9 Things every left handed person should have in their kitchen in 2022

Measuring Cup

When you have all the markings and readings towards your right side, it can be a problem for a left handed person to read the measurements. You have to twist your hands in odd angles to see the other side. Imagine doing the same thing every time you fill the cup and try to get the right measure.

Isn’t that too inconvenient?

That is why measuring cups made for left handed individuals are very important. While you are busy trying to read those measurements, the contents of your cup can spill too. That is additional work of cleaning and regret that you spilled your precious content. The cups made should have very neatly printed measurements to the left side over the transparent glass. There is a possibility of the markings fading away as you keep washing the cup post use. That’s why engraving the measurements on glass is a good option.

You can even buy the cups that use permanent ink that is waterproof and also safe for use. In this way, your cake making, pie-making, and several other preparations can be done easily. You won’t end up being tired in the initial stages of measurements and you can save your energy for the further processes.

Corkscrew/ Wine Openers

The corkscrew used to open wine bottles, beer bottles or any bottles for that matter, have to be of a different design to be ergonomic for left-handers.

A left-handed person’s dominant hand is different from the others and keeping the majority population in mind, most screws are made for right-hand usage. When a lefty works with his right hand, he cannot put enough pressure to open the bottle. It will take more time and effort to open the bottle. If you are in a party or a bar, that extra time will make you look like a non-experienced person. That is not going to be good for your reputation.  

Sometimes, the screw openers are also heavy and the weight will slow your opening process. This will even make your wrist and hand hurt if you open more bottles. A left-handed corkscrew or wine opener rotates in the counter-clockwise direction. So you can hold them with the left hand and easily turn them to open the bottles. The pressure required is also going to be significantly less and since you are using your dominant hand, there is no scope of pain and discomfort even after opening 10 bottles. This will be a great addition to your kitchen and a good tool during the kitty parties.

Mittens

Most of the time left-handers end up purchasing mittens that are designed for their off hands. When you buy your mittens from the local market or online portals, you don’t find them mentioning the hand details.

When you finally get the mitten, you can’t use it for the left hand. You can only weave your glove, mittens and then use it for the kitchen purpose. Sometimes, people also adjust to right-handed ones. Then the whole point of wearing a mitten goes waste. You are uncomfortable with the measurements and the movement of your fingers is restricted. Even the circulation of blood can be adversely affected when you wear tight mittens that do not fit you correctly.

The left handed mittens will allow free movement of fingers and you can flex your hand without any opposing force. The work can be done quickly and you won’t feel like you are putting in extra efforts. The position of the thumb insertion will differ for right and left-handed versions. You can look for that detail while purchasing it.

Manual Can Openers

Opening cans need technique and a lot of energy. You cannot do it simply and if someone told you that then they are lying. You have to use your dominant hand to get the job done properly or you will end up poking and trying the whole day in vain. You can even drop that can down and spill the contents.

I also saw few left-handers using the can openers’ designed for opposite hand and the cans remain unopened. Most of the can upper parts are made of aluminum alloys that are not very easy to open. You will develop pain around your wrist, between your fingers and that discomfort can last for days. Your energy goes waste and the results are either slow or non-existent. A

manual can opener for left-handers needs to be used from the left side of the can. You need to fix it properly on the dominant side, hold the can with a right hand and twist it counter-clockwise direction for convenient twist and opening. Just like the wine bottle openers, the left-handed ones will find counter-clockwise rotation to be easy and they will be able to apply more force than the right-handed one. The work is done quickly, you have access to the food and the pain and discomfort are forgotten.

You have to buy durable manual can openers because the plastic and bendable ones tend to break on persistent usage. Also, you need a little practice to understand the functioning if you are used to the right-handed ones. That’s something you will master in no time.

Ice Cream Scoop

The geometrics of the ice cream scope is needed for it to nicely scoop that ice cream out of the container.

If it is having a small handle, you cannot hold it properly.

If it is too long, you will find it brushing against your forearm all the time.

Worse, if it is made for the wrong hand, the ice cream ball is not going to come out in the perfect circle and will land back into the container. Not to mention the stress and repeated efforts you have to put in to get the perfect round ball of ice cream. This type of scoops will move from the left side of the container to the right. This will make sure that your hand is not in the way while you scoop the ice cream out.

Moreover, some scoops come with the spring action so that the pressure you apply to get the ice cream out is not harming your hand. When you use the wrong hand, you have to stand in odd angles and twist that ice cream container a lot to get the ice cream. This is okay for once or twice but doing the same thing all the time is not advisable.

When you want to buy a good ice cream scope, better buy something that won’t let you compromise on your working style. There are ice cream scopes that are for dual hand usage but they are more right hand oriented. It’s better to search for the right geometrics that supports left-handed usage.

Kitchen scissors

When you use the wrong scissors, you end up straining your wrist, the area between your thumb and index finger, the scissor fails to cut properly and the work is delayed unnecessarily.

You have to take that right-handed scissors and cut with your right hand (very uncomfortable). That is not something you can do while you are dealing with very small cuttings and detailed cuttings. In that case, a dominant hand will give better results than the non-dominant one.

Using the wrong scissors can also cause accidents that will end with oozing blood and bandages. The sharp edges of a scissor should not be taken easily. The way a scissor is designed is important to cut properly. There is that round part and elongated round part. They are for the thumb and the other fingers respectively.

When the scissor changes hands, these parts are also shifted. The left-handed scissors rightly arrange the rounded parts for you to fit your fingers in. This will establish a good base for the scissors and they can comfortably cut anything.

Sometimes, both the rounds are made of equal size so that you can use the scissors with both hands. Such scissors will prevent accidents, take care of your hand health and also stay durable. Yes, durability is also affected by the usage of the scissors. The sharpness of the scissors slowly fades when you keep using it the wrong way.

The cutting becomes even more difficult and the strain falls on the person using it. If you are using the wrong scissors, change it soon.

Peeler

A friend of mine tried to peel a potato with the wrong hand and ended up peeling the skin of her thumb.

Imagine how painful that can be? Or when I tried to scrap a carrot but couldn’t get the job right.

Sometimes, the potato peels float on the water and it is dissatisfying to see that. And left-handers also have to bend their fingers in strange angles to handle the peeler. Few peelers are small in size and this becomes all the more difficult to handle. They tend to slip out of the hand too much,

Yes, if you are careful then you can do the job but not without taking an extra half an hour. The best way to peel any vegetable is by angling the veggie and the peeler towards your body. That will reduce the efforts and fasten the process. But when you use the right-handed peeler with a left hand, you are forced to angle them away from your body. This is very straining not only on your hands but your back too. You unconsciously end up bending too much.

The blades of a left-handed peeler are reversed entirely and the hold is designed for you to handle from the left side. The lower part has a left side tilt to improve your grip and you can peel the vegetables towards you. You won’t have scraped knuckles and fingers anymore and the peeling process will go smoothly.

Spatula and other Utensils.

When carefully look at the spatulas sold in the market, you will see that the leading handle has a slight bend towards the right and even the flat upper portion of the spatula is having a right side oriented cut. If a dip spatula with depression is bought, even that has a handle tilt towards the right. When you use these spatulas with your left hand, stirring becomes a problem because your grip on the handle is not right. Even when you use a spreader, the grip on the handle is important to spread the jam or cheese properly.

Let’s not forget that these spreaders also have the right cuts sometimes. When you are making the pancakes or have to flip something over, using the spatula in the wrong hand can result in your preparation slipping from the utensil and falling back on the pan. You have to sacrifice the shape of your round pancake or lift that delicacy again. You cannot keep doing that all the time, can you?

The utensils and spatulas are the necessities in the kitchen. If you are dealing with hot oil, the wrong spatula can cause spillage and that landing on your skin is very detrimental. Left-handed spatulas have their lead handle tilts to the left. Some are very widely tilted so that lefty can have a good grip on it. The cut in the flat region that is needed to flip something over or enable good mixing, that will be on the left side. So, the pancakes won’t slip from the edges and you can nicely balance the delicacy on the flat base of the spatula. It becomes easy for you to stir, roll or sometimes smash some ingredients of the food.

Paring Knife

Right-handed knives are usually serrated on the left side so that there is no unnecessary twisting and the person can make a straight cut.

When the left-handed person uses this knife with his left hand, the same serration will be a huge disadvantage. The person’s left-hand twisting motion is aggravated and the cut doesn’t happen smoothly. You have to retrieve the knife even before the cut is made completely. You have a hanging bread or vegetable with a lot of improper cuts. This will spoil the look of your preparation and your efforts to make a good looking dish will go wasted.

The knife is sharp and putting the force in the wrong direction can cause slipping and accidents. An ideal left-handed knife will have its serration on the right side so that the grip is good and the cut is made properly without incomplete action. The knuckle pain that comes with handling the knife in the wrong way will not be part of your life. Some knives have their serration to the right but do not realize that the design is for left-handed people.

You can look out for such designs or buy the ones that are custom designed for the minority population.