I Tried Every Grape Tomato Slicer I Could Find — The One I Liked Best Also Does So Many Other Things

I’m always looking for ways to work faster in my kitchen, which often means trying to decide if it’s worth adding another kitchen tool or gadget. Ideally, there’s some sort of hack or trick I can do with stuff I already have, rather than having to buy something new. This brings me to the job of halving cherry and grape tomatoes.

I typically use the trick that involves slicing several tomatoes between two container lids. Most people do this trick with those plastic deli container lids, and you probably already have these in your kitchen. If not, it should work between virtually any two container lids or even between two small appetizer plates. 

And yet, the market is loaded with tools designed just to help you halve cherry tomatoes (and grape tomatoes and regular grapes, for what it’s worth). In the name of science — and helping Kitchn readers! — I decided to try a bunch of them. For the most part, I didn’t feel like anything warranted a spot in my kitchen drawer. These highly specialized tools were either not all that functional or made a mess — or both. I even tried things that were intended for other fruits like strawberries or grapes. (My hope here was that maybe I could get multiple slices out of little tomatoes besides just halving. No such luck.)

I was, however, curious when I came across the Close & Cut by Pampered Chef. It looks sort of like a clam shell and it has spring-loaded trays in order to account for different-sized foods. See, not only is the device supposed to be good for slicing many tiny tomatoes at once, but it can also be used with grapes, pitted olives, pearl onions, and mozzarella balls. (The possibilities are endless when it comes to small, round food!) It also can be used for slicing bagels, butterflying meats, and halving a wheel of Brie. And guess what? It actually does work. Better than my usual two-lid-situation. What a treat! And the whole thing is dishwasher-safe.

Buy: Close & Cut, $30 at Pampered Chef

As far as little kitchen tools go, the Close & Cut comes with a pretty steep price point. I’d say to get it if you’re a big cherry tomato eater, but this device also works great with so many other things. So my final takeaway? It’s definitely worth the splurge.

How do you usually deal with halving a bunch of cherry tomatoes?