The amount of space between the blade and the bridge (which connects it to the handle) has a huge impact on the peeler’s performance. If we had to make repeat trips to remove all the peel or the peeler clogged often, this affected the speed and overall yield.

Once we got a feel for how sharp each peeler was, we rated its overall performance by measuring how quickly it peeled each item and weighing how much waste was created. A great peeler stayed sharp through all our tests. Duller blades tend to dig in at random, creating a bunch of thick and thin peels that increase the amount of waste. It also affects how consistently the blade slices into the flesh. A sharp blade allows you to smoothly and effortlessly cut into the vegetable. The most important factor in a peeler is the blade sharpness. No matter the format, each peeler needed to pass our tests for blade sharpness, overall performance, and design by peeling smooth potatoes, bumpy and odd-shaped celeriac, removing delicate lemon zest without all that bitter pith, and the precision task of creating perfect parmesan cheese shavings. We tested four Y-peelers and four swivel peelers, all varying in size and shape.

Cucumber peeler