Tasty Tools: Assistive Technology in the Kitchen (Part 1)

By Jen Gosett, BS, CTRS, MATP Staff

If you come into my kitchen and look on the counter tops, open the dishwasher, and peek in the drawers & cabinets, you’ll find a common theme: most of my utensils & kitchen tools are the OXO brand.  From the pizza cutter to the salad spinner, whisk to mixing bowl, and ice cream scoop to prep knives, cherry pitter  to angled measuring cup, it’s mostly OXO.  Why?  OXO tools are easier for me to grip and hold than other brands out there; they make up a large number of the Assistive Technology that I use in the kitchen (stay tuned for Part 2 of this post where I’ll go into other AT I use in the kitchen).

I have Eczema and for me that means I usually have very dry skin; particularly on my hands.  Because of my Eczema, I have very little grip on slippery things like typical metal spatulas, can openers, and pizza cutters.  Oxo tools usually have grippy, weighted handles that fit in my hand and don’t slip out of my grip.  Even on the salad spinner, the button to push to “spin” the salad is larger than on other spinners and is coated in that grippy, OXO coating and the bottom of the bowl is weighted and grippy so it won’t tip over.

OXO intentionally has built their products to be used by as many people as possible.  “OXO was founded on the philosophy of Universal Design, which means the design of products usable by as many people as possible.  More than 25 years ago, Sam Farber noticed his wife Betsey was having trouble comfortably holding her peeler due to arthritis. This got Sam thinking: why do ordinary kitchen tools hurt your hands? Why can’t there be wonderfully comfortable, easy-to-use tools?  Sam saw an opportunity to create more thoughtful cooking tools that would benefit all users and promised Betsey that he would create a better peeler.”“In 1990, after extensive research, hundreds of models and dozens of design iterations, the first 15 OXO Good Grips kitchen tools, including the now iconic peeler, were introduced to the US market. These ergonomically-designed, transgenerational tools set a new standard for the industry and raised the bar of consumer expectation and performance.” (from the OXO site).  

Do you use OXO tools?  What’s your favorite?

OXO kitchen tools may be available for free demonstration and/or short term loan through your local Disability Network.  Search by county to find your local Disability Network and ask them about an Assistive Technology (AT) OXO kitchen tools demonstration.

See you for Part 2, thanks for reading! 🙂