Benriner BN-1 Japanese Handheld Mandolin Slicer with Three Interchangeable Stainless-Steel Blades-Ivory, Vegetable Fruit Cutter Peeler, Stainless Steel, Off-White

Product Information

Sharp, durable, and adjustable blade: Some mandolines have straight blades, some have angled blades, and some have V-shaped blades, but two things the best have in common is that they’re sharp and made of a stainless steel that withstands normal wear and tear—including getting jostled in a kitchen drawer.

So far, what slices beautifully: potatoes, beets, celeriac, zucchini, kohlrabi, radishes, young turnips, carrots (though with carrots, be prepared to leave behind a good inch since you can't use the finger guard) -- and fingers, are you using the finger guard??? If you want to slice a variety of foods with your mandoline slicer, it’s important to take durability into consideration. Slicers like the Mueller Austria are strong enough to thinly slice hearty items, such as sweet potatoes. Other models require more gentle handling using more delicate veggies. If you opt for a portable, lightweight option, non-skid feet may not be your priority as they can make the appliance bulky. But safety should always be considered, so make sure whichever model you choose does not wobble or flex while you are using it. This will help ensure you can slice your foods easily without a high risk for accidents. They're apparently dishwasher-safe but after a good rinse, I figure there's no need to risk the dishwasher heat warping the plastic. (And for the record, I one of those who puts everything that fits into the dishwasher, knives, cookie sheets, plastic. The blender. The food processor bowls. Well, okay, I don't put the cast iron skillet in there.) What I Don't Know is how to pronounce Benriner! My mind pronounces it ben-REE-ner but of course, that would not be the phonetic Ben-RINE-er. Thoughts?

3 ways to use a mandoline:

Andy Baraghani remembers the exact moment he was introduced to the Benriner mandoline slicer, a.k.a. the kitchen tool that changed the way he cooked. He was 16, working on the line alongside a seasoned cook named Tamar Adler, who went on to write An Everlasting Meal. “She had just spooned warm brandade onto toast,” he recalls, “and she braced a plastic mint-green mandoline against her cutting board and slid a fennel bulb against the stainless-steel blade.” The bulb gave way immediately into feathery, sheer wisps—the visual and textural topper Andy didn’t even know the dish needed. Vegetables, like cucumbers and onions, are the first thing most cooks use their mandoline slicer for. Beyond those delicious veggies, though, the mandoline slicer can beautifully cut potatoes for scalloped potatoes, beets for chips, zucchini for zoodles and even cabbage to top tacos. Experimentation is always encouraged. Practical size and shape: A good mandoline is wide enough to handle a variety of different-size vegetables but not so big that it’s difficult to store. Its design should be simple enough that it’s easy to clean. An easy-to-use hand guard: Right out of the box, every mandoline we’ve tested has been extremely sharp—and accidents can happen. Culinary forums and comments sections are full of mandoline horror stories. To avoid turning kitchen prep into a blood sport, get a mandoline that comes with an easy-to-use, ergonomic, and practical hand guard. The 'fine' blade creates light fluffy bits of vegetables, almost like a microplane does for lemon zest and Parmesan.

Using a mandoline slicer to cut your vegetables is much easier than individually chopping them with a chef’s knife, especially when feeding a crowd, and it’s just as safe. Many people avoid mandolines due to fear of injuring themselves on the blades. Make sure to use hand guards if included with your mandoline slicer to protect your hands and fingers from nasty cuts. The sharp blades can often be intimidating for users, but using safety equipment will significantly reduce any possibility of injury. The model is the 'narrow' Benriner and has a 2 1/2 inch (64mm) sliding surface. So far, this width works fine and is so small it's handy to pull out a few times a week. To my mind, the benriner is very intuitive since there are only two knobs to adjust and one place for one of three blades to be inserted. But after pulling it out of the cupboard once or twice a week for a couple of months now, I'll pass along a few tips. I'll add new ones as more experience is gained but please, feel free to add your own tips in the comments.Will the Benriner replace knives? No. Sorry, the knives aren't destined for Goodwill and they'll still need regular sharpening. Even so, there's no matching the perfectly thin and perfectly even slices that emerge from a mandoline. And the three interchangeable blades create different widths of vegetables. In 2005, it was a technique for aggressively trimming broccoli that was 'life transforming' - at least the vegetable area of my life! In 2007, it's the Benriner that allows two of my four tips for transforming mundane vegetables into something new and exciting. Benriner are the original Japanese mandolin slicer manufacturers and have been making their slicers since 1945. Each slicer is made from the highest quality stainless steel to create sharp and long interchangeable blades that cut the perfect slice. Portability is a major concern when choosing kitchen tools. Mandoline slicers are no exception to this, either.