Uses for Mandoline

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  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,606 Member
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    I slice veggies with the food processor which has a thin and thick slicer, but the result is not super uniform as thickness depends on how hard you push down on the veg. If I need thin lengthwise slices of say, a courgette, I use the vegetable peeler.
  • FibroHiker
    FibroHiker Posts: 338 Member
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    missysippy930 wrote: »
    Everyone I know has cut their finger at least once using one. 😉
    I use mine primarily for scalloped/au gratin potatoes. I find my food processor safer for most veggies.

    I will definitely order some gloves! Seems to be a necessity.
  • FibroHiker
    FibroHiker Posts: 338 Member
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    rainbow198 wrote: »
    I love my mandolin! It's fast, easy to clean and it doesn't take up much space.

    With it I make chips and fries out of potatoes with it, au gratin and scalloped potatoes, coleslaw for my spring rolls, julienne zucchini for noodles and just general slicing up fruits and veggies.

    The first time I used it I partially chopped off a natural fingernail so now I use specific gloves when using it.

    Making veggie chips in the oven sounds like a great idea.
  • FibroHiker
    FibroHiker Posts: 338 Member
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    rheddmobile wrote: »
    I mainly use it for cucumbers, however I also have several recipes which use thinly sliced apples and pears. Caramelized onion and pear “pizzas” made on a pita bread with blue cheese is one. There’s another which involves rolling apple slices into little apple “flowers” and baking - involves filo and cinnamon and brown sugar iirc. Also, fancy ratatouille - slices of different veg stacked together, can’t remember the exact details, but it’s the French Laundry version from the Disney movie.

    Definitely buy slicing gloves, it’s too easy to slip using the hand guard.

    Yum!
  • FibroHiker
    FibroHiker Posts: 338 Member
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    BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »
    aidydh wrote: »
    acpgee wrote: »
    I gave away my mandoline. Anything I need to do on the mandoline the food processor cant do?

    I think it would be hard to get uniform cuts with a food processor.

    I don’t have a mandolin (it’s in that group of kitchen gadgets that don’t quite make the grade in the ‘usefulness vs space to store’ equation - keen cooks with tiny kitchens will empathise!)

    However, I’d agree that even my very high end food processor cannot always replicate the results of a mandolin. It’s hard to get uniform slices, both in terms of surface area and thickness. I’ve also been frustrated many times because I want to finely slice a courgette lengthways (or an aubergine), to use as a substitute for pasta in lasagne etc. Something you simply can’t do well without a mandolin as far as I can tell! So if you have one, and the space to keep it, I would hold onto it.

  • FibroHiker
    FibroHiker Posts: 338 Member
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    Ha! Forgot to type my comment.

    I'm hoping to use it to make veggie substitutes for pasta.

    There are some good ideas here that I will search for specific recipes!
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,606 Member
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    aidydh wrote: »
    Ha! Forgot to type my comment.

    I'm hoping to use it to make veggie substitutes for pasta.

    There are some good ideas here that I will search for specific recipes!

    I use a spiralizer for veggie pasta stretchers. It does take more room to store than a mandolin, but if you hand wash using a brush instead of a sponge there is no danger of removing fingertips. If you go for a spiralizer I would recommend the vertical feed type as opposed to horizontal feed. Less work (gravity) and less vegetable waste. The horizontal feeds leave waste about the size of a pencil throughout the length of the vegetable. Vertical feed wastes a disc about a quarter of an inch thick.
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,078 Member
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    99clmsntgr wrote: »
    It's really good for cutting off slices of finger tips and knuckles. Worst cuts I've ever had were on the friggin' mandoline.

    Be sure to use your hand guard.

    I also have a cut-resistant glove. I sometimes make the mistake of not using the hand guard when the piece I'm slicing is awkward ("just a couple more passes and I'll use the guard ..." becomes "oops, one pass too many, where's my fingertip" LOL).
  • OldHobo
    OldHobo Posts: 647 Member
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    I've had one for about twenty years. Used it maybe five times.
    1. I'm pretty handy with a knife.
    2. I'm just not that fussy.
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,078 Member
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    OldHobo wrote: »
    I've had one for about twenty years. Used it maybe five times.
    1. I'm pretty handy with a knife.
    2. I'm just not that fussy.

    Agreed. Me too. But sometimes, food is an art form, too.
  • HereToLose50
    HereToLose50 Posts: 154 Member
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    My mandoline is one of the few kitchen gadgets I find worth owning/using. You can slice almost any veggie on it. I use the guard.

    Slice a variety of root veggies and bake them with some salt and seasoning for homemade chips. Yum.

    I don't care for large food processors at all and that is the closest you'll get to for similar function. They take up SO much room and are basically a pain to deal with all the parts. I do use a mini one occasionally - almost exclusively to make sauce with rehydrated sun dried tomatoes 😄
  • purplefizzy
    purplefizzy Posts: 594 Member
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    acpgee wrote: »
    I gave away my mandoline. Anything I need to do on the mandoline the food processor cant do?

    I’m hardcore a mandolin fan.
    I can control the exact thickness of a slice to really pair texture of veg with how I want the flavor to come thru.

    Chopped fennel I dislike. But thinly shaved, paper thin? Love it.

    Kohlrabi I also can only eat off mandolin. Don’t get me started about the beauty of shaved apple.

    I LOVE my breville FP beast, but the mandolin is so much more delicate. IMO.

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