Which Can Opener is the Best?

Equipment expert Adam Ried shows host Bridget Lancaster his top pick for can openers.

ABOUT US: Located in Boston’s Seaport District in the historic Innovation and Design Building, America's Test Kitchen features 15,000 square feet of kitchen space including multiple photography and video studios. It is the home of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and Cook’s Country magazine and is the workday destination for more than 60 test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes over and over again until we understand how and why they work and until we arrive at the best version.

If you like us, follow us:

[anderander]

I prefer the safety can openers ...they're very easy to use once you figure it out and the lid can be put back on the can for short-term storage. Also the lid doesn't fall into the food. I have cut myself TWICE in 30 years with a sharp can lid.

[davetAA]

Safety openers are the best. Once you get used to it, you can feel it engage and feel when you've reached the end. Most important, it stays clean and food never touches the blade or the outside top of the can. Any glue is food-grade cement that helps seal the can. The blades on the old ones get gunky (or rusty!) and are hard to clean - I DON'T want that blade contaminating my food.

[smurphy]

When Bridget went to try and use the safety opener, she reminded me of an As Seen on TV person failing and overexaggerating something simple. I was surprised they didn't recommend a safety opener along with the regular one. Sure, the first time you use one feels weird, but after that it's easy. Plus you can reuse the lid.

[gerardjohnson]

The yellow string seen when removing the lid after opening with a safety opener is a bead of sealant on the lid when it is attached/crimped to the can. Think of the rubber on the lid of a mason canning jar. It is nontoxic and harmless if swallowed. Safety opener also allows for more complete removal of contents ie evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, tomato sauce, tomato paste, creamed corn etc. I have and use both for different cans and products.

[AmareshJoshi]

Most of the comments here seem to prefer the safety style can openers and I agree. I don't understand why the testers are so concerned about about how intuitive a can opener is to use. Spend a few minutes learning how to use it and then you'll be using it easily for years.
Another advantage of the safety can opener, besides the ones others have listed, is that the cutting wheel never touches the contents of the can.

[mikescookingstudio]

I'm really partial to my Kuhn Rikon safety can opener, I use it just about every day. One of my favorite kitchen gadgets

[jaketallorlin]

Only reason the "safety" opener seems harder to use is because they have been using the regular opener for 30-40 years. If you gave both styles to someone who has never used either, I wouldn't think one would be much more difficult to figure out....
And at least on my safety opener you can tell when you've gone all the way around cause there's less force needed to turn the handle.

[chrissinger]

I have to agree that there is a learning curve with the safety can openers but they are so much more elegant and I feel comfortable giving them to kids. I’ve had a kid slice open their finger with a traditional can opener in the 90s.

[joannemcardle]

I like the safety can openers better as well. No more getting cut by the lid or can. Whereas someone might think glue might get in the food (haven't experienced that), metal filings can get in the food with original style can openers.

[exegete]

Rarely do I disagree with ATK but I’m all in with safety openers. I use (and love) a Kuhn Rikon. It does take a bit of practice but most things that are worthwhile do. The top wheel on a side opener likely is the dirtiest half-inch in your kitchen & where does it go? Inside the can where it could touch/contaminate the contents. The top style leaves no sharp edge, no invasion of the wheel into food, no chance of any teeny shard dropping into the can, and it is easy to find in my kitchen tool drawer.

[Jeffsd]

Not up to the usual Test Kitchen standards. Bad review, missed pertinent points, and exaggerated the shortcomings of a safety opener. Once I started using the safety opener, I have not gone back. The OXO one is my choice - works great, reasonably priced, and has a little pliers grip to help remove the lid. Problems with the traditional style they didn't mention - metal shavings can get into the food, and unless you've worked in a commercial food establishment - most home cooks don't realize the cutting wheel on a traditional opener gets contaminated with food and needs to be cleaned. That little wheel/blade is one of the dirtiest things in a home kitchen.

The safety openers leave a smooth edge, keep contamination out of the food, and are just as easy to use - once you get used to their differences. Of course people who haven't used the new style of opener will have more trouble at first. Conducting a test with a bunch of people without teaching them how to use the new style is pointless.

[jase_allen]

Not all safety can openers are as poorly designed as the one Bridget was asked to try. My Oxo safety can opener didn't even come with instructions. Works well enough that I forgot from which decade I bought it.

[imgadgetmanjim]

Took me 2 seconds to figure out how to use safety can opener. Never going back. Won’t even try old style. Keep it.

[raymondthomas]

I will never go back to the traditional can opener. The safety can opener is so much better and no food contamination from a crusty cutting blade.

[Cujucuyo]

Safety Openers give you the option to "reseal" the can with its own lid for storage, and of course to scoop up the remaining content with a silicone spatula without the risk of ripping it to shreds with the sharp edges the traditional can openers leave; I have both types and you should too.

[cwigs]

I’ve got a swing way that’s 35 years old. It works like a charm. Laying it across the top makes it a safety opener and actually works better

[PaulLemars]

Nope, can't agree with this recommendation or the testing methodologies. The only benefit of a traditional can opener is that it is obvious because of childhood exposure and it's easier to turn because you are slicing through the steel of the lid. You are also potentially introducing whatever was on the lid to the can contents or whatever may have been previously on the opener. A very sharp edge is produced that is coated in food content that can then cut the operator. You have to carefully wash the traditional can opener every time you use it unlike the safety can opener. You should know that the 'glue' is the hermetic safety gasket and is food safe. Also the safety opener produces a lid for the can so that partial contents can be used and the remainder can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days. My review of this review is an F.

[mixeddrinks]

For those concerned about safety, the Oxo locking can opener with lid catch style with the magnet works just as easy as the tradition, it is like a hand cranked electric version except even easier and safer.

[lightdark]

The safety kind I like better for two reasons. First the top can be used to cover it back. And no more lose sharp tops all over for recycling, the tops with the lip stay in the can, once pushed inside.

[naithom]

I would like to hear which ones were best for people with mobility issues, i.e., arthritis, etc.