A peeler is one of the most useful things you can have in the
kitchen. It does, though, have to be a good peeler — the 50¢ piece of
junk from the drugstore will do nothing more than frustrate, cramp your
hand and — if you’re really unlucky — rip chunks out of your fingers.
Buy a good one, though, and you can not only peel soft fruits,
you’ll also be able to skin mangoes and ginger, make potato chips, cut
zucchini into ribbons (drizzle with sesame oil and a little balsamic
vinegar for a fantastic and simple salad) and even shave hard cheeses
like Parmesan or Pecorino. In short, it is one of the handiest things
you can have around.
Good, thankfully, doesn’t mean expensive. I have a Good Grips peeler from OXO, which cost me less than €10 in the fancy uptown store, but can be had for around $8 online. This is my second (the first was years old and still sharp but I lost it). It’s one of the knife style peelers instead of the Y-shaped models, but this is just my preference.
So, what makes it so good? First, as you’ll see here, the blade is sharp. The plastic junk you find in the dime store usually features a stamped blade which is thin enough to force through potato skin, but doesn’t actually cut. This one cuts, to the extent that it will peel a ripe peach or even a tomato.
The angle of the blade is important, too. The sharp edge is on the inside, running around the hole. This cuts both ways, and the edge not cutting rests on the food and keeps the blade going in at the proper, shallow angle. Other peelers often either skim or cut too deep, which is why many people swear off them altogether in favor of a knife (like my mother, who uses a small paring knife for the job, and miraculously still has both thumbs).
Next up, you can see the pointed tip. It’s not sharp enough to hurt, but it will gouge the eyes out of a spud easily. It’s also good for scraping brown spots from peeled apples.
Finally, and the feature that gives this range of cookware its name, is the good grip. It’s rubberized so it’s not slippery when wet, and because it is oversized even the most ham-fisted will find it comfortable for long periods. Squaddies on square-bashing duty should consider this. Those rubber fins are great, too, as they grip more when you press down — although with this blade you’ll never actually need to press very hard.
OXO has a newer version available, called the Pro Swivel Peeler. The business-end is all zinc, and the main advantage is that you can change blades, like a razor. At $12, it’s still not expensive, but as my blade has never dulled, I don’t see the need. Is a review of a fruit peeler absurd? Perhaps, but if you make sure you have good basic tools in your kitchen (hint: you don’t need that Porsche coffee maker) then cooking will be easier and a whole lot more fun.
Product page [OXO]
Peeler as movie star [Objectified/Underwire]
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