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Reviewed.com / Jackson Ruckar
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Credit:
Reviewed.com / Jackson Ruckar
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A favorite in restaurant and home kitchens alike, the Kuhn Rikon Swiss Peeler strips everything from lemons to celery. And this set is built to last. Read More
A pick for pros, this sharp and super precise peeler doubles as a slicer for julienning. Read More
Lightweight, easy to handle, and with a very sharp blade, this peeler makes quick work of peeling. Read More
The Pro version of OXO's Y-peeler has some heft. It masterfully peels potatoes but becomes bulky feeling with more delicate tasks. Read More
This peeler handles most peeling jobs with ease, but the finger notches on the handle make for an awkward grip. Read More
As a trained professional chef, I expected to arrive on my first day of work in a professional kitchen fully prepared with all the kitchen tools I'd need. Then, I was unceremoniously handed a 50-pound sack of potatoes. Wanting to prove myself, I hoped to speed-peel the bag so I could move on to a more exciting job. Sadly, I didn’t have a potato peeler in my knife bag and the house peeler was old, dull, and misshapen from too many years of use.
That experience proved that although a vegetable peeler might be a humble tool, it’s a crucially important one. A sharp blade, comfortable grip, and smooth movements can make the difference between hacking away at your vegetables and having an effortless peeling experience.
Lightweight
Sharp blade
Soft rubber handle with textured side grips
Thin arch somewhat prone to clogging
Comfortable handle
Superb for potatoes
Somewhat heavy
Slightly inelegant for delicate jobs
Peels most items well and smoothly
Finger grips make for an awkward handle
We looked into four Y-peelers and four straight swivel peelers, all varying in size and shape. No matter the format, each peeler needed to pass our tests for blade sharpness, overall performance, and design by peeling smooth potatoes, bumpy and odd-shaped celeriac, removing delicate lemon zest without all that bitter pith, and the precision task of creating perfect parmesan cheese shavings.
The most important factor in a peeler is the blade sharpness. A sharp blade allows you to smoothly and effortlessly cut into the vegetable. It also affects how consistently the blade slices into the flesh. Duller blades tend to dig in at random, creating a bunch of thick and thin peels that increase the amount of waste. A great peeler stayed sharp through all our tests.
Once we got a feel for how sharp each peeler was, we rated its overall performance by measuring how quickly it peeled each item and weighing how much waste was created. If we had to make repeat trips to remove all the peel or the peeler clogged often, this affected the speed and overall yield.
We also measured the peeler’s design. The amount of space between the blade and the bridge (which connects it to the handle) has a huge impact on the peeler’s performance. Too small and the peeler clogs easily, but too large and food will haphazardly fly around the kitchen. And let’s not forget how important ergonomics is when it comes to peeling—especially in great quantities—so we wanted a peeler that was lightweight enough to prevent our arms from tiring and designed to fit comfortably in our hands.
Finally, we assessed how easy it was to clean these peelers, as most are not dishwasher safe.
Lindsay is a professional chef, recipe developer, writer, and developmental editor. After years of working in restaurant kitchens, she turned to writing to share her passion for local, organic, and seasonal ingredients with home cooks and food enthusiasts.
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