Kitchen Utensils

Utensils

Mandolin

A mandolin is not an absolute necessity in the kitchen, but it can help to bring more sophistication to your food.

Most mandolins have multiple slicing pieces and even a piece to slice Julienne. Others can vary the thickness of the slices.

One advantage of using a mandolin is that you can slice with a very constant thickness. This will help cooking slices evenly - or have consistency in the texture.

Probably the mandolin is also the instrument that caused the most kitchen accidents; so always be careful when slicing the last bit of potato or whatever it is you are slicing. Use the special holder if your mandolin comes with one.

A mandolin is an ideal tool to:

Slice potatoes for a Gratin Dauphinoise.
Slice radishes evenly for a salad.
Slice carrots Julienne.

Julienne is the name of finely sliced vegetable (or meat), with pieces 1 - 3 mm thick and 3 - 4 cm long. Of course you can slice Julienne by hand, but it is much harder to get consistent in size (and doneness when cooked).