Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Mandolines


mamster

Recommended Posts

I'll say it again -- In my minor point above, I was talking about slicing cheese in wide 3" slabs from large chunks, not grating it. (Most of my intended uses are what you would expect.) I do have a microplane and a Cuispro for grating. Perhaps talking about slicing cheese is so unexpected in the context of a Benriner that it doesn't register. At any rate, I appreciate everyone's efforts to help here.

Okay, so unless someone says differently, I am going to assume you absolutely can not slice hard cheese effectively with a Benriner. The restaurant I mentioned above must have been using something sturdier.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry, I wasn't clear. Both Cuisipro and Microplane have wide graters, I believe. I guess they're slices, not graters, and that's where the confusion lies. See here:

http://www.microplane.com/38006.shtml

http://www.cuisipro.com/MAIN.HTM

There's also a vegetable peeler. Maybe I'll pick up some cheese and test my Benriner just to put your mind at ease one way or the other.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's fine, EMSG. I would be glad to hear about how hard cheese does on your Benriner. (The Cuispro is simply a sophisticated box grater and the widest grate is 5/16", the microplane in the link is a "wide shaver" for making curls of chocolate or cheese.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 inchs wide. WOW. Most Carpenters planes are not that wide. Bron mandoline is close "at friends house can't measure". Use a cabinet scraper for light ,fluffy pieces of hard cheese.

Bruce Frigard

Quality control Taster, Château D'Eau Winery

"Free time is the engine of ingenuity, creativity and innovation"

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My memory's been jogged. I use the Benriner to shave both the fennel and the parmesan cheese for fennel and parmesan cheese salad. I ususally work with a hunk of cheese about 1 1/2" to 2" wide and shave the cheese pretty thin. I also use it shave paper thin slices of pecorino romano for something else.

Robert Buxbaum

WorldTable

Recent WorldTable posts include: comments about reporting on Michelin stars in The NY Times, the NJ proposal to ban foie gras, Michael Ruhlman's comments in blogs about the NJ proposal and Bill Buford's New Yorker article on the Food Network.

My mailbox is full. You may contact me via worldtable.com.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

The title of the thread pretty much says it all. I don't want to spend a bucket of money, but I'd like to make some paper-thin slices of...what-have-you. There's a lot of cheap-looking mandolines out there - anyone find one they really like?

Nikki Hershberger

An oyster met an oyster

And they were oysters two.

Two oysters met two oysters

And they were oysters too.

Four oysters met a pint of milk

And they were oyster stew.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really like the Benriner and 17.50 is a great price. Japanese-knife.com carries this Mandoline and I think they have one of the best prices out there.

I've used this mandoline for quite a few years and it is made quite well. The price is deceiving!

"Live every moment as if your hair were on fire" Zen Proverb

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Benriner is great, but I've been waiting for the Oxo to be released. In fact, I ordered one on Amazon for a friend. When I ordered it three weeks ago, I was advised that it woudn't be available until 9/14 for shipping. I see now that WS already has inventory.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i also have a benriner. and a $300 fancy-schmancy one. i use the benriner nearly every time.

no i don't..just looked at the box---it's a "borner"--german, not japanese. whatever. i really get a lot of use out of it, whatever its provenance.

"Laughter is brightest where food is best."

www.chezcherie.com

Author of The I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook ,The I Love Trader Joe's Party Cookbook and The I Love Trader Joe's Around the World Cookbook

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I can ever get away from work long enough, I have to get over to the little Chinese shop a few blocks across the downtown for a Benriner.

At school we used the traditional heavy-duty French-made mandolines, and frankly I thought they were crap. They're big and heavy and awkward, and the blades only stayed sharp for about a year (at least, with the level of usage these ones saw). After that you either got new blades, or fobbed the beastie off on another kitchen and ordered a new one.

The Benriner, in similar usage, also lasts about a year, oddly enough. Then you dispose of it (carefully!) and get another one. Here in Canada, the price difference is significant enough that one French-made mandoline can equal 5-7 Benriners. I like the way the math works...

“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a Bron and a Benriner. I use the Benriner most but it is a bit narrow so I will pull out the Bron for larger vegies. The cheaper Benriner is sharper but the Bron when set up is more stable and of course you can do waffle cuts with the Bron.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, y'all! Under $20 is exactly what I was looking for. You've been a big help, folks.

Nikki Hershberger

An oyster met an oyster

And they were oysters two.

Two oysters met two oysters

And they were oysters too.

Four oysters met a pint of milk

And they were oyster stew.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The mid-range Benriner BN-1 costs around $35 and comes with three additional blades. It's awesome and easier to handle than the littler ones.

"I took the habit of asking Pierre to bring me whatever looks good today and he would bring out the most wonderful things," - bleudauvergne

foodblogs: Dining Downeast I - Dining Downeast II

Portland Food Map.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My friend helped design the OXO and he raves about it.

Biased obviously but generally not given to hyperbole.

�As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy, and to make plans.� - Ernest Hemingway, in �A Moveable Feast�

Brooklyn, NY, USA

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is there a page anywhere with statistics on these mandolins? I want one to make 8mm slices of squash, but it's sometimes hard to find a product page that contains this specification. Any pointers?

Thanks,

Walt

Walt Nissen -- Livermore, CA
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I own two mandolins: The French-made, stainless-steel Bron Professional requires that the cook devote sufficient time to become proficient in its use. I use the Zyliss V-type slicer much more frequently. It’s well-designed & durably constructed from ABS plastic & polycarbonate plastics, so it will stand up to tough usage. The V-slicer is ideal for making rapid processing of vegetables for mirepoix, for slicing apples for tarts, or onions for chowder. The food holder properly secures items such as cucumbers & zucchini for longitudinal cutting. Thin or thick slicing, julienne or batonnet – all in all, a tool which I would recommend for anyone’s batterie de cuisine.

Edited by Redsugar (log)

"Dinner is theater. Ah, but dessert is the fireworks!" ~ Paul Bocuse

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I own two mandolins:  The French-made, stainless-steel Bron Professional requires that the cook devote sufficient time to become proficient in its use.  I use the Börner V-slicer much more frequently.  It’s well-designed & durably constructed from ABS plastic which ensures that it will stand up to tough usage.  The V-slicer is ideal for making rapid processing of vegetables for mirepoix, for slicing apples for tarts, or onions for chowder.  Thin or thick slicing, julienne or batonnet – all in all, a tool which I would recommend for anyone’s batterie de cuisine.

I'm not 100% sure you have to study too much to master the Bron, as we have one and -- unlike our wonderful $25 Asion market number -- I have yet to take a fingertip off with it.

That aside, we picked the Bron when we lost the blades for the cheep-o madolin. It cost about $100 and, while I can't say it is four times better than the inexpensive version, it was much cheaper than other "professional" mandolins and a delight to cook with.

I'm on the pavement

Thinking about the government.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kyocera makes a plastic slicer with a ceramic blade that's razor-sharp. It's on the small side and doesn't have interchangeable blades. They make a separate julienne slicer which I haven't tried. Not as versatile as one with interchangeable blades, but there are fewer parts to get lost in the utensile drawer.

:smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kyocera makes a plastic slicer with a ceramic blade that's razor-sharp. It's on the small side and doesn't have interchangeable blades. They make a separate julienne slicer which I haven't tried. Not as versatile as one with interchangeable blades, but there are fewer parts to get lost in the utensile drawer.

:smile:

i recently used one of these kyocera slicers for the first time. it is very small, and non-adjustable, but i found it nifty, in that the blade is elevated, and sharp on both sides, so that you can make a cut on the downstroke, then another cut as you slide the food back up--kinda double-barreled, as it were.

edited for terrible typing

"Laughter is brightest where food is best."

www.chezcherie.com

Author of The I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook ,The I Love Trader Joe's Party Cookbook and The I Love Trader Joe's Around the World Cookbook

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...