Norpro French Bean Slicer

by Norpro

Product Features

• Heavy duty cast metal construction with stainless steel cutting blades
• 3 5/8" D x 3 1/4" H x 6" W
• Clamps securely to any surface up to 1 1/4" thick
• Disassembles for convenient storage

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 4 x 4.2 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B00004UE6R
• Item model number: 5125
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,814 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Clamp this tool onto any surface up to 1-1/4 inches thick, feed string beans into the hopper, turn the crank, and the Frencher's stainless-steel blades quickly and neatly slice the beans into slender French-cut shapes. The hopper is 1-1/4 inches wide, big enough to handle several beans at once. This is a heavy-duty tool meant to last a lifetime. --Fred Brack

Product Description

Green beans are great, but French cut green beans are even better. Send the fresh green beans through this device and you will be rewarded with slender slivers that seem to have a more delicate taste and a more pleasant, less tough texture.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Only for the patient and the realistic., November 29, 2009

By 

P. Pierzchalski (U.P. Michigan) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Norpro French Bean Slicer

I was skeptical about how something like this would actually work, especially with the mixed reviews I've read on this site and others. It really isn't as bad as some would lead you to believe. Use some common sense and a bit of ingenuity and it works fine. No, you can't put a giant handfull of beans in it and expect it to not clog up. If you put in 3 or 4 at a time you'll have no problems. No, the jaws of the clamps don't open 4 inches to accomodate a countertop. They open only about 1.5 inches, enough to clamp on the edge of a table. I used a couple thin silicone pads, one on top and one underneath the table under the clamps. There was room for this and it did not damage the surface of the oak dining table at all. I have to admit, it doesn't clamp down super tight with the pads this way. One person CAN turn the crank by themselves and feed beans into the hopper with no problems, but it did work best with my husband's help. He turned the crank as fast as he could while simultaneously feeding beans into the hopper. I helped steady the slicer to the table. We went through a large brown shopping bag of beans in about 10 minutes. We grow our own vegetables every year and this is the best way to get frenched beans. You do have to disassemble the slicer to get all the bean bits out but it isn't difficult to do. If you use this with realistic expectations and realize you're going to have to work with it a bit to make it work, you'll be very happy with the result of the beans and with the time it saves. If you expect it to do all the work and the thinking for you, you'll think it's a piece of junk. It's not 100% perfect but it's as close as we're ever going to get for under $25.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful but a little awkward, July 29, 2008

By 

Jacqueline Peterson (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Norpro French Bean Slicer

I like this tool but my kitchen counters are too deep to clamp it onto the counter itself. Had to clamp it on a cutting board which makes it less sturdy if you're doing multiple beans. I'm left-handed and like most things like this they're made for righties. Cuts can be a bit inconsistant...frankly, I prefer the other single bean frencher for many applications but if you were doing a quantity this would be the way to go.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste money on anything else!!!, September 18, 2000

By 

Jung S. Park (Seoul, Korea APO AP) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Norpro French Bean Slicer

I just recently purchased the Norpro Bean Frencher and it works better than anything else I've tried using. I used to try other methods of preparing beans, but I wasted so much strength cutting beans. The Nopro Bean Frencher will do all your hard work- it'll cut several beans at a time and slice string cheese with an effortless crank turn. The price is certainly right and no one can go wrong on this. I like to try as many kitchen products that cut down on cooking or preparing time as I can, and I'm sure everybody will have fun using this.