Y Peeler Lumian, Matt Stainless Steel, for Citrus Twists

For bartenders who cut citrus twists seriously, dozens a day, and for anyone tired of chasing peel with a knife. The peeler takes an even strip of peel with every stroke, and even is the word that matters: a crooked twist shows in the glass.

With a paring knife, peel is cut holding the fruit in the hand with the blade towards the thumb: it works, and someone who has done it for twenty years never slips. But it is the movement where people in a hurry cut themselves, and behind a bar there is always a hurry.

A crosswise blade works by pulling towards you with the blade framed by the two arms of the Y, and the thumb sits behind the fruit rather than in front of the blade. It is the same reason kitchens peel potatoes this way: not that a knife cannot do it, but that this does it a hundred times in a row without tiring the hand.

Under the coloured peel lies the albedo, the white spongy layer, and it is bitter. A twist that carries it along spoils the drink: the essential oil of the peel should bring aroma, and bitterness arrives with it instead. It is the most common mistake of anyone using a knife without practice.

The peeler solves this by design: the blade runs at a fixed depth, set by the gap between the edge and the guide, and takes only the coloured layer. There is no pressure to control, you just pull straight.

Specifications

• Material: stainless steel
• Height: 15cm
• Width: 6.5cm
• Depth: 2cm
• Weight: 95g
• Blade: crosswise, Y shape
• Finish: matt

It is the least visible practical point and the one you feel most. Behind a bar, hands are wet with juice most of the time, and a polished handle slips in those conditions. The matt surface has more friction, and on a tool with an exposed blade, that extra grip is not a cosmetic detail.

The 95g weight works the same way. A peeler that is too light jumps about in the hand and makes you grip harder; this one has enough weight to stay steady, and the weight does the pressing rather than the wrist.

It does what any Y peeler does, and behind a bar that comes up more often than you would think: cucumber ribbons for a gin and tonic or a Pimm’s, thin slices of ginger for a syrup, strips of apple or pear for an autumn garnish. The same movement, only what is under the blade changes.

On hard produce such as ginger, work in short strokes rather than one long one: the fibre is irregular and a single pull tends to skip, while three short strokes stay straight.

A crosswise blade is not sharpened like a knife: there is no room for a stone and the geometry does not allow it. It lasts as long as it lasts, and when it starts to tear rather than cut, the tool is replaced. What really extends its life is simple: do not leave it in the sink with everything else, where the edge knocks against the cutlery.

Rinse the peeler straight after citrus, because juice drying between blade and guide forms a crust that only a brush will shift, and dry it before putting it away.

The more you buy, the less you pay: 4 pieces -5%, 6 -7%, 8 -10%, on the same item.

FAQ

Does the peeler take the pith too? Not if you pull straight: the blade works at a fixed depth and lifts only the coloured part.

How big is it? 15cm tall and 6.5cm wide, 95g.

Can it be sharpened? No, the Y geometry does not allow it: when it tears instead of cutting, replace it.

Is it dishwasher safe? Hand wash it straight after use: dried juice between blade and guide is hard to shift later, and in the rack the edge knocks against the cutlery.

Dispatched from Rome, Italy. To compare blades, boards and peel cuts, see the boards and knives guide.