Food processor v mandolin

[happi duck]

I think my ancient Cuisinart is finally done.  I use it only from time to time for shredding cabbage and such.  Maybe hummus but I got out of the habit of making my own.

If I get another food processor it will probably be a Magimix (?)

I'm thinking to perhaps get a mandolin (with a guard) instead if hummus is the only non-shredding or slicing thing I can think of.

Anyone btdt?

[MEmama]

Well I’m terrified of my mandolin so I never ever use it. 😂
I can’t find many uses for a food processor either, but if I had to choose the food processor seems like it could have more uses. I do use the immersion blender that came with it, though.

[Ausmumof3]

I’m tired this morning.  I saw the thread title and I was thinking of the musical instrument . I thought “that’s a really odd comparison”

[happi duck]

22 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Well I’m terrified of my mandolin so I never ever use it. 😂
I can’t find many uses for a food processor either, but if I had to choose the food processor seems like it could have more uses. I do use the immersion blender that came with it, though.

I'm terrified too!  I hate when someone on a cooking show doesn't use a guard

[Selkie]

I have both a mandolin and a food processor, but this mezzaluna is my favorite tool for shredding cabbage:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B076JJJMYW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Spy Car]

I have an ancient (but still current) Stainless Steel French Matfer Mandoline (Model 215000).

I've owned it well over 30 years. I use it all the time. I don't think of it as a replacement for a food processor--but I've almost never used a food processor for slicing/shredding.

At this task (slicing/shredding) the Mandoline is far superior, if slower than a food processor. Much more control over outcome vs shredding disks.

My mandoline is the only piece of kitchen equipment that I've "forbidden" my wife and son to touch (no complains from either). They can be quite dangerous in the wrong hands.

Hate to say it but the guards are mostly useless. To spike the guard into most items would do too much damage to the food. I tossed out my guard two decades ago.

If a novice user was to purchase a French mandoline, I'd ugre one invest in (and use) a light chain-mail safety glove to help prevent injuries.

Alternatively, Instead of spending approx $200 on a professional French mandoline, one could get a cheap plastic-bodied Japanese mandoline. Maybe $20 these days? Perhaps a little more? The Japanese ones are less intimidating (with good reason). They are less wide (a slight "con), but otherwise do very nearly as good a job as the Matfer. 

The Japanese ones are safer, lighter, smaller, and way cheaper. Unless one MUST HAVE a French Mandoline--and one is not a klutz--the Japanese mandolines are the smarter play IMO. You save a few bucks and perhaps a few finger tips. LOL.

I do love my Matfer Mandoline. I would not give it up. But I owned a Japanese one prior and feel they are better for most people in my estimation.

Bill

 

 

 

 

 

[PeterPan]

You mean you don't use it to make the obligatory annual cheesecake crust?

I don't use my Cuisinart all the time, but I'm really glad for it. I got a mandolin on a whim (with a really stunning sale) and I'm way too freaked ever to use it. My dd cut herself on it late one night. It just sits unused in the cupboard. 

Maybe there's some kind of middle of the road appliance you could use instead? They make these kind of box/container graters that might do it. Maybe a salad shooter? I don't know. I eat colseslaw and the guys I'm living with won't, sigh. So I usually just shred with a knife when I'm making it. You could talk yourself into a really great knife instead. 

[Spy Car]

13 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

You mean you don't use it to make the obligatory annual cheesecake crust?

I don't use my Cuisinart all the time, but I'm really glad for it. I got a mandolin on a whim (with a really stunning sale) and I'm way too freaked ever to use it. My dd cut herself on it late one night. It just sits unused in the cupboard. 

Maybe there's some kind of middle of the road appliance you could use instead? They make these kind of box/container graters that might do it. Maybe a salad shooter? I don't know. I eat colseslaw and the guys I'm living with won't, sigh. So I usually just shred with a knife when I'm making it. You could talk yourself into a really great knife instead. 

For me "coleslaw" is the most nostalgic food item of all.

My paternal grandmother always make coleslaw (as in once or twice daily) and I always loved it (even as a child).

The first recipe I ever collected as a little kid was for my grandmother's coleslaw dressing, which was simply olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pinch of sugar. No mayo.

I still make coleslaw all the time. I use the very same old carbon steel knife my beloved grandmother used all those years. And I think of her fondly as I prepare the dish.

Despite having a great mandoline handly, I almost use a knife for coleslaw. I can cut finely with the knife and like the rusticity of hand cut coleslaw.

But if I want an Asian-styled cabbage salad (or stir fry) where perfectly even shredding is a plus, them I'll use the mandoline. It gives a fancier aspect to the cabbage. But I prefer hand cut for day to day coleslaw.

Bill

 

 

Edited April 25, 2020 by Spy Car

[Pen]

4 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I’m tired this morning.  I saw the thread title and I was thinking of the musical instrument . I thought “that’s a really odd comparison”

 

I did too!   I think the tool might have an e on end so that the instrument is the initial take on the word—but to me it made sort of logical sense... someone is trying to decide whether to spend time cooking or making music and is deciding how to spend ___ dollars! 

[Terabith]

I really thought this was going to be a "should I buy a food processor or a stringed instrument" post, and I was going to be strongly on team mandolin.  

[Carol in Cal.]

Chuck Williams got with Cuisineart and made them fix all the annoying things about their food processors and then let the new joint design only be sold through Williams Sonoma at first.  Now they are all over, and they are wonderful.  Mine has three bowls that nest, so I did not have to pick an 'average' size--it's honestly like having three food processors in one, and it saves a lot of interim clean up in heavy food prep periods.  It has a retracting electric cord so it doesn't trail and trip you.  There is only one slicing disk, and it is adjustable for slice thickness.  There is only one shredding disk--one side shreds fine, and the other shreds coarse.  Best of all, all the accessories fit in a case that closes around them so they don't get dusty and they stay in one place.  I've considered mandolins before; primarily the Pampered Chef ones which are awfully easy to use and seem pretty safe, but I do love my food processor.

[RootAnn]

I finally clicked on this post to figure out what the Hive's opinion was on buying food processor vs. stringed instrument.

Anyway, as a life-long clutz, I'm in favor of the food processor. I don't have a real one, but I have a little tiny chopper/ shredder & am glad I finally bought it. (DH finally broke my coffee bean grinder using it to do something other than grinding coffee beans.)

[cintinative]

I have a mandolin that is probably close to 20 years old and I have only used it a handful of times.  I am accident-prone with sharp things. LOL.  I'm laughing at Bill's comment because my husband bought me chain mail gloves one year.

My food processor was my parents and is probably just as old but we use it a fair amount for things like making pie crust, breadcrumbs, marinades, etc. Ironically I don't use it for slicing. I just do that by hand. And I use a box grater for grating/shredding.  

ETA: the mandolin is far superior to my hand slicing for even slices.  When I need to slice a lot of potatoes or onions, it's the best. 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2020 by cintinative