What's new

I hate mandolins.

The plastic safety thing on my mandolins works pretty well... I just sacrifice whatever small nub or use a knife at the end.

proxy.php
 
I use a towel, the cut glove is usually meaty. When doing potato/sweet potato gaufrettes the leverage on the potato gets to be too much before I get to a spot where I'm low enough to cut myself. For about anything else, I'm using a kitchen towel for interference!
 
It's a right of passage for the privilege to use this exquisite kitchen tool. Coarse black pepper coagulates blood quickly.

[video]https://youtu.be/-uravhL8FbY[/video]
 
I use them all the time at work. You have to respect them (much like your razors), but they do a job much quicker and more efficient than you could do with your hands and a chef's knife (also pretty similar to your razors). Don't every pinch your food/curl your finders. Always open handed, like you're giving a high-five. Use light, but consistent pressure to make sure you get the thinnest, most even slices possible. It also helps (especially on a plastic, Japanese mandolin, not sure about the French variety) if you have our food tucked up against the rails, so it's not running around on you. Aways, you're shaving food, practice what you've learned from shaving your face.
 
Maybe too much of a good thing. Out of curiosity, how long does that take? I'd guess/hope you are using a commercial peeler. Peeling for me is the longest part of the job with peeler or pairing knife.
About 30 minutes to peel the case depending on how weirdly shaped the sweet spuds are. Then it takes about 20-40 minutes to gaufrette them depending on which mandolin I find. Frying them is actually the long part.
 
Unfortunately I have felt your pain, twice. Now I either use the guard or a kitchen towel to save my thumb and fingers. I think a mandolin is one of the most dangerous tools in the kitchen.
 
Chalk up another victim of the mandolin slicer. I almost took off the tip of my right thumb once. They are a tool that will brood and wait until you get cocky, and then bite.

Using the side rail as a guide is a good piece of advice. Flat-palm the food you're slicing, keeping it against the side rail. Once your hand touches the rail on the downstroke, that's it - toss the little bit of remaining veg (or whatever) and keep your fingers.
 
Top Bottom