OXO kitchenware: A marriage of form and function

Get a Good Grip on the culinary arts with OXO’s range featuring its iconic cushioned handle

Im-press-ive: This OXO burger press goes for £12.99

Some men say it with flowers. Samuel “Sam” Farber said it with a vegetable peeler. But it wasn’t just any peeler – it was the OXO vegetable peeler and today it is hard at work in kitchens across the world. You can immediately recognise an OXO peeler or any of their Good Grips range thanks to the iconic cushioned handle that gives you what it says – a good grip.

OXO vegetable peeler, £5.20

The OXO story started back in the 1980s when Farber, a retired businessman, and his wife were vacationing in the South of France. Betsy Farber had arthritis and was having a difficult time using the peeler in the home they were renting. That peeler was most likely a traditional swivel-action stainless steel peeler. The swivel action is the slight rotation of the peeler as you move it across the surface of a fruit or vegetable. Ideally, it should glide smoothly over the food and remove a neat, clean layer.

OXO wiper blade, £8

The problem is that these traditional peelers aren’t easy to hold. The shape of the handle doesn’t sit well in the palm of your hand, the metal bites into your skin, and they can slip easily. Farber wondered why there wasn’t something better, easier to use, and more comfortable to hold. Vegetable peelers are one of the most common kitchen gadgets so surely more attention should be paid to their design? Although ostensibly retired, Farber couldn’t resist a challenge and hired a New York City industrial design firm to turn his vision for a better peeler into reality.

OXO Twist and Power Dressing Maker, £18

To find the answers, Farber also worked with a gerontologist to figure out where kitchenware was failing people with special needs. After a lot of research and countless designs, Farber got what he was after and launched the first 15 OXO Good Grips kitchen tools in 1990 in the U.S.

OXO double wall ice bucket, £30

The OXO range has black plastic coated handles so they fit comfortably in the hand. They’re also cushioned, so they’re less likely to slip. The stainless steel blade is sharp so it removes tough outer layers easily while leaving the good stuff underneath intact. The OXO peeler even has a built-in potato ‘eyer’ at the tip – an example of Farber’s drive to create kitchenware that gets the whole job done. It is truly a marriage of form and function.

OXO steel citrus juicer, £14.99

Today, in OXO’s New York City offices, they have a wall covered with single gloves that people have dropped or lost on the city streets. Staff collect and display them as a reminder that hands come in all shapes and sizes. It’s a reminder too that their goal is to design products that work whether you’re old or young; right handed or left.

OXO colander set

I haven’t found anything in the archives to say what Betsy Farber thought about her husband’s invention but if I’d been her, I would have been flattered and thrilled. The OXO peeler makes traditional peelers look barbaric and mine gets a workout daily. Of course the OXO range is far larger than just the swivel peeler we know and love. They also produce a julienne peeler, Y peeler, and a serrated peeler for waxy skinned foods.

OXO non-stick pan, £21.99

There are also OXO measuring jugs, knives, scissors, cutting boards, tea kettles, coffee makers and cookware. They have a whole range of cleaning and laundry kit including sponges, mops, brooms, dusters, soap dispensers and laundry baskets. They’ve even branched out into gardening gear with tools for pruning, trimming, raking and watering. And the OXO obsessed can transport their newborn or toddler in an OXO stroller while the infant enjoys an OXO sippy cup.

OXO Good Grips soft handle can opener, £9.99

The most popular products are their hand-held spiralizer, Y peeler and soft handled can opener. Prices start at a reasonable £3.50 for a suction razor holder and nothing will break the bank. New entries into the growing OXO range include a silicone egg poacher that is perforated to allow water to circulate around the egg (clever) and non-stick bakeware.

Farber sold OXO in 1992 and then in 2013 Helen of Troy Ltd bought the company. Today there are over 1,000 products in the OXO range – impressive when you think it all started with a humble vegetable peeler. And the name? Farber chose it because whether it’s horizontal, vertical, upside down or backwards, it always reads “OXO”. A clever name for decidedly clever kitchenware.