So I was in the mood to try to figure out a similar sweet pickle recipe to Joan's on Third's pickles (polly's picklesand needed a mandoline. I wanted an easy to use, compact mandoline. OXO Mandoline had to many pieces so I returned it. I purchased a very cheap one in January 08 (Chef Mate) for $10 at Target. The price one month later in Feb was $15, a 50% increase. The chef mate was not adjustable and had only 1 thickness setting. the food holder was not stable and the blades was not sharp (it came with 3 interchangeable blades. Returned yesterday. I went to Sur La Table yesterday and purchased the Zyliss Easy Slice 2 Folding Mandoline. Perfect. For only $35. Food holder is stable, blade is sharp and there are not too many pieces. It only slices thin to thick and can cut potatoes into french fries, no other function, which is exactly what i needed. It folds in half for compact storage and easy to clean. Be careful and always use the food holder as recommended in the included DVD. I became lazy and I sliced a piece of skin off my finger.
Side note: still have not figured joan's pickle recipe-it will be a matter of trial and error. i just bought a jar a joan's and now am trying to identify the spices. coriander, dill, allspice?, whole black pepper. i did make a great asian type pickle yesterday out of sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sugar after soaking sliced cucumbers and onions in a bath of tap water and kosher salt for a couple of hours. the onions were not as pungent.
