Written by adam on Feb 5, 2007
Kitchen Gear: Pampered Chef Ultimate Mandoline
Until now, I always thought a mandolin was some device that was sold on late-night infomercials that you could make your own waffle fries from. But such is not the case with this mandolin from Pampered Chef. If you ever come to my house, you will find a lot of items from Pampered Chef in my cabinets, including the mandolin and this purple bowl. The reason is that Pampered Chef makes a point to find out what home chefs need and use and they make kitchen gear that is useful, sturdy, and aesthetically pleasing. Normally, I wouldn't heap praise on a company that sells its products through home shows and multi-level marketing, but these products are too good to pass up.
The Ultimate Mandolin is one of the newer additions to Pampered Chef lineup, and one I don't want to ever do without. Basically, when I want to slice food really thin, I hit the Mandoline instead of the chef's knife. Take this potato cake, for instance:
I was able to slice the potatoes micro-thin to make a beautiful potato cake. The slices were so thin, you could see through them.
The Ultimate Mandolin has a great safety feature that allows the user to make perfect slices while using the product but keep their hands cut-free when handling the blades. See. each blade attachment is set inside a special cartridge. Inside each cartridge is the blade that sits flush with the cartridge when it is at rest. This ensures that you will not cut your self when washing or handling the cartridge.
Slide the cartridge into the slot on the Mandoline and you're ready to go. When the slider moves down the Mandoline, a hook raises the blade momentarily, slicing the food. As the slider passes below the cartridge, the blade lowers, keep ing you free from cuts.
The Ultimate Mandolin comes with 4 blade attachments: The V-Shaped Slicing Blade Cartridge, The Adjustable Slicing Blade Cartridge, The Grating Blade Cartridge, and The Crinkle Cut Blade Cartridge. You might like to get the crinkle cut cartridge for making your own homemade waffle fries.
There's a little bit of elbow grease to be spent by using the Mandoline, but it sure beats buying a couple-hundred dollar deli slicer. My Cuisinart does do slicing, but not at adjustable thicknesses, nor can it do waffle cuts.
I would say this is the perfect kitchen gift for the chef who has nearly everything. It's one of those you never would think to have, but once you do, you can't live without.
Since winter of 2004, I have been exploring the world of cooking and helping out my fellow men in their quests to better themselves in the kitchen. My name is Adam Byrd, you can learn more about me and my mission on my 