Customer Reviews

Pinzon Round Bamboo Chopping Block with Inset Mezzaluna

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

First of all, it looks absolutely beautiful, the color of the block and the texture of bamboo is wonderful. It is quite heavy, so it is better left on the counter, but it is OK since it is so pretty.
Unfortunately, the one I have received had two defects. First, the block is made out of glued bamboo planks, and the glue did not take in two places, so there we have something that looks like cracks. Fortunately, they are both on the same side, so the other side still can be used and looks fine.
The second defect is that the mezzaluna itself is pretty useless since it is not sharp in any way, the cutting edge is about 1 mm thick, so it cannot really cut anything harder then boiled eggs. I would have sharpened it, but it does not fit in my knife sharpener, I might get a sharpening block to try to fix the blade, but I don't have it now, so I cannot tell if it will work.
Anyway, the block still sits on my counter, I use it with regular knives.
Also, since it is so thick, it is nice to use as a cheeseboard for cutting and serving cheese at the regular table, and the thickness makes it convenient to cut cheese there, too.

This Pinzon round bamboo chopping block is nicely constructed, and seems very durable. The block has some heft to it, and the handles are useful for carrying it around or holding onto the side while your dicing and chopping quickly. The mezzaluna slides into the side of the block and gently "locks" itself into place. Very well built, you are getting your money's worth here.

I've used the Pinzon block to chop onions and and avocados on the flat side and it has great chopping action without slowing down or "catching" your blade, but you obviously can do that on any good cutting board. What's really useful, however, is the other side with the slightly concave surface. This works great for chopping and dicing things like garlic cloves with the included mezzaluna.

So why only 4 stars? Really, I'd give it 4.5, but I can't vote that way. The only thing I don't really care for is the the handle on the mezzaluna. It's not the most comfortable thing in the world, and if you're chopping harder food items, like the aforementioned onions or garlic cloves, for an extended period or time, it can be rough on your hands. The hard wood handle causes a some pain and discomfort on the inside part of my knuckles. Not horrible, and you have to chop for a little while before it sets in, but still...loss of a star for that.

Overall, this is great product that's worth the going price of about $40 on amazon.

UPDATE: I've been using this product for months now and I still like it. However, the mezzaluna does tend to dull a little quicker than I'd prefer. I have a knife sharpener built into my knife block and 3-4 passes through there adequately sharpens the mezzaluna, but I find myself doing that after every three uses or so. In summary, I like this set at the price that it's usually listed for here, but I would caution potential buyers to perhaps only purchase it if you already have a knife sharpener in your kitchen collection.

I recently received the Pinzon round bamboo chopping block with inset mezzaluna. As a chef I enjoy many kitchen products and typically cook from scratch. Although I commonly use kitchen products made for home use, I tend to look at them from a professional point of view. As for cutting boards and chopping blocks, I like a variety for different uses. I've never used a mezzaluna set before as I generally use my chef's knife or products similar to this herb mincer to quickly chop herbs. Being intrigued by this set, I wanted the opportunity to put this chopping block to the test.

Being made from bamboo, the board is manufactured from a renewable resource for a greener product without sacrificing the quality of typical maple boards. Bamboo has a tendency to be more decorative as well and this chopping block, about the size of a dinner plate but much thicker, is no exception. This chopping block also includes storage for the mezzaluna and two insets for handles. When cutting with a mezzaluna set, food should fall back towards the center of the bowl.

The mezzaluna included with this set uses a single blade knife only going about a half inch deep into the bamboo handle and is riveted at each end. With the grain of the handle and how the blade is joined to it makes me think the mezzaluna will have a tendency to break after awhile. The blade is not sharp either; I can run my fingertip over the edge without fear of cutting myself. In fact I can look at the edge and see it has a thin flat surface. It would take significant work with a sharpening stone or blade sharpener to put a proper edge on this mezzaluna. Additionally many quality mezzalunas consist of double blades for efficient chopping, making this blade less efficient. Plus the bowl for using the mezzaluna is too shallow for gravity to do its job. I had to push the herbs back towards the center myself as I attempted to cut them.

The blade stores nicely in an inset on the cutting board's side with an internal magnet to keep the mezzaluna from accidentally falling out. I can turn the board on its side holding it in the air and the knife won't fall from its storage area. When using the mezzaluna, the handle fits nicely in the hand and comfortably rocks back and forth in the board's shallow bowl.

The cutting area is adequate for chopping a large onion, but have a plate handy to hold your preparations as you cut. The board's handles are positioned so the edge of my dinner plates will rest inside while scraping food onto them no matter which side of the board I am using. Alternatively, this board would be excellent to serve a few smaller chunks of cheese with a bunch of grapes for an appetizer.

The mezzaluna is dull plus could be improved with an added blade. This item also has a specialized use, making it somewhat less versatile. However the board is attractive and I can see thought went into the design. When it comes down to it though, this set didn't convince me to change my ways. Had the mezzaluna knife impressed me, it could have. If you want an attractive mezzaluna set, this is a good option. But if you are interested in function, look for a mezzaluna set with a quality knife, even if it costs a bit more.

PROS:
Looks great
A greener choice
Mezzaluna storage

CONS:
Single blade mezzaluna
Dull mezzaluna blade

If your are NOT a serious cook and you do NOT chop large quantities of herbs then you might like this pretty little set. I however was not impressed. I found the tiny blade to barely fit my hand and it is so dull it mashes the herbs rather then quickly chopping them. The idea of bamboo is a good one as it is a very hard surface yet the workmanship is a little rough. The dished out area is just barely concave making it a mess to use and it has places that are a bit rough and uneven in the concave area. The space for the blade is also a bit misaligned just not fine clean finished craftsmanship. Now maybe I'm being over critical because I cook a lot and I am use to a large, high quality razor sharp mezzaluna which I use in a wood bowl. That works much better then this for me. I think for the casual cook that only needs to occasionally chop a bit of parsley this might be OK and it does make for a lovely cheese board but this is really Not for the serious cook!

I have a small nylon cutting board that I've used frequently over the years, for mincing things like garlic and ginger and small amounts of onions. Among its problems are its size (too small) and the fact that our countertops lack a bullnose, so food too often ends up on the floor...or me.

This chopping block, with its concave side, is the perfect solution. It's just enough larger that it can handle most small chopping jobs, but not so large that it takes up too much of our limited counter space. And the indentation keeps the food where it belongs, making it easy to chop with the mezzaluna. As others have noted, the mezzaluna needs sharpening, and it could probably use more than I gave it, but I was delighted with its first tasks--mincing garlic and ginger for a Moroccan-style stew. For more conventional chopping, the block has a flush side that works well with knives.

My only, very minor, gripe, is that I'm short, so the additional 2.75 inches of the block means I'm not always chopping at an ideal angle unless I stand on a stool. (I have the same problem when I'm kneading bread.) This will only be an issue for shrimps like me, however. And because the block is so heavy, you'll need to transfer your chopped food to a dish or plate before dumping it into a pot, rather than carrying a cutting board over to the stove, as I typically do. But all in all, a great kitchen tool. I highly recommend it.

I once had an excellent chopping set for the kitchen, and thought I'd finally found another. The original set consisted of a shallow wooden bowl, much like a small salad bowl, with a crescent-shaped chopper. It was the best tool I've found for coarsely chopping things like boiled vegetables or chicken giblets. I find that a food processor produces shreds and large chunks. With the original set, because it was manual, the user could direct the chopper to the larger chunks to reduce them to the desired size. The original bowl was about a foot in diameter and about three inches deep. The chopper was about an inch longer than the mezzaluna of this product, and its handle was set about two inches higher.

I thought at last I'd found that excellent set again, but not so. The shallow indentation of this block is too shallow to confine the food being chopped, which scatters. The mezzaluna is so dull it can hardly be said to chop the food so much as to press it apart. The food ends up mushy, through being crushed, rather than cleanly cut. The chopping block is very heavy, which is fine for a chopping block, but inconvenient for something that should be a light-weight wooden bowl, easily turned during the chopping.

I cannot recommend this set.

I bought this as a Christmas gift in December 2009, now 2 years later we still love it. It is easy to clean, easy to store, the blade has stayed sharp, and it is overall easy to use! Very pleased with this product and it gets a fair amount of use, especially in the spring and summer when we get fresh herbs from our garden. I would definitely recommend this product!

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box containing the bamboo chopping block. It is SUBSTANTIAL. There is ample room for work on both sides. The bowl side is not as deep as I expected, but will work. The mezzaluna chopper fits snugly in the side, but is easy to get out when you want it.

Perfect size, great looking! The bamboo seems the obvious choice for future wood products, very dense.
Like the idea of indented chopping area with knife..

I love it!!! My husband got it for me for Christmas and has never eaten so many salads. I really like the indented board. It is easier to hang onto the pieces of veggie when they have to run uphill to miss the knife blade. I already had an Alaskan ulu so now I have 2 great implements to use with the chopping block but only 1 will fit into the inset. Too bad! All in all, a very good product.