How To Prevent Itchy Hands While Cutting Arbi? Try These Simple Home Remedies

Arbi or taro root is a key vegetable in Indian cooking, known for its distinctive flavour and versatility. Whether it's a regular sabzi or a dish for a special occasion, arbi is an essential ingredient in many recipes like arbiarbi fry and dahi vali arbi. However, many cooks may shy away from using arbi because of the intense itching from the calcium oxalate crystals. This is an annoying situation that can lead to a troubling experience for the cook as it often leads to irritation on the hands and causes itching.

The itchiness caused by arbi is due to the naturally occurring calcium oxalate crystals contained in the skin of the arbi. These small and needle-like structures irritate the skin and lead to swelling, redness and discomfort. Here are some simple home remedies that you can use to cut arbi while preventing itchy hands.

Home Remedies To Prevent Itchy Hands

Use Lemon Juice Or Vinegar

Lemon juice or vinegar can counter the itching produced by calcium oxalate crystals in arbi. Just wipe your fingers with a cloth saturated in either of those solutions to get instant relief and prevent the irritation and redness.

ALSO READ: How To Clean Oven And Pans With This Simple Trick? | Kitchen Hacks

Apply Mustard Oil

Before touching arbi, coat your hands with mustard oil to avoid itching. The oil forms a protective layer that keeps calcium oxalate crystals from touching skin while also allowing you to handle arbi more easily and with less stickiness, making cooking less messy and more convenient.

Ways to prevent itchy hands while cutting arbi (Image Credits: Canva)

Metal Scrubber

Use a metal scrubber to scrub the arbi and remove the skin while reducing your direct contact with it and it also helps to wear gloves for extra protection. This method is effective at preventing itching from the calcium oxalate crystals in taro root, making it one of the easiest and safest ways to prepare arbi.

ALSO READ: 6 Home Remedies To Heal Razor Burns, Redness And Irritation

Rub Salt On Your Hands

To avoid itching, rub salt on your hands or utensils before handling arbi. The salt will act as a barrier to prevent the calcium oxalate crystals in arbi from irritating the skin. Alternatively, rub half a lemon on the knife before dicing the arbi to reduce the stickiness and itching and make it easier to cook.