Few things hit the spot quite like a big basket of french fries. While they’re delicious, they’re loaded with fat and calories, and they aren’t especially good for you. Thankfully, sweet potato fries offer that same delicious crispiness while cutting out some calories and fat.
Today, we’re going to take a closer look at some of the best french fry cutters on the market, so you can start enjoying delicious sweet potato fries straight from your kitchen.
- Material: Iron and Stainless steel
- Slice type: Cutter
The Best French Fry Cutter For Sweet Potatoes
Now that you know what to look for to select the best french fry cutter for sweet potatoes let’s take a closer look at five models that are up to the task.
1. ICO Stainless Steel French Fry Cutter
This lightweight cutter is made from stainless steel and has a smartly-designed cutting action that keeps your hands as far from the cutting surface as possible. The large suction cup on the bottom of the unit secures to practically any surface to provide sturdy slip-free operation.
This ICO fry cutter comes with interchangeable cutting blades; one cuts smaller ⅜” fries while the other cuts larger ½” steak fries. You can also cut tons of other veggies into delicious fries with this cutter beyond potatoes.
As one of the more affordable cutters on the market, there are some drawbacks to this unit. It doesn’t stand up against raw sweet potatoes or yams, and they’ll need to be par-boiled before slicing. You also won’t receive cutting attachments for slicing chips or ribbons.
Outside of those caveats, this slicer is one of the most economical and easy-to-use options on the market.
- Affordable
- Keeps hands safely away from cutting surface
- No-fuss satisfaction guarantee
- Lightweight and easy to store
- Sweet potatoes must be par-boiled prior to slicing
- Requires quite a bit of effort to slice through potatoes
2. Sopito Professional Potato Cutter
This model offers a robust build that’s significantly sturdier than most of the budget-minded potato cutters on the market. Each component is made from stainless steel, so it’s rust-proof and easy to clean.
The handle is large, and it offers plenty of leverage as you engage the cutting motion, which makes it easier to cut more potatoes with less effort. The handle is removable, which makes it easy to store the slicer with minimal cabinet space. The cutting surface and pushing block are also easy to remove, so clean up is a breeze.
The only notable drawback of this slicer is that it only includes a single cutting blade, which slices ½” steak fries. Sopito does manufacture other cutting surfaces, but they aren’t included and need to be purchased separately.
Outside of that, this slicer is one of the best options to bring restaurant-quality house-cut french fries to your home.
- Heavy-duty construction
- Long handle gives tons of leverage
- Quick and easy cleaning
- Affordable
- Only includes a ½” cutting blade
3. New Star Foodservice French Fry Cutter
The most notable difference when comparing this model to light-duty ones is the heavyweight build and finish. The base and handle are made from cast iron, and it has commercial strength suction cup feet to keep it in place.
Weighing in at a hefty fifteen pounds, you can expect this cutter to last a lifetime and stand up to anything you can dish out. Thanks to the weight, the cutting motion is notably smoother, and it takes less energy to cut through a sweet potato or any other vegetable for that matter.
Another thing worth noting about this New Star cutter is it’s available in a variety of configurations, so you can select the one that’s best for you. You can purchase the cutter by itself or as a kit that includes various cutting blades. You can also buy the different cutting blades individually.
- Heavy-duty cast iron construction
- Requires less effort to cut
- Strong enough to cut raw sweet potatoes
- Available in a variety of configurations
- Expensive
4. Mandoline Potato Cutter
This mandoline slicer cuts a variety of vegetables, and it can do everything from fries and chips to wavy and waffle cuts, ribbons, flowers, and more. Practically every characteristic is adjustable, so you can cut thin or thick, big or small, with this simple gadget.
To protect the user, a large ergonomic disk with pins for grip hold whatever vegetable your slicing, so your hands are kept safely away from the cutting surface—the disc clips into the slicer to prevent it from slipping away and exposing your fingertips.
On the side of the slicer, you’ll find easy to operate controls for shape and coarseness and a knob that allows you to run the cut flower knife for decorative cuts. The feet, as well as the safety guard, offer a non-slip finish that keeps the slicer and your hand in place.
Keep in mind that even with all the safety features, mandoline slicers can be dangerous, so you’ll want to be extra careful to ensure your fingers are always far away from the cutting surface, especially during cleaning.
- Affordable
- Serves a variety of different functions
- Cuts sticks, waffles or waves, and more
- Not as safe to use as a traditional potato cutter
5. ROVSUN Commercial French Fry Cutter
This cutter offers a design that’s a departure from most other models, which use a handle to generate the cutting motion. This model has a turning wheel that’s similar to a drill press, and it provides plenty of leverage to make quick work of sweet potatoes or any other vegetable.
The most notable feature of this cutter is that includes three different cutting blades and pushing blocks, so you’ll be able to cut everything from shoestrings to steak fries without having to purchase any additional accessories.
Virtually all the components are made from food-grade 304 stainless steel, so it’s rust-proof, easy to clean, and offers a polished look that will elevate the look of any kitchen. If there are any downsides with this cutter, it’s that it’s vertical design takes up a bit more room than some other models.
- Includes three different cutting blades
- Easy to turn wheel handle makes cutting a breeze
- Slip-proof design
- Heavy-duty construction
- Takes up more space than most other models
What to Consider When Buying a French Fry Cutter
Before we dive into the best french fry cutter options that are available today, let’s look at the key considerations you’ll need to make to select the perfect tool for your kitchen.
Types of Cutters
French fry cutters can be powered or mechanical, and each design has some benefits and drawbacks.
Powered French Fry Cutter
Powered cutters require electricity or compressed air to work. Depending on the mechanism, either an internal motor or compressed air sends the potato through the blades to cut them.
Powered cutters are ideal for commercial kitchens that run through hundreds of pounds of french fries each week. They’re also a wise choice for anyone that would rather avoid the manual work of cutting french fries.
Sweet potatoes are a tough vegetable to cut and require a bit of strength to cut through. A powered cutter eliminates all of the manual force needed, and they make short work of harder vegetables like sweet potatoes.
The drawback to a powered cutter is that it requires electricity, so you’ll need to be able to set it up close to an electrical outlet. This style of potato cutter is also more expensive, and there are more moving and motorized parts compared to a mechanical cutter, so there are more opportunities for the cutter to break.
For busy restaurants, a powered cutter is practically required as manual cutters don’t work quickly enough to keep up with a busy kitchen’s demands.
Mechanical Cutters
Mechanical french fry cutters are simple devices that are powered by you, the user, instead of electricity. This style is the easiest to use, and it’s also the most affordable and accessible.
Many home chefs and commercial kitchens prefer a mechanical cutter because they offer several inherent advantages. For one, you aren’t tethered to an electrical outlet, so you can set up the unit anywhere you need to. Since there are very few moving parts, a manual cutter is also much less prone to breakage, and they require less maintenance, too.
Mechanical cutters require some elbow grease, and they can be taxing to use over long periods. But, with a sharp blade, you’ll still be able to make quick work out of sweet potatoes, turning them into perfectly sized strips that are ready to be fried or baked.
Mechanical cutters are typically more affordable, and they’re ideal for small restaurants, cafes, and home kitchens.
Characteristics & Features to Look For
Whether you’re a busy restaurant, or a home chef looking to take your cooking to the next level, there are several critical features you’ll want to look for before purchasing a french fry cover.
Material
Even if you’re a home chef who plans on using a french fry cutter a few times per year, the materials used to construct the cutter are a vital consideration. You’ll want to ensure that all parts are made from heavy-duty cast metal and that the cutting blades are stainless steel.
Materials like plastic won’t be able to stand up to hearty vegetables like sweet potatoes, which are difficult to slice. A stainless steel blade is critical as it keeps it’s sharpness well, it’s easy to clean, and it’s very resistant to corrosion.
Ergonomics
An ergonomic design is vital when it comes to a sweet potato cutter, especially if you’re using a manual cutter.
Cutting potatoes is hard work, and anyone who has ever cut a few dozen potatoes can tell you it takes its toll on your arms after a while. An ergonomic design ensures that you’ll be able to get the job done while exerting less force. That way, you’ll be able to cut more potatoes while expending less energy.
Removable Blades
Being able to remove the blades is critical because it allows you to sharpen the cutting surface as necessary to achieve clean and uniform cuts. The best potato cutters have removable cutting surfaces so the operator can easily sharpen them to achieve the best results.
A Variety of Cutting Surfaces
French fries come in many shapes and sizes, from razor-thin shoestring fries to thick wedges. Most cutters are capable of performing all of these different cuts, provided you change out the blade set and push block.
Some people are pleased with a cutter that only cuts one french fry style, but if you’re looking for a versatile tool that can handle fries, wedges, chips, garnishes, and more, you’ll need a cutter that allows you to change out cutting surfaces.
Ease of Cleaning
Most potato cutters aren’t dishwasher safe, and even if they were, most are too large and cumbersome to fit into the dishwasher.
For this reason, it’s essential that the cutter you choose is easy to clean. All of the major components should come apart for greater cleaning access, and you should be able to quickly give the machine a thorough cleaning and reassemble it with minimal effort.
Mounting Style
How the cutter mounts to the work surface is another crucial factor to consider, whether you’re using the unit at home or in a restaurant.
A typical commercial grade french fry cutter has an integrated mounting bracket with holes for you to bolt the machine to its work surface. This arrangement works well in commercial kitchens where the cutter rarely needs to be moved. For home chefs, you can also mount it to a heavy-duty cutting board to make it easier to move around as needed.
Some commercial and most lighter-duty models mount to the work surface with heavy-duty suction cups. This arrangement is ideal because the suction cups keep the cutter secure when you’re working, but they can easily be removed when it’s time to clean and store the unit. Best of all, the suction cups won’t mar the surface, so there’s no need to worry about putting holes through a countertop to mount it.
Frequently Asked Questions
We’ve covered most of the important things you’ll need to know when selecting the best french fry cutter for your kitchen, but most shoppers typically have a few additional questions as well. Read on, and we’ll answer the burning questions you may find yourself asking about french fry cutters.
French fry cutters are much more versatile than the name entails. These tools can easily cut other vegetables, such as eggplant, squash, peppers, and much more. Depending on the cutting blade you have installed, you may be able to use your french fry cutter on other vegetables, too.
Some food processors come with a variety of different attachments that allow you to use your food processor for all sorts of kitchen tasks you probably never thought were possible. A few manufacturers have a special cutting disc that can make french fries, but most food processors aren’t compatible with this function.
Plus, food processors that can make french fries can typically only make one or two styles of french fries, whereas a dedicated french fry cutter may be able to make six or more.
Some people wonder if they truly need a fry cutter in their arsenal of kitchen utensils. If you plan on using the cutter once in a blue moon, it may not be a wise choice for you. But, if you love to make your own fries at home, you’ll love the convenience, speed, and professional quality you get from a french fry cutter.
Compared to using a knife, a french fry cutter is safer, easier to use, and produces much more consistent results.
Final Word
If you’re looking for the best french fry cutter for sweet potatoes, each of the models we’ve profiled above makes an ideal choice. Depending on your needs, budget, and the features and characteristics that are most important to you, you should have no trouble finding a perfect sweet potato cutter for your kitchen.
