How To Use A Mandoline Slicer For Easy Salads
A mandoline slicer, also known as mandoline slicer or bread slicer, is a common kitchen utensil used specifically for slices and for chopping; it is ideal for preparing Chinese, Italian and French dishes. With appropriate attachments, it could create crinkle cuts on fruits, vegetables and breads. Maintaining the cleanliness of your mandoline slicer is important to prevent injuries from cuts and slices. You could also use it for other types of food preparation, as long as it is properly cleaned after each use.
Clean your mandoline slicer by wiping it with a clean piece of cloth, after every time you use it. You could use a paper towel to wipe off sharp edges and the waffle cut. This would keep the knives and the other accessories from getting lodged in your blades. After scraping off sharp edges, inspect your mandoline for any damage, which can be repaired easily. If there are some, replace them with new ones.
There are generally three types of mandoline slicer: thin-set (thin), flat-set (flat) and v-blade (v-shaped). The thin-set is the basic model, which comes with an all-metal blade; the flat-set on the other hand comes with a wooden bed. You can also buy a thin-set or flat-set with a removable plate; this is perfect for those who want to prepare salads, as its thin and flat blades are great for preparing thin slices. And finally, the v-blade mandoline slicer has a larger blade than the other two, which would allow you to slice thicker slices of fruits and vegetables.
Each mandoline slicer has a different width; a thin mandoline slicer would have a smaller width, while the flat and v-blade ones would have bigger widths. This is because the thin mandoline slicer would only slice through the middle of the food, while the larger width ones are more beneficial for chopping through the tough skin of fruits and vegetables. However, if you use the wrong size of mandoline slicer, your food will get cooked unevenly. If it is too wide, you will end up with pieces of food on the other side, while if it is too thin, some of the pieces will not get cooked properly. Therefore, always make sure that you use the correct size for your intended purpose.
You may have noticed that most mandoline slicers have long handles in contrast with the short ones of the flat-set and v-blade types. This is simply because a flat mandoline slicer would require you to stand in front of the dishwasher and manually cut the slices into your desired size. As mentioned earlier, you would need to manually turn the blades over before replacing them in the dishwasher. However, if you have the flat-set type, then it would not take much time to get used to using this mandoline slicer. This is because you only have to turn over one of the blades over to cut your slices.
Now that you know how to use your mandoline slicer, you can easily learn how to slice vegetables without having to mess around with messy bowls and trays filled with food. Simply insert the mandoline blade into your dishwasher, push the handle forward and slip the blade into the slot. Then, begin to rotate the blades and your mandoline slicer will do the rest of the work for you.
Although it might appear difficult to cut your food with a flat surface, remember that you are dealing with blades here and you need to be very careful. With traditional kitchen knives, you could cut into boards or similar materials without worrying about hurting yourself. However, with the flat surface of the mandoline slicer, your hand could become injured just as easily. Also, keep in mind that waffle cuts are more difficult when using knives. Using the flat surface, you can create a waffle-like pattern without any difficulty.
Now that you know the basics of how to use kitchen mandoline slicers, you can start making your own salads without having to eat them straight from the bowl. These strips of thin sliced vegetables are a great alternative to lettuce and tomato salads. They are also much easier to make than homemade veggie burgers or vegetable soup. Just remember that different vegetables have different slicing requirements and you should experiment until you find a combination that works best for you.