A kitchen drawer opened, and a peeler, still on its display card, shifted forward into view. It’s a SwissPro peeler, made in Switzerland. I bought a four-pack ($17.99) in 2009 after watching several videos of the then-recently departed Joe Ades, the charismatic peddler who sold similar peelers on the streets of Manhattan. I gave away two peelers and kept two. I forgot that we even had a spare.
The SwissPro peeler is built to last. Our in-use peeler is as sharp as ever. It needs nothing more than careful washing and an occasional wipe of the blade with cooking oil to remove any oxidation.
The SwissPro (“by Rosenhaüs”) now seems to be unavailable in the States. But comparable peelers abound. Look for something with a stainless-steel handle and a carbon-steel blade, like so. And it should, of course, be made in Switzerland.
Here’s a sample of Joe Ades at work, demonstrating that the Swiss peeler can be used for much more than peeling.
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April 17: Gunther and Stephen have added helpful details in the comments. As Gunther notes, the original peeler is the REX, first made by the Swiss company Zena in 1947. The STAR peeler followed in 1970. As Stephen notes, the peelers are sold at the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich. (Museum of Design, I think.) There’s also a poster, with the peeler in gold. Further evidence of the peeler’s celebrated status: as Gunther notes, there’s a Swiss stamp honors the peeler. The stamp makes me think of the Sachplakat, or object poster, an advertising poster depicting an object, a brand name, and little or nothing more.
The Zena website is worth your time. Knowing now that my peeler is a knock-off, I’m tempted to buy a REX, even though my knock-off has been working well since 2009. That’s the kind of guy I am.
Thursday, April 15, 2021
Is there a Swiss peeler in the house?
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comments: 9
There is some pride in these peelers. They are sold in Zürich's Museum für Gestaltung.
That’s great. Thanks fir sharing it, Stephen.
As far as I know the original type of that peeler was the REX, invented in 1947 and later followed by the STAR. There was even a comemorative stamp issued by the Swiss Post around 2005.
Thanks for that background, Gunther. I had no idea that the Swiss peeler is such a celebrated tool. But why not? Its design is plain and beautiful, and (as Apple used to say), it just works.
The REX and STAR names show up in US Amazon searches, but the peelers appear to be made by other companies. Or maybe those companies are the importers.
Please think of the for in this reply as replacing the fir in my reply to Stephen.
And please imagine italics for for and fir. I just discovered that comments don’t allow em tags for italics.
I love the metal frames. Never heard of a "Swiss peeler," but I recognize the design -- more commonly referred to in the States as a "Y peeler." OXO makes one, and we have a few of their kitchen gadgets that I could endorse without shame.
I like OXO a lot — I even have an OXO stapler. I’ve never heard “Y peeler” — thanks for that.
There is even a pencil peeler.
I forgot about that one. Maybe I can rationalize buying a REX by forgoing a pencil peeler. : )
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