Peeling Vegetables

You may be most comfortable with a specific type of peeler and use it for all vegetables. But the trick to peeling quickly and with the minimum of waste is to use a variety of tools, depending on the fruit or vegetable you're peeling.

A swivel-type vegetable peeler is best for vegetables with thin, delicate skins, such as asparagus and carrots. A peeler with a fixed blade is better for vegetables with thick skins that require deeper peeling, such as celeriac, a paring knife works best, because it allows you to reach into the nooks and crannies below the surface of the peel.

Some vegetables, such as onions, tomatoes, bell peppers and chestnuts, require special peeling methods.

Kitchen Notes and Tips -

• Each type of peeler is most effective used a specific way. A swivel-type peels with a back-and-forth movement, or by moving it away from you. Use non-swivel peelers by peeling toward yourself, as if you were using a knife.

• Peel thin-skinned vegetables such as carrots and asparagus with a swivel-type peeler.

• Peel thicker-skinned vegetables such as eggplant, turnips and potatoes with a non-swivel peeler.

• String fennel and celery with either a peeler or a knife.

• Peel very thick skinned vegetables such as celery root and winter squash with a knife.

• A short plunge into boiling water will loosen the peels of onions and tomatoes and the inner peels of peeled chestnuts. This trick is especially handy for peeling pearl onions.

• Many people don't think peeling asparagus is worth the bother, but peeled asparagus is easier to cook because the stalks cook in the same time as the florets - and you can eat the whole stalk if it's been peeled.