De Buyer Pro V Mandoline with 5 blades and Stainless Steel Pusher

By admin on February 22nd, 2010

De Buyer Pro V Mandoline with 5 blades and Stainless Steel Pusher

Stainless steel vegetable slicer. Unable to cut uniformly and paper thin by hand and simply wanting to save time, I’d been wanting a mandoline for years. When the first de Buyer V-Pro came out a few years ago, it distinguished itself from the rest with its V-shaped blade. V-shaped & diagonal blades (think Benriners) cut much more easily than straight perpendicular blades, especially soft produce like tomatoes, which the V-Pro’s serrated blade does easily without bruising or crushing the fruit.

Product Features

* V-shaped baldes for perfect cutting of smooth fruit/vegetable
* Precise thickness adjustment thanks a crank
* 45° tilt : natural handling and for both right and left-handed users
* Ergonomic and large pusher
* Supplied in a suitcase for easy storage

De Buyer Pro V Mandoline Review

Behemoth & tricky but worth it
The V-Pro tilts to a unique ambidextrous 45 degree angle so your arm supposedly doesn’t fatigue as easily, though it still requires a fair amount of force despite the blade’s shape given that the mandoline is so gigantic (about 1.5 ft. long) and the whole thing was just so high on my countertop (although this can be mitigated by moistening the plate, as the manufacturer recommends). With all my weight bearing down on it, I noticed that the rubber-coated feet aren’t completely nonslip, and when tilted, it still sometimes rocked.

You can avoid this by placing the body flat over a bowl to catch the pieces; there is a notch that secures it over a bowl. In addition, the metal plate needs some manual guidance when being moved beyond the crank’s range. You’ll just have to push it up or down to get it to move into the more extreme positions before tightening the knob. The mandoline has a sturdy, mostly metal construction. Unfortunately, it won’t always look like new. I’ve used mine just several times now, and already, the plastic is tinted orange from cutting carrots into matchsticks and the matte stainless steel looks a tad more dull than before.

I readily admit that this mandoline is complicated to figure out, but once you watch the video, it’s reasonably simple to assemble & use. As other customers experienced, the DVD included with mine was also defective. However, the manufacturer promptly sent me another one, though I did notice they have the video on their website too.

I purchased the 2-mm julienne blade & long handle pusher at Kitchen Universe. I wish there were a place in the gargantuan case for the long pusher, as it houses everything else snugly.

Would I purchase this again? I think so; it’s the only one on the market of its kind (at least for now), and it is well engineered and crafted. But if you just want simple slices & shavings, it’s probably best to get a cheap, portable, plastic Benriner. Nevertheless, if you want one with all the stops, e.g., one that can julienne, crinkle cut, waffle cut, etc., the V-Pro is one of the best once you figure out how to use it. Just make sure you have enough room in your kitchen for it.