Appliance hell--or is it heaven?

Jenise, why does Celia not like Breville? I did see reviews on one of their cheaper models, not the die cast, and they weren't very good.


Thanks,
Linda

Have to admit I'm in the 'love' gadgets and appliances camp, and my 2 current favorites that I couldn't or wouldn't want to do without are, the brilliant immersion blender and the cordless rechargeable wine opener.
Always in the market for something new...that works!
Speaking of which, have never been able to find a manual onion slicer that could slice a whole onion at the same time, and I don't like mandolins which scare the hell out of me!
If anybody has run across something like that, would appreciate hearing about it.

I used to have something called a Veg-o-Matic that would slice an onion, but it was a bit cheesy. I've seen similar restaurant equipment, though, that will do what you're asking, and it's sturdy.

http://www.smithsonianlegacies.si.edu/objectdescription.cfm?ID=224

I used to have something called a Veg-o-Matic that would slice an onion, but it was a bit cheesy. I've seen similar restaurant equipment, though, that will do what you're asking, and it's sturdy.

http://www.smithsonianlegacies.si.edu/objectdescription.cfm?ID=224

I've come around to concluding that it's only a piece of restaurant equipment that will do the job as nothing I've seen for home use is 'sturdy' or will perform well.
And that brings up two problems, that the resto gear takes up more space than we can allot and that a pro slicer is very expensive. Looks like there is much hand-slicing in my future!

I can understand fear of mandolines, but if you use the safety holder, there's no problem. When I cooked at state fairs, we sliced hundreds of onions using an inexpensive plastic mandoline (which is what I use at home) in no time flat--and I still have all my fingers. I've seen them in the $8-10 range and they work just fine.

I've come around to concluding that it's only a piece of restaurant equipment that will do the job as nothing I've seen for home use is 'sturdy' or will perform well.
And that brings up two problems, that the resto gear takes up more space than we can allot and that a pro slicer is very expensive. Looks like there is much hand-slicing in my future!

There's this item at Williams Sonoma, Shel. It's pricier than an inexpensive mandolin and definitely takes up space. And I can't vouch for the quality having not seen one. But it's an option, I guess.

Personally, I like mandolins and have never had a really bad experience with mine.

LOL, already bought it as am on the Williams-Sonoma mailing list and when that item hit the computer, ran right out and got it.
The "good" news is that it does 'soft' stuff likes spuds, tomatoes, zukes terrif, but onions...forget it. Of course that was the first thing I tried with the chopper and if filmed, would have had the makings of a prize winner in 'Funniest American home videos"!
Re the mandolin, my wife and I both share apprehension with this tool, and although glad to say that we both also have all our fingers, we also concluded that we'd like to keep it that way and using the mandolin just presents too much of a risk factor. Just one slip of concentration and...wonder if Jango Reinhart used a mandolin.

[Jenise]

Linda said:

Right at the top of my favorite tools list is their utility shears. They cut things that no other scissors I've ever had could do. I can clip apart chicken wings really fast, just one click goes right through the joints.

That's something I'm in the market for. I tend to buy three or four pair of cheap Fiskers and replace them all periodically. I wouldn't mind owning a better pair, but I've never found any that I couldn't ruin. And I'm remembering somebody here--Carl Eppig?--suggesting that we buy the same scissors that EMT's use. Always had in the back of my mind that I'd source out a pair like that some day.

[Jenise]

Jenise, why does Celia not like Breville? I did see reviews on one of their cheaper models, not the die cast, and they weren't very good.

Thanks,
Linda

Linda, here's a link to the original thread:

http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12173&p=100228&hilit=Breville#p100228