Tomatoes fell apart while slicing on de Buyer mandoline

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Wysiwyg and Breezycooking,

Thanks for both of your tips!

I've been using a serrated tomato knife but when I read BreezyCooking's idea about the serrated bread knife, I tried that and it did work better. I got super thin slices. It was better than the tomato knife and any other straight edge knife I own. I don't own any super great knifes to brag about.

The 45-degree angle tip for tomatoes makes me even happier with the mandoline I bought. I wouldn't try it without a guard, per se; I'm a complete newbie to the mandoline. However, I've been reading a book from the library with various kitchen tips. One of the tips is using a moistened Scotch-Brite pad to hold the vegie you're cutting. In fact, I've have a little Scotch-Brite pad with the mandoline to remind me to give it a try the next time I use it. I don't like the guard it came with at all!! It's seems too big, doesn't feel comfortable in my hand, and I don't feel like I have good control. I think the Scotch-Brite pad would give me the control I need to hold a tomato at a 45-degree angle and yet protect me from slicing off a fingertip.

I'll use both tips, the bread knife when I just have a few tomatoes and the mandoline tip when I have a bunch of tomatoes!

Thanks!!

Diane
 
dianabell,
I was curious about your question and did some checking. De Buyer sells a special V-Pro slicing mandoline for soft vegetables. It is not cheap and I am surprised they don't sell the cutting device as an accessory of the regular mandoline.
Here is the link from chefs catalog: Shop de Buyer V-Pro Mandoline at CHEFS.
 
dianabell,
I was curious about your question and did some checking. De Buyer sells a special V-Pro slicing mandoline for soft vegetables. It is not cheap and I am surprised they don't sell the cutting device as an accessory of the regular mandoline.
Here is the link from chefs catalog: Shop de Buyer V-Pro Mandoline at CHEFS.

wysiwyg,

I checked out the link you posted. I realized after I bought mine I would have been better off buying one like the one in your link.

Here's a link similar to the one I bought:

http://www.chefscatalog.com/product/22272-de-buyer-mandoline.aspx

You'll notice the one I bought gets 2 stars and the one in your link gets 5 stars. Also, if you look at related products for the straight blade mandoline and you look at replacement blades, there aren't any v-shaped blades.

I bought mine on eBay for about $95 (with shipping). It was advertised as new, and from what I see I have no reason not to believe it's not new. At this point I'm not going to spend $100 more to get a deBuyer V-slicer. It's not in the budget money or time-wise right now.

I can probably slice the tomatoes on a 45-degree angle with the straight blade. I haven't tried it yet because I don't have any tomatoes right now. If not, I'll save $100 and use a knife.

I thought this was interesting. I was watching Alton Brown on the Food Network Channel yesterday. He recommended using a mandoline for the recipe he was making (Gold Coin Carrots I think it was called). He said he didn't like any of the food guards on any mandolines. He recommends wearing cut-resistant gloves. I just so happen to have a pair. I put those near my mandoline also to try. I'll see which I like better, the cut-proof gloves or the Scotch-Brite pad.

Now I need to figure how store it so it's convenient. It's not very attractive sitting on the countertop. Taking it in and out of the box it came in isn't convenient. I need something that opens from the top, not the side. I looked around in my cupboards but didn't see anything. It's about 15 long x 5 wide". Anyone have any tips/ideas?

Diane
 
scotch brite pads do not sound like a safe alternative to using a guard or cut proof glove. Mandolins are very sharp and can easily cut your finger to the bone with very little effort.
 
scotch brite pads do not sound like a safe alternative to using a guard or cut proof glove. Mandolins are very sharp and can easily cut your finger to the bone with very little effort.

"cut your finger to the bone" That would be awful! I'll stick with the cut-proof gloves. Thanks for the warning.

Diane
 
"cut your finger to the bone" That would be awful! I'll stick with the cut-proof gloves. Thanks for the warning.

Diane
there is cut resistant gloves and there is cut proof gloves. I have the cut resistant ones. Cut proof is different , I think it has more steel in them.
 
there is cut resistant gloves and there is cut proof gloves. I have the cut resistant ones. Cut proof is different , I think it has more steel in them.

Thanks for pointing that out. I did a Google search. I have cut resistant. Majestic Dyneema. This is the pair I have: The top right corner.

Cut Resistant Gloves-Palmflex-1-800-856-4817

Now that I know it's cut-resistant, not cut-proof, I think I'll use the glove and a Scotch-Brite pad because I depend on my fingers for my occupation, and I'm self-employed.

Thanks again!

Diane
 
dianabell,
One point I completely overlook on this (and a pretty elementary, as Sherlock Holmes would say)... you can peel the tomatoes and proceed to slice them on the regular fashion in a mandoline. When I have a lot of kiwis to do, that's the way I work them.

You just need to be very carefull at handling them without a skin (the mandoline guard may need just very soft pressure to actuate).
 
Why not give the OXO Hand-Held Julienne Mandoline Slicer a try? It is about $20.00 and I like it so much because it has a rubber base which keeps it from sliding, and also fits on top of a mixing bowl if you would like. If you go to expotv, they have footage of this from the 2008 Home Show. If you go to Press Pass and Housewares, it is under there.
 
Ooh! I have a nice old Bron mandolin (nickel-plated brass w/stainless blades) with a straight blade, perpendicular to the cutting stroke, and it murders tomatoes. I also have a plastic Börner "V" slicer that slices tomatoes beautifully, uniformly and quickly.
 
Last edited:
Maybe it's just me...or maybe it's a southern thing...but why would you want to slice a beautifully ripe tomato into thin slices?

Just use a sharp knife, cut that baby into 1/2" slices, stick it between two slices of bread with mayonaise, salt and pepper and just enjoy the dog gone thing! :ROFLMAO:
 
That is truly the best...when I slice 'em 1/4" it's for sdt. 5-10 pounds of Romas=V slicer time.
 
My Zyliss has a V-blade that's adjustable by inserting different thickness panels. It makes quick work out of anything you throw at it. The only thing I dont like is the plastic frame and all the nooks and crannies underneath that you have to clean. The guard works great because it slides on a track. The thinnest you can slice is .75 mm.

Zyliss Slicer
 
Last edited:

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom