Dueling Peelers

My Beloved's daughters, knowing how much I enjoy cooking, gave me this new square peeler for Christmas this year. When I bought a nice, round, bumpy, dirty celeriac bulb this week, I decided to try out the new peeler to see if it was in any way superior to my tried-and-true style with the metal handle and if it could hold its own against a simple kitchen knife.

As I discovered, celeriac is just short of impossible to peel, no matter what kind of implement one uses. It is bumpy, ridgy, heavy, awkwardly sized and thoroughly uncooperative. However, I had made a resolution to try new foods this year and I had a delicious-sounding recipe to make with it (more about that later), so I got out my arsenal of peelers and got to work.

The new peeler shone. The knife was next to useless on this very round, grapefruit-sized, unwieldy vegetable and my old peeler kept slipping dangerously with each swipe, so the new peeler, which fits in the palm of my hand with a slip ring on top to keep it securely around one finger, worked the best. Now, I'm not saying that it was easy - that would be disrespectful to the stubbornly recalcitrant nature of the celeriac - but the new peeler was the smoothest and safest, and in no time I had a flurry of grimy celeriac flakes and a clean, white globe to show for my work.

If someone is looking for a great little stocking stuffer for you next year, I can recommend the victor in the peeler shootout.