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What challenges do left-handed cooks face?

Do southpaws struggle with can openers, knives or other cooking utensils/gadgets? Any type of food prep more difficult for the left-handed? Other culinary related challenges for those of you that are dominately left-handed?

15 Comments:

Ice cream and cookie scoops are terribly hard to use. The lever is always on the right, so I wind up with dough or ice cream all over my hands. Liquid measuring cups always have ounces/cups on side for righties. I use a measuring beaker without a handle. I can open a can right-handed, so that's okay. When I was a kid, a hand-beater was torment; the crank is on the right side. You have to have left-handed scissors or you wear a blister on your left thumb knuckle.

I am left handed, but really the only thing I do left handed is write and hold a fork... I can't use left handed scissors or a knife left handed or anything like that. I think I just adapted at a really young age and taught my brain how to use my right hand on things... so I haven't really had any issues with cooking. So, I've been really lucky.

As a lefty, I have to admit that I don't even notice anymore. I think that I've just gotten used to adapting right-hand made gadgets for myself. My peeve? Sitting next to a right handed person, whose right hand is next to my left hand. It gets a bit cramped...

You don't even want to get me going on this subject!

For instance, all kitchen knives are sharpened with a right-handed bias unless they're custom ordered. (Japanese knives are the exception, being symetrical)

I agree with luswim06. It really isn't a big issue. Sitting left to right handed people is a pain though. I always try to sit on the far left if possible - my family refers to this as "the left-handed spot".

It's not really a big deal for me. Like laura dot, I have to anticipate where I sit when eating in a group or else risking an elbow collision.

My parents didn't know how to teach me to use a fork and knife, so I keep the fork in my left hand and cut with the right. Isn't it proper to cut food with your main hand, then put down the knife and pick up the fork with that same hand?

i have found that some manufacturers are making left-hand specific tools. Lamson makes a great lefty fish spatula. Kershaw Shun has a line of knives with ergonomic handles made for lefties. Wilton and Adeco make left-handed pastry tips. However, a friend of mine gave me the Rikon Kuhn can opener that removes the entire lid of the can, but it is made so that only a right-handed person can get it to work properly.

Thanks for sharing your cooking struggles that you encounter as a left-hander. I appreciate knowing now that a just simple seating arrangement can make your dinner experience enjoyable---I'll try to be aware of this!

When you do buy a specific left-handed gadget/utensil, is the price equal to a regular one?

My husband is left handed and he has adapted to right hand oriented kitchen tools pretty well. Our challenge is when we cook together we have to have prep on opposite sides of the kitchen so we don't bump into each other since I naturally step to the right first and he goes left first.

my fish spatula, my can opener, and my pie and cake cutting spatula annoy me whenever i use them, but otherwise i would have to say it's much more of a problem to be a left handed musician than cook.

I've never had any specific utensil-related problems either, but I do come across the intruding elbow problem fairly often... but I think this is more due to the fact that no one is taught that you're supposed to keep your elbows down when you're eating!

When I once broke my left hand, however, I discovered just clumsy I was when I had to use my right hand for wielding the fork and spoon, which surprised me, since I'm so ambidextrous with most tools. My left is also stronger, and is the one I reflexively use for heavy kneading, so I make myself use the right, too.

Just curious... I'm guessing that most of you have Google ad at the top of the comments section; does anyone else see potentially useful links for the very left-handed? I've got this: http://www.lefthand.dk/?gclid=CMjL1MCIl5ECFVB1OAodqAVCPw

And a Kasumin knife ad.

My father is left-handed and a serious wine enthusiast. On ebay I was able to buy him a Laguiole corkscrew for southpaws. He loves it and delights in having his right-handed friends try to open a bottle.

We received a table top wine opener as a gift, i refuse to even try to use it anymore, its absolutely impossible to operate as a lefty. So i have this huge thing taking up kitchen counter space that i can t even use.

The one thing that has bugged me the longest are those little bent butter spreaders. they're bent the wrong way!

Try using an Atlas pasta maker left-handed!

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