How It Works
The design is actually quite brilliant:
- The Roller: The thick silver bar acts as a guide. You rest it on top of the block of cheese.
- The Wire: The thin, tensioned wire at the top does the actual cutting.
- The Adjuster: On the sides, there are usually small screws. By loosening or tightening these, you can slightly adjust the angle to change the thickness of your cheese slice.
Why People Still Love Them Today
Even with all our modern electric gadgets, many professional chefs and vintage enthusiasts prefer this manual wire slicer for three reasons:
- No Sticking: Because the wire has so little surface area, cheese doesn’t “suction” to it like it does to a flat knife blade.
- Uniformity: Once you find the right angle, you can slice an entire block of cheese into identical pieces for crackers or sandwiches in seconds.
- Durability: These cast-aluminum tools were built to last. Many “Presto” slicers from the 1950s are still in perfect working condition today.
