Day 20: Today's Pick — The $7 Swiss Vegetable Peeler That Has Changed Three Kitchens
The Kuhn Rikon Y-peeler. Yes, it's the one your favorite cookbook author has been recommending for fifteen years. It's still right.
Today's thing — The $7 Swiss Vegetable Peeler That Has Changed Three Kitchens
The good stuff
- ✓Sharper out of the box than any peeler I've used
- ✓Y-shape lets you peel with either hand, naturally
- ✓Stays sharp for years of regular use
The shrug
- !Plastic handle isn't the prettiest on a counter
- !Easy to lose; fits in any drawer space
The Kuhn Rikon Original Swiss Peeler costs $7. It is the single most-recommended single object in food-internet history. There is nothing original about this recommendation. I am making it anyway because, honestly, I keep meeting cooks who haven't bought one yet, and that is the actual pick of the day: an obvious thing you somehow haven't done.
What it is
A Y-shaped vegetable peeler with a serrated carbon-steel blade and a plastic handle. Made in Switzerland (yes, still). Available in literally every cookware store on earth. About $7 individually; $9 for a three-pack on most sites.
Why it's better than every other peeler
The blade. It is, out of the box, sharper than any peeler I've used at any price. It bites into a potato instead of skidding. It comes through a butternut squash without bending. It glides along a carrot with no pressure.
The shape. The Y-shape lets you push it across produce with your palm, instead of dragging it like a knife. This is more ergonomic, faster, and produces less wrist fatigue. Once you've used a Y-peeler, every other peeler shape feels backward.
The price. $7. There is no excuse not to own one. There is barely an excuse not to own three.
What it peels well
- Potatoes (russets, yukons, fingerlings — all of them)
- Carrots
- Butternut squash (the killer use case)
- Zucchini, when you want strips for a salad
- Apples, with care
- Asparagus, the bottom inch, for woody-stem prep
- Kohlrabi
- Ginger (stripped) — though a spoon works better for ginger nooks
What it doesn't peel well
- Tomatoes (use the boiling water + ice bath method instead)
- Onions (use a knife)
- Anything with a soft skin you want to keep mostly intact
How long does the blade last
Mine has been in daily use for nine years. It is still sharp enough to bite into a russet. I have not sharpened it once. The carbon-steel blade is hard enough to hold its edge for a decade of home use.
What if I lose it
You will. I have lost three. The drawer eats them. The dishwasher hides them. They migrate to camping bags. This is why you buy the three-pack.
What I'd do differently
I would not have spent six years using a $20 OXO peeler before discovering this one. I would have bought it on day one of having my own kitchen.
How to actually buy
Anywhere. Surely your local hardware store. Surely your local kitchen store. Surely an online retailer. There is no scarcity. Just buy it.
Tomorrow: a piece of regional Filipino candy I have been trying to introduce my entire family to.
Reader reactions
(6)Have had mine for 11 years. Yes, still sharp. Yes, $7. Yes, the answer.
Bought the three-pack after this. Gifted one to my kid moving into a new apartment. They were stunned by the sharpness.
Y-peelers aren't for everyone — I'm a swivel-peeler person and that's fine.
I trained line cooks with this peeler for 20 years. Best tool in any kitchen for under $10.
Just bought one. Peeled an entire bag of carrots in 4 minutes. Wow.
$7 well spent. The Kuhn Rikon is, generationally, correct.
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