How To: Knives Too Dull? Use These Hacks to Cut, Chop, Peel & Mince Without a Blade

Knives are among the most important utensils in any kitchen; it's hard to even conceive of cooking a decent meal without them. However, many different foods can be prepped without a knife, and some are actually better off without one. If you don't believe me, then check out these 10 creative methods for chopping, peeling, mincing, and slicing knifeless.

1. Grab a Wire Rack for Chopped Eggs

Hard-boiled eggs can be chopped using a wire rack on top of a bowl, a great tip from Ree Drummond, Food Network's Pioneer Woman. Just set an egg atop the rack, then press the egg through with your hand. In seconds, you can "chop" as many eggs as your recipe requires.

2. Use a Glass to Peel Your Mangoes

Mangoes pretty slippery on the inside... which makes them a pain to peel. You'll find that you have a lot less of a struggle, however, if you use a glass to peel them, instead. You'll still need a knife to make mango cubes, but the rim of the glass will easily catch the skin of the mango and peel it effortlessly.

3. Peel Kiwis or Ginger Root with a Spoon

Use the rounded edges of a spoon to scrape off the fuzzy layer of kiwis, as well as the thin skin on fresh ginger root. Once that skin is removed, you can get to eating—or grating, in the case of ginger.

4. An Egg Slicer Will Make Your Life Easier

With your egg slicer, you can cut through mushrooms, strawberries, olives, bananas, and even different varieties of cheese. In fact, this odd yet common little tool is the ideal way to cut softer items.

5. Use Dental Floss for Soft Foods...

Dental floss is pretty handy in the kitchen, actually: use it to slice cakes, soft cheeses, hard-boiled eggs, and more.

6. Use Your Credit Card in a Pinch

If you want to get even more creative while cutting, you can break out your wallet and use a credit card for soft foods, too. (Of course, you might want to consider giving your card a quick clean before digging it into any food—those things can get dirty!)

7. Skewer & Stab Citrus

Instead of cutting into your citrus and wasting juice if you only need a few drops, just use a skewer to pierce the skin instead, as Country Living suggests. Grab a metal or wooden skewer, stab your citrus, and squeeze out as much juice as you need—then save the rest for your next recipe.

8. Rip Lettuce Apart with Your Bare Hands

It sounds obvious, but you don't need a sharp knife to chop the perfect salad. In fact, chopping or cutting lettuce with a knife can cause browning to occur faster, according to Cook's Illustrated. Instead, just rip your way through a head of lettuce with your bare hands.

9. Mince Garlic with a Fork

No need for knives here: with a little bit of pressure, you can use a fork when mincing garlic. It's our preferred method when using lots of cloves.

10. Another Multipurpose Marvel: The Apple Slicer

As Saucy Cuisine demonstrates, you can your apple slicer on a potato in exactly the same way for deliciously thick home fries.

These awesome tricks are sure to make your kitchen prep work faster. Do you have any clever hacks to add to our list? Let us know in the comments below.

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