A peeler is a kitchen utensil used for preparing fruit and vegetables by removing the outermost layers of their skin. This tool is also known as a chiffonade, a turnip peeler, or a citrus peeler. Since ancient times people have been peeling vegetables but the first known peelers came in 19th century from Germany, France and England. The original purpose of these tools was to prepare vegetables for cooking, similar to how one would prepare pasta by separating strands with a fork and letting them dry in the air before cooking them. But they were soon adapted to any vegetable that needed to be cut into thin strips or juliennes ( French: "Julienne". English: Julienne). Once you know how these tools work and how they're different from each other, you'll be amazed at how much faster you can prepare any type of vegetable or fruit with just one tool — your food processor!