The Kitchen Tool That Slices Cheese With Ease

A vegetable peeler sure seems like a single-purpose kitchen tool. Like a salad spinner (the rare actually useful, supposedly mono-use apparatus), its intended function is literally right there in the name. A vegetable peeler's destiny is to ... peel vegetables. But we've found some other handy applications for it, too. A vegetable peeler is an excellent chocolate shaver. It can cut through a bit of chorizo like a pro. And it can also easily slice a handful of cheese varieties. But texture, dairy dimensions, and desired outcome are all key to determining when this kitchen tool can and cannot slice cheese.

A vegetable peeler will never perfectly pierce something as pliable as fresh mozzarella, for example. We've actually tried and achieved so-so results, but the tool mushes the mozz too much to get anything even approaching a cheese and charcuterie board-worthy cut. So count your moistest, softest cheeses (Brie, chèvre, Camembert) out as well. Your semi-hard (provolone, Gouda, cheddar) and hard varieties (Gruyère, Parmesan, Comté) will be much easier to slice with a vegetable peeler. But, also keep in mind that your peeler is likely only capable of producing narrow slices that may not work for every use case.

Speaking of cheese boards, cheese curls are a darling, albeit slightly unexpected addition to those party platters. Twirl up a few and that's also one less potential cheese board knife mistake to make. The craftiest host can even turn those curls into something like little protein flowers for aesthetic appeal (and as a subtle reminder to guests that your bare hands touched everything they're about to eat).

You could also use your vegetable peeler to split the difference between slices and shreds for a grilled cheese, as it will produce a rather thin strip that will melt better than the relatively thicker standard square, preventing a common grilled cheese mistake. These small pieces also work for a lot of snackier foods, too, giving you just the right amount of cheese to top apple or pear slices, crackers, and baguette medallions. And, when used particularly in lieu of a clunky box grater, such as for your toasties or to add some gooey goodness to a baked potato, a vegetable peeler is just quicker and easier to clean. It'll better keep your knuckles intact, too.