Professional mandolines are about 18 inches tall and 5 inches wide, have an adjustable stand with little rubber feet to keep it stable, and it's easy to adjust the blade for thinner or thicker slicers. These are made from stainless steel and also have a stainless steel blade that can be removed and sharpened by a professional knife sharpener. Professional models are more elaborate, bigger, and more costly - about $150 to $200. Prices for simple slicers range from about $10 to $50. At about six by five inches, some of these are small enough to fit in a kitchen drawer, but others are longer and thus will need to be stored in a cabinet. Slicer brands include OXO, Kitchen Aid, Kyocera (specialists in ceramic blades), and the highly recommended Benriner. Also for safety, choose one that you can store with the blade shielded from vulnerable fingers that might reach for it in a drawer. If you select one with a stand, make sure it has non-slip feet. Still others have a handle, similar to a Microplane grater. Some have stands so that the slicer can be positioned at an angle on a cutting board others have notches in the frame so that it sits horizontally over a bowl. Others have a single blade that is adjusts for thickness. Some have multiple blades that can be switched out depending on the type of cutting you want to do. After using it, you can wash a slicer in the dishwasher, although a rinse in hot soapy and then clean water is usually all that's needed.įrom this point, slicers can get fancy.
The cut food falls below the blade, either into a bowl or onto a cutting board. One hand holds the slicer while the other rubs whatever you're slicing against the blade, which will have been set at a desired thickness. I would recommend that if you've never cooked with a slicer, begin with a simple one and at the same time, think about how you'll use it.Ī basic slicer is a plastic frame that holds a stainless steel or ceramic blade. They range in price from $10 to $200, from the very simple, to sturdy stainless steel professional models. There are dozens of different brands and models and if it's your first slicer, it can be tricky to choose. Attractive as in "we eat with our eyes…" by making slices all the same size.Īnd is it a gadget? Here's my rule: no matter what it is, if a kitchen tool is used regularly, make space for it.
Since I think the worst of cooking drudgery comes from the cutting, prepping, and mise en place, a slicer can reduce that drudgery and at the same time, produce attractive results. I can cut slices far faster on a slicer than I can by hand. Like raw fennel for a salad or celery root for rémoulade. To the question of why not just use a knife: I've got sharp knives and good knife skills, but there are some items that are very difficult to cut both thin and uniform. And the slicer is into the sink, washed and rinsed, and back into the cabinet in less time than it would take to set up the food processor. When the food is sliced it's already right there on my cutting board, ready to work with. Because so much of cooking is tactile, whatever I'm slicing, I've held in my hand so I can pace the quantity I need and see any bruises or marks I might want to trim, something the processor won't let me do. I store it in the front of a cabinet that also holds pots and pans so it's onto my cutting board in seconds. It's my go-to tool for chopping and puréeing, but not for slicing.īut my mandoline? I use it all the time. There's something about its basket and the slicing and shredding blade contraptions that discourage me from using it. One day I thought that if I made room for it on my counter, where it was easy to see and reach, I would use it more often.īut I don't. Things that really needed its processing power. Having little counter space, for years I kept my Cuisinart in a closet, pulling it out only when I was doing something like pie dough or pesto or butternut squash soup or grinding a big piece of Parmesan. What does a slicer do that a sharp knife held in a steady hand can't accomplish? And isn't this just another gadget taking up space in our small kitchens? And why can't I just use my food processor's slicing blade? Slicers come in various sizes, materials, complexity, and price but at its basic, it's a plastic or metal frame that holds an extremely sharp blade that lets you slice things quickly, uniformly, and if need be - very, very thin. I'd go as far as putting a kitchen slicer on my top 10 list of what I'd buy first if equipping a kitchen. I'm always surprised by how few kitchens have one because I consider it an essential. Not the stringed musical instruments, but mandolines, which are kitchen slicers. Hardware & Software: Mandolines and Slicers
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