How To Peel A Cucumber

If you already have a vegetable peeler and you know how to use it, you can go ahead and click “Back” on your browser now. You won’t see anything exciting here. (Seriously. Sometimes a cucumber is just a cucumber.)

Directions

Still with us? Okay.

This …

… is a vegetable peeler. This version works left- or right-handed. The blade is the inside of the hole in that long metal piece.

Press it lightly against middle of the cucumber and slide it toward the end you’re not holding.

You could go toward your hand, but it would hurt. So don’t do that.

Rotate the cucumber a little and do another strip. Keep going all the way around.

You’ll probably have a bit at the end that isn’t peeled. I wouldn’t worry about that piece. It’s probably not worth the trouble.

Flip the cuke around and start over on the other end.

Keep going until the whole thing is peeled.

Okay, fine, peel the end if you really want to.

There, see? You can peel the end.

Or you can cut it off.

Want to fly without a net? Try doing this with a knife instead of a peeler. Just don’t brag to your grandfather, he’ll tell you about the time he got busted smoking behind the barracks and got K.P. duty for two weeks and peeled every potato in Idaho with a knife. And you really don’t want to hear that story (again) do you?

So, if you really want to do this, stand the cuke on its end on the cutting board. Starting at the middle, hold the knife nearly flat against the cuke and slice the thinnest piece you can.

Yes, you can do this, but don’t expect it to be fast.

If you have a really skinny cuke, slice it as is. Otherwise, cut it in half lengthwise first. Stand it on end and cut down through the middle.

Place the two pieces side-by-side and slice them as thick as you want.

Check out the previous post about how to slice an onion for a tip on guiding the blade with the knuckles of your hand. I’m doing the same thing in the photo above.

And that’s it.

Come back tomorrow, or subscribe via the link in the side panel, for the exciting conclusion of Cucumber and Onion Salad.

Want more like this? For more recipes like this, that you can hold right in your hands, and write on, take notes, tear pages out if you want (Gosh, you're tough on books, aren't you?) you might be interested in How To Cook Like Your Grandmother, 2nd edition, Illustrated. Or to learn your way around the kitchen, check out Starting From Scratch: The Owner's Manual for Your Kitchen.