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What is a Julienne Peeler?

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

A julienne peeler is a hand-held kitchen utensil which cuts vegetables into thin, even strips, in a style known as a julienne cut. These julienne strips can be used to dress up dishes like salads and pasta, and they can also be included in stir fries and other cooked dishes. Their even size ensures that they cook evenly while remaining attractive, two important traits in professional food. Many kitchen supply stores sell julienne peelers, and they are also available through online retailers.

The construction of a julienne peeler resembles a potato peeler. A thin blade shaves off even sheets of the vegetable, while serrations cut the sheets into small strips. To use a julienne peeler properly, it must be dragged evenly across a vegetable, ensuring that the size of the sheet remains uniform. If the vegetable needs to be peeled beforehand, as might be the case with thick skinned foods like carrots, a separate tool will be needed for peeling.

Julienned vegetables are used in making sushi.
Julienned vegetables are used in making sushi.

Julienne strips are certainly not required in any dish, but they look stylish and they can be more convenient than unevenly sized pieces of vegetable material. In addition to a julienne peeler, cooks can also use devices like mandolines to create evenly sized strips of vegetables, but julienne peelers are faster to use and someone safer, since mandoline blades are notoriously sharp. Julienned vegetables can be used in sushi, as garnishes, in soups, or in stir fries; the imagination is really the only limit.

A julienne peeler can be used to slice vegetables into thin, even strips.
A julienne peeler can be used to slice vegetables into thin, even strips.

If you have ever wondered how chefs get those perfect curls of vegetables onto their salads, the julienne peeler is the answer. With some practice, you can learn to turn spirals in vegetables and to use other neat tricks to create spirals and curlicues in addition to straight strips of vegetables.

A good julienne peeler will have a solid handle which is easy to grip, making the peeler easy to use even after long hours in the kitchen. In addition, the blade should ideally have a safety feature such as a guard to ensure that the cook does not julienne his or her hands as well. Because of the small parts, it is generally better to wash and dry a julienne peeler by hand, rather than running it through a dishwasher. In addition to ensuring that all of the parts are cleaned, hand washing is also better for the longevity of the blade, as dishwashers can dull blades.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a DelightedCooking researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a DelightedCooking researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

anon981474

I use my peeler once a week, so I bought the Röse peeler. Stainless steel, a real cheffy julienne peeler made of stainless steel and it's German quality.

MsClean

@goldensky - Lucky you! I love California naval oranges. The gadget you received is called a citrus peeler, not a julienne peeler. It's used to peel a variety of citrus fruits.

The pointed tip is used to slice the peel and the other end is used to get under the peel and pull it away from the fruit with greater ease.

I only paid one dollar for mine and I use it everyday for peeling oranges and grapefruits. You're going to love using it once you get the hang of it.

goldensky

I attended a network marketing presentation in Riverside, California a few weeks ago and all the guests received a bag of naval oranges and a skinny plastic gadget for peeling them -- is it a julienne peeler?

I honestly have no idea what one looks like, and I don't know how I'm supposed to use this thing. Any ideas?

bfree

@babylove - I bought my mother-in-law the Williams-Sonoma Rosle julienne peeler for Christmas last year and she said it was the best vegetable peeler she has ever owned.

I purchased the Rosle because it's made of stainless steel and it has a swivel action head so the blades glide easily over rough surfaces like potatoes. It also came with a blade protector, a free replacement blade and it's dishwasher safe.

I don't know much about the Pampered Chef's peeler, but the Rosle makes julienne strips that look like they were created by a professional chef. It does have a high price tag of around thirty dollars but it's definitely worth every penny.

babylove

I bought an OXO Good Grips julienne peeler that worked great at first but after several uses the blades got soft and bent out of shape especially when I tried peeling carrots.

The OXO is inexpensive and okay for occasional use but I wouldn't recommend it if you create a lot of julienne style vegetables like I do.

I've been comparing the price and quality between the Pampered Chef julienne peeler and one from Williams-Sonoma.

It's hard to choose which one because they both look ideal for extensive use but the Pampered Chef brand is a lot less expensive. Does anyone have any experience with either of these two vegetable peelers?

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    • Julienned vegetables are used in making sushi.
      By: BlueOrange Studio
      Julienned vegetables are used in making sushi.
    • A julienne peeler can be used to slice vegetables into thin, even strips.
      By: raliand
      A julienne peeler can be used to slice vegetables into thin, even strips.
    • Julienned vegetables can add crunch to nutritious stir-fries that are served with brown rice.
      By: Stepan Popov
      Julienned vegetables can add crunch to nutritious stir-fries that are served with brown rice.
    • Raw vegetables can be julienned and then added to pasta, casseroles, and other dishes.
      By: Boggy
      Raw vegetables can be julienned and then added to pasta, casseroles, and other dishes.