ottawa foodies

I want to buy a mandoline but I have never used one. Any suggestions of what I should look for. Or what do you like or dislike about the one you own.

Interesting - check out the one from Lee Valley

cooks illustrated likes the oxo v-blade unit:

Razor-sharp V-shaped blade is ideal for both firm and delicate produce. Plus, it feels safe and comfortable.

and gives the best buy to the kyocera unit:

Half the price of our winner, the Kyocera was razor-sharp, adjusted easily, and fit in a drawer. It didn’t come with julienne or waffle blades, however.

they do not recommend the following units:

De Buyer V-Pro Mandoline
Microplane V-Slicer
Bron Couke Stainless Steel Super Pro Mandoline
SHUN Mandoline

China town.... get a benriner. cheap but very good and sharp....all restaurants use them

The one that we have was really cheap when I got it 10 years ago. It has a plastic container that fits underneath the slicer to catch your cuttings. I really like that design. It has 2 sets of secondary blades to choose different width of cuts if you're making julienne slices. These are on a barrel that rotates out of the way when not needed. It's pretty easy to clean which is a bonus in any kitchen tool.

That being said, I really like the $130 model that Lee Valley sells because it is all SS. Ours is mostly plastic aside from the blades. If I press down too hard when making the cuts, they vary a bit from one end to the other because the plastic support gives way a bit toward the blade.

I support getting one of these for anyone who hasn't gotten one yet. They're a real good idea for a lot of different tasks.

Wow, $130 at Lee Valley?
I have the Benriner - bought it years ago for $20 (?) in Chinatown. Still sharp. Blades are easily adjusted for depth and are removable. It has two blades for julienne slicing. It also has a finger tip guard. No little plastic container but I don't miss it.

Julienning carrots is a wee bit scary and I definitely use the guard for that.

I bought the cheaper model from Lee Valley. I did not find it to work that well. It seemed to stick while slicing, or maybe I was too timid using it. Do all mandolines do this?
LCBO food and drink had a recipe for carpaccio (sp?)of vegetables that was very good.

If you think about it, you're pushing (in most cases) a pretty thick chunk of vegetable with the flat against another flat surface. There is a bit of friction there. Then, you are pressing it against a blade to cut it very precisely along the length of it.

Yes, you are going to meet some resistance. Even if the blades are sharp. That's why I've found that a brisk movement is best. Don't ease it into the blade, throw it past the blade. Fast into the blade, slowly back to make sure what you're cutting is lined up properly and you still have all your fingers.

A finger guard is a must.

As an idiot who cut off 3mm of his index finger on a mandoline, I would strongly suggest a finger guard as well.

I had a ok mandoline from Benix,but they no longer have that model-it was mostly metal.
Someone threw out my blades by accident :(

I just got the Starfrit mandoline-it is nice because it is sharp,other then than it kind of sucks.

There are 4 attachments that slide in safely-I mostly use it for grating vegetables or cheese,it is good for that at least and I like that there is a container underneath it.
Sucks that it can only make 1 size of slices or sticks.
But considering I paid $14 for it, it is ok as a grater.
-would not pay $20+ that is sells for usually.

I was looking at the Lee Valley tools mandoline and it looks really good.

Was looking at CA paradis and I think they have the Benriner there-they are almost $50 thesedays i think!

Someone gave us the starfrit version as a gift a few years ago--worked ok but think we will look for a step up. My only piece of advice is to make sure there is a half decent guard on any mandoline purchased. They are razors! (and one of my most favourite tools)

Definitely avoid the professional mandoline, too tricky to set up propery, unless you will be using it everyday there is a learning curve. Boerner V slicer, very good, very sharp and yes use the hand guard, everytime. I have the scars to prove what happens when you don't :)

This is a very topical discussion for me right now, because I'm seriously considering replacing my existing Boerner one.

I'm terrible at using it properly, I suspect that's partially because:

- it's cheapie plastic one that you can't run through the dishwasher for fear of warping
- because of its plasticity you can't switch blades on without feeling like you're going to tear the thing apart. It flexes a lot.

momo, I have this one from Oxo www.oxo.com

and like it a lot. Quite sturdy, stainless steel body with plastic non-slip legs. I also see on the oxo site that they have a "Chef's Mandoline slicer" that looks to be a bit tougher and is pretty much all stainless and doesn't have pre-set sizes, so it gives you a bit more control over thickness.

I received the OXO one for Christmas. I have yet to use it. I'll keep you posted.

I received a ThinkKitchen mandolin and will be trying it out tomorrow with this recepe.

www.foodnetwork.ca

Stay away from the Pampered Chef version of a mandolin. It's a pain in the ass to use and clean and doesn't slice thin enough for my liking.

Kev, I purchased Anthony Sedlak's cookbook The Main last year (the recipe you posted is from that book) and for the price (under 25$) it is probably the best investment I have ever made. In fact, that was my standard Christmas/birthday gift to friends this year, I most have bought 10 copies in the last 6 months.

The quality of the recipes is particularly surprising for a cookbook published by the food network.

Finger eater!
I have to admit the mandoline is the one kitchen tool that still freaks me out. Particularly when julienning carrots.
There are several models for sale at HomeSense right now at decent prices.

i've wanted a mandoline for a long time, but felt it was an unnecessary kitchen purchase. for christmas i received one from homesense. it was all white plastic and came with a million attachments. i liked it as a straight mandoline, but didn't love it. it felt flimsy and it was cumbersome. it did make me want to have a better mandoline though.

today i was walking through chinatown and went into global hardware to see the benriner. i was impressed with how simple it was. it is also plastic, but thick and very sturdy. it comes with 3 blades. i bought it ($27) and used it tonight (carrots, sweet peppers, onions, sweet potato & green onions). i love it, but still don't really know how to use it. i seem to have a lot of leftover vegetable bits left. how do i maximize the vegetable while using a mandoline?

Assuming it comes with a guard, use that to get as much of the vegetable sliced as possible. With a set of chainmail gloves you can slice to the very end with abandon. You will most likely always have leftover bits. If you're into making stock, save relevant vegetables for that purpose. Pureed soups are another good dumping ground for bits and pieces.