You've Been Using Your Vegetable Peeler Wrong This Entire Time

Peeling vegetables is one of those kitchen tasks that's easy enough, but it often takes way longer than you want it to. The action itself is pretty mindless, but you have to be careful and pay attention to what you're doing — otherwise you could end up with some pretty nasty cuts. While vegetable peelers do make this go a bit faster than peeling with a knife, one man recently shared the way he uses his vegetable peeler that has people absolutely astounded and feeling kind of silly for not thinking of it first.

Today reports that Tim Smith, a 51-year-old account manager from the United Kingdom, shared a video of himself peeling carrots on Facebook, and it definitely created quite a stir. In his video, Smith proclaims, "Oh my god, I just figured out it does this!" before showing off his newly discovered technique. Smith then proceeds to use his vegetable peeler by slicing a carrot in one direction, and then back in the opposite direction instead of starting back at the top. The technique works flawlessly, gliding from one end to the next and back again, raining down perfectly thin ribbons of carrot. He's so surprised he promptly drops both his peeled carrot and his peeler (via My Recipes). 

While everyone should take advantage of this time-saving hack, be sure you have the correct type of peeler before testing it out, as not all peelers are actually able to do this. Today spoke to Frank Proto, the director of culinary operations at the Institute of Culinary Education, who told the outlet that this trick only works on peelers with a specific, double-edged design. To tell if your vegetable peeler will be able to be used in both directions, you can simply look at the blade. If it has sharp edges on both sides, you will be able to use it for this time-saving method.

This trick also works much better on long foods, like carrots or zucchini, than it does on round ones, like apples or potatoes, which you should turn as you peel top to bottom. Make sure you are also being extra cautious when you are using this "new" technique, as Proto states that anytime you push a blade towards yourself rather than away, you are increasing the odds of injuring yourself.