A strawberry huller is a kitchen gadget that is made for capping, or removing the leaves and hulls, of a strawberry. In most cases, a strawberry huller is made of stainless steel or aluminum and bent and shaped like miniature tongs with spade-shaped tips. The general idea behind the use of a strawberry huller is to pinch the tips together around the leaves and hull of a strawberry, twist, and pull. A strawberry huller is designed to make easier work of capping strawberries without losing any of the fruit as you might if capping with a knife.
Realizing what this kitchen gadget is designed for leaves us with its practical application. Many such kitchen gadgets exist that make easier work of food preparation such as a melon baller, an apple corer, cherry pitter and a vegetable peeler. In theory, any tool or gadget that makes easy work of a task is appreciated, but sometimes theory is lost in application. This can be the case with a strawberry huller.
Many people find using a typical strawberry huller to be a bit awkward and rather useless. One of the biggest complaints about this kitchen gadget is that few of them have pointed or serrated tips, making it difficult to pierce the fruit cleanly. Another frequent complaint stems from the construction of most models. Often made of aluminum, many strawberry hullers fail to retain their original shape, making the tool that much more difficult to use successfully.
There are a few strawberry huller manufacturers that offer different designs than those most frequently found in kitchen utensil stores. One design features a pronged cylindrical tip that plunges into the strawberry’s hull and removes the leaves and hull as it is pulled back out. Still other models do feature sturdier construction and slightly pointed tips that may work better than flimsier comparable models.
Many experienced cooks prefer the use of paring knife to a strawberry huller, but if the right one can be located, it may prove to be useful for preparing dishes where strawberries need to be left whole. As for a quicker performance, the strawberry huller versus the paring knife is mostly a matter of personal preference.
