Mandoline slicer
A fixed blade in a frame that you run food across for even slices
Adjustable blade set into a flat frame. Food goes across it in one stroke, so every slice matches, which is what lets a gratin cook through at a single rate or a batch of chips fry without half of them burning. The cheap Japanese benriner models are very sharp and are what most cooks settle on. Their guard is slow and awkward to use, and skipping it is how people end up in the emergency room, so a cut-resistant glove is the usual compromise.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- J. Kenji López-AltDoes it
Chef and food writer · The Food Lab
Names a Benriner among his kitchen essentials, the cheap Japanese mandoline that turns up on most professional prep tables. It sits on the same list as the spider strainer and the bamboo steamer, in the plain-tools half rather than among the collaborations.
Source: kenjilopezalt.com: Shop
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under productivity.
- Gear$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.
Home gym
A private training space at home, from a garage rack to a fully equipped room
On record from 7 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it, 2 recommend it - Gear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 6 do it
- Gear$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it
- Gear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Standing desk
A desk that raises, so part of the working day happens on your feet
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it, 1 recommends it - Gear$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it
- Gear$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Paper notebook
A bound notebook for thinking on paper away from a screen
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 3 do it
Gear entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.