Ready to make the most of that fruit harvest and squeeze every last drop out of summer? We have so many fruit tools to help with the job.
We have all been there, standing in front of the fruit tools display, eyes popping out of our heads and fingers itching to try every single one of them. There are so many fun doodads and gadgets and we want them all! But do they work as advertised? Will they save time in the kitchen? Can they get your family to eat more fruits and veggies? Are the worth the valuable space in the kitchen? We decided it was time to find out.
Guide to Fruit Tools
Ultimately, we couldn’t test each item (though we would have loved to). Instead, we picked out a few of our long-time favorite gadgets, as well as some new fruit tools we have never tried before. Then we put them to the test to see if any of them deserve a spot in your kitchen, because we know exactly how valuable that space is! Here are the results:
Strawberry Slicer
First up, is the hand-held strawberry slicer. This tool has gone down in the books as one of our all-time favorites. It makes cutting those perfectly even slices of strawberry so easy. You just drop the strawberry into the opening and squeeze the handles. Slice! So easy, even the kids can do it. And you know we love a tool with multiple uses. You can also use this slicer for hard-boiled eggs, mushrooms, bananas, and other soft produce. Ultimately, this tool was a win all across the board!
Cherry Pitter
A few years ago we tested cherry pitters–do you remember that? If you have a cherry tree like Candace, then you know the value of a tool like this. Want to make a beautiful pie or add some pitted cherries to a fruit board for your kids? How do you get all those pesky pits out? Aside from using a chopstick or a hairpin, there are a few tools that work by pitting cherries one at a time and these are great. But other tools work very quickly or can pit multiple cherries at once–which we love. Which one did we like the best? It was actually a tie between the Cherry Pitter with the suction base (our contender from last year) and the OXO Cherry Pitter. You can pit a whole bunch of cherries with either one of these. And each one has a little container to catch the pits as well as a place for the fruit to fall into a bowl.
Orange Peeler
How many oranges do you peel in a day? Sometimes it seems like even one is too many, especially when you get some of the rind stuck under your fingernails. At Gygi, we have a few different citrus peelers and each one has a unique design and application. In the test kitchen, we compared the orange peeler with a handle against an orange peeler you put on your finger. Looking at them we thought the one with the handle would be the better option because it was a little more substantial. But the results surprised us! It was easier and faster to peel the citrus with the cheaper tool that sits around your finger. It has a little edge on the bottom to make little slices in the rind and then on the back side a pointed side you can use to peel the rind away. For only a couple of bucks, it did the job very well. Best of all, it is tiny and takes up hardly any extra space.
Mango Tool
Of all the fruits, mangos can be pretty tricky to cut, slice, and peel because they have a hard, oblong seed in the middle. Ultimately, the goal is to identify the seed, cut around it, and separate the pit from the fruit. We wanted to test the split and pit mango tool to see if it worked any better than a paring knife. The tool looks nice! It is the shape of a mango with a straight edge, a serrated edge, and can also be used as a scooper to get the skin off the mango. And while we liked the tool, it wasn’t our favorite. We decided it would work best if you use a paring knife to slice out the pit and score the fruit, and then use the mango tool to easily remove the fruit from the skin.
Peach Pitter
This little fruit tool surprised us. We thought it was going to work out a little bit like the mango tool–gimmicky and works just ok. But this clever little peach pitter worked perfectly for splitting and pitting peaches into perfect halves. It would be ideal if you want to toss your peaches on the grill and top with ice cream. So easy and delicious! Or if you have a peach tree, this will absolutely save you a lot of time and aggravation. And it works with other stone fruit as well! Now, there is one drawback–you still need your paring knife if you want to cut the peaches into slices. But all in all, we agreed this fruit tool was a win.
Melon Baller
Do you need a melon baller? Or can a regular food scooper work just as well? We had to know. Because if we could get away with a food scooper, we would love to have just one tool for multiple jobs. Turns out, it didn’t work well on a melon. The edge of the food scooper was too blunt, and the hinged part would slice little pieces off of the melon. The melon baller has a thinner edge, and the shape of the tool is perfectly designed for slicing and scooping. Fortunately, the tool is relatively small and easy to toss in any drawer. We would say it is a definite add if you don’t already have one for your kitchen.
Pineapple Corer & Slicer
Saving the best for last. Here is another long-time favorite tool that simplifies pineapple coring and slicing. We know, cutting a pineapple is intimidating! But with this gadget there is no more guessing at cutting through the middle or missing those pesky edges of skin. You simply chop off the top of the pineapple, align the tool with the pineapple core, and start spinning. It was so much faster than trying to cut a pineapple with a knife. And, to top it off, when you remove the fruit with the tool, the skin stays intact so you have a fun little pineapple cup or fruit bowl to use with your fruit display. So yes, the pineapple corer was a win!
We get it. Prepping, slicing, coring, and skinning fruit can be a total pain. But with the right fruit tools you can make the job easy and fun. If you are looking for ways to trick your family into helping more in the kitchen all while eating more fruits and veggies, some of these cool gadgets might be just the ticket you are looking for. These are just a few of the top tools we recommend, but we have an entire selection of fun fruit and veggie gadgets that you need to come check out at our store.
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