You’re not alone if you’ve ever been left wondering what the purpose of a weird kitchen appliance is when you’re staring at it. We’re going to solve the puzzle of one such tool—the onion and vegetable slicer—today.
Have you ever found it difficult to cut vegetables, such as onions, evenly? Do you wish you could get those perfectly thin slices faster and more effectively? You don’t need to search any farther! Maybe an onion and vegetable slicer is the answer you’ve been looking for.
What what is an onion and vegetable slicer, then? It’s essentially a kitchen utensil that makes slicing onions and other veggies very easy. Usually, these useful devices have a base with slots or blades.
An onion and vegetable slicer’s main goal is to produce accurate, consistent slices. This tool helps you create uniform thickness in your slices, which is very useful when you’re cooking or plating items that need to be cooked evenly.
An onion and vegetable slicer is very simple to use. As you cut, it gives the vegetables support and stability. It is especially useful for little or asymmetrically shaped veggies that are difficult to hold stable in your hands alone. You’ll save time and work in the kitchen because the blades or slots are made to cut food into thin, even slices.
Vegetables were traditionally sliced by hand using knives. But as technology developed, people started creating tools to speed up and improve the efficiency of the process. Adjustable blade manual vegetable slicers first appeared in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. With the help of these slicers, users could quickly achieve a level of precision that was difficult to achieve by hand by adjusting the thickness of the slices.
Significant developments in kitchen equipment also occurred with the onset of industrialization. The mid-1900s saw the rise in popularity of electric food slicers. Onions and other vegetables could be sliced with these devices, which are frequently used to slice meats and cheeses.
Manufacturers realized over time that they needed specialized slicers made just for onions and other vegetables. Usually, these slicers included slots or blades designed to cut thin, even slices. They gained popularity among home cooks who wished to expedite the process of preparing meals.
You may be asking where to get an onion and vegetable slicer now that you know what one is. These culinary implements can be found in many different shops and online marketplaces. Here are some alternatives to think about:
Kitchenware Stores: Look into specialty cooking supply stores or kitchenware stores in your area. They frequently have a large assortment of cooking tools, such as slicers for vegetables and onions. Ask the employees at the store for help or look for them in the kitchen tool department.
Online retailers: There are a ton of amazing kitchen gadgets available on the internet. Onion and vegetable slicers are widely available from major online retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, and Target. To make an informed decision, you may quickly browse through several models, evaluate costs, and read user reviews.
Thrift Stores and Yard Sales: These locations, like the one where you discovered your mystery slicer, are excellent for finding reasonably priced kitchenware. You may find an excellent-condition onion and vegetable slicer for a fraction of the original cost.
Don’t forget to select a slicer based on your requirements and tastes. Think on things like the kind of veggies you’ll be slicing, the slicer’s size, and how simple it is to use and clean.
An onion and vegetable slicer can be a useful addition to your kitchen toolkit, regardless of your level of culinary expertise or need to streamline meal preparation. So go ahead and choose the one that works best for you, and bid adieu to irregularly sliced vegetables and onions!
‘DWTS’ star, mocked as orphan for spotty skin, dies at 29, – adoptive mom dies next day
The ballet world is mourning the death of Dancing with the Stars’ Michaela Mabinty DePrince, an inspirational ballerina who beat staggering odds to become one of the world’s most famous dancers.
Michaela, an orphan from war-torn Sierra Leone, was a dancer with the Boston Ballet who gained widespread notoriety after starring in the 2011 documentary First Position. She died September 10 at only 29.
Adding to the family’s tragic loss, Michaela’s adoptive mom – who rescued Michaela from the filthy shelter where she was told she was “too ugly” to find a family – died only 24 hours later.
After her father was brutally killed in war-torn Sierra Leone and her mother died from fever, four-year-old Michaela Mabinty DePrince was abandoned by her uncle in a shelter where staff every day tried to break her spirit.
Known then as “Number 27” a young Michaela had little hope of finding a family as she had vitiligo, a condition that causes patches of skin to lose pigmentation.
The young girl, called “the devil child” because of her patchy skin, was told repeatedly that she was too ugly to be picked.
“We were all ranked from the most favored to the least, and I was at the very bottom for being rebellious and having a skin condition called vitiligo, which produces white freckles on my neck and chest,” Michaela said, adding she slept on a grass sleeping mat with “Number 26.”
Aside from the vomit-stained nightgown she was wearing, all she had was a magazine, which according to Glamour had (literally) blown onto her face. And on the cover was a ballerina en pointe – a dancer supporting all her body weight on the tips of her toes.
“The dancer looked beautiful and happy, that’s what caught my eye,” Michaela tells Glamour. “I wanted to be happy.”
And the crumpled old photo of the ballerina was the first thing she handed Elaine DePrince, who took her to her new home in New Jersey.
“There was so much love right away,” said Michaela, who over the next two decades would be the prima ballerina on the cover of magazines. “I had never been surrounded by something like that.”
‘My life is proof’
Michaela’s passion for dancing was ignited at a young age, and she pursued her dreams with remarkable dedication.
In 2011, Michaela became one of the stars of First Position, a documentary that followed six gifted dancers leading up to the competition for a place in the prestigious American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of Ballet (JKO)
She not only earned a spot but was also awarded a scholarship to study at JKO.
The same year the award-winning documentary was released, Michaela also appeared on Dancing with the Stars.
“My life is proof that no matter what situation you’re in, as long as you have a supportive family, you can achieve anything,” Michaela said.
In 2012, the talented ballerina joined the renowned Dance Theatre of Harlem, where she continued to shine as a rising star. Her exceptional talent and grace later led her to the Dutch National Ballet, where the War Child Ambassador further established herself as a formidable presence in the ballet world.
While she was living in Amsterdam and training for The Nutcracker, she received a call, inviting her to travel to New Orleans and dance in Beyonce’s hour-long video, Lemonade, which was released in 2016.
Speaking with the Wall Street Journal of meeting the pop sensation, Michaela said, “She walked up to me and said, ‘It’s such an honor to have you here.’ I was really cheesy and said, ‘The honor is mine.’ I was on cloud nine.”
‘Beacon of hope’
On September 10, her family released a heartbreaking message about the principal soloist with the Boston Ballet.
“Rest in Power,” the post starts about the dancer who died on September 10. “With pain in our hearts, we share the loss of star ballerina Michaela Mabinty DePrince, whose artistry touched countless hearts and whose spirit inspired many, leaving an indelible mark on the world of ballet, and beyond.”
The Facebook post describes Michaela as an inspiration who “stood as a beacon of hope for many, showing that no matter the obstacles, beauty and greatness can rise from the darkest of places.”
The cause of her death has not yet been released.
Mom ‘spared the pain’
Only 24 hours after Michaela’s sudden death, her doting adoptive mom Elaine DePrince died on September 11 “during a routine procedure in preparation for a surgery.”
A family statement on Facebook explains that at the time of Elaine’s death, she was unaware that her daughter had died.
“As unbelievable as it may seem, the two deaths were completely unrelated. The only way we can make sense of the senseless is that Elaine, who had already lost three children many years ago, was by the grace of God spared the pain of experiencing the loss of a fourth child.” The message continues, “What the family is going through right now is truly unimaginably painful. Grieving two family members who died within a 24-hour period is tragic and devastating. We continue to ask for privacy…”
Rest in peace Michaela and Elaine. Please share your thoughts with us and then share this story so we can all send a lot of love to the family and friends of this mother-daughter duo.
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