Summary
Pampered Chef's Rapid-Prep Mandoline can be a useful tool for prepping vegetables. People with severe hand pain would do better using an electric food processor or purchasing pre-cut frozen or fresh vegetables.
A mandoline is a tool used in the kitchen to slice food into pieces. Depending on the attachments provided, one can cut julienne pieces, crinkle-cut or dices. I gave my electric food processor to my daughter when I moved into an apartment in 2018. As my hands have gotten more arthritic, prepping vegetables has become a literal pain.
While attending a virtual Pampered chef party, I asked about their Rapid-Prep Mandoline, “How easy is it to use?” Someone responded that her three-year-old son could easily push the plunger to cut veggies. So I bought one. It was pretty pricey for me at $70.
My Thoughts on the PC’s Rapid-Prep Mandoline
When I unpacked the product after it arrived, it frustrated me trying to read the small print directions and put the thing together. After washing the pieces, I tried again to get everything together. It wasn’t as easy as I wanted it to be. But once I figured it out, it was easy to put together.
Next came using it. The dials on the mandoline allow you to cut full slices, thick or thin julienne slices, and fries. You can also adjust the thickness of the slices. The dials are easy to turn.
First, I tried cutting julienne slices of yellow squash. It was very easy to slice this soft vegetable. Then I tried slicing onion, carrots, and celery. My hand started hurting when chopping the harder vegetables. But it goes a lot faster and easier than cutting everything by hand. Only you can decide if it will work for you.
Here’s a video that shows how it works. I should have watched it before trying to put it together with the paper instructions.
Cleaning Pampered Chef’s Mandoline
The video makes it look like it’s very easy to clean. In my experience, it’s not that easy. I found dried-on pieces of carrot after I washed mine. It is dishwasher safe. Perhaps using a dishwasher would work better, but I don’t have one.
My Safe Cutter Knife Review
When I purchased the mandoline, I also got a My Safe Cutter knife. It has a rounded tip and an ergonomic handle. I thought it might be helpful for my dad who has very poor vision. He has dropped knives onto his feet because he cannot see if they’re all the way on the counter. I thought the rounded tip would be safer for him and prevent wounds. The knife blade is serrated. It is useless on anything that is not soft. I struggled to use it on an onion. It doesn’t work very well for tomatoes either. I would not recommend buying this knife unless all you wanted it for was to cut bread or soft cheese.
Wrap-Up of My Review
If you have a lot of pain in your hands, wrists, shoulders or elbows, I don’t think the Pampered Chef’s Mandoline will work for you. Using an electric food processor or buying pre-cut veggies would be much less painful. For now, it works for me as long as I take breaks while using it.
I’m going to take a summer break from writing posts until September. I hope you all have happy, low symptom days in July and August! I’ll continue to share other people’s interesting posts on FB and Instagram. Till next time, Kathy
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