Mandoline

My adult son has asked for a "real" chef-quality mandoline for Christmas. What
brand(s) would you all recommend and approximately how much money are we talking about?

[ September 03, 2001: Message edited by: SadieQ12 ]

[Kimmie]

I have Bron's original French mandoline slicer. Click here for a pix.

"Real chefs" find the Benriner Japanese mandoline quite useful too!

[Isa]

You start your shopping early.

A French mandoline will cost over 150$ US at Williams-Sonoma.

[Kimmie]

...and the Benriner will set you back about $25.

[Isa]

Yes and the only thing it doesn't do is the waffle cut.

[Risa]

I bought my Benriner for $13 USD at the very tiny local Asian grocery. What I don't understand is why the exact same mandoline is sold for as much as $60 in other retailers? The only difference I've been able to see is that they slapped on a Joyce Chen sticker on it. Still says Benriner and it's all the same parts. In any case, I like it and I have a friend who managed to make waffle cuts with it although not the nicest waffle cuts. I don't have much use for waffle cut veggies as yet so this one works great for me.

I have a Bron also. Would not trade it for anything else. If you do get a Bron..Make sure you get the part that holds the food while you slice. I had to order that seperately. Better that slicing up your hands!

[Kimmie]

There are replacement blades on the market for the Benriner. Click here.

[nancya]

Is there an inexpensive mandoline with adjustable cutting thickness? I have not been able to find one.

By the way, Bron and Matfer and other mandolines are available on ebay, sometimes the prices are no better than retail, though.

[Kimmie]

The Benriner is adjustable, nancya.

[Isa]

For the price you can't beat the Benriner mandoline Nancy. You can adjust the thickness and it comes with three blades.


And let's not forget the finger guard

[nancya]

Thanks guys, I've had my last cheap mandoline about 14 years now --- how did it last so long? It still works okay on really hard things, but won't cut tomatoes or other softer veggies well anymore. The Benriner sounds like a great replacement. Glad to hear it adjusts, you can't see that in the picture.

Thanks again.

[Brook]

I saw full fledged professional Bron mandolines, complete with guard, advertised at Zabar's in New York for $109 about 1 1/2 years ago. At the time they ranged from $159 to $250 or so in other stores and catalogues. The Beniriner is easy to use while the Bron takes a little practice. As far as I can tell, the biggest disadvantage of the Beniriner is that the blades are difficult to sharpen. However, at that price, you don't feel bad about replacing it. Do your son a favor and give him a cut resistant glove too, to lessen the probability of hurting himself.

[chef_robert]

The Bron mandoline is definitely top of the line. It sounds like some of you may have overpaid for it though! I found it here

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/shop/cat.asp?brand=12

for $124, and no shipping. They also have the replacement parts and extra cutters for it. I love my Bron. I have also heard of people liking the Matfer Mandoline, however, I chose the Bron because of its more professional look, all stainless steel, whereas the Matfer one has a plastic body.

[Wambly]

You can get the Bron with guard for 119.95 from:


http://knifemerchant.com/