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More Drills-Vs.-Apples and Other Fruit-Peeling Contraptions

Mass apple-peel

By Rain Noe - September 24, 2015

in Food

The drill-wielding apple peeler was a silly bit of fun. But it turns out there is actual market demand for an object that will quickly peel apples. One product reviewer on Amazon writes of needing something "to help me get through 147 lbs of apples" in order to make "apple sauce, apple butter, apple pie, strudel, you name it, every fall when the harvest is in." Another speaks of preparing applesauce in 30-pound batches. That's a lot of apples to peel and slice.

Enter the product they're reviewing, the Pampered Chef Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer:

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The design is undeniably clever, with the inverted-U-shaped blade able to follow the irregular contours of the apple as it's supported on a spring-loaded arm that provides pressure. If you cannot work out how or where the helical cut occurs, this view from the side should make it more clear:

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The device isn't idiot-proof, however, and there are YouTube videos (not worth posting) showing mechanically-challenged folks who cannot figure out how to operate it correctly. This Japanese-designed device below appears a bit easier to use:

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However, as you saw it requires a manual tool at the end to perform the coring and separating function, and it does not have the thin-slicing functionality. For that you'd need to return to the first object.

That Pampered Chef machine takes just seconds to perform what would take minutes by hand. Multiply that by 30 or 147 pounds' worth of apples and you have a valuable labor-saving device. But the gent below has figured out a way to make this contraption even faster using, you guessed it, a power drill:

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Of course, there are faster, industrial-grade solutions…

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…but somehow those aren't as fun to watch.

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George Mokray

9 years ago

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The film "Red Persimmons" about the traditional Japanese fruit includes an extended history of persimmon peelers which is fascinating and includes designs which may be adapted to apples and other fruits
http://icarusfilms.com/new2004/redp.html

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Patrick VanAntwerp

9 years ago

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https://youtu.be/5ETs_NaFz8w
KitchenAid recently combined the "drill and peeler" into an attachment for the Standmixer with better form than the Dewalt married to a Pampered Chef.

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Noodle Time

9 years ago

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the pampered chef model is just a copy/refinement of the red one shown below it. I remember using one just like it 25+ years ago... and i am pretty sure that the basic design has been around in some form for over 100 years... which i think it worth mentioning because it shows how good the design is, that it has been around so long, relatively unchanged.

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Rob Bye

9 years ago

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I miss when Core77 was the go to place for well written journalistic pieces and opinions on design and culture. The home page is now: how to lift heavy things, how to organise boots, photos of garage doors, emoji analysis and a video of a grandma going through a car wash. The best article is a reader submitted one!

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- Jason Pokines
  
  Rob Bye
  
  9 years ago
  
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  I just don't like the articles where it's only a sentence or two to say "Hey look at this video we found" and then an embedded YouTube link. Yes, I still watch, and I usually like the video, but I subscribed to read articles.
  
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- Luc Zwetsloot
  
  Rob Bye
  
  9 years ago
  
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  You are right in my opinion. But this are also great inspiration pieces. I think there should be more well written articles but this kind of pieces are ok too. Maybe a little more a mix of both would be nice. Less is more.
  
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- Noodle Time
  
  Rob Bye
  
  9 years ago
  
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  i actually enjoy Rain's sense of humor in the articles, and they are still all design related, maybe not mechanical, maybe marketing design, but still , there is some design inspiration to pull from every article. I agree that some are not as filling as others, but overall, i enjoy the variety.
  
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