I Tried 10 Different Corn Strippers and One Was, Hands-Down, the Best

One of the best ways to eat fresh summer corn is in a chilled salad alongside a grilled hot dog or burger. These salads are simple and come together very easily, but you do have to strip the corn from the cob first. (Or maybe you have braces? Or a picky eater who loves corn, but doesn’t want to put in the work?) I’ve always used the bowl-in-a-bowl trick or the Bundt pan trick and they’ve never let me down. But there are so many gadgets out there that claim to meticulously strip ears of corn — with no kernel left behind! — so I wanted to see if I needed to make room in my life for another kitchen gadget. Here’s what I found.

After a bit of research, I learned there are two main styles of corn strippers. There are handheld types that resemble standard vegetable peelers with special serrated blades. Then, there are types that have a metal circle — with serrated teeth — which you push the corn through (see above). I found the latter to work less efficiently. With this style, there wasn’t much accounting for the different sizes of corn. And, as any corn-lover knows, ears come in all sorts of sizes and thicknesses. This style also tended to make a bigger mess while sometimes either destroying or just totally missing kernels.

This left the peeler-style strippers. I was into them — some more than others. One of the top contenders was the Norpro Corn Stripper, which I got on Amazon. At first glance, I was skeptical but I was drawn to its main feature: This specific stripper comes with a compartment that catches the corn as you work. Exciting! I found this tool required a little elbow grease, but overall, it cleaned the kernels from the cob well without making a mess. Corn didn’t fly all over the place, it kept my kernels intact, and the stripper came apart easily once it was time to clean it. It’s also dishwasher-safe.  

Another another top pick of mine: the Cuisinart Corn Stripper. It’s a little less bulky and fits comfortably in the hand (and nicely in a drawer!). It doesn’t glide across the cob quite as smoothly, but it passed my “beautiful kernels” test and is dishwasher-safe. Another perk: It has an attached blade cover for safe storage. It’s the little things.

The clear winner here, however, comes from Pampered Chef. (Yes, it’s technically an MLM, but you can shop online, rather than through a consultant, and many of the products really do stand out!) The appropriately named Kernel Cutter glides down cobs with ease and releases beautiful, whole corn kernels. Just look at how clean that cob is above! *Cue a chorus of angels.* I got it that way with very little effort, too. This tool also has a bonus feature: a husker blade that helps you slice right through the husk of the corn for easy shucking. It’s sturdy, dishwasher-safe, and has a plastic cover to guard the sharp teeth.

Are you a cob or no-cob kind of corn eater? How do you usually remove the kernels? Tell us in the comments below.