The Kitchen Tool Ina Garten Thinks You Should Replace Each Year

The Barefoot Contessa has taught us a lot over the more than 18 years and 26 seasons of her Food Network cooking show. Ina Garten has shown us how to cook holiday brunch like a pro. She schooled us on how to truly enjoy and imbibe a giant Cosmopolitan during quarantine. And she has shared countless cooking secrets, including how to make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich. Garten is always sharing her best advice for home cooks and our meals and kitchens are better for it.  

Not too long ago, Garten shared with Food and Wine that there is one kitchen tool that you should replace on an annual basis. Seriously. Every. Year. Okay, we realize that there are very few kitchen gadgets that you would ever replace with such frequency. Honestly, you probably think "one and done" after you purchase most culinary tools. However, Garten says that because this particular item gets used on a fairly regular basis, wears down easily, and because it is inexpensive, you should definitely replace it. What is it? 

If you guessed vegetable peeler then winner, winner, chicken dinner. Garten told Food and Wine, "Vegetable peelers get rusty, they get dull, and they're very cheap, so you can just throw them out and buy new ones. Every once in a while I do that." If you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Prepping vegetables for meals can be one of the most time-consuming tasks. All that washing and peeling takes time, especially if your peeler is past its prime. Sure, using that dull peeler on your carrots, potatoes, zucchinis, and cucumbers may give you arms like Linda Hamilton in Terminator, but it slows down the cooking process, wasting precious minutes.

Some people who are environmentally conscious and are trying to limit their contribution to the planet's waste might not want to just toss out a gadget. Per The Frontier Group, Americans contribute a whopping 30 percent to the planet's total waste. If you're in that camp, Kelsey Youngman, the associate food editor of Food and Wine, suggests you should, "...keep your peeler clean, dry, and safely stored, and it'll last as long as possible before needing to be replaced." And if you are looking for a good replacement for your peeler, the editors at Food and Wine recommend the three-pack of Kuhn Rickon peelers.