Mandolin Slicers - Loved or Feared?

[LPBeier]

I have a true professional mandolin and a cheap plastic imitation. I use the plastic one for scalloped potatoes and I use the good one for making gaufrette (waffle potato chips) and ripple cut veggies. And that is about it. I have julienned veggies on both a few times, but find it easier to do it by hand than clean the mandolin(s) afterward.

Uncle B., I agree with your statment about liking and respecting.

 

[smoke king]

I have a Cuisinart as well as a cheap plastic one. I use them both quite a bit, and thanks to a healthy respect for the blade, have never had any accidents to speak of.

 

[Neeney]

I used a mandolin once.

I bled all over the kitchen.

LOL! I did too! I use mine all the time. I have found that as long as I WATCH what I'm doing and don't allow myself to be distracted, I can do it without bleeding.

My kids & hubby know not to speak to me when I'm using the mandolin. It never fails...if I look up at the TV or something else, I slice off a piece of my thumb or middle finger. And it's not pretty...

 

[PieSusan]

I use to have one on my wish list but GB explained why I do not anymore. I don't really think that I have much use for one. My cuisinart can do most of what I need.

 

[Leolady]

After the bloody incident, I threw my mandolin away!

 

[licia]

I don't let anyone else use mine when they are helping me either. I'd rather they do something else and let me do that the way I know best and without cuts.

 

[Aria]

My Japanese Slicer

I use mine. It has a guard. Place on the item to be sliced and your hand or fingers do NOT get close to the blade.

I sliced potatoes today. Carotts yesterday. Onion today. YES mine is easy to wash. I would not be without it. Easy to use. Easy to clean.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I can't agree more!!!

Use some common sense & the hand guard & there's absolutely no reason to throw a mandoline away or be frightened of purchasing one.

 

[dave the baker]

Neeney - read the instructions, follow and USE THE Guard! Also, don't watch TV when you're trying to do anything with something sharp or hot. Learn to focus, and someday you, too, may be able to drive a dragster at 200 MPH! Doing that, you can only make a mistake once, after that there are no more chances. LOL

 

[Leolady]

Well, I never want another one!

My food processor is faster, easier, safer, and if my mind drifts -- no blood!

 

[BreezyCooking]

LOL Dave!!!

One last note on safe mandoline use: there's no need to work at the speed of light!! The sharp blades + light pressure is all that's required - no need to whip back & forth like it's a contest.

 

[CookNow]

I guess the problem with the guard (on my OXO V-blade mandoline) is that the teeth on it don't hold something like a potato "long" enough, once the potato gets sliced down to an inch or two deep in size. I don't feel like throwing that much of the potato away, so I keep slicing without the guard, using a protective glove to keep myself from an involuntary manicure.

 

[Katie H]

Don't know how I missed this thread, but I love my mandolin. Buck gave it to me quite a few years ago. Heavy-duty stainless steel and sharp as a razor.

I initially used the guard but, for me, it didn't work. As a result I bought a butcher's Kevlar glove and found that works perfectly for me.

Yes, a food processor slices in a similar manner as a mandolin, but the mandolin slices more uniformly and thinner. And, as someone else also pointed out, I can create waffle slices with my mandolin.

Love my mandolin.

 

[Seven S]

Love it... i use a Benriner.... inexpensive, durable, lightweight, efficient

 

[Lithan]

Had a mandolin at work... for everything except julienning squash and carriots, I'm faster with a knife. If you don't mind wasting however much grip you need to work with (those safety handles are useless) of produce and need to cook for 20+ people with lots of julienning, then they could be useful.

 

[GB]

(those safety handles are useless)

Why do you think they are useless? The handle I have works extremely well. Obviously you can not use it for things like carrots, but for other items I use it every time with no problems at all.

 

[Essiebunny]

I agree with GB, completely.
There are only two of us, but I use it very often.

 

[marigeorge]

I have an OXO but very seldom use it; guess it should be moved to a place that is more convenient so that I would use it more often.

I also have a Kyocera slicer, but it isn't adjustable. I use it to make potato chips or onion strings. That I do use fairly often for the onions.

 

[Glorie]

I had one for years and I think I've only used it less than 10 times. I think it just depends upon what you're using it for - mine only does thin slices, no julienne or anything like that. Guess it might be time for an upgrade.....??? lol

 

[Scotch]

They scare the heck out of me. I cut myself often enough holding a knife by the handle and pushing it toward the food. The idea of rapidly sliding my hand toward an exposed, razor-sharp cutting edge makes about as much sense to me as juggling knives. Blindfolded. And drunk.