budget-conscious buyers. Since I wasn?t looking to spend $600+ on a professional model, this seemed to be the way to go. Even then, however, I was unsure what model to get. However, Edgecraft (the manufacturers) have an excellent comparison chart available on their website (http://www.edgecraft.com/docfiles/qrfslicer.pdf). From this, I decided that the 610 model would be right for me. Besides being the cheapest, it offered the thickest possible slices and similar characteristics to most other models. The item came well-packed in rigid foam, so ordering this product online should not be a problem with anybody. I was impressed with how sturdy it felt. Yes, there?s a lot of plastic, but there?s enough weight that it does not feel cheap. I went through the manual, and found that it was quite easy to take apart for cleaning. My only concern here is that the piece that actually attaches the blade is made of plastic. I would have preferred metal simply for durability. In terms of safety, the slicer also performs reasonably well. When used properly, your fingers do not come anywhere near the blade while slicer. The slider can lock in front of the blade when not in use, minimizing the chance of cutting yourself if you accidentally turn it on. That being said, it should obviously be kept out of the reach of young children. When I initially ran the product, it was quieter than I expected but also seemed slower (I?m more used to table saws than kitchen appliances). However, I have found it to smoothly and easily slice everything I?ve put it up against. As cited above, bread was my main interest and it did beautifully there. However, it also slices soft vegetables and fruit (cucumbers, tomatoes, etc.) without deforming them. I tested it on ham (more out of curiosity than real need) and it also performed well there. I have not yet had a reason to slice cheese, but I can?t imagine any difficulty with firmer cheeses. The blade is well-aligned top-to-bottom, slice thickness is continuously adjustable, and results are consistent. The serrated blade that comes with the model is adequate for most slicing, but if you want very thin-sliced meats (thinner than I like them) you can purchase an additional blade. However, at $35, this is a significant fraction of the price of the unit. The same applies to Edgecraft?s $35 blade sharpeners. Reviews I?ve read seem to indicate that the provided blade will remain sharp for years, but obviously I can?t vouch for that yet. Other than the cost of accessories, my only complaint with the slicer would be its size. I leave mine on the counter, but if you plan to store yours make sure that you have a fair amount of space. Unfortunately, this limitation seems to apply to almost all electric slicers I?ve seen. Edgecraft does provide a folding model (the Chef?s Choice 650), but this is significantly more expensive and even the folded dimensions are pretty large. Overall, I?m very happy to this product and would recommend it to anyone needing a slicer for home use. If you have very exacting standards and a very unlimited budget, you may wish to consider a professional model; otherwise, the Chef?s Choice 610 is a sturdy, reliable, and economical decision.