After-Dinner Drinks You’ll Want to Linger Over

I remember the exact moment I was introduced to the Benriner mandoline slicer , a.k.a. the kitchen tool that changed the way I cook. I was 16, working on the line alongside a much wiser cook named Tamar Adler (who went on to write An Everlasting Meal ). After spooning warm brandade onto toast, she braced her 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 I didn’t even know the dish needed. A decade, five restaurants, and three test kitchens later, I can say without a doubt that, after my chef’s knife, the mandoline is the tool I reach for most. With a swipe against the sharp blade, veggies that are otherwise a pain to prep turn easily into uniform, thin slices. Raw fibrous beets are transformed into translucent disks. Cucumbers become paper-thin ribbons. A mandoline takes your cooking to a whole new aesthetic level (now you know how chefs make salad look so good).

Super Benriner Mandoline

Benriner has been making the best mandoline slicer, in my opinion, since the 1940s. This Japanese mandoline isn't just more efficient than a knife; it does things no knife can do. Benriner updated the design in 2018, and although it's a little flashier than the one Tamar kept in her kit, it's still easy to use—even if you're a beginner home cook—and sharp as hell. (You can also find the old version on Amazon at bargain prices.) The new Benriner hand-held mandoline—which comes in Classic, Super, and Jumbo sizes—has an adjustable straight blade. With a twist of a knob on the underside, you can tweak the thickness setting depending on whether you want razor-thin garlic or thicker rounds for a gratin . Also included are three julienne blades of different thicknesses so you can slice carrots into delicate matchsticks for gado-gado rolls or potatoes for french fries. When the blades gets dull, just unscrew the knobs on either side to remove and swap them out—a nice, money-saving feature compared to other vegetable slicers with non-replaceable blades.

Benriner Mandoline (Old Version)

A note on safety: Mandoline blades are no joke, so make sure you hold whatever you're slicing in your palm with your fingertips out of the way. Or use the Benriner's sturdy hand guard, which grips food on one side and protects your fingers on the other. And if you're still nervous about those blades, get yourself a pair of cut-resistant gloves .

Cut Resistant Gloves

3 ways to use a mandoline:

Rounds : Circles of cukes, beets, kohlrabi, or radishes make a crunchy salad base or chic garnish, depending on what slice thickness you select. If you want to attempt homemade potato chips , this is your cut.

Ribbons : Anything oblong—carrots, zucchini—goes from unwieldy to elegant faster than a makeover montage.

Matchsticks : The scary blades with teeth-like prongs are for shredding and making julienne cuts—but if you lose those extra blades, you can always just shave your veg into slices, stack, turn, and slice again with a knife.

Use your mandoline to make this now:

Asian Pear Salad With Peanut-Lime Dressing

This sweet-tart salad gets its satisfying crisp-crunchy texture from floral Asian pears and nutty raw cauliflower.

View Recipe

The other tool Andy can't live without?

This piece was originally published in 2017 and was updated in 2021.

Source : food