Unlike this person, use the safety holder! | Enrique Díaz/7cero via Getty Images
Mandolines are notoriously dangerous, but they don’t have to be
A hugely popular TikTok trend started by the creator Logan Moffitt has people around the world slicing cucumbers into deli containers with mandolines and turning those thin slices into quick, easy salads. (All of these videos have view counts in the millions, with the one for Din Tai Fung-style cucumbers reaching 25.8 million plays.)
In the race to hop on the trend, many people are also pulling out their mandolines. Mandolines, of course, are notoriously dangerous, and at least one person — the evidence of which was documented in a TikTok video — has already had to go to the emergency room for a cucumber salad-related mandoline injury.
It doesn’t have to be that way though: Many people love their mandolines and use them safely. With a few tips and some tools, you can use your mandoline for thin, even slicing, without also slicing your finger. Here’s how.
Use the mandoline’s safety holder
Many mandolines come with safety holders, plastic devices that pierce into a fruit or vegetable to give you a strong grip, while also shielding your hands from, ideally, ever coming into contact with the cutting blade. The chunky handles give you a sturdy feeling of control. If your mandoline didn’t come with one, however, safety holders can be purchased separately.
Grab your cut-resistant glove
A pair of cut-resistant gloves is a good thing to have in the kitchen, whether it’s for shucking oysters, fileting fish, or using the mandoline. They’re especially useful if you find the safety holder too fiddly, or just want to get right down to that very last nub of cucumber. Consider grabbing a two-pack so you have no excuses when it comes down to a risky task in the kitchen.
Opt for a safety slicer
One upside of the simple Benriner-style mandolines is that they don’t take up a lot of space and don’t really have any parts. But if safety is your priority and a little more bulk is no problem, you might consider the style of safety mandoline slicers. Instead of sliding a vegetable along a cutting blade, you put it inside a chute. These safety mandolines involve both hands: One pushes the vegetable down and towards the blade, while the other pushes a handle that moves the slicer.
Make sure the mandoline blades are sharp
A dull blade will make uneven, messy cuts, when the appeal of a mandoline is precision. And just as dull knives are dangerous because they require more pressure to cut, causing accidents, so too are mandolines with dull blades. Some mandolines, like the Benriner model, have blades that can be replaced when they start to dull.
Slice slowly
It can be tempting to speed-slice a vegetable; a mandoline with sharp blades certainly makes quick work out of a cucumber, and isn’t that impressive? Alas, this is where so many people can go wrong, becoming so full of bravado that they forget to pay attention. Breathe, take your time, and observe what you’re cutting. This is not time to multitask or to be distracted in the kitchen (like trying to perform for TikTok). This is especially true when you’re not using a cut-proof glove or a safety holder.
Don’t cut the whole cucumber (or whatever piece of produce)
Also tempting is the desire to use the mandoline to cut a fruit or vegetable in its entirety. But safe mandoline usage is about using good judgment: particularly, deciding when whatever you’re cutting has gotten too small for you to grasp it safely and firmly. Err towards the cautious end and call it sooner than you’d think, paying extra attention once your fingers start to require being more perpendicular to the blade than parallel in order to hold an item. You can always cut the rest of it with a knife. It might not be as thin as the other slices, but it’ll definitely be safer.
