Dora wrote:
> Paul M. Cook wrote:
>
>> I used to work in a cafeteria and we sliced cheese by the ton with a
>> rotary slicer. Never clogged and we sliced it thin.

Works for mild and medium cheddar which is probably best for
sandwiches anyway. Sharp cheddar was too crumbly when I tried it.

> But thin slices stick together in the refrigerator unless they're
> separated with paper (then they stick to the paper!).

Wax paper.

Kent wrote:
> "Steve Freides" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Lou Decruss wrote:
>>> On Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:04:15 -0400, "Steve Freides" >
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I'm finding myself tired of hand-slicing cheddar cheese. The kids
>>>> here often eat my "cheese toast" in quantities best measured by the
>>>> loaf of bread rather than the slice, and that's a lot of cheese to
>>>> slice. (Recipe: cover a slice of bread with thinly sliced sharp
>>>> cheddar cheese, sprinkle a very little powered garlic and black
>>>> pepper on top, bake/broil at a fairly high temperature until golden
>>>> brown, serve. We use a toaster oven set to 400 F.)
>>>>
>>>> I have never owned or used a "mandoline" - is that what I want
>>>> here - would it work with cheese kept in the refrigerator? The
>>>> slices need to be thin, as much for my pocketbook as for any
>>>> culinary reason, but it doesn't take much cheese to make this
>>>> work, anyway. Thanks in advance.
>>>
>>> I'd just shred it. I have a box slicer that's like 25 bucks at an
>>> asian store and a real mandoline but for what you're doing grating
>>> would be the fasted. If you have a food processor you can grate a
>>> pound in 10 seconds.
>>>
>>> Lou
>>
>> Thank you and thanks to everyone else for their replies.
>>
>> An interesting question (well, to me, anyway) would be if I end up
>> using more cheese if it's grated. My guess is that the answer to
>> that is yes, but it will be easy enough for me to adjust the amount
>> of grated cheese I put on these things.
>>
>> I've got my little Sunbeam Oskar, which ought to be well suited to
>> this job - we don't keep the big food processor readily available
>> because we don't use it much, but the little one gets used often and
>> cleanup is pretty easy.
>>
>> -S-
>>
>>
> We really like the toaster oven grilled cheese. There's none of the
> fat content that you have with a grilled cheese on the stovetop. It
> just doesn't work to grate cheese, top the bread, and make it work in
> the toaster oven without a fair amount of cheese spill.
>
> Kent

Well, that's my worry, too - slices are easier to position. I like
being able to make a million of them in a row without getting the
toaster oven tray covered in melted cheese. It's possible to stay neat
with grated cheese, just harder.

-S-

On Aug 16, 12:39*pm, Doug Freyburger > wrote:
> Dora wrote:
> > Paul M. Cook wrote:
>
> >> I used to work in a cafeteria and we sliced cheese by the ton with a
> >> rotary slicer. *Never clogged and we sliced it thin.
>
> Works for mild and medium cheddar which is probably best for
> sandwiches anyway. *Sharp cheddar was too crumbly when I tried it.
>
> > But thin slices stick together in the refrigerator unless they're
> > separated with paper (then they stick to the paper!).
>
> Wax paper.

And stagger the slices so there's an edge for getting started. Some
bulk cheese slicers do that automatically.

Jerry
--
Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get.

Jerry Avins wrote:
> Doug Freyburger > wrote:
>> Dora wrote:
>
>> > But thin slices stick together in the refrigerator unless they're
>> > separated with paper (then they stick to the paper!).
>
>> Wax paper.
>
> And stagger the slices so there's an edge for getting started. Some
> bulk cheese slicers do that automatically.

In a pretty spiral stagger. It's fun and it looks nice.

Andy wrote:
> sf > wrote:
>
>> He said he does it by hand already and wants an alternative. As far
>> as I know, if he doesn't want to use a mandolin then (short of a deli
>> slicer) what's left is the food processor.
>
>
> sf,
>
> By hand was a little vague. I thought it could mean hand-slicing a
> block of cheese on a cheeseboard and some measure of arthritis in the
> wrist/fingers became a PITA. I know without a full explanation that
> was quite a stretch, huh!?
>
> Best,
>
> Andy

Well, I've been slicing the cheese with a sharp knife - the slices, when
I make them as thin as I want, are hard to control in terms of size,
e.g., I often don't get always through the block of cheese which gives
me a too-small piece or I end up with thicker than I want. No arthritis
here, but it just gets tedious when you're making 8, 10, 12 of these at
a time.

The wire cheese slicer will be the next things we try. We have a cheese
planer but that also has its issues - it slips sometimes, which makes me
nervous because I play and teach music for a living and a hand injury
would be a very serious thing. We'll try the wire kind and see how that
goes.

-S-

Steve Freides wrote:
> Andy wrote:
>> sf > wrote:
>>
>>> He said he does it by hand already and wants an alternative. As
>>> far
>>> as I know, if he doesn't want to use a mandolin then (short of a
>>> deli slicer) what's left is the food processor.
>>
>>
>> sf,
>>
>> By hand was a little vague. I thought it could mean hand-slicing a
>> block of cheese on a cheeseboard and some measure of arthritis in
>> the
>> wrist/fingers became a PITA. I know without a full explanation that
>> was quite a stretch, huh!?
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Andy
>
> Well, I've been slicing the cheese with a sharp knife - the slices,
> when I make them as thin as I want, are hard to control in terms of
> size, e.g., I often don't get always through the block of cheese
> which gives me a too-small piece or I end up with thicker than I
> want. No arthritis here, but it just gets tedious when you're
> making
> 8, 10, 12 of these at a time.
>
> The wire cheese slicer will be the next things we try. We have a
> cheese planer but that also has its issues - it slips sometimes,
> which makes me nervous because I play and teach music for a living
> and a hand injury would be a very serious thing. We'll try the wire
> kind and see how that goes.
>
> -S-

Why not try the grater, on the coarse holes?

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:34:59 -0400, "Steve Freides" >
wrote:

> The wire cheese slicer will be the next things we try.

You'll like that. I had one when my kids were little and cut a lot of
cheese with it.

--
I take life with a grain of salt, a slice of lemon and a shot of tequila

On Aug 17, 2:34*pm, "Steve Freides" > wrote:
> Andy wrote:
> > sf > wrote:
>
> >> He said he does it by hand already and wants an alternative. *As far
> >> as I know, if he doesn't want to use a mandolin then (short of a deli
> >> slicer) what's left is the food processor.
>
> > sf,
>
> > By hand was a little vague. I thought it could mean hand-slicing a
> > block of cheese on a cheeseboard and some measure of arthritis in the
> > wrist/fingers became a PITA. I know without a full explanation that
> > was quite a stretch, huh!?
>
> > Best,
>
> > Andy
>
> Well, I've been slicing the cheese with a sharp knife - the slices, when
> I make them as thin as I want, are hard to control in terms of size,
> e.g., I often don't get always through the block of cheese which gives
> me a too-small piece or I end up with thicker than I want. *No arthritis
> here, but it just gets tedious when you're making 8, 10, 12 of these at
> a time.
>
> The wire cheese slicer will be the next things we try. *We have a cheese
> planer but that also has its issues - it slips sometimes, which makes me
> nervous because I play and teach music for a living and a hand injury
> would be a very serious thing. *We'll try the wire kind and see how that
> goes.

Try something like http://tinyurl.com/3lqamkn. The one I gave away
went to a home at the Jersey Shore where I am a frequent guest.

Jerry
--
Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get.

Jerry Avins wrote:
> On Aug 17, 2:34 pm, "Steve Freides" > wrote:
>> Andy wrote:
>>> sf > wrote:
>>
>>>> He said he does it by hand already and wants an alternative. As far
>>>> as I know, if he doesn't want to use a mandolin then (short of a
>>>> deli slicer) what's left is the food processor.
>>
>>> sf,
>>
>>> By hand was a little vague. I thought it could mean hand-slicing a
>>> block of cheese on a cheeseboard and some measure of arthritis in
>>> the wrist/fingers became a PITA. I know without a full explanation
>>> that was quite a stretch, huh!?
>>
>>> Best,
>>
>>> Andy
>>
>> Well, I've been slicing the cheese with a sharp knife - the slices,
>> when I make them as thin as I want, are hard to control in terms of
>> size, e.g., I often don't get always through the block of cheese
>> which gives me a too-small piece or I end up with thicker than I
>> want. No arthritis here, but it just gets tedious when you're making
>> 8, 10, 12 of these at a time.
>>
>> The wire cheese slicer will be the next things we try. We have a
>> cheese planer but that also has its issues - it slips sometimes,
>> which makes me nervous because I play and teach music for a living
>> and a hand injury would be a very serious thing. We'll try the wire
>> kind and see how that goes.
>
> Try something like http://tinyurl.com/3lqamkn. The one I gave away
> went to a home at the Jersey Shore where I am a frequent guest.
>
> Jerry

Looks promising - I think I'll try this "on board" kind before the
handheld.

-S-

"Kent" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Paul M. Cook" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "Steve Freides" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> I'm finding myself tired of hand-slicing cheddar cheese. The kids here
>>> often eat my "cheese toast" in quantities best measured by the loaf of
>>> bread rather than the slice, and that's a lot of cheese to slice.
>>> (Recipe: cover a slice of bread with thinly sliced sharp cheddar cheese,
>>> sprinkle a very little powered garlic and black pepper on top,
>>> bake/broil at a fairly high temperature until golden brown, serve. We
>>> use a toaster oven set to 400 F.)
>>>
>>> I have never owned or used a "mandoline" - is that what I want here -
>>> would it work with cheese kept in the refrigerator? The slices need to
>>> be thin, as much for my pocketbook as for any culinary reason, but it
>>> doesn't take much cheese to make this work, anyway.
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance.
>>
>>
>> Buy it in bulk and ask them to slice it for you.
>>
>> Paul
>>
> Mold, mold, and more mold after a short time in the frig.

Hmmm, never been a problem. Probably would be if it were 100% natural
cheese but most of the store bought stuff is not. You can freeze cheese.

Paul

Omelet wrote:
> In article >,
> "Steve Freides" > wrote:
>
>> I'm finding myself tired of hand-slicing cheddar cheese. The kids
>> here often eat my "cheese toast" in quantities best measured by the
>> loaf of bread rather than the slice, and that's a lot of cheese to
>> slice. (Recipe: cover a slice of bread with thinly sliced sharp
>> cheddar cheese, sprinkle a very little powered garlic and black
>> pepper on top, bake/broil at a fairly high temperature until golden
>> brown, serve. We use a toaster oven set to 400 F.)
>>
>> I have never owned or used a "mandoline" - is that what I want here -
>> would it work with cheese kept in the refrigerator? The slices need
>> to be thin, as much for my pocketbook as for any culinary reason,
>> but it doesn't take much cheese to make this work, anyway.
>>
>> Thanks in advance.
>>
>> -S-
>
> Cheese board with a wire slicer. Here is mine:
>
> http://i32.tinypic.com/2mguov5.jpg
>
> Demo. thin slicing cheese:
>
> http://i51.tinypic.com/1606erb.jpg
>
> Hope that helps!

Someone else on this thread suggested the same thing, Om, a few days
ago. Yesterday, we went to Chef Central and bought one. It has a
marble base - ooo! - and cost a whopping $9.99. We haven't had a chance
to try it yet, though - have to wait for a pile of 14 year olds wanting
a pile of my cheese toast for that, a likely occurrence during the next
week, I'm sure.

My sincere thanks to everyone who participated in this thread - it was
very educational.

-S-

Omelet wrote:
> In article >,
> "Steve Freides" > wrote:
>
>>> Cheese board with a wire slicer. Here is mine:
>>>
>>> http://i32.tinypic.com/2mguov5.jpg
>>>
>>> Demo. thin slicing cheese:
>>>
>>> http://i51.tinypic.com/1606erb.jpg
>>>
>>> Hope that helps!
>>
>> Someone else on this thread suggested the same thing, Om, a few days
>> ago. Yesterday, we went to Chef Central and bought one. It has a
>> marble base - ooo! - and cost a whopping $9.99. We haven't had a
>> chance to try it yet, though - have to wait for a pile of 14 year
>> olds wanting a pile of my cheese toast for that, a likely occurrence
>> during the next week, I'm sure.
>
> Hope it works for you!
> A mandoline would likely get gummed up. This won't. I just wipe the
> wire when I am done with it and if any cheese builds up on the slot, I
> just gently scrape it out with a sharp knife, then take a scrub brush
> to it.
>
> Cheers!

My wife used it this morning - said it was the greatest thing since
sliced bread. I'm looking forward to trying it.

-S-