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A kernel of truth: This top-selling $9 corn stripper can easily tackle an entire cob in under a minute
The Chef'n Cob Corn Stripper has a fan club of 5,000+ and eliminates the need for precarious knife work — grab it for your next cookout.
Warning: By choosing to read this article, you agree to be subjected to a bushel of corny puns. Still with me? Great, let's corn-tinue. (Okay, I'll try to use them more sparingly.) While I enjoy a good play on words, what I really love is efficiency; as a former baker who now tests and writes about kitchen products for a living, anything that can help me get ahead during meal prep is a winner in my book. But not every single-use gadget is worthy of precious drawer space. (A pistachio opener? Spare me.) Some of them, however, are actually useful, and if you plan on consuming many an ear this summer, allow me to introduce you to the Chef'n Cob Corn Stripper.
This gadget ($9 a "pop") is for anyone like myself who does not enjoy a mouthful of stringy teeth and would prefer to eat loose kernels from a bowl, thank you very much. Not only does the Stripper get to work faster than a knife, it's also safer to use — shuck, yeah!
I wouldn't be surprised if "I'm In Love with a Stripper" becomes your song of summer once you put this gizmo to the test — but maybe let your confused spouse know you're referring to a kitchen tool...
There are plenty of tips out there for removing corn kernels. One involves getting out a Bundt pan, sticking the cob into the center hole and slicing the kernels so that the pan catches them. That's all well and good, except for the fact that balancing an ear of corn on its narrow end while taking a knife to it has likely led to many a finger mishap. You could also use a vegetable peeler-like tool, but that only lets you remove a narrow column at a time.
What sets the Chef'n Cob Corn Stripper apart is that it tackles the entire ear in one fell swoop. The inside is equipped with a sharp, ring-shaped blade that saws the kernels away from the cob while keeping your fingers out of harm's way. All you do is place one end of the ear inside, then twist the stripper in a downward motion. Ta-da! Oh, and once it's worked its magic on your farmer's market haul, it can go on the top rack of your dishwasher for easy cleaning. That's what I'm "stalk"-ing about!
Over 5,000 Amazon customers were so a-maize-d by the speed of Chef'n Cob Corn Stripper, they gave it a five-star rating.
"It sheared 14 ears in 10 minutes with full kernels," raved one happy shopper. "I was quite pleased. ... Only takes three or four ears to become proficient."
"[I've] been buying the fresh summer corn husks to parboil and then seal in a freezer bag so we have fresh corn for the winter," shared another. "We used to use a knife to cut the kernels from the corn cob, but man, this does the job so fast and much more quickly! It also wastes less than the knife would. ... Also, [our] daughter has braces and can’t eat corn on the cob. We can scrape it so much faster for her now."
"This has been such a time-saver and a kernel-saver!" exclaimed a third. "I used to cut the corn off the cob with a knife and would have kernels everywhere due to limited mobility in my left hand. With this, I’m able to easily get the corn off the cob and into the bowl with no casualties. ... My family is obsessed with my homemade corn chowder and now I don’t dread making it for them."
"For the most part, it removed the kernels flawlessly," wrote a mainly content reviewer. "However, at times it missed quite a bit at the narrowest part of the cob. We went back through and focused the edge on each side and cleaned it up. The other challenge was removing the gadget from the thickest end without practically throwing corn. It took some practice but we were able to control it a bit more by slowly rotating the cob and stripper in opposite directions until it basically twisted off." That said, they added, "It held up great, will be used again and is definitely something I'd buy again!"
"It will give your forearm muscles a workout," admitted a final fan, "but [it's] safer [and] more efficient in cutting all the corn off."
Barbecue meal prep doesn't have to be stressful — let this top-seller bring you some peace and hominy.
Psst: Here's another summer must-have.
I don't know about you, but cutting up a gigantic watermelon is one of the banes of warm weather gatherings. This genius contraption almost makes it fun — just slice a watermelon into quarters, then push this windmill-like device through the flesh and it'll cut out perfectly uniform cubes. Cool, right?
"It cut through the watermelon like butter," raved a fan. "There was no resistance, and it made short work of cutting the melon into uniform cubes. Tomorrow, it will be cantaloupe cubes."
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The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
