Which is the best spiralizer? How do you know which one (if any) should you buy?
Welcome to the first of my ‘Annabel’s Kitchen‘ feature posts. Over the next few months I will be highlighting my favourite kitchen gadgets/tools/utensils/appliances/cookware/ingredients etc. There are many things I use all the time that I take for granted others know about and use to, but I’ve realised that this is simply not true. I am a self confessed kitchen gadget addict and over the years I have owned most, well a LOT of kitchen gadgets. Some after fantastic and I use ALL The time and other’s I’ve found useless (eg avocado slicer!) and I’ve ended up throwing them out.
If you have any kitchen items that you’d like me to feature, please let me know and I’ll see what I can do.
So, back to the spiralizer, what is it and which one is the best spiralizer?
What is a spiralizer? A spiralizer is a kitchen gadget that turns vegetables into ‘spirals’ or noodles. Works best with hard vegetables and fruits such zucchini, sweet potato, carrots,beetroot, apple, firm pears, cucumber, potato & parsnip.
Are there different types? Yes. The main ones I know about are:
- The Bench Top
- The Julienne Peeler (not strictly a spiralizer but serves the same purpose)
- The Tube
- The Hourglass (not sure what this one is really called)
The Summary: I use the bench top & the julienne peeler on a very regular basis (usually multiple time a week). I have at different times owned all 4 types and I don’t recommend the tube or the ‘V’ (see below). The best spiralizer in my opinion is the bench top version. I love the julienne peeler too.
The Bench Top Spiralizer (the best spiralizer, in my opinion)
These are great value – range in price from about $80 (Inspiralizer brand) $60 for the Pete Evan’s down to about $20 from Ebay. You can buy them from many kitchen shops and they are becoming more and more popular and the zoodle craze takes over! I sell this one ($30) in my store, so if you have trouble tracking one down, feel free to buy one from me!
Pro’s:
- great for bulk making of zucchini noodles – perfect for a pasta alternative or large salad
- variety of blades, therefore shapes (mine has 2 – fat noodles, thin noodles and flat ribbons)
- sticks to the bench – has a suction cup underneath
- easy to use – easy on your hands & wrists
- makes healthier eating easier
- kids can use – although blades are sharp, so be careful. Get’s the kids happy to help out in the kitchen.
- works with a variety of fruits & vegetables – basically anything thick & hard enough to wind through the blades – I use mine for zucchini, sweet potato, carrots,beetroot, apple, firm pears, cucumber (ribbons), potato & parsnip
Con’s:
- There are several pieces to clean which can be a pain if you are only making a small amount (enter julienne peeler for same results for smaller quantities)
- You waste the ‘stump & the core’ of the veggie – you can chop and add, save for making stocks or add to the compost, so don’t throw it out!
- With carrots & zucchini to get the best results you need to use the thicker vegetable so you get long noodles and you lose less in the ‘core’.
The Julienne Peeler
I will do another post about this specifically, but for a cheap, small, easy to use gadget this one is fabulous. I do use the bench top version too for larger amounts but if making myself a salad for lunch, the peeler version is brilliant. I had friends buy this one to take camping – brilliant idea!
Here is a video showing you how to use the spiralizer!
The Tube
Also known as the Veggie Twister or the Betty Bossi. This is the green or pink tube spiralizer. I used to have this one and ended up not using it for 2 main reasons:
- You need to have the perfectly shaped & sized vegetable to fit inside the tube – so you end up wasting a lot more vegetable to cut it to size. Also you can’t use it to do none cylindrical vegetables e.g. beetroot, sweet potato. Really you can only use it for carrots & zucchini and the perfectly sized ones at that.
- I got REALLY sore wrists with all the twisting – this was probably what really made me stop using this one.
I have spoken to MANY people when I was doing the markets and I got very similar feedback about this style of spiralizer, so I know it’s not just me.
The Hourglass
I don’t know what this is really called – I picked up a cheap one ($5), so perhaps it’s a case of ‘you get what you pay for’. It ‘worked’ but chunks of the zucchini got stuck in the blades and the noodles were a but ‘rough’. I guess there could well be better quality versions that work well. They are small so if storage is an option it fits that bill but if that’s the issue, I’d rather use the julienne peeler which is even smaller.
Recipes:
If you’ve followed my things for a while you’ll see spiralized vegetables ALL the time! Here are a few recipes that feature the spiralizer! This is a screen shot from my cookbook, What Annabel Cooks for the basic recipe.
For the following recipes click on the photo:
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