Mandolines

[slbunge]

I use my mandoline quite a bit. One of my favorite recipes at this time of year is Beet 'Carpaccio' from Nov 2002 Gourmet. Recipe is available here.

[Milagai]

If you like Indian food, cabbage poriyal.

Recipe at:

http://www.syvum.com/cgi/online/serve.cgi/...s/srcpv34.tdf?0

It's really great, and will change people's ideas of cabbage

as low status food to be avoided!

Milagai

[Abra]

I recently got a mandoline, the OXO version, and haven't mastered it yet. I think I see why people get cut. If I use the guard, and believe me, I do, only about half of the vegetable gets sliced before the guard can't hold it anymore, making it tempting to use one's fingers. At that rate, it takes a lot of carrots to make a respectable pile of julienne, and then, you have a lot of ugly weird shapes of vegetables left over that are good only for the stock pot. Is that just the nature of the mandoline, or does it sound like I'm doing something wrong?

[Jason Perlow]

Step 1 augratin potatoes

step 2 french fries

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I concur. Although instead of french fries I would do Papa Fritas, which are potatoes cut like thick potato chips and fried in olive oil -- commonly served aside Spanish food in New Jersey's Ironbound.

[Chris Amirault]

I recently got a mandoline, the OXO version, and haven't mastered it yet.  I think I see why people get cut.  If I use the guard, and believe me, I do, only about half of the vegetable gets sliced before the guard can't hold it anymore, making it tempting to use one's fingers.  At that rate, it takes a lot of carrots to make a respectable pile of julienne, and then, you have a lot of ugly weird shapes of vegetables left over that are good only for the stock pot.  Is that just the nature of the mandoline, or does it sound like I'm doing something wrong?

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I'd answer you except it's hard to type with my thumb all bandaged from last night's OXOdent....

[winesonoma]

You need gloves. http://www.chefdepot.net/bonesaw.htm

[Abra]

Chris, are you ok? Bruce, do you wear a glove and dispense with the guard?

[lperry]

Paper thin slices of fennel and tart apple marinated in a vinaigrette and composed into a lovely salad garnished with the fennel fronds. Mandolines rock.

-Linda

[winesonoma]

Chris, are you ok?  Bruce, do you wear a glove and dispense with the guard?

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Depends what your doing. Waffle cut potatoes cannot be made with a guard as you have to turn them 90 degrees every cut. A useful site. http://fantes.com/bron_mandoline.htm#varied Edited September 24, 2005 by winesonoma (log)

[loiosh]

Thai green papaya salad would be good. It's really hard to get the papaya thin enough by cutting by hand.

[Shalmanese]

They work really well for pizza toppings. Because you can keep the slices the same width and adjust the width for different toppings (cut more watery stuff thinner), you end up with uniformly cooked toppings.

[Eden]

I recently got a mandoline, the OXO version, and haven't mastered it yet.  I think I see why people get cut.  If I use the guard, and believe me, I do, only about half of the vegetable gets sliced before the guard can't hold it anymore, making it tempting to use one's fingers.  At that rate, it takes a lot of carrots to make a respectable pile of julienne, and then, you have a lot of ugly weird shapes of vegetables left over that are good only for the stock pot.  Is that just the nature of the mandoline, or does it sound like I'm doing something wrong?

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to some degree that's the nature of the mandoline. I do use my fingers (very carefully!) which makes far more of my veggies usable, and I think gives me more control for prettier slicing, but there is still a bit of waste at the end.

oh and mandolines are awesome for slicing lemons paper thin for garnish, salads, tarts etc.

Gotta get me one of those gloves! If nothing else for grating carrots, I'm always afraid I'm going to "add some extra protein" to my Turkish carrot salad.

[Smithy]

If I were ever to design a mandoline, I'd design that holder thingie to have a spring-loaded sleeve that adjusted to the diameter of the object being sliced. That way, said object would be held in position without extra effort on my part, and I could concentrate on pushing down on the pusher. Such a spring-loaded sleeve wouldn't help for things like waffle slices, where you're constantly changing orientation, but it would help for most other circumstances. The OXO, if that's the one I tried, did have a bit of a sleeve to cage the material in question, and it was hinged along one side to keep it more stable. Those seemed like good ideas, but that darned V-blade kept jamming the produce. Meanwhile, the produce kept going sideways because it wasn't being cradled firmly around its middle and held in the proper orientation.

[andiesenji]

I make large batches of candied ginger and use my 30-year-old Bron mandoline which is now on its third set of blades.

I use a cut-proof glove which, in addition to keeping my fingers and thumb intact, allows me to hold on to slippery things more easily.

I also make pickles and like them sliced very thin. For small batches I use the Cuisinart, however when I am making a large batch I use the Bron.

I use it to slice piles of onions for onion confit.

slicing limes for marmalade.

I have several "bus tubs" which are very inexpensive at Smart & Final - the sides are lower than are plastic dishpans. I place the tub on a bar stool, which puts it at a level which for me is perfect, then place the mandoline in the tub and start slicing. The tub contains the slices and the bottom has just enough texture to keep the mandoline from sliding.

I use the julienne blade for jicama, carrots and etc., for pickling.. also for shredding sweet potatoes and squash for deep frying and regular potatoes for frying.

[Bill Miller]

I recently got a mandoline, the OXO version, and haven't mastered it yet.  I think I see why people get cut.  If I use the guard, and believe me, I do, only about half of the vegetable gets sliced before the guard can't hold it anymore, making it tempting to use one's fingers.  At that rate, it takes a lot of carrots to make a respectable pile of julienne, and then, you have a lot of ugly weird shapes of vegetables left over that are good only for the stock pot.  Is that just the nature of the mandoline, or does it sound like I'm doing something wrong?

←

to some degree that's the nature of the mandoline. I do use my fingers (very carefully!) which makes far more of my veggies usable, and I think gives me more control for prettier slicing, but there is still a bit of waste at the end.

oh and mandolines are awesome for slicing lemons paper thin for garnish, salads, tarts etc.

Gotta get me one of those gloves! If nothing else for grating carrots, I'm always afraid I'm going to "add some extra protein" to my Turkish carrot salad.

←

The gloves are wonderful. We make Pommes anna and have a recipe for a hash brown quiche for breakfast--wonderful!!

[deltadoc]

I'd been wanting a nice mandolin for some time. Wife bought one at W/Sonoma's. After trying to use it several times, I found it is easier to use a knife instead.

Its easy to cut yourself on a mandolin, sometimes potatoes or whatever are too large to fit inside the protective sliding plastic thing, the cutting blade nicks easily for what little use I've given it. The mandoline doesn't like to stay in one place despite it's rubber coated adjustable legs. It's hard to catch what you've sliced because of the angle of the mandolin.

I now only use it if I need extremely thin slices. Such as making hidden herb potatoes (a fresh leafy herb in the middle of two buttered thin potatos slices, onto a baking sheet and into the oven.

There a pain to wash up afterwords too. I'd have to be having a awful big dinner party to break it out to use it.

Like I said, the knife, kept sharpened, does the job faster and easier for me.

doc

[Chris Amirault]

Chris, are you ok?  Bruce, do you wear a glove and dispense with the guard?

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Yep, I'm doing fine, thanks for asking. That was a small injury, as compared to the one I got the very first time I used the OXO mandoline!

I have to say that it really is the perfect tool for certain tasks. I've got strong knife skills, but it's very appealing to have precisely the same sized slices for certain dishes, particularly if you're making a lot. And getting very thin slices of non-flat things (round red onion slices for quick lime and salt pickles, say) is a PITA without a mandoline. So I think I'm keeping ours.

So here's my question about the gloves. Do you eventually blunt the blade using them? I mean, if you're a dork like me. Why I'm choosing between ruining the blade and slicing off bits of my fingers is a question for my shrink....

[Smithy]

I now only use it if I need extremely thin slices.  Such as making hidden herb potatoes (a fresh leafy herb in the middle of two buttered thin potatos slices, onto a baking sheet and into the oven.

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That's a neat idea!

[winesonoma]

With any luck the gloves never touch the blade, strictly finger insurance. Mine are kevlar and I doubt they would affect the blades.

[Chris Amirault]

I think that we've established conclusively the quality of luck my fingers have with mandoline blades, Bruce! I think it's time for them kevlar gloves....

[Genny]

I started using a mandoline years ago, before I had any knife skills It was just a simple one from Pampered Chef but it still works great. I use it for cucumbers and zucchini slicing when I need a bunch sliced thin. My favorite use is for onions though. So sharp and quick, hardly any time for tears! French Onion soup!

You do have to be careful but it really is a fantastic time saver for some applications. And mine is pretty easy to clean, I just swish it around in the sinck of hot soapy water as soon as I'm done with it and let it drip dry. It has a special home though so that no one can hurt themselves on the unprotected blade.

[ASM NY]

I am getting a mandoline for my birthday but am unsure which brand to get. I currently own a "less expensive" model which I have been very unhappy with, so I feel like it's worth dishing out a little more cash for a higher quality brand.

Any thoughts?

[mharpo]

I've been very happy with my Bron - the massive model.

Edited January 16, 2006 by mharpo (log)

[jgm]

I've owned three "less expensive" models, and I love my Oxo. If you really want to spring for something more expensive, there may well be merits in doing so. But the Oxo has met my needs well. There aren't a bunch of blades to switch out and keep track of. It's pretty much a self-contained unit, and for everyday slicing needs, it's an excellent value for the price.

[deltadoc]

My wife bought me one of those big 'ol expensive ones from Williams Sonoma, and I hate it. It is bulky, the blade didn't hold up and has nicks in it. It didn't slice food very well, it's hard to wash, hard to set up, and my Wusthof Trident Chef's knife does everything better anyway, faster, less mess, and easy cleanup.

doc