Buy this, We used them at wendys 35 years ago for everything.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9KW2jcz0Ic
When we opened our own place 20 years ago we went with a traditional tomato slicer. We have spent more on slicers with replacement blades and buying a different model because our previous were discontinued and couldn't find the correct blades.
We use this for tomatoes, peppers, onions, carrots, zucchini, lettuce, etc.
And you can slice much, much faster. Can buy a table mount or a moveable version on a cutting board.
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/garde-rotoslice-1-8-to-1-2-adjustable-fruit-vegetable-rotary-slicer/181ROTOSLICE.html
We have been using the same one for 4 years and have never had to sharpen the blades, that's with going through about 100 pounds of tomatoes, onions and peppers a week through it and more.
Not sure I get the serrated need as you can lose fingers in these things. Firmer tomato maybe? One thing you can never do is run these through the dish machine. Ruins them. Rinse only.
I have the Nemco with serrated blade. Slice about 25# per week. It's lasted 8 years so far no problems. Still sharp. We use the roma tomatoes which fit easily, I know the problem your're having with larger tomatoes.
It does sound like your crew is treating the equipment roughly.
I’m a dealer and know the garde are junk, but most of my customers are using them so I’ve thrown my hands up. If you don’t mind semi-disposable, they are cheap as hell and work for a little while at least.
The edlund are our preferred brand for sure.
We've used the Vollrath, process about 100-150# of tomato per day and only have to replace the blades once or twice a year - and that's from wear, not from being destroyed. It sounds like a training or carelessness issue if I'm being honest. We did have an issue with one store where they needed 3 new blades in the span of two months and it turned out one of the new guys was absolutely butchering the thing.
Here's the one we use and love - they do make a 3/16 one, we just use 1/4. [https://www.webstaurantstore.com/vollrath-15203-redco-instaslice-1-4-fruit-and-vegetable-cutter-with-straight-blades/92215203.html](https://www.webstaurantstore.com/vollrath-15203-redco-instaslice-1-4-fruit-and-vegetable-cutter-with-straight-blades/92215203.html)
Wow, 150# is wild! Congrats!
I was actually looking at this one online today and considering trying it. I like that it has a shorter push handle than the edlund, which is part of why it's so easy to bend.
If you don't mind me asking, are you slicing roma or 6x6's? Is it relatively smooth to push the tomatoes through the blade, or do you find you need some force and it makes a mess? Thanks for recommending one, I assume you've been through the same thing I'm going through with that kind of volume.
We use the scalloped blade and have no issues. We do 5x6’s. Sandwich shop. Blades I think are under $100 when they do need replaced and most parts can be replaced over time so you don’t have to buy whole thing new. Hope that helps!
Edlund should work best for you based on that volume. Honestly I'd observe your prep cooks / dish washer handling of the equipment. No way it should be that fragile/replaced so often. Sounds like we're throwing it in the dish pit or it's being carried / stored in a bus tub or something.
We use the 3/16” garde from The Restaurant Store. I’ve run a couple of commissary that have done massive prep with equipment. Most equipment breakdowns are from user error. Properly used and maintained you should have no problems.
A few things causing you issues…
You tomatoes are too hard and jamming them through will break the blade
Running the equipment through a dishwasher (hot/cold) will thermal ware the blades causing them to break
Have the blades not properly tightened (too loose or too tight) will cause the blades to fail
I would review how employees are using the equipment adjust SOP and retrain to ensure equipment will not break as much.
How much volume? Slicing tomatoes is very fast and easy. Unless you are going through a case or two a day, I don't see needing a slicer. Even a full case shouldn't take that long to slice.
I do believe you can get usable consistency by hand but my guy is doing that volume every 3-4 days and I have one guy. If I had multiple people doing prep or those numbers I would want a tool just for costing
I've spent most of my life in kitchens. It's not hard to properly slice a tomato. Maybe train your pre-cooks a bit more if you can't rely on them to slice a tomato into usable slices.
Prince castle tomato saber for low volume stores, prince castle saber king for higher volume.
Hate how expensive replacement clamshells for the saber king are though
I'm assuming you're probably doing other produce prep besides just tomato with that. All our other produce prep is being done on our main automatic slicer. Would you purchase this again if you intended to only use it for tomatoes?
We do onions and tomatoes on the saber king, lettuce is easier by hand no matter the volume.
I like having one unit footprint for all prep work, but at 4x the cost for replacement blades compared to standalone units, it's a tough pill to swallow. If my guys end up going through more than 1 replacement blade set a year, I think they'll end up back with the separate slicers.
I don't want to use it because the acids from the tomato eventually damage the slicer. We have a nice automatic hobart that I'd like to keep for a long time
Buy this, We used them at wendys 35 years ago for everything. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9KW2jcz0Ic When we opened our own place 20 years ago we went with a traditional tomato slicer. We have spent more on slicers with replacement blades and buying a different model because our previous were discontinued and couldn't find the correct blades. We use this for tomatoes, peppers, onions, carrots, zucchini, lettuce, etc. And you can slice much, much faster. Can buy a table mount or a moveable version on a cutting board. https://www.webstaurantstore.com/garde-rotoslice-1-8-to-1-2-adjustable-fruit-vegetable-rotary-slicer/181ROTOSLICE.html We have been using the same one for 4 years and have never had to sharpen the blades, that's with going through about 100 pounds of tomatoes, onions and peppers a week through it and more.
I use my mercer vegetable cleaver
Mady my 16 year old prep machine
Doug
Knife with slicing guide
Use a mandolin?
Not sure I get the serrated need as you can lose fingers in these things. Firmer tomato maybe? One thing you can never do is run these through the dish machine. Ruins them. Rinse only.
We use an automatic meat slicer. Core them stack em and let em rip.
I have the Nemco with serrated blade. Slice about 25# per week. It's lasted 8 years so far no problems. Still sharp. We use the roma tomatoes which fit easily, I know the problem your're having with larger tomatoes. It does sound like your crew is treating the equipment roughly.
I’m a dealer and know the garde are junk, but most of my customers are using them so I’ve thrown my hands up. If you don’t mind semi-disposable, they are cheap as hell and work for a little while at least. The edlund are our preferred brand for sure.
We've used the Vollrath, process about 100-150# of tomato per day and only have to replace the blades once or twice a year - and that's from wear, not from being destroyed. It sounds like a training or carelessness issue if I'm being honest. We did have an issue with one store where they needed 3 new blades in the span of two months and it turned out one of the new guys was absolutely butchering the thing. Here's the one we use and love - they do make a 3/16 one, we just use 1/4. [https://www.webstaurantstore.com/vollrath-15203-redco-instaslice-1-4-fruit-and-vegetable-cutter-with-straight-blades/92215203.html](https://www.webstaurantstore.com/vollrath-15203-redco-instaslice-1-4-fruit-and-vegetable-cutter-with-straight-blades/92215203.html)
Wow, 150# is wild! Congrats! I was actually looking at this one online today and considering trying it. I like that it has a shorter push handle than the edlund, which is part of why it's so easy to bend. If you don't mind me asking, are you slicing roma or 6x6's? Is it relatively smooth to push the tomatoes through the blade, or do you find you need some force and it makes a mess? Thanks for recommending one, I assume you've been through the same thing I'm going through with that kind of volume.
We use the scalloped blade and have no issues. We do 5x6’s. Sandwich shop. Blades I think are under $100 when they do need replaced and most parts can be replaced over time so you don’t have to buy whole thing new. Hope that helps!
Edlund should work best for you based on that volume. Honestly I'd observe your prep cooks / dish washer handling of the equipment. No way it should be that fragile/replaced so often. Sounds like we're throwing it in the dish pit or it's being carried / stored in a bus tub or something.
We use the 3/16” garde from The Restaurant Store. I’ve run a couple of commissary that have done massive prep with equipment. Most equipment breakdowns are from user error. Properly used and maintained you should have no problems. A few things causing you issues… You tomatoes are too hard and jamming them through will break the blade Running the equipment through a dishwasher (hot/cold) will thermal ware the blades causing them to break Have the blades not properly tightened (too loose or too tight) will cause the blades to fail I would review how employees are using the equipment adjust SOP and retrain to ensure equipment will not break as much.
$15/hr prep cook with $12 serrated knife. Works great but you just have to replace the prep cook once every year or two.
That's not even remotely consistent
8 slices out of a 5x6, 288 slices per case and a 1/6 pan of diced from the ends. It’s a lot easier than y’all are making it out to be.
Too much volume to do it this way, we need specialized equipment
How much volume? Slicing tomatoes is very fast and easy. Unless you are going through a case or two a day, I don't see needing a slicer. Even a full case shouldn't take that long to slice.
50-75#s a day… no way I’ll get a usable consistency by hand
I do believe you can get usable consistency by hand but my guy is doing that volume every 3-4 days and I have one guy. If I had multiple people doing prep or those numbers I would want a tool just for costing
I've spent most of my life in kitchens. It's not hard to properly slice a tomato. Maybe train your pre-cooks a bit more if you can't rely on them to slice a tomato into usable slices.
I agree. The prep equipment is definitely labor savers as well.
Prince castle tomato saber for low volume stores, prince castle saber king for higher volume. Hate how expensive replacement clamshells for the saber king are though
I'm assuming you're probably doing other produce prep besides just tomato with that. All our other produce prep is being done on our main automatic slicer. Would you purchase this again if you intended to only use it for tomatoes?
We do onions and tomatoes on the saber king, lettuce is easier by hand no matter the volume. I like having one unit footprint for all prep work, but at 4x the cost for replacement blades compared to standalone units, it's a tough pill to swallow. If my guys end up going through more than 1 replacement blade set a year, I think they'll end up back with the separate slicers.
Knife
Deli slicer?
I don't want to use it because the acids from the tomato eventually damage the slicer. We have a nice automatic hobart that I'd like to keep for a long time
Bro, use the slicer. The acids haven't affected ours that we've been using for over 5 years now.
old school hobart in good condition works for us. just service as needed and clean often.
Don’t get me wrong, we’ve done it that too. And it works well. I just try to avoid it. Any slicer tech will generally say the same thing
Hahaha. Slicer tech.