I used to peel ginger with a knife and watched half the root disappear into the compost. Ginger is knobby and awkward, so the knife takes a little meat with every cut. A spoon does the job cleaner and faster.

Why a spoon beats a knife

Ginger skin is thin, and the flesh underneath is soft. A knife blade cuts into it. A spoon edge scrapes the skin off without wasting any of the root.

How to do it

1. Break off the piece of ginger you need.
2. Hold a teaspoon by the bowl, with the edge facing you.
3. Scrape the edge across the skin in short strokes.

The skin comes off in thin strips, and you keep every bit of the good stuff underneath. It takes about ten seconds per piece.

Where this trick really shines

It works around all the knobs and bumps where a peeler gets stuck. A peeler either skips the crevices or digs in too deep. The spoon follows the shape of the root naturally.

My mother taught me this after watching me butcher a thumb-sized piece into a sliver. Now I only reach for a knife when I want to slice the peeled ginger, not before.

One thing to remember: scrape away from your hand, and keep the ginger dry for better grip.