An alarming number of home cooks are ending up in Accident and Emergency departments after painful encounters with a common kitchen tool: the mandolin slicer.
A Grisly Discovery in the Sink
The dangers were highlighted after Guardian columnist Lucy Mangan recounted slicing "half the ball of [her] thumb off" while preparing potatoes dauphinoise. Her story prompted a wave of sympathy and similar tales from readers. Joel Donovan from London shared his own experience, revealing he was once in an A&E queue for the same injury. The man behind him had also mandolined his thumb tip, but had brought the severed piece in a shopping bag on ice.
Mr Donovan's own story took a bizarre turn post-accident. "My wife later thought she’d found my thumb tip in the sink," he wrote. "It turned out to be a shred of spring onion and, alas, not suitable for grafting."
The Chain-Mail Solution
Another reader, Ian Simmons from Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, said he had immense sympathy after his own "bloody fingertip-shaving incidents." He has since adopted an extreme but effective safety measure. He now only uses the dangerous device while wearing a butcher’s chain-mail glove on his active hand. This professional-grade equipment is designed to protect against sharp blades and is becoming a recommended item for cautious home chefs.
A Warning for the NHS
Mr Donovan voiced a concern that many may share, suggesting these preventable injuries "may amount to a significant drain on the NHS." The incidents typically involve deep, clean cuts to fingertips, which are painful, slow to heal, and often require professional medical attention to prevent infection and ensure proper healing.
The collective advice from those who have suffered is clear: treat the mandolin with extreme respect, always use the safety guard provided, and consider investing in protective gear. Otherwise, you might be joining an unexpected queue in A&E, clutching a bag of ice.
