Learn the Benefits of Y Shaped Peelers

Even though peeling vegetables is a vital kitchen duty, many home cooks would fully agree that it is not the most fun. A skillfully crafted peeler can prevent waste and save valuable time, as anybody who has attempted to peel a vegetable with a paring knife will attest. Although it doesn’t take much expertise or talent to peel fruits and vegetables, you do need a sturdy, sharp tool that you can use to do the task well on a range of produce and last for a very long time.

Every kitchen requires a vegetable peeler, regardless of your level of culinary expertise. You can easily remove fruit and vegetable skin and peel with hand-held fixed blades, and ribbons can also be made using very slick peelers. A peeler is essential for anything from peeling potatoes to carrots!

If you’re in the market for a Y-shaped peeler, you’ll want to know about the benefits of having one. That is the purpose of this article! Learn about the benefits of Y-shaped peelers and more below.

Cheap Price

They cost little, and a 3-pack can go for only 10 dollars. That amounts to a small sum for each peeler. When the blade eventually starts to break down, you may always buy a couple at once, and you can swiftly switch to a new one.

Suits Both Hands

In contrast to many swivel peelers, which frequently have the blade on only one side, a y-shaped peeler can be used with either hand, making them naturally ambidextrous. For left-handed individuals, having a peeler that works for you—and everyone else in your kitchen—is crucial. Theoretically, Y-peelers are available to left-handed people by default.

a woman in the kitchen peeling a cucumber using a y-peeler

Enhanced Grip

When using a swivel peeler, you are compelled to adopt a strange stance with your elbows out, and the rotating blade constantly seems to turn away from where you want it to go. In contrast to regular straight peelers with thin handles, Y-shaped peelers have broader handles, making them easier to hold and use with a lighter grip.

Peels Easily

Y-peeler peels effortlessly from any direction or angle due to its double-bladed design. Additionally, it produces smaller swaths than most straight peelers, preserving more of the vegetable.

Wide, Even Strips

A Y-shaped peeler has a single blade and is better suited for wide, even strips or vegetables with thicker skin since it allows for a less flexible dragging motion. For this reason, you can quickly peel large, relatively smooth objects like butternut squash with Y-peelers.

Works to Soften Butter and Destring Celery

Slices of rock-hard butter from atop a stick that has just been taken out of the refrigerator can be removed with a Y-shaped peeler. Cold butter can be shaved into ribbons, substantially reducing the time it takes to soften and become pliable. There is no need to spread because you can place the peels on top of a slice of bread.

A y-peeler is the simplest tool for removing strings from a celery rib. You should place the peeler’s blade at the stalk’s base, where the strings start, while the celery is firmly held. After that, pull the peeler along the celery’s length to remove the strings and a thin layer of skin.

a y-peeler beside a knife and vegetables on top of a chopping board

Peels Quickly

Everything is substantially simpler thanks to the y-peeler. As much food as possible is also left behind while peels are removed in extremely thin pieces.

Minimal Pith

Even though it’s often dismissed as “silly garnish,” citrus zest is essential to many popular drinks. The secret to getting a good amount of zest when zesting citrus fruits like oranges are removing as little pith as possible. This is where the y-peeler comes in; it removes it with the least amount of pith and cuts so thinly that the blade can be seen through the zest.

Y-shaped Peelers: What to Look for

Watch out for these when shopping for y-shaped peelers:

Durability

You want a sturdy vegetable peeler when you need one. When preparing meals, the last thing you want is for your equipment to break, leaving you with a sliced finger and blood-drenched carrots! Although not all models are made to endure forever, durable ones are reasonably priced.

Design

Consumers assume that a product will perform exactly as promised when purchasing it. Make sure your Y-peeler isn’t badly constructed so that it doesn’t develop clogging around the blade, wasting time because it needs to be cleaned off after every few passes.

Blade

There are several different types of blades to consider when comparing various models, including ceramic, stainless steel, and even carbon steel blades. However, ceramic varieties could easily break after being dropped if you tend to be sloppy in the kitchen. Additionally, carbon steel blades can also rust if they are not immediately dried after washing.

potatoes beside a potato peeled with a y-peeler

Using a Y-Peeler

To lessen the surface bacterial burden that could be forced into the flesh of the product, wash the produce before peeling.

Pull it in your direction, starting at the opposite end of the vegetable and dragging the peeler’s blade horizontally. Alternately, position the veggie upright and peel it by starting at the top and pulling it down. It will resemble using a portable razor in several ways.

When using a Y-peeler instead of a swivel peeler, your wrist handles more of the rotation.

Sharpening a Y-Shaped Peeler

If you’re using a y-peeler with a carbon steel blade and giving it the TLC it deserves by wiping it clean after each use, you can forget about sharpening it for a long time. But because they’re rather inexpensive, getting a new peeler is preferable instead of attempting to sharpen your old one.

Cleaning a Y-Shaped Peeler

The best way to clean a vegetable peeler is to rinse it immediately after use and use a soft cloth to dry the blade completely. After peeling something fibrous, if a fast rinse doesn’t get rid of the stuck-on bits, use a bristle brush. Although many peelers available on the market are dishwasher safe, manual washing is advised.

a whole sweet potato and sliced sweet potatoes beside a knife and a y-shaped peeler

It can be the difference between hammering away at your vegetables and enjoying an effortless experience peeling them if you have a sharp blade, a comfortable grip, and fluid movements. With a heavy knife, it’s nearly hard to produce such thin peelings; thus, you’re more likely to discard fruit or vegetables. Depending on your skill, the pointed, sharp blade could also pose a safety danger.

On the other hand, even though a vegetable Y-peeler is a simple tool, it is of utmost importance. Y-peelers are affordable, quick, simple to store, and safe. With all these benefits, a Y-peeler is a purchase that is worth making! 

Aside from Y-shaped peelers, there are many other types to choose from. You may check out our post about Understanding How to Pick the Right Peeler for the Job to learn more.