The variety of slicing tools saturating today’s market means that there are now more options than ever for cutting pizza. Let’s find out what instruments, other than the pizza wheel, are able to create that perfect slice that you just want to stuff straight into your mouth.
What to Keep in Mind When You’re NOT Using Pizza Cutters
The rules for cutting pizza are slightly different when you aren’t using an actual pizza cutter.
- Knife Blade Size
The length of the knife blade must be able to cover the pie’s diameter to create a smooth, clean cut.
- Let Settle Before Slicing.
After removing the pizza from the oven, let it settle for a few minutes before you begin slicing. This prevents you from pulling more melted cheese and toppings than usual while slicing.
- Sawing Motion
The sawing or back-and-forth motion prevents you from clumping melted cheese and toppings together while slicing.
7 Best Pizza Cutting Tools
You may not have a pizza wheel lying around the kitchen, but you’re bound to have at least one or two of the following tools to use as a substitute.
1. Meat Cleaver
Nine times out of 10, you have this multi-functional tool in your kitchen. What’s great about a meat cleaver is that it can also be used for pizza-related activities other than cutting pizza.
If you’re making homemade pizza, you can use the meat cleaver to spin the pizza inside the oven and take it out of the oven. As for slicing, the meat cleaver allows you to create the perfect slices in one go. You can also use the tool to serve the slices to the people you’re sharing the pizza with.
2. Bladeless Cutting
This is arguably the safest way to cut your pizza since it doesn’t involve using anything sharp. It involves breaking the pizza evenly while it’s still frozen. Feel free to snap it into the size of pieces that you want so that when it’s done cooking, you can simply grab a slice and enjoy it!
3. Pizza Knife
If you’ve always been the “knife” kind of person, then any of the variety of pizza knives on the market should work well for you. These knives usually come with curved blades to make cutting with the back-and-forth motion easier.
4. Hybrid Ulu
Typically used for cutting vegetables, the hybrid ulu has proven to be equally adept at slicing pizza. It has a curved blade that you can rock back and forth to slice through the crust easily. Plus, it’s unique look is likely to earn you points with some of your audience.
5. The Chef’s Knife
When slicing pizza using the Chef’s knife, it’s important to consider the size of the knife relative to the pie’s diameter. Basically, to create a great slice, you’ll need a knife that’s able to cover the entirety of the pizza’s diameter. This ensures that cutting is done in one smooth motion, and not too much cheese gets pulled off.
6. Scissors
While this works for ultra-thin crust pizzas, it usually doesn’t do much good for regular pizzas. Still, if you typically bake something similar to that New York paper-thin crust at home, then a pair of scissors should be all you need to get the job done.
7. Shears
Put away that pizza wheel. Don’t even try to open your knife drawer. Here’s another tool that’s faster and more convenient for cutting pizza than almost anything else: the kitchen shears!
Better than the classic pizza wheel?
Surely, that couldn’t be right. You know you’re a bit skeptical, but here is the reason why using kitchen shears is the simplest way to slice pizza.
The Best Tool for Cutting Pizza
More than just a pair of scissors, kitchen shears are among the most underrated, valuable, and versatile tools in the kitchen. Adding to their versatility is their ability to cut the perfect slices of pizza with ease.
Although there are other acceptable methods for slicing pizza, none are as clean or easy as using a pair of kitchen shears. Even with minimal cutting involved, a knife’s sawing motion has a way of clumping toppings and melted cheese together, creating a less-than-perfect slice.
According to The Kitchen Warriors, shears are right up there with the best pizza slicers in terms of pizza-cutting performance. Some models even outdo pizza wheels with how cleanly they cut through the crust.
Basically, if you want something that cuts cleanly and easily across the pie while keeping cheese and toppings in place, go for a pair of high-quality kitchen shears.
Final Thoughts
There’s a whole bunch of tools out there that make great substitutes for pizza slicers. Just remember, though, that when you’re not using an actual pizza wheel or pizza cutter, make sure you use a blade size that covers the pie’s entire diameter.
Also, give fresh pizza more time to settle before slicing and retain the sawing motion used in the traditional cut. Doing these ensures, for the most part, that you’ll be able to create slices that are good enough to eat.