Swissmar Borner V-1001 V-Slicer Plus Mandoline 6 Piece Set
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Swissmar Borner V-1001 V-Slicer Plus Mandoline 6 Piece Set
Customer Review: To address some concerns...
Summary: 5 Stars
First off let me state: This slicer completely rocks. You can make french fries or slice up an onion in only a few seconds. You can slice super thin, or thick. It is SO easy.
As an owner of this slicer I wanted to address some concerns people had with this in other reviews:
REGARDING HOW TO HOLD THE DEVICE WHILE SLICING:
Some people felt they couldn't safely hold the device. The proper way to hold it is to put down one end on a cutting board and hold the device at an angle to the cutting board. Then use your other hand to move back and forth over the blade. I think some people were trying to suspend the device in the air or something while cutting and were having problems with it. It shows a picture of how to do it in the instructions. Just look at the pic. It doesn't specifically mention a cutting board... but I suggest you use one so you can easily add your cuttings to a recipie or pan or whatever.
REGARDING TOO MUCH WASTE AFTER CUTTING SOMETHING:
If you are cutting a potato for example, there is a handle included with small pins on it that you insert into the potato. This is the handle you hold on when you move it back and forth over the blade. The "official" and probably the safest way to do the cutting is to hold the handle perpendicular so the ends of the handle are over the sides of the cutting area. If you do this you will find that the end of your potato remains uncut. Its not a big piece... but I find that if you turn the handle so it is parellel with the device for the final few cuts you can slice the final nub. Not techincally the safest option, but it works.
WORDS OF WARNING:
1) These blades are really really really sharp. Cut through any vegetable like butter, also cut through you like butter if you leave this lay around somewhere carelessly
2) You can buy inserts for this seperately here on amazon BUT the sane ones come with it. We got this as a wedding gift and we got the inserts seperately. No i have 2 julienne inserts. One is still in plastic.
3) You can buy this same package for 10 dollars more here on amazon. Why? I don't know but get this one because why waste 10 dollars.
Customer Review: Slices well, cumbersome to use
Summary: 3 Stars
First, I have not lost any body parts, whole or part, to this product. It does have very sharp blades, but for the most part you are safe if you use the food holder and work *carefully*.BUT, I really don't like this mandoline. I avoid using it as much as possible. My husband loves it, but he's not writing this review.
The main reason I avoid it is that it is difficult to hold. I really can't tell how it was designed to be used - I've tried 2 ways - one with the top end in one hand, held at about a 45 degree angle with the other end on a flat surface, or, second, over a bowl with the four pretty much non existant nubby legs hanging over the edges, hoping for stability. Neither method has been satisactory - I can't make the slicer stable and it slides all over the place. Although I haven't suffered from a cut while using it (yet) it's only because I usually give up after about 60 seconds of sliding all over the place, cursing, and just calmly, safely, and efficiently julienne by hand.
The second reason I avoid using it is related to the first - there is no 'food catcher' so you MUST have it resting on a surface that you also want your food on. I usually prepare food on a mud floor so this just won't work. OK, not really, but I can't find a food friendly, mandoline grabbing surface.
The third reason is that the safety-food-holder doesn't always grip the food firmly, and because of the way the product is designed, you end up with a chunk of waste at the end.
And, fourth, the blades are very sharp, but you still have to use an appropriate amount of pressure to cut, say, carrots. The food holder doesn't slide in tracks. If it does, I haven't found them. You have to apply pressure to a wet, slippery food while swiping it over very sharp blades - but you have to be very, very careful or you will end up with a stir fry that only Dracula would love.
I'd rather trade a little time for all that angst - I just stick to my knife and cutting board.
Oh, one last point. It comes in a potentially neat container that holds the slicer and the blades. I'm normally a mechanically adept person. This thing drive me nuts, holding in tab 'A' while sliding gadget 'b' oriented correctly.... grrr.
Customer Review: But wait, there's more!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have celiac disease, which is essentially an allergy to wheat protein, and I can't eat anything with wheat flour in it. Most mixes, frozen foods, and a lot of canned goods have flour or "modified food starch," a gemish of wheat flour and other stuff that sets me off. As a result, I cook almost everything from scratch, serious scratch, starting with whole foods scratch, every day. If I want potatoes au gratin, I get out the potatoes and the cheese. Since I spend a lot of time cooking, I have more kitchen toys and gadgets than anyone else I know.
I *love* this little machine. Before this one, I had a really expensive steel mandolin that rusted and chipped, and the blade dulled quickly. Not this handy little dude. Although the plastic feels a little flimsy when you get it out of the box, it holds up. I use it probably once a week for a meal that's going to take a lot of chopping, and I got it about 2 years ago. It's still so sharp that it slides through potatoes easily. Despite the fact that it's plastic, it's durable. I've dropped it, kicked it, pounded on it, left it in water, and it's still sharp and it's never cracked or rusted, even a little.
I think the reason that it works so well is the V-design. The two slanted blades start the slice and then the vegetable slides down the blades, finishing the slice. As a result, a much longer surface of the blade slices the food. Therefore, there's much less friction on any one place where the blade and food are in contact.
Make sure to get the optional other inserts. It does come with several, but with those, you can make any size sliced, diced, shredded, or julienned pieces. You can make a beautiful salad bar for guests in 15 minutes. Ditto with top-your-own tacos. You can do all the slicing for a huge pot of Indian pilaf in a couple minutes. Do be careful washing this thing, though, and always use the included hand guard.
TK Kenyon
Author of Rabid: A Novel and Callous: A Novel
Customer Review: Great slicer - great price!
Summary: 4 Stars
Since I wrote my original review, I have tried doing more things with my V-slicer. I can now say with certainty that this is one great kitchen tool. I LOVE it. I have sliced almost anything that could be slice or julienned, and I have not been disappointed in anything. I even did tiny matchsticks of carrots and it worked like a charm. If you want tiny dices of bell pepper, all you have to do is use the small julienne blade and run the whole pepper through the slicer and you get these teeny tiny pieces of bell pepper. Again, I don't know how I lived without it this long. If I could go back and change the rating to 5 stars, I would.
Original review:
I have never had a slicer/mandoline before, but have always wanted one. I decided to get the Borner V-Slicer after reading all the reviews on this one and on some other brands. It indeed is as sharp as everyone says it is. In fact, it goes through things so effortlessly, I have to check to make sure it is actually slicing the item. I have been able to slice very ripe tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumbers, carrots, onions, and bell peppers. I was wary of trying the bell pepper because it is hollow and not as firm as some of the other vegetables I tried, but it sliced it perfectly.
I have not gotten the hang of doing the julienne strips yet, but I have only tried carrots and I believe they were a little too hard. I think it will do fine with potatoes or zucchini. All in all, I am very pleased with my V-slicer.
At first, I thought the safety holder will keep too much of the food from slicing and there would be a lot of waste, but this is not the case. Most things slice all the way down to a very small piece - maybe 1/4" or less.
I do think there could be a few more instructions or hints as to how to position the food on the safety holder in order to do the slicing, but, so far, I'm happy.
Customer Review: Excellent and cleans up well.
Summary: 5 Stars
There are a lot of reviews here flattering this device better than I can. I don't cook well, so any device that easily cuts things up in interesting and useful shapes and is easy to clean earns my appreciation. This focuses on cleaning and use more than results since I didn't even know these things existed until a week ago. I had no idea that I could ever slice vegetables so well. I thought only restaurants and other people had the capability.
This slicer really does work well and is surprisingly easy to rinse clean. So far, I've managed to keep my fingers out of it. The holder cavity is a little too small, so this now dictates the size of tomatoes and onions I buy.
If I ever slice something that doesn't just rinse off, I'll put this in the dishwasher again. True, the instructions advise against that because high temperatures and strong dishwashing detergents can damage the unit. I inadvertently solved this problem last year when I accepted a GE GSD3400 dishwasher as a home warranty replacement. This thing can't even clean its own front door. Things spilled on the inside of the door during loading stay there for several washings. It overflows if even a moderate amount of dishwasher detergent is used - even with the brand it came with. And it doesn't come close to drying anything. So, I'd expect this slicer to be "dishwasher safe" on any rack in any dishwasher as lousy as mine. In the interest of full disclosure, I admit that anything claiming not to be dishwasher safe either learns to be or is sent to the landfill.
It is very sharp, and I can see how it might be hard on the fingers, but as old as I am, anything that warns me so many times with "Achtung," I notice. Be careful, pay attention, and never use it while drinking or driving.