How To Use A Mandoline

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Here at the Culinary Exchange, we love funky little cooking gadgets, appliances, and food tech almost as much as we love creating new things in the kitchen. And although we’ve spent a good amount of time finding cool new kitchen gadgets, today we’re going to take it back to the basics and cover something that everyone should have in their kitchen: Mandoline.

What is a Mandoline?

A mandolineis a metal kitchen tool that uses a sharp blade and a few different adjustable slicing options to cut all manner of fruits and vegetables – but only ones that are firm. You might be thinking “why would I need a mandoline when I have a box cutter or a handheld grater?” Well, a mandoline makes different cuts than a handheld grater will, such as julienne cut, thin julienne cut, and thin flat slices for potato chips. Also, it can save your arms a little exhaustion. A mandoline is much easier to use than a grater, and it’s pretty fun too!

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The Mandoline I Use At The Culinary Exchange

How to Use a Mandoline

The mandoline is a pretty simple kitchen tool to use, but you absolutely need to take some precaution. The blade on a mandoline is very sharp and can cause serious cuts if you aren’t serious and if you don’t use the safety guard that comes with ALL mandolines.

The safety guard is a rounded top that holds your fruit or vegetable in place while you run it down the top of the blade to slice it. We can’t stress how serious it is that you always use this piece, as it makes the entire process much safer.

Now, on to the blades. Most mandolines comes with a few interchangeable blades that offer a few different slicing options. You can chop up thin julienne slices of apples (like the ones in our kohlrabi slaw recipe) or use the wavy blade to make potato chips. And they’re especially helpful for cutting paper thin potatoes for potatoes gratin or our famous Pommes Anna.

Mandolines also work great for:

• Radishes
• Cucumbers
• Red cabbage
• Oranges
• Sweet potatoes
• Beets
• Parsnips
• Zucchini
• Eggplant
• Squash

Do you have a mandoline? What do you like using your mandoline to cut? Share your tips and favorite recipes with us in the comments!

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