What brand or type of potato peeler do you prefer?

[Antilope]

I just have a generic, inexpensive peeler, but I want something better. What do you use?

generic potato peeler
http://www.cheftools.com/images/06-20...

[Sooeygun]

Definitely the Y-peeler. Bought one for work after trying one (99% of the cooks used them). I hate when I have to use the other kind when I'm in someone else's kitchen.

[Beckyleach]

Oxo! Oxo! Oxo! I have arthritic hands--I'd get painful cramps when using other peelers--and this one is just a JOY to use. I love it so much I bought another just so I never have to worry about losing the first...

[philly888]

I was in a Williams-Sonoma store the other day and I held a Rosle serrated peeler in my hand. I loved the heft and feel of it - Oxos have thick handles and I prefer thin - but I'm not sure about serrated and I didn't want to spend $24, either. Sharp, though. Almost cut myself just touching the blade.

When I got home I checked out the comments on the WS website: one 5-star and two 3-star. http://www.williams-sonoma.com/produc...

[Politeness]

Antilope, "type" not "brand." Type: spouse. The three best arguments in favor of getting married are getting somebody else to peel your potatoes, back rubs, and -- um -- I forget the third one.

[Normandie]

#3--To tell telemarketers and political campaign workers that you've moved and left no forwarding number.

[mcsheridan]

I always went with the inexpensive generic you've been using, and then I moved up to the Oxo Swivel Peeler. I love it. It moves like it was coated with silicon.

http://www.amazon.com/Oxo-Good-Grips-...

[Normandie]

I love my Oxo straight peeler for larger potatoes and my tiny little Sabatier paring knife for smaller or new potatoes.

I think Oxo products are well designed, in general.

[dmd_kc]

The OXO straight peeler with the replaceable blades is absolutely awesome. Run it over your honing steel occasionally to make it even better. Had mine for years, with no need to replace the blade yet.

I also have a ceramic Y-peeler. I don't use it often, because I feel awkward and clumsy with it. But its blade works wonderfully well.

[Normandie]

Yes, I love that straight peeler. I've had it probably for three or four years now, and I use it practically every day, and it doesn't seem to have lost any keenness on the edge, to me. How do you hone it, though, dmd? You can't really do it at an angle as you would a knife, right?

It's great for shaving chocolate and hard cheeses, too.

[dmd_kc]

You just run it back and forth, as though you're peeling a carrot, moving it diagonally. I have no idea where I saw that, but it seems to work -- at least in my mind.

[Chemicalkinetics]

You guys are really strange. A bunch of Y-peeler people :)

Actually, I have been a straight peeler user and it was not until I got a free sample from Amazon a few months ago that I started using a Y-peeler. I am still a bit more comfortable with a straight peeler, but I am forcing myself to use the Y-peeler just to see, and I am getting much better now.

That is my first and free Y-peeler:
http://www.amazon.com/Douglas-Pinzon-...

[tanuki soup]

Actually, CK, what I like is the ceramic blade, and I've only ever seen ceramic blades on Y-peelers. So I guess I'm not really one of those strange "Y-peeler people", I'm one of those even stranger "ceramic-blade peeler people". :)

[Chemicalkinetics]

Soup,

Oh yeah, I need to discriminate you :)

I almost bought a Kyocera ceramic paring knife from HomeGoods yestersday. The original price was $30 and it was being sold at $20, but then I realized I don't know how to sharpen it, so I didn't buy. In addition, I really don't need another paring knife.

I think a ceramic peeler actually makes sense, now thinking about it. A ceramic blade is very hard and will not roll. Yes, it is difficult to sharpen a ceramic blade, but then it is a peeler and no one really sharpens a peeler, so it makes sense.

So, how do you really like it compared to typical stainless steel peelers?

[tanuki soup]

Well, as you said, the ceramic blade in a peeler stays sharp basically forever. Also, it never rusts, so clean-up is as easy as rinsing it off and tossing it in the dish rack. Finally, Y-peelers seem safer to me. It's almost impossible to poke or cut yourself on one when you reach for it in a drawer full of other kitchen gadgets.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Soup,

You won't believe this. I just saw this:

http://www.amazon.com/Kyocera-CP-20-R...

A rotatable peeler. So now, you can have it both straight and Y! That being said, I rather have two separate ones than a rotatable one. One more moving part means one more possibility of breaking down, and I can totally see the rotating part snaps.

[Politeness]

Chemicalkinetics: "I think a ceramic peeler actually makes sense, now thinking about it. A ceramic blade is very hard and will not roll. Yes, it is difficult to sharpen a ceramic blade, but then it is a peeler and no one really sharpens a peeler, so it makes sense.

So, how do you really like it compared to typical stainless steel peelers?"

Much better. (I know you asked tanuki soup and that tanuki soup has answered already, but I am chiming in in agreement.)

[shaogo]

It took me a while to get used to the "Y" peeler, but I have and now I use it 'cause I think it does the job faster. But for some reason, carrots and parsnips get the "straight-handle" treatment from me.

The *very best Y peeler in the world* was sold by the late Joe Ades, a colorful New York City street vendor. Here's his obit:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/nyr...

[Antilope]

I like the looks of the Y shape. Ultimately I would like a ceramic blade peeler, but I think I will get a metal blade Y configuration to try out before spending more for the ceramic.

[junescook]

I own both types of peelers. I very much prefer my OXO Y type; I just find it more comfortable and faster to use.

[legourmettv]

A paring knife...

[tanuki soup]

I like the Kyocera ceramic Y-peelers. Nice design, comfortable to use, stay sharp, don't rust, cheap.

[Chemicalkinetics]

This is so weird. Considering that straight peeler is the more popular design, we have three people in a row advocating the Y-peelers. Hmm.

[Politeness]

tanuki soup: "the Kyocera ceramic Y-peelers"

Sansei!
Watasi mo!

[Channa]

Cheap and sharp and colorful --

http://www.kuhnrikon.com/products/too...

[bxgirl]

ABSOLUTELY!!! I love my Kuhn Rikon and would never go back to any other peeler. I have also given it to a bunch of people who love it, too, and have given it as a gift to others!!!
I had been using the Oxo peeler, and liked it a lot... until I got the Kuhn Rikon. This is so much better.

[bigfellow]

I love them myself and always have them in my kitchens

[AndrewK512]

I prefer a Y-peeler. I used to use the Oxo brand one but I kept slicing through my fingernails so now I just use a ceramic one.

[Chemicalkinetics]

I had a very inexpensive one too. Well, before worrying about brand, I would ask you to decide on the type first. There is the straight peeler, which your current peeler is, and there is the Y-peeler. A lot of people swear by their Y-peelers, but the fact that Y-peelers are the less popular ones mean most people do not agree. Still, you need to decide your style. Here are some Y-peelers:

http://www.amazon.com/Douglas-Pinzon-Stainless-Steel-Swivel-Peeler/dp/B001VNC64I/ref=cm_cr-mr-title

http://www.amazon.com/Oxo-Good-Grips-...

Borrow one and force yourself to use a Y-peeler (it will takes some use to) and after a week or two, you should able to decide which style you like better.