Question for LTG cooks

[5thumbs]

I know there a lot of fabulously talented cooks here. I'm not one of them. But I do occasionally try.

This may sound silly, but I have trouble slicing potatoes, vegetables, etc. consistently enough to fry or sauté with good results. I always end up with some burnt, some undercooked. Although I'm very good when working with wood or metal, I fail abysmally when attempting some simple cooking projects.

On a recent cruise through Amazon I came across the "mandoline". This looks like an answer to my prayer:

https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=mandoline&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Do any of you culinary wizards use such a device? If so, what do you recommend? If not, any suggestions?

 

[Opsimath]

I know there a lot of fabulously talented cooks here. I'm not one of them. But I do occasionally try.

This may sound silly, but I have trouble slicing potatoes, vegetables, etc. consistently enough to fry or sauté with good results. I always end up with some burnt, some undercooked. Although I'm very good when working with wood or metal, I fail abysmally when attempting some simple cooking projects.

On a recent cruise through Amazon I came across the "mandoline". This looks like an answer to my prayer:

https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=mandoline&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

Do any of you culinary wizards use such a device? If so, what do you recommend? If not, any suggestions?

Don't know much about them except that they are incredibly sharp and have sliced many a finger. I saw a professional chef using one and as he was warning viewers about how sharp they are and to use extreme caution, he sliced his finger. That scared me away from them!

For slice consistency, I have a big plate with different colored and varied width stripes. My son saw it in Target when he was quite small and I guess he wanted it because it was so colorful. I didn't want it, but got it anyway and have found it very useful for slicing a consistent width by choosing the stripe that's as wide as the thickness I need. The stripes also help keep the slices even all the way across, just line the knife up with the stripes. It's a bit battle scarred and I don't know what I'll do when it is worn to the point of breaking. It's my slicing plate!

 

[dreadnut]

I just use a big sharp knife. Really sharp! Sometimes my left fingertip callouses come in handy!

It's amazing how fast I can slice and chop veggies. By the time I'd get out all the appliances, I'm done. And my slices are relatively uniform.

 

[MacGuild]

Yes, definitely never use a mandoline without the hand guard, especially if you are a guitar player. Mandolines are actually more dangerous when cleaning them since folks often neglect the protective glove then.
Alternatively, you could get a vegetable chopper like this gadget, which is less worrisome and seems to chop nice'n uniformly. I have a smaller version of that one and it is excellent for dicing veggies for soups, stir fries, etc. And fast, too. Cleans easy with a small brush.

 

[gjmalcyon]

I have several mandolines, have used them for years, and they still scare the crap out of me. This is a good thing since they are probably the most dangerous tool in the kitchen, and require respect and a little fear.

I have two coping mechanisms.

1). I use the food holder supplied with the mandolines as often as I can. This device holds the food, not your fingers.



2). If for some reason I cannot use the food holder, I use a cut-resistant glove my thoughtful family bought me after one-too-many trips to urgent care to get some stitches in a finger thanks to some careless technique with my chef's knife.

Mandolines are really useful food prep devices - I don't think I could make good scalloped potatoes without them.

Treat them with respect and a little fear (as you would a loaded firearm or a chainsaw, as examples), and you'll be fine.

 

[Opsimath]

Yes, definitely never use a mandoline without the hand guard, especially if you are a guitar player. Mandolines are actually more dangerous when cleaning them since folks often neglect the protective glove then.
Alternatively, you could get a vegetable chopper like this gadget, which is less worrisome and seems to chop nice'n uniformly. I have a smaller version of that one and it is excellent for dicing veggies for soups, stir fries, etc. And fast, too. Cleans easy with a small brush.

That looks useful. What if you want long French fries? The hopper is only 3" deep. I guess the top part could be put on top of something deeper to catch nice long fries?

 

[Guildedagain]

Mandolines and guitar players, not a good combination.

A) Use a good knife, a chef's knife, usually German or Japanese.

B) Cut uniform sized pieces.

C) Cook food thoroughly by using a lid to hold the heat in the pan.

Take a potato, slice it into 1/4 slices. Now lay the slices down in two piles, slice the long way into strips, fries, and then cut again across, same 1/4" spacing, now they are cubes and they should be all roughly the same size meaning they will be done at the same time.

Heat a cast iron skillet, use a high heat oil, canola, safflower, fry potatoes on med-high heat with lid on but partially cracked so you don't steam everything into mush, keep turning the spuds every 5 or so minutes, giving them plenty of time to brown each time. I like to salt them while I cook.

In about 20 minutes, you'll have a delicious pan of fried spuds, bacon/ham/eggs etc on the side. Melt in your mouth spuds.

You can also cover them in cheese at the end, Cheddar or Jack cheese, mmmm cheeesy potatoes, ultimate comfort food.

Most other vegies don't really care about being cooked all the way, whatever is edible raw, and slightly crunchy vegies are a lot tastier - and better for you - than mush.

Stay away from mandolines if you like your fingertips.

 

[Brad Little]

Mandolines and guitar players, not a good combination.

A) Use a good knife, a chef's knife, usually German or Japanese.

B) Cut uniform sized pieces.

C) Cook food thoroughly by using a lid to hold the heat in the pan.

Take a potato, slice it into 1/4 slices. Now lay the slices down in two piles, slice the long way into strips, fries, and then cut again across, same 1/4" spacing, now they are cubes and they should be all roughly the same size meaning they will be done at the same time.

Heat a cast iron skillet, use a high heat oil, canola, safflower, fry potatoes on med-high heat with lid on but partially cracked so you don't steam everything into mush, keep turning the spuds every 5 or so minutes, giving them plenty of time to brown each time. I like to salt them while I cook.

In about 20 minutes, you'll have a delicious pan of fried spuds, bacon/ham/eggs etc on the side. Melt in your mouth spuds.

You can also cover them in cheese at the end, Cheddar or Jack cheese, mmmm cheeesy potatoes, ultimate comfort food.

Most other vegies don't really care about being cooked all the way, whatever is edible raw, and slightly crunchy vegies are a lot tastier - and better for you - than mush.

Stay away from mandolines if you like your fingertips.

My wife occasionally uses a mandoline, I don't. In my younger days, I spent a decade in kitchens, doing everything from prep to sous chef, so when I do get to cook (not often, it's one of my wife's main interests) I always use knives. FWIW, I prefer carbon steel, easier to put a good edge on.

 

[Guildedagain]

Carbon steel knives are much superior, but fussier and harder to find.

My Shun kitchen workhorse is layered, has a higher carbon core in a stainless damascus shell, so you don't have to wash/dry it right away, but it will take on a decent edge, much better than wife's Wusthofs. Incidentally, I get a good edge on it by honing the edge against one of the Wusthofs/

Somewhere I have three old Henkels knives that are pushing 100 years old, one is a 12" chef's knife, about the scariest thing this side of a katana, it should be a movie prop.

 

[Midnight Toker]

I just use a big sharp knife. Really sharp! Sometimes my left fingertip callouses come in handy!

It's amazing how fast I can slice and chop veggies. By the time I'd get out all the appliances, I'm done. And my slices are relatively uniform.

Yep. Most kitchen knife accidents are actually the result of a DULL knife! If you have to actually press down to break the skin of a tomato, your knife is too dull. The weight of the knife, combined with any back/forth cutting action should easily slice through it like butter. (Being around the Chesapeake, the same applies to dull oyster knives when shucking. That's how people wind up w/ impaled hands!!)

My personal preference. Any knives from Solingen, Germany. I have JA Henckel but others like Wusthof are great as well. Mine are the Twin Four Star II. Perfectly balanced! I can balance them on one finger where the end of the blade meets the handle. They are a softer metal than most other blades from around the world and require 2-3 quick passes on the honing rod before each use, but that's all it takes to make them seriously razor sharp!! Very simple and easy. Solingen is the birthplace and capital for surgical stainless steel metallurgy. Most instruments in any modern hospital operating room will be marked w/ "Made in Solingen Germany" on them. Same w/ Dentistry.

 

[gjmalcyon]

When I got tired of using the mediocre "department store knife set" knives we received as a wedding gift, I went to Fante's Kitchen Shop with a simple question: "What knives do chefs buy?"

The clerk then put together a 4-knife set of Friedr. Dick knives for me that I still use and love 30+ years later.

At the time, She Who Must Be Obeyed was not happy with the cost.

At all.

I also once ended up on the list de merde for sharpening the knives and not informing her which earned me the blame for a finger cut.

I now loudly and theatrically announce: "Attention! Attention! The knives have been sharpened!"

 

[davismanLV]

I use a mandoline when I can. It's great for tall stuff like bunches of celery so you can slice 5-8 slices with one pass. Then as I get down closer to the blade, I'm super careful. Carrots are good too. But dense things that are larger like onions I just have to slice with a sharp knife. Too hard to push them through and the amount of pressure you use to do it makes for a horrible accident if anything goes wrong. So they're good for some things. Not all.

Oh and p.s. - the mandolin that I have has a cylinder that turns going across the slide part. That increases or decreases the slice thickness and also will introduce perpendicular blades set at intervals with which you can do julienned cuts as well as slices. Two settings of those for larger or smaller julienne pieces. That does come in handy at times.

 

[MartyG]

I don't use a mandolin. Not only easy to cut yourself while using it, it's even easier to cut yourself when cleaning it! (Same for Cuisinart blades. Nothing like fishing around a sink full of sudsy water and "finding" the blade. Ask me how I know.) I picked up a nice F. Dick 8" Chef's knife at a yard sale for fifty cents (OMG!). I always look, but most of the stuff is junk. I have others by Henckel & Misen, but the FD is a favorite. One of the keys is the curvature of the blade - has to be just right for the rocking motion that I use all the time for mincing. An 8" is the universal size - not too short, not too long. (For me) My wife tends to use a shorter blade. Wanna see my Dick? (You know I had to say that...)



Sorry about the crumb at the tip. Too lazy to take another shot. As for burning food, I find myself using much lower heat settings than I used to. Let the pan (or pot) come up to temp before adding food, and be patient. Searing heats are for just that - searing. That only takes a minute or two at the most. For anything else, medium is all you need, and many times medium/low works fine. Things like onions have plenty of their own moisture to insulate them (add a little salt to accelerate the moisture release) , but too high a heat can burn that off too quickly and lead to scorched earth. Nothing wrong with adding a bit of water (or wine) if things are heating up too fast.

Marty

 

[jp]

How timely! My wife and I have used and abused a nice set of Henckel knives over the years. Just recently, however, we discussed getting a mandoline slicer for faster and consistent cuts when making pretty fruit tarts or fancier veggie dishes where presentation is more important.

I'm getting her this OXO Mandoline Slicer 2.0 for the holidays, but I imagine we'll both use it. This is actually a big step for us, since we're pretty "anti-kitchen gadget" and keep appliances to a minimum. After doing research, this seems like the best mandoline for our needs -- safe, ergonomic, minimal parts, and easy to clean and store.

I see nothing wrong with using one if you don't jive with the knife thing, especially if you have five thumbs. ;C)

 

[Brad Little]

Carbon steel knives are much superior, but fussier and harder to find.

My Shun kitchen workhorse is layered, has a higher carbon core in a stainless damascus shell, so you don't have to wash/dry it right away, but it will take on a decent edge, much better than wife's Wusthofs. Incidentally, I get a good edge on it by honing the edge against one of the Wusthofs/

Somewhere I have three old Henkels knives that are pushing 100 years old, one is a 12" chef's knife, about the scariest thing this side of a katana, it should be a movie prop.

My wife didn't like my good carbon steel knife, so it's in whatever black hole she puts such things. One of these days I'll look for another.

 

[5thumbs]

Wow, thanks for all the responses!

I do have a couple of fairly high quality knives which I keep razor sharp, so the actual carving isn't my issue. My problem is keeping the slices consistent. (I think my aging eyes are part of the problem, as well as just not doing it often enough).

I use one of those vegetable choppers for dicing, etc. Very handy.

I think I may try out a mandoline, and greatly appreciate the safety warnings. A hand guard looks to be a must-have. I've worked with potentially harmful tools for all of my life and still have all five thumbs on each hand; would like to keep it that way.

 

[tommym]

5thumbs, I know this doesn't answer your question, but I thought I'd comment in any case.

I've used a mandoline for 40+ years, and it does have its place in a professional kitchen. However, I find myself doing without it these days for safety reasons. I have adjusted my recipes and cooking methods accordingly. It is now much more rustic than refined, and truthfully, I find it much more satisfying.

Tommy

 

[dreadnut]

My son bought me a set of Mercer High Carbon Steel knives, boy are they ever sharp!

 

[GGJaguar]

Any knives from Solingen, Germany.

This. I have a friend in Solingen and he turned me on to Henckels. Then I invested in a set of good Japanese sharpening stones for them. I haven't found the need for a mandolin, though I understand their usefulness at times.

 

[MartyG]

That does it. My New Years resolution is to do a better job sharpening my knives. I let them go far too long, and am not much of an expert when I get around to it. I have a couple stones, but they have been lonely lately. YouTube here I come. (Links welcome!)

Marty