One with a straight edge or V-shaped? And why?
Thanks for your help!
I spent some time pondering this and reading reviews a while back. I finally wound up buying an OXO V-slicer. I had used it in a cooking class and liked it fine, and thought it was sturdy enough for my use while not costing a blue fortune. So, I don’t have a definitive answer, never really found one, but I like my V-slicer fine.
I have one with a straight edge and it works great for potatoes, onions, cucumber, carrots, basically anything hard. It is a nightmare for anything softer though. Tomatoes? Mush. I really like being able to sharpen the whole length of the blade.
My mother’s mandolin(which I bear a scar on my left thumb from) was a diagonal(not a v, more like half a v) and worked fine for tomatoes, but the hard stuff slid along the blade until it just ran right off the edge. I keep meaning to try a v-shaped to see if it’s the best of both worlds, but most likely it has its own problems. I can’t see how it would be possible to sharpen the crevice of the v, at least not at home.
Enjoy,
Steven
Thanks guys. We’re actually going to go with the one Claire mentioned. Hopefully it’ll do the trick.
Williams Sonoma has a wonderful one with a straight edge that you can also buy an attachment for which cuts things like a Japanese turning slicer does.
When it comes to kitchen stuff though, I always tend to go top of the line, since cooking is kind of a hobby for me. Maybe that one might be a little more than you need if you just want something more basic, but it’s very, very nice.
Indeed, after purchasing your regular mandolin slicer, you should next consider a benriner turning slicer. My nephew, the chef, recommended I get one and I complied. It does a great job and I use it often.
I have an inexpensive diagonal-edge mandoline. It cuts everything well enough, hard or soft. It has two julienne attachments, but is otherwise not adjustable.