A pizza rocker is a big pizza knife with a curved blade that lets you cut the pizza easily with a back-and-forth rocking motion. But that’s just one among many different pizza cutter types available. So for the best experience with your pizza meals, you need to know how to find the best pizza cutter.
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A pizza rocker is a pizza cutter with a big curved blade that allows cutting pizza with a rocking motion. Besides pizza cutting, one can also use it to cut dough and food into small bites, chop herbs, and do other kitchen tasks. Choose the best pizza cutter depending on how often and where the pizza cutter is used.
Let’s explore how a pizza rocker is different from other types of pizza cutters and how to find the best one here in this article. At the same, we will also explore the versatility of the pizza rocker.
- What is a Pizza Rocker?
Also known as a pizza blade or mezzaluna, a pizza rocker is a giant blade that can cut through the pizza with a rocking motion. It is sharp and heavy enough to cut through the crust without disturbing the toppings.
It is an excellent pizza cutting tool for professional kitchens because of its efficiency but isn’t suitable for frozen pizzas. Probably, a rocking pizza cutter is the most expensive type of cutter.
- How Do You Use a Rocking Pizza Cutter?
Indeed, you must have seen a pizza rocker but not used one.
You know that it comprises a long curved blade and a handle. There are two designs – one whose blade’s length is entirely protected with a protective handle cover and the other with handles perpendicular to the blade on each side.
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Thus, to cut the pizza, you must just grab the handles and give it a downward push. This makes the blade travel down through the toppings and the crust.
Next, rock the blade by pushing downwards on both sides. A quality pizza rocker blade will cut through the crust with one quick thrust. It is suitable for cutting through all sorts of pizzas, whether thick or crusty. Being sturdy, it can handle pressure well and won’t break.
- How to Find the Best Pizza Cutter?
Using a pizza rocker is no rocket science but choosing one definitely is.
Here’s a quick guide to help you decide on buying the best pizza cutter:
- Choice of Blades (Rocking vs. Wheeled): Believe me! Pizza shears have become an old school thing. Today, you’ll usually see people using wheels or rockers.
Wheeled cutters are easy to use, affordable, and hence more common in homes. However, pizza rockers are better cutters as they offer a clean cut instantly. While rocking blade cutters are easy to clean, they are not easy to store. Probably, that’s why home cooks have second thoughts about using them.
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- Size: Now for the big question – What size do you need to buy?
To answer this question, ask yourself these questions first.
- How frequently do you need to cut a pizza?
- Will you be only cutting pizzas using the pizza rocker?
- How much space do you have to store it?
For infrequent uses, a small pizza cutter is a better choice. However, a rocking blade is ideal if you have better storage space to store new kitchen tools. While you can stow smaller cutters easily, they are less durable.
- Versatility: As mentioned before, pizza cutters don’t only cut pizzas. It can be a flexible kitchen tool used as toast crust cutters, pastry cutters, fresh ravioli cutters, and herb choppers. So, before buying your pizza cutter, check how versatile your new kitchen tool is.
- What Are The Other Uses of Pizza Cutters/Rockers?
A pizza cutter is a blade with a handle that you can use to cut (slice) food into smaller pieces.
Since this tool is mainly used to slice through the pizza without damaging the toppings, would you consider buying it solely for that purpose? You can very well use a knife or a makeshift cutter instead.
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If you are an ardent cook, you must go for this. Let me tell you why! These cutters (or rockers) can be helpful in other kitchen chores like:
- Slicing food like pancakes or waffles into tiny bites for toddlers or babies.
- Cut dough for cookies, biscuits, and more.
- Remove crust off from sandwiches or zip through a flatbread or grilled cheese.
- Divide quesadillas into quarters or halves by cutting quickly with a pizza cutter.
- Create chips from tortillas by cutting them into quarters or strips.
- Create shapes out of fondant or trim them around the cake.
- Quickly chop lettuce and herbs for various dishes like salads.
- Dice up meats for dishes like soups and salads.
So, don’t guilt trip yourself on spending your bucks on buying this super efficient kitchen tool which can be a big money saver.
- How to Sharpen Your Pizza Rocker or Cutter?
Usually, people use two different methods to sharpen their pizza cutters. For rockers (mezzaluna blades), sharpening steel is a preferred method. It is a long steel rod that sharpens the chef’s knife. Besides, you can use a Wheatstone to sharpen the pizza cutter.
Using a Wheatstone isn’t that difficult. But, first, ensure that it’s 1000 grit on one side and 6000 grit on the other.
- Wet the stone in a water bowl until it produces bubbles.
- Then, place your blade on the top of the Wheatstone, perpendicular to it. Next, move the blade to one side, making a 45-degree angle and then a 22.5-degree angle.
- To ensure safety, keep the handle in your dominant hand. When moving the blade back and forth, apply some pressure during backward movement to avoid breaking the stone.
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- What are the Other Types of Pizza Cutters?
- Wheel Cutter: The most popular and safest choice, a wheel cutter, has a wheel enclosed in a handle or mounted on an axle. Due to maximum control and small size, it’s a popular choice among home cooks.
- Pizza Rocker: A pizza rocker is a brilliant tool for cutting pizza and chopping herbs and vegetables.
- Pizza Scissors: Similar to a typical scissor, this cutter takes on the pizza from both sides. While it cuts through almost all the pizzas, the only drawback is it can be hard to clean.
Can’t wait to buy your own pizza cutter? While a pizza rocker is a great choice, it can be bulkier, and you need a bigger space to store it. This guide tells you all about the pros and cons of rocking blades, but you can always go for wheeled cutters if you have a small kitchen space or don’t eat pizza that often.