Why I Can't Live Without My OXO Hand Kitchen Tools

Just about everybody has some kitchen hand tools and utensils that they just couldn't live without. Well I'm no exception. I could write an entire article on the importance of keeping the best kitchen knives for all sorts of reasons. But what I really want to emphasize is the importance of buying from a company that has specialized in making the best hand tools for preparing food for decades. That company is OXO. If you've ever been to Bed, Bath & Beyond, you'll have seen an entire wall and shelving area devoted just to the sale of this company's products. I have three that I use all the time and which are mainstays for me in the kitchen. I'll start with the one I use most often and go from there.

All the OXO tools are designed to make it easy for people who may not have strong hands or fingers. Their soft, almost rubbery black handles distinguish most all OXO products. The handles are thick so that one doesn't have to close the hand so completely as to hurt arthritic joints. The softness of the material is also a factor in making these tools simple to handle and to be easy on the hands. All the OXO tools are absolutely simple, with no fancy frills, just excellent gears and smoothly working parts.

My OXO can opener is a case in point. Its soft, thick black handles make it easy to grasp. The rotary blade that initially cuts into the can has never given me any problems and I've been using the thing for over six years. It's as sharp as ever. Most hand-held can openers get dull after just a year or so. The gear that pushes the opener around the edge of the can usually slip or grab--not so with OXO. It cuts around the can like greased lightening and puts less stress on the joints than any other can opener I've ever used. I'd never think of getting any other kind. In fact, it was that OXO can opener that made me start looking at other OXO products when I went to a kitchen isle of a store.