I finally tried using a mandoline after 8 years in the kitchen

Walked into a small Italian spot in Brooklyn last week and watched their prep cook slice fennel so thin and even I had to ask what he used. He pointed to this beat up mandoline sitting on the counter. I've always just used a knife for everything, figured it was faster. But after timing myself against him with a pile of potatoes I was sold. Picked up a basic Oxo one for $40 and it already saved me 20 minutes on prep today. Any other chefs out there think a knife is fine for everything or am I late to the mandoline game?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_james14d ago

That beat up mandoline sitting on the counter" line got me. I've been using a chef's knife for everything for 12 years and never thought twice about it. But you timed yourself against that guy and that's the real test, not just gut feeling. So honest question - after using it for a week now, has it changed how you prep anything besides potatoes? Like, do you reach for it for stuff you wouldn't have before, or is it just for big batches of root veg?

grace_white14d agoMost Upvoted

Yeah exactly, @the_james hit on something real here. I thought the same thing - "oh it's just for big batches of potatoes or whatever" but then I started using it for carrots for salads, zucchini for quick pickles, even hard cheese for shaving over pasta. The thing that surprised me most is how consistent the slices are for stuff like roasting. With a knife you get some thin, some thick, some burn, some stay raw. With the mandoline every slice cooks the same so you get way better results without trying harder. I still use a knife for small stuff like garlic or shallots because cleaning the thing is annoying for tiny amounts. But for anything where you need more than like one or two veggies, it's totally worth pulling out.