Back To Basics Apple and Potato Peeler Reviews

• Great product, but don't buy it here

  
  By A34IHT8HHC0QXV on 2006-02-14
  This is a great peeler. Cook's Illustrated rated it as the best mechanical peeler. I had a very similar looking one that I bought last year, but it wasn't as well made as the A505 and it didn't work as well.
  
  That said, these merchants are a total ripoff. This thing does not weigh 15 pounds and I have no clue why they are charging so much for shipping. I bought mine through cooking dot com, for only a few dollars more and with free shipping.
  
  Interestingly, it appears as though Williams Sonoma stores also sell this peeler, though it is repackaged with their name one it. It still has "Back to Basics" stamped on the base, though.
  
  

• Fabulous gadget

  
  By A3W4UU0IGACVR4 on 2004-12-16
  If you like apple crisp, pie, etc., this gadget is a MUST. I've been peeling, coring, and slicing apples by hand for years, but this takes all the hard work out of my favorite desserts. In seconds, the apple is all clean and ready to bake. Great for pears, too. I have a dehydrator and I've made dried pears and apples for Christmas gifts for people this year using this handy device. I even got my boyfriend to help me because it's so fun to use...and he never cooks!
  
  All of the blades are replaceable, so there is nothing to every wear out. I'm assuming this is the cast iron version of the device. I can't vouch for the aluminum version. The cast iron model is like something my grandmother would have had...rare to find this kind of quality in a gadget these days. No plastic!
  
  

• An absolute must have .....

  
  By A153GDM0CV8W26 on 2005-04-03
  ... I've had one of these for years now, essential for handling apples in any amount .... the blade is still sharp, works like the day I bought it ..... so glad to see it's more widely available, I would hate to be without one .... makes a great gift for 'newbie' households.... You won't regret it ....
  
  
  
  

• Best ever

  
  By A97ZO2E9XHHF9 on 2005-12-21
  Just purchased this item. I truely don't know what I did before I got it. It takes about 7 minutes to peel enough apples for an entire pie. It does absolutely great peeling potatoes... especially the ones you skin your knuckles on with a conventional peeler.
  
  

• Loving It!

  
  By A1XEJRNQSZPWAI on 2007-08-30
  I love this product! It makes apple preperation soooo much easier! I prepped 20 apples for homeade apple butter in like 15 minutes! You do need to clean it or at least soak some of the parts fairly quickly, because once the apples/juice starts to dry it can be difficult to clean. Also make sure when you use this put some foil or plastic wrap under it to collect the juice that drips down, it can be a bit sticky. Overall this is a great time saver that works above expectations!
  
  
• Great time saver!
  By AN5EP7BCSWLUQ on 2005-12-20
  I too have had one of these for years, and can't do without it. It saves about 20 minutes for every apple pie I make. Just rinse the apple and load with the core lined up with the mechanism. The suction cup really sticks the mechanism to the counter top, and the mechanism does its job with just a few spins of the crank. There is very little wasted apple when this thing is done peeling/coring/slicing. It leaves just a bit of skin at the very top and bottom of the apple, but I don't mind cutting that bit off the spiral and munching it (the apple comes out in one big spiral, like a slinky.) Cleanup is very easy too. Rarely, it needs a little hand-holding to start peeling a really huge apple, but then finishes just fine. The nieces and nephew all fight to use it. Now I'm buying one for sis (their mom.) Worth every penny!
  
  
• Easy & durable!
  By on 2003-11-17
  I 've been using this apple peeler for about six years. It still works great and makes pies a breeze. Even easy enough for kids to use! Much more stable than the kind you have to clamp to the table.
  
  
• How did I live without it??
  By A695H5MN5DBM0 on 2006-08-16
  This gadget has got the be the coolest thing I have bought for my kitchen in years (and I buy A LOT of things for my kitchen)! We are getting ready to make apple butter for the first time (my husband misses his grandmother's homemade apple butter from PA) and I wasn't looking forward to peeling, coring, and cutting bushels of apples. I saw this and figured it was worth the money to save my sanity! We got it last night and grabbed a few apples to test out... it works PERFECTLY! Even the kids are able to use it with no problems. They were all sitting at the table with their own apple cut into a spiral in minutes. AMAZING! My husband is excited... now not only will he get his apple butter, but I will bake apple pies a lot more often!
  
  ***by the way... I got mine from amazon @ acehardware. Much cheaper price.
  
  
• Fast & Furious
  By on 2003-10-21
  I saw this thing in action and it works great. It was sturdy, worked very quickly and was easy to use. It does exactly what it claims to do and does it well. Peeled easily and cored easily.
  
  
• Great Item!!
  By A32IUJDZH9ZYTQ on 2004-09-09
  This item was a terric find! Its easy to use. Easy to clean.
  Everyone in the house loves it! It takes just seconds to peel and core an apple. The kids just love it! Would recommend this item to anyone who loves apples.
  
  
  
• Amazing!
  By A1PQLLCGHI7OHN on 2004-11-28
  Love Peel Away! It is rare that a product is as easy to use as it says- this is. It takes no time to make an apple pie or apple crisp. Great for cutting apples for young children. Takes the peel off and slices thin.
  
  
• A great kitchen tool
  By A2LTN8NKZZXROO on 2006-11-05
  This is such a great time saver in the kitchen. You can peel 5 lbs of apples in a short amount of time and they are perfect for pies. I have one and I gave my daughter one and she loves it. She even peels potatoes for mashed potatoes with it and has mashed potatoes often now that she has the apple and potato peeler. A very good product and it is sturdy too.
  
  
• not worth purchasing
  By A7Q5I14OB96X5 on 2007-05-30
  This product would work great if apples were all round. However, if your apples are not round, this will take off enough peel and apple to make it round. The spring is too strong to allow the peeler to work with the shape of the apple and instead makes the apple fit the shape the peeler wants. At this time we are looking for a final resting place for this item.
  
  
• Absolutely great item
  By A2VW1IP6AL3LEI on 2007-01-04
  I used this item for the first time after Christmas and let me tell you it has now become one of my favorite kitchen items. For moms of small kids who love apples, and insist that they be peeled, this is a necessity! It even makes me want to eat more apples because it's easy and fun to use too!
  
  
• Use it all the time
  By A1Q9CDUV9E5IT7 on 2006-12-26
  We use it all the time. Works great. Takes a bit of practice to adjust it right and line up the core. Does not work well on some apples.
  
  
• Works great!
  By A3E6O0ERZGDIZU on 2007-01-09
  This is a heavy duty high quality product than performs the task as stated with apples. It does not do a great job with potatoes, however. There are similar products out in the market, which I had purchased and returned, that do not do as good a job. Beware of imitations that will not perform the job anywhere as good as this brand.
  
  
• my favorite kitchen gadget gift
  By A3CP3Y9F05IZNM on 2007-01-11
  I love mine so much, it has become my favorite thing to give my friends who also like to cook, expecially the ones who bake. Though sturdy (cast iron, I guess), it is fairly small and lightweight. It is very easy to suction to the counter by moving the lever. I've been told that the clamp on version is much more of a pain to use. It peels, cores and slices an apple in 7 seconds. Though I haven't tried it yet, I think you can move the peeler blade out of the way if you just want to core and slice. Fun to use! I have not tried potatoes.
  
  
• Well-made and fun to use!
  By A1GVBBW844YJDI on 2007-06-08
  My wife has wanted one of these for a while now after seeing one at a Pampered Chef party. I had no idea what she was asking for but decided to look into getting her one. I looked at the Pampered Chef one and was not impressed with the idea of clamping it to the counter or table or spending even more money to buy a funny little base for it. So, I decided to look at other options. This one looked good and the price was MUCH better than the Pampered Chef variety. I ordered it and it arrived very quickly. My wife was very excited and she LOVES the way the base suctions to the table - it works very well and the kids love having apples this way. For what we were looking for - this product is a perfect fit!
  
  
• Gets the job done!
  By AK7CAW3N1XZV6 on 2007-10-01
  I haven't used this for potatoes, just apples. And even though I don't use it all that often--just a few times per year when I make apple pies, cobblers, and the like--it is an indispensible piece of kitchen equipment. All you have to do is stick the apple on the prongs and turn the handle; as the apple spins, it is peeled by the sharp little blade, and as it passes through the little opening on the end, it is cored and sliced into a neat, even spiral. It's practically effortless! The suction cup is a nice added feature for holding the unit still as you are using it. I would definitely recommend this item, and it's an absolutely must-have if you are frequently baking apple treats!
  
  
• He loves it!
  By A37Z1ZNG1YMT5R on 2007-05-06
  I bought this product for my hubby's birthday, and he absolutely loves it! He is now a peeling machine.
  
  
• Love it!
  By A1CEBGRW3NTVPF on 2007-07-14
  This makes peeling, coring and slicing apples so easy. I can now prepare apples for a pie in a minute or two! Great buy. It is the same maker as the one you can buy at Williams-Sonoma so buy this one because it is cheaper sans the W-S logo.
  
  
• Excellent peeler...quick and easy to clean
  By A1QVTG8HL30A2J on 2007-11-07
  I used to own the same peeler that clamped to the countertop. Not only did is slide but because it was on the edge it splattered the floor. This one attaches firmly and peels and cores well. Occasionally the prongs rip the core of the apple preventing it from turning but that is uncommon. The entire process is so quick that I can make a pie or cobbler in minutes. Excellent
  
  
• Not a great gadget
  By AMXCSCV4NHHJQ on 2007-12-12
  I love gadgets, especially if they make your life easier. I found this to be a confusing mess. Not all apples are created equally. I can peel, pare, core, using a great sharp paring knife in half the time it took to set this contraption up. The stick to any surface feature hah..,adjust the setting for each apple hah..,clean up the mess hah..No thanks, I put it back in it's box and into the garage sale pile.
  
  
• I love this "Gadget"
  By AMM4G5CCMDB09 on 2008-02-15
  You know how many gadgets "seem" like a great idea, but then when you use them they're more trouble than they're worth and they end up getting stuck in the back of a cupboard, never to see the light of day until you move? Well, this apple peeler isn't one of "those" gadgets. It's really quite brilliant and works exactly as advertised. For some reason my life has entered the Twilight Zone of apple pie. I find myself promising to bring an apple pie to events at least once every two months. It's truly bizarre. Nevertheless, while I enjoy cooking, I really hate the tedious aspects of it. Peeling, coring, and slicing apples for a pie ranks right up there with pulling all those little wool balls off a favorite sweater. I have great knives. I have an expensive (and scary) mandolin. I've tried them all, but it's still torture preparing those apples. So I purchased this apple peeler because I saw some chef using it in a newspaper article. Wow, it works perfectly and it's sturdily built - cast iron. Read the instructions to set it up and it's fool proof. To peel, core and slice 8 granny smiths for a pie, it takes about 3 minutes. (Without this gadget, it would take me 30-45 minutes, since I'm not that handy at tedious chores.) It has a really good vacuum suction pad that immobilizes the unit for easy operation. The apple is perfectly peeled, it's cored and sliced in approximately 1/4 inch slices. Total heaven! I've not tried it with potatoes, so I can't comment on how it performs. The only thing I would caution you about is when you wash it, dry it very carefully. When I took mine out tonight to make another one of those damned pies, I noticed some oxidation (rust) on the central shaft. It wiped off easily enough though. So if you've considering another gadget that promises to make your life perfect, consider this one. It won't bring you wealth or fame or the adoration of the masses, but your dinner guests will sure like your apple pies.
  
  
• Love it
  By A3VCOKCZZDF9FB on 2007-05-12
  Works perfect on harder apples, have had trouble with softer ones but on some was able to turn the apple around and get it finished. My only complaint is that it slices them more like 1/4" rather than the 1/8" that they advertise. An awesome tool to have in the kitchen. I never use the wedge slicer anymore!!
  
  
• Fall-time apple peeling!
  By A12EPHRMF9WIN on 2007-09-27
  This is a very well-made, easy-to-use apple peeler. It adheres well to the surface you place it on and peels an apple quickly and neatly, producing donut-shape slices. My 85-year-old father finds it simple to operate and will hopefully use it often.
  
  
• Does NOT work
  By A1AJ7W1ZI4WMCM on 2007-11-04
  This gadget does NOT work at all, I used up 5 apples and 1 potato, not 1
  worked for me?!
  I have almost ALL kinds of gadgets for a well stocked kitchen and I love
  them all, except this one.
  I will NOT recommend this one
  
  
• Your kids will eat apples!!!!
  By A2Y61V4JFA3KTI on 2007-08-31
  My friend had one and i thought she was crazy to bring it on vacation!!! BUT WOW!!! It is the coolest thing! In less than 30 seconds, you have a full apple peeled and cored! My daughter helps me turn it and loves to eat apples now! I made an apple crisp and had 5 apples peeled in about 2 minutes!
  
  Clean up is very easy - just wash it off. You can take off the corer and peel potatoes, although the "divets" in potatoes aren't caught so you have to go back over it with a knife.
  
  WELL worth the money! It is very stable, easy to use, and safe (although keep your kids fingers away from the peeler and corer).
  
  
  
  
• Fantastic
  By A3FTIJGISOV676 on 2007-09-08
  This is a fantastic product! So simple to use and works perfectly every time! It's built very sturdily and I expect it to last me for years and years.
  
  
• Apples in an Instant!
  By ATNA4INFV8UCC on 2007-09-23
  I so love the Back to Basics A505 apple peeler and corer. I bought a used one on eBay and when the blades finally gave out, I opted for a new one. You can also purchase replacement blades for it, but I chose to go new. I love this. It peels and cores in a flash, is easy to clean and not bulky for storage. My familly eats more than an "apple a day" since we've been using this peeler. My toddler can't get enough of the spirally apples. If you bake apple pies or make applesauce, this would be an awesome tool. 5 Stars for sure.
  
  

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