For many home chefs without excellent knife skills, it can be hard to cut produce into perfectly uniform and even slices. Luckily, chef Jacques Pépin has a tip that involves an underrated kitchen tool called an egg slicer, which is often used to slice boiled eggs, but is capable of doing so much more than that.

An egg slicer is affordable, takes up little drawer space, and can create even, thin slices without the need for a knife and make cooking a breeze. It works perfectly with vegetables you need for a stir-fry or salad, as well as kiwis, strawberries, grapes, and other soft and/or small fruits that can be tricky to cut.

An egg slicer is also especially useful when cutting soft cheeses such as brie or fresh mozzarella for a charcuterie board. It can also cut uniform pieces of firm tofu for vegetarian dinners, mushrooms and olives for pizza, butter for putting atop pancakes or waffles, and potatoes for casseroles and more.