Steel describes an intriguing new cutting implement.

Tanya Steel: Mandolins, I have to say.  Mandolins are these kind of scary slicers.  They remind me of back in the ‘80s I think there was some commercial I saw basically every five seconds called Remco or something.  And it was this slice and dice kind of thing, and I always used to watch it kind of fascinated and intrigued, and I always thought, “Well wow!  I could make coleslaw and salsa in two minutes!”  And Mandolins are these very beautiful, aesthetically pleasing kind of blades that you can very lovingly and softly cut basically any vegetable or food on.  And I think they are a little bit scary, so I don’t pull them out because I don’t want my kids to hurt themselves on it.  But Mandolins are just so beautiful, and there’s something very Zen about using them.  So when I’m having a moment of quiet in my kitchen and I just wanna cut some cucumbers, I just pull out the Mandolin (laughter) even though I can just do it very quickly with the knife.

Recorded on: 1/17/08