The $15 Gadget You Can’t Live Without?

Published on Monday, October 29, 2007, by Tea / Edit Post

Call me a sucker, but when the Sur La Table newsletter ended up in my in-box today with the above headline, I had to take a peek. Normally those email missives head straight to the trash, but I was curious what cheap gadget might just change my life.

The tool in question is the Trio Tri-Blade Peeler—which does look like three peelers in one. The first blade juliennes into tiny strips, another peels carrots and potatoes, while the third is serrated and—Sur La Table claims—can take on peaches and tomatoes. The Japanese surgical-steel blades retract into the handle when not in use and—again, the company claims—the tool works great in either hand. It’s being touted as “perfect for Thanksgiving prep.” And let’s face it, most of us have mashed potatoes in our future next month.

I feel a bit gullible admitting it, but I’m kind of curious. I’ve been considering buying the Kyocera julienne slicer to go along with the company’s straight slicer that I already have and use all the time (yeah, yeah, I have a mandoline, but who wants to lug that beast out onto the counter every time you make a salad?). The lure of the three-in-one is hard to resist.

Anyone tried one of these yet?

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  • The tri-blade peeler is pretty good, but has a few drawbacks.
    Good: the traditional blade is just fine. Peels your potatoes and carrots, etc. just as expected. The serrated blade does indeed make quick work of peeling fleshy but thick-skinned fruits like peaches, mangoes, and pears.
    Bad: the julienne blade makes whispy little shreds that are better suited to cole slaw than stir-fries and the...+READ

    The tri-blade peeler is pretty good, but has a few drawbacks.
    Good: the traditional blade is just fine. Peels your potatoes and carrots, etc. just as expected. The serrated blade does indeed make quick work of peeling fleshy but thick-skinned fruits like peaches, mangoes, and pears.
    Bad: the julienne blade makes whispy little shreds that are better suited to cole slaw than stir-fries and the like. And it's hard to clean those shreds out of the blade. Which means that when you retract the blade back into the shaft, the shreds go in there, too.

    It is a pretty nifty peeler, with a fun 007 sort of flair: 2 great peelers and 1 lame-o peeler in one handy package. And oh, the handle (which stores the retracted blades) is very thick and chubby, almost too much so. Might feel weird after peeling a bushel of potatoes.-COLLAPSE