Stroke, traumatic injury, hand deformities related to arthritis, amputations and other health conditions may impair hand functioning. Individuals with poor hand coordination, weakness or loss of function can struggle with everyday activities such as cooking and preparing a meal.
A common challenge faced by people with the use of only one hand is difficulty with cleaning and cooking potatoes.
This article will discuss the the five ways to peel potatoes with one hand:
Use a clamp on vegetable peeler
Secure the vegetable peeler onto the edge of the sink or counter space. Hold the potato in one hand and bring it against the blade to clean the skin off.
Rotate the potato in the hand to expose more skin, and then use the blade again. Repeat this process until the potato is fully peeled.
Use the one handed angled cutting method
Place the potato on the cutting board and chop it in half. With the flat end of the potato halves facing down on the board, use a knife to cut at slight angles to remove the skin. Rotate the potato as needed and continually cut the skin away until all of it has been removed.
Note that this peeling method is quite wasteful and removes a large portion of usable potato. Also, this method is considered more dangerous as the potato may slide on the chopping board, so extra caution needs to be taken.
Use a vegetable peeler in conjunction with an adaptive paring board
Use an adaptive paring board to pierce the potato against the metal prongs to hold it in place. Now take a hand held vegetable peeler and bring the blade against the skin to remove it.
Remove the potato from the metal prongs, rotate it, and pierce it again so it is held in a position that exposes more skin. Use the peeler to remove more skin and repeat this process until the potato is clean.
Use an electric potato peeler
Pierce the potato on the food holder and then bring down the upper food spike to secure it in place. Turn the device on to spin the potato while the cutter head progressively moves down while removing the skin.
When the device has completed its rotation, lift the upper support column away and gently rock the potato back and forth to remove it from the spike. Then chop off the top and bottom end of the potato that has not been peeled by the device.
Note that this kitchen tool does not function well with uneven and oddly shaped potatoes, and may leave some skin in crevices and other hard to reach areas.
Use a manual rotating potato peeler
Place the potato onto the food holder, and lower the top spike to secure it. Then rotate the handle which spins the potato against the cutting blade until it has been sufficiently peeled. Remove the potato from the device and chop off the two ends that have not been peeled by the blade.
This kitchen equipment is similar to an electric rotating potato peeler, however it requires manual strength to rotate the potato against the blade. As a result of the strength and energy demands, many people prefer the electric version where the potato gets peeled on its own.
Related Article: Helpful One Handed Tools