Prep and chopping tools

Garlic, herbs and onions

Garlic is the classic fiddly job. Roll a clove inside the silicone peeler tube and the skin comes away without sticky fingers; then the rolling chopper cuts the peeled cloves as you push it along the worktop. Herb scissors with five blades snip a bunch of chives or parsley into fine pieces straight over the pan, and the herb stripper pulls kale and rosemary leaves off their stems in one pull.

The onion holder pins an onion, tomato or lemon steady with stainless prongs, so your fingers stay well back from the knife and every slice comes out the same thickness.

Fruit and veg

The pineapple corer twists down through a trimmed pineapple and lifts out a spiral of flesh, leaving the core and skin behind. The avocado tool splits, destones and slices; the strawberry huller takes out the green top with a squeeze; the corn stripper runs down a cob and catches the kernels in its cup. The grape cutter quarters one grape or cherry tomato at a time, which is the safe size for small children.

Peelers, zesters and eggs

There are three peelers here, because people hold them differently: a Y peeler with a beech handle, a palm peeler that sits on a finger, and a rasp zester for citrus zest, hard cheese and nutmeg. For eggs, the shake peeler loosens the shell of a boiled egg in a few seconds, the slicer cuts halves, wedges or slices, and the potato ricer turns cooked potatoes into smooth mash.