Kitchen tools and arthritis

[marbel]

So I have arthritis in my hands now, and vegetable prep is starting to hurt. I'm thinking of getting some new tools to make my life easier, in particular:

- a mandoline - actually I've been thinking about this for a number of years, but inertia and lack of storage spaced has stopped me

- a new vegetable peeler - I have a basic OXO that has been fine, but I wonder if there is something better, maybe one that peels a wider swath than what I have? 

- chopper. I actually have 2 things that can be used to chop vegetables, but I don't really like either of them. One is manual, and it's hard to push down the top bit to move the blade; it's also a pain to clean. The other is an electric mini-food processor that is OK but inconsistent with regard to size of the pieces. Maybe that's the best it gets, I don't know. 

- alternatives to the trusty box grater? I have tried to use the grating disc on the food processor, but the pieces are too small for the way I use, for example, carrots in salad. Yes, I know that's a bit picky, but... it's a texture thing! 

Any recommendations for types and/or brands?  Or other thoughts on cooking with arthritis in the hands (area between thumb and fingers, mainly)? Thanks for any ideas! 

ETA: I also have a Cuisineart 11 cup food processor, but the results from the grating disc are too small for my needs. Maybe I should look into new accessories. 

Edited August 17, 2023 by marbel

[Carol in Cal.]

Oxo was actually designed for people with arthritis, and I have not seen anything better.

My food processor has a two sided grating disk—one fine and one very coarse.  You just flip it over to switch between them.  Also, I have a rotary grater for cheese that has a coarse cylinder and is easy to use but rickety.  I’ve seen newer rotary graters that might be easier in stores.  My suggestion if you’re going to grate by hand is to make sure that whatever you get has microplane blades—those make it so much easier to get through what you’re grating.

Newer food processors sometimes have a dicing mode.  I don’t have this, though, so I don’t know whether it’s better than typical chopping or not.

 

[kbutton]

Zyliss has a nice rotary grater with microplane blades. It’s better for harder cheeses like parmesan.

Mandolines with several types of blades and graters are nice, though no one in our house likes to wash them, lol! We have an inexpensive one from Aldi that works very well. They used to offer them seasonally. All of the blades store onboard, which is really nice! It’s really awesome for slicing potatoes.

When my kids are out of the house, I expect to buy more things already grated, TBH. I often buy matchstick carrots for cooking or salad already.

A friend has a very quiet Cuisinart food processor that does lots of things. If you don’t mind spending as much or more time cleaning appliances as the appliances take to do the job, those are probably the way to go.

If it’s something that doesn’t take tons of coordination, sometimes I try things with my non-dominant hand. Those joints have less wear and tear. 

[Pawz4me]

6 minutes ago, kbutton said:

 

When my kids are out of the house, I expect to buy more things already grated, TBH. I often buy matchstick carrots for cooking or salad already. 

That's what I do, as much as possible.

I have both RA and OA that affect my hands (and wrists, and on and on). And thanks to RA fatigue is frequently a factor. So for me it's well worth the extra cost to buy things that are pre-cut and avoid the extra wear and tear and energy use of prep and cleaning up the tools and/or appliances used.

I do find Oxo products to be relatively arthritis friendly. Probably as much as any are.

[prairiewindmomma]

My best advice is to keep the peeler, and buy a good Cuisinart food processor for the rest. 
 

I have RA and during flares I can barely hold a pencil, let alone use my Zyliss micro plane. You want to choose devices that allow you to use the side of your hand or mostly just use your wrists.

[Arcadia]

If your husband and/or kids are able to help, I would splurge on a 10 to 14 cup food processor. I have a Ninja XL food processor which is noisy but does the job so much better than my 3 cup mini food processor. I just do more than a week’s worth of sliced carrots, zucchini (stir fry size), shredded carrots (mainly for kimchi), diced onions at a time and put them into ziploc bags. The food processor parts are dishwasher friendly though my husband and my teens would usually help me hand wash. My teens find it fun to help out as well. 

[prairiewindmomma]

We do much as Arcadia…we have a 14c cuisinart and do weekly prep for a lot of stuff. Dunking and rinsing between foods is a lot less work than doing a fresh setup nightly. I keep my prepped veg in glassware in the fridge. 

[marbel]

Thanks for all the comments - they are helpful!

I updated the OP to say that I also have a Cuisineart 11 cup food processor, but the results from the grating disc are too small for my needs. I use it a good bit for things like salsa, some batters, chopping nuts for baking or granola - things where size inconsistency is not a problem.  So I don't need a new food processor but maybe I should look for some new accessories for it. 

Edited August 17, 2023 by marbel

[prairiewindmomma]

Do you have the julienne and spaghetti cut blades? 

[Arcadia]

51 minutes ago, marbel said:

So I don't need a new food processor but maybe I should look for some new accessories for it.

Do you have the slicing disc in your set? Something like this
https://www.cuisinart.com/shopping/parts-and-accessories/details/fp-11sld/

I use the Ninja equivalent to slice vegetables for stir fry. Mine is an adjustable disc so I could vary the thickness.

[Bootsie]

58 minutes ago, marbel said:

Thanks for all the comments - they are helpful!

I updated the OP to say that I also have a Cuisineart 11 cup food processor, but the results from the grating disc are too small for my needs. I use it a good bit for things like salsa, some batters, chopping nuts for baking or granola - things where size inconsistency is not a problem.  So I don't need a new food processor but maybe I should look for some new accessories for it. 

I have three different grating discs for my Cuisinart, in addition to several different slicing discs. so I can get a wide range of results from my Cuisinart.

[dsmith]

I've started buying frozen chopped onions, or having dh chop for me. I don't have arthritis in my hands, but MS has been affecting them a lot lately. Luckily dh does the bulk of the cooking around here.😁We do find we like Oxo products because of the size - they are much easier to work with. I bought dh one of these, which has been a big help for him, but it's difficult for me to push down: 

 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08N9Q24M9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My mil has severe arthritis in her hands. I bought her this for Christmas and she loves it!!: 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S242C6R/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[marbel]

I have the accessories that came with it, but they are packed away because I never used them. I just use the basic chopping blade. There are 3 discs: 2 for slicing, 1 for shredding. I do remember I didn't like the size of the shredded pieces. But I don't remember why I didn't like the slicing blades. 

So, my next task is to find the box they are in (fairly easy, I think), then pull them out and give them all a try.  I have some aging carrots that will serve nicely for testing.  😉

Thanks for the (inadvertent) reminder! And all the others ideas; I'm checking out all the products and such now. 

[Bootsie]

2 hours ago, marbel said:

I have the accessories that came with it, but they are packed away because I never used them. I just use the basic chopping blade. There are 3 discs: 2 for slicing, 1 for shredding. I do remember I didn't like the size of the shredded pieces. But I don't remember why I didn't like the slicing blades. 

So, my next task is to find the box they are in (fairly easy, I think), then pull them out and give them all a try.  I have some aging carrots that will serve nicely for testing.  😉

Thanks for the (inadvertent) reminder! And all the others ideas; I'm checking out all the products and such now. 

I found that I had to play around a bit with what items to put down the larger hopper and which items to use the smaller tube with, which direction to turn the items I was shredding, how tightly to pack the hopper, and how much pressure to use when pushing the items (consistent pressure leads to more consistent results)

[skimomma]

Has anyone tried these attachments for a KitchenAid mixer?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C4FB2FWB/ref=sw_img_1?smid=A1AZL2PP666MQQ&psc=1

We eat a LOT of vegetables and while I don't have arthritis, I do have carpal tunnel and grip issues so find hours of slicing and shredding by hand to be difficult sometimes.  I use my food processor for this frequently but find that is a lot to clean if I am only looking to maybe finely shred some parmesan cheese, for instance.  The above looks like less to clean?  My mixer is just sitting on the counter so I think I'd be more likely to user this than haul out the food processor for smaller jobs.

[Bootsie]

1 hour ago, skimomma said:

Has anyone tried these attachments for a KitchenAid mixer?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C4FB2FWB/ref=sw_img_1?smid=A1AZL2PP666MQQ&psc=1

We eat a LOT of vegetables and while I don't have arthritis, I do have carpal tunnel and grip issues so find hours of slicing and shredding by hand to be difficult sometimes.  I use my food processor for this frequently but find that is a lot to clean if I am only looking to maybe finely shred some parmesan cheese, for instance.  The above looks like less to clean?  My mixer is just sitting on the counter so I think I'd be more likely to user this than haul out the food processor for smaller jobs.

I have something that looks similar for my Kitchen Aid mixer, and I have not liked it.  I found it difficult to get the output to land where I wanted it to land.  It comes out of the dispenser, but not into the Kitchen Aid bowl--you have to have another bowl placed in front and I found that difficult with my cabinets/countertops.  And, holding the bowl in front was not an option because I needed to use my hands.  I also didn't find it easier to clean than my food processor.  (And I have had severe carpal tunnel--surgery on both wrists).

[skimomma]

22 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

I have something that looks similar for my Kitchen Aid mixer, and I have not liked it.  I found it difficult to get the output to land where I wanted it to land.  It comes out of the dispenser, but not into the Kitchen Aid bowl--you have to have another bowl placed in front and I found that difficult with my cabinets/countertops.  And, holding the bowl in front was not an option because I needed to use my hands.  I also didn't find it easier to clean than my food processor.  (And I have had severe carpal tunnel--surgery on both wrists).

Interesting.  Thanks for sharing.  I use the KA attachments like the grain mill and puree-thing frequently.  I have a rubbermaid bowl that I flip upside down to set a receiving bowl on top to catch the contents as they leave the puree-thing, which is what I planned to try with this if I got it.  Looking at the videos, it looks like even that might not catch everything.  I do like how mess-free the food processor is but find myself chopping by hand to avoid having to drag it out and clean up afterwards.

[prairiewindmomma]

I borrowed KA attachments long ago, and decided I needed a separate food processor and wheat grinder. I wasn’t happy with the KA attachments.

[skimomma]

14 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I borrowed KA attachments long ago, and decided I needed a separate food processor and wheat grinder. I wasn’t happy with the KA attachments.

I do love the grinder.  I have heard other complain about it but I have been using it weekly for 20+ years and have been happy enough.  I always grind grains that are frozen (I store my 20# bags of whole grains in the chest freezer) so that might help?

[Bootsie]

I love my pasta roller, pasta press, and sifter/scale attachments.  I gave my sister the slicer/shredder attachments, and she returned them to me shortly saying that she did not like them either.

[EKS]

Have you tried a spiralizer for the vegetables? 

[marbel]

1 minute ago, EKS said:

Have you tried a spiralizer for the vegetables? 

Actually, that never occurred to me. I'll look into it, thanks!

[prairiewindmomma]

38 minutes ago, skimomma said:

I do love the grinder.  I have heard other complain about it but I have been using it weekly for 20+ years and have been happy enough.  I always grind grains that are frozen (I store my 20# bags of whole grains in the chest freezer) so that might help?

It strained the motor enough that I worried about longtime strain on the machine, plus the grind was terrible. The whispermill and the Nutrimill both offered a lot more control and precision over the grind. I went the Nutrimill route 20 years ago and have been happy. 

[skimomma]

31 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

It strained the motor enough that I worried about longtime strain on the machine, plus the grind was terrible. The whispermill and the Nutrimill both offered a lot more control and precision over the grind. I went the Nutrimill route 20 years ago and have been happy. 

I was initially concerned about motor strain as I have a base model mixer that is now 26 years old.  I also beat the thing up with very....uh....hearty bread dough.  I really cannot believe I have not killed the motor.  I do try to plan ahead so if I am grinding flour for bread, I am not also kneading dough right afterward.  I try to remember to grind flour the night before or earlier in the day.  But sometimes that does not happen and I do back-to-back jobs.  It has never gotten very hot or smelled hot so I assume all is good?  4 loaves a week for 20+ years.  So far, so good.

As far as grind, since I have never had the benefit of trying a different grinder, it just is what it is.  I found the setting that works and have left it like that forever.  It is probably truly terrible but we don't know any better:)

[prairiewindmomma]

Keeping tapping wood or whatever magic you do! I strained my motor a few years ago with a stiff dough and it has a very slow oil leak. It also now smells hot if I do anything super stiff or whip for a long time. I will be sad when my KA dies, but I think it is on its last legs after 20+ years.