The 10 Best Mandoline Slicers
Special Honors
Matfer Stainless Steel Mandoline If you need something for high-volume use in a commercial kitchen, the Matfer Stainless Steel Mandoline is a smart choice. Though costly, it boasts an all-metal construction that can stand up to years of abuse, and it can be switched from 10 to 30 julienne blades in a matter of seconds, allowing you to change tasks quickly. Plus, it cuts vegetables practically all the way to the heel, helping to eliminate waste. matferbourgeatusa.com
Editor's Notes
August 27, 2020:
Not only are mandolines are a great way to speed up prep work in the kitchen, but they can also help you get more uniform cuts on your sliced, cubed, and julienned fruits and veggies. That being said, they are infamous for being a somewhat dangerous kitchen tool and practically every professional chef has a story about when they, or someone they work with, sliced off the tip of their finger when using one. That's why it's important to always use the included safety guard when using a mandoline for food prep, and we also recommend considering a cut-proof glove to add an additional layer of safety.
In our most recent update, we replaced the Oxo Steel with the Oxo Steel 2.0, the latter of which offers more thickness settings that are more clearly labeled, allowing for more versatility and better ease of use.
We also added the Progressive PL8-1050 in place of the Chef's Inspirations Premium. The former doesn't require you to swap out blade attachments to produce different cuts, so storing it will be a bit neater and there is no chance you might actually lose one. We also think users will appreciate its wide deck and the ability to cube foods, which is something many others can't do. Unfortunately, cutting those cubes effectively does require a bit of practice, since you need to rotate the food holder between every slice, which is a little cumbersome.
Other than those two notable replacements, we stand by all the rest of our previous recommendations. The handheld designs of the Kyocera Advanced Ceramic CSN-550, Benriner Jumbo, and KitchenAid Adjustable V-Blade can make them very convenient to use in places where you might not have the counter space to set down other units, and it also allows them to be stored in places others can't fit. The Oxo Steel 2.0 and Mueller Austria V-Pro boast near-commercial-quality builds, so the chances of them breaking during home use are slim.
May 03, 2019:
Mandolines have come a long way since their early days, when it was all too easy for fast-moving digits to fall victim to the unprotected blades of those miniature guillotines and make a bloody mess of the fresh produce, not to mention send even experienced cooks to the emergency room. These models include grippers, blade guards, and adjustable decks to get precisely measured cuts without losing so much as a fingernail in the process. The Mueller V-Pro tops our list for superior manufacturing quality, easy adjustments and a variety of interchangeable blades to slice, dice, julienne and more. Removable compartments like those on the Fullstar and Kyocera can be handy for catching the output, while other versions can be folded flat for compact storage.
Why Kitchen Gadgets Are Anything But Gimmick
Every kitchen worth its salt must have a good set of knives, an array of pots and pans, and a spatula, long handled spoons and forks, and other basic items.
Any professional plumber, electrician, or auto mechanic will tell you that it's imperative to have the right tool for the job. You can't expect to secure a water pipe using a pair of needle nose pliers any more than you can hope to strip a wire using a hacksaw or tighten a lug nut using a screwdriver. It's with good reason that each specific job has its own set of hardware that makes the work more efficient and precise.
The same is also true when it comes to preparing food. It would be folly to try to strain a large, hot pot of pasta using a slotted spoon just as it would be misguided to use a meat cleaver as a paring knife. To make foods that both look and taste great, you have to prepare them properly, and that refers both to technique and to tools used in the process.
There is a large array of kitchen tools at the disposal of the dedicated chef, and when you choose to equip your kitchen with a comprehensive arsenal, as it were, you will make meal preparation easier and more enjoyable. Every kitchen worth its salt must have a good set of knives, an array of pots and pans, and a spatula, long handled spoons and forks, and other basic items. But for the gourmet cook, much more is necessary. A good chef will have at his or her disposal items like cheese graters, meat tenderizers, measuring cups and spoons, and many other items considered indispensable in the execution of any involved recipe.
Beyond the kitchen tools widely regarded as necessities, we get to the category of the kitchen gadget. These are items such as the immersion blender, the zester, the basting brush, and so forth. A kitchen gadget is essentially any item that performs a special task especially well, but may not boast a wide range of applications beyond its narrow, purpose built focus.
While the amateur chef might see certain kitchen gadgets as superfluous, the more serious chef sees them as the perfect way to save time while fully controlling the for prep and cooking process. And if your for prep often involves thinly sliced or julienned vegetables, then a mandoline will seem anything but gimmicky, and rather will be considered an indispensable part of your kitchen collection.
Choosing A Mandoline Slicer
The word mandoline (sometimes also spelled as simply "mandolin" and not to be confused with the musical instrument) comes directly from the French language, which should come as little surprise, as much of the world's gourmet foods and kitchen culture comes from the country of France. However, despite the etymology of the tool's name, the first mandoline style slicer known to history was actually that of a cook working in The Vatican in the 16th Century. That original slicer was made of a wooden block with a metal blade in its center. All metal mandoline slicers were not seen until the 20th Century, and throughout that century the design was continually improved and modified, incorporating plastics and other materials
Mandoline food slicers can be used to make countless cuts that would otherwise require a painstaking attention to detail -- not to mention care to avoid cutting one's fingers -- and which would consume large amounts of time.Julienned vegetables offer two great benefits and one major drawback. The benefits are vegetables that look great and, thanks to their maximum exposed surface area, release maximum flavor. The drawback is the julienne cuts can take forever to prepare. With a mandoline configured to make julienne cuts, however, a simple flick of the wrist is all that's needed to thinly slice vegetables of all types and sizes.
Any good mandoline will make coin and julienne cuts; if you want to go beyond these options, look for units that have attachments allowing for crinkle cuts, shredded foods, and shoestring slices. The price you spend on a mandoline will likely reflect its quality and longevity, but the accessories that accompany your tool should have equal or greater impact on your buying decision.
A Few Ideas For Using A Mandoline Slicer
One of the best uses for your mandoline is in chopping carrots, beets, radishes, and other vegetables that will be served raw atop a salad, inside a taco, or gracing a plate beside the meal's main course. Julienned vegetables are elegant and attractive and taste great, too, so if you are going to be serving raw veggies and you have a mandoline slicer, by all means julienne them and wow your dinner guests (or family).
Mandolinss can also be used in preparing some of the most basic foods in exciting ways.
Mandolinss can also be used in preparing some of the most basic foods in exciting ways. Take the potato: you could cut it into chunks and boil or bake it, or you could create your own homemade fries using thin julienne cuts, or make savory scalloped potatoes by easily cutting your potatoes into discs using your mandoline.
A mandoline can also make slicing citrus fruits easy, so consider adding fruit flavor to pitchers of water or laying thin layers of citrus atop roasting chicken breasts or grilling fish. When you realize how quickly a mandoline can achieve tasks that would take ages using a knife, you will be more apt to spend those extra few moments for flourishes like these that take a meal from good to grand. And you might just find yourself encouraged to be more adventurous in the kitchen.