3 tools you’ll want in your arsenal

A well-designed mandoline

A mandoline is a terrific kitchen tool. Used safely it makes perfect and even slices faster than most of us could ever do it with a knife. Recently we tested UrbanTrend’s Mistral Mini Mandoline Slicer. The thing we liked the most is that it slices on both the forward and backward motion, so you cut your fruits and vegetables in half the time. Another nice feature is that choosing the thickness of your slices is made with an easy builtin adjuster. Just slide it in and out, nothing to unscrew or move. You’re never near the blade.

There’s a built-in julienne blade so if you want to move from slices to julienne, you just adjust a small knob. We paid a lot of attention to this because safety is a key issue with mandolines since the blades are so sharp. The safety food holder is also nicely designed with a plunger that pushes the food down so you waste almost nothing. Where I sometimes think I have to hold the food by hand in order to slice right down to the end using other mandolines, with the Mistral, that’s a thing of the past. If you have room in your cabinet for a tool that doesn’t fold flat, this is a great option. $35. Available at Sur la Table stores. urbantrend.com/product/mistral-mini-mandoline/