by Daisy Dao
Cutting up vegetables and pasta in unique ways has always been a sort of special skill in the culinary world.
From curious-looking spaghetti to gnocchi and other similar kinds of pasta, to decoratively carved pieces of cucumber or some other vegetable, there's always an appetite, so to speak, in restaurants and everywhere in the food industry to make foods a certain shape to make them more appetizing.
Now, there are many different ways you can make these patterns and different shapes.
Whether it's using a simple carving knife to achieve this effect, or getting a special contraption that can do this automatically, being able to make these carved patterns in the comfort of your own home is what matters the most if you like to incorporate these into your cooking.
In this article, we're going to talk about a special breed of kitchen appliances that allow you to do slice pasta and vegetables in whatever way you desire - the spiral slicer. These contraptions come in all shapes and sizes, but typically have a set of sharp blades that are used for cutting, and then you use a rotary handle to push the vegetable or whatever it is you've placed in the tray or the container above it.
Contents
To help you find the best model on the market for your needs, we've organized a list of the top five products in this category, so you can have an easier time finding the model that suits your cooking needs the best. Also, we've ventured to answer the most frequently asked questions in this category, and we've also set up a brief buyer's guide, so you can have a better idea of what features to look for when buying one of these contraptions.
Here's the deal.
Blades represent the most important part of a vegetable slicer, so the material they're made out of has to be strong, durable, and easy to clean.
This is why the manufacturers of these contraptions often choose stainless steel as their material of choice. Thanks to its excellent toughness and resilience properties, this material can withstand quite a lot of abuse, so you don't have to worry about it breaking any time soon.
Also, another great quality of stainless steel would be the fact that it doesn't rust, which is of massive importance when it comes to working with vegetables and food, in general.
Other than the stainless steel blades, kitchen slicers are also often made out of a fair deal of plastic parts.
While this is not optimal per se, some kinds of plastic are tough enough to last you for years before their break or otherwise get compromised.
As far as food safety is concerned, what you want to look for is the special breed of plastic called BPA-free plastic. This means that this sort of plastic does not contain any Bisphenol A, a potentially problematic substance used in the production of plastic that can have adverse effects on humans if it is ingested along with food or otherwise.
Kitchen utensils you use to make food are notoriously difficult to clean.
This is especially true of those utensils that have many different small parts. The food particles of the food item you're processing with them will inevitably get stuck in these machines, which can make the cleaning process a nightmare.
So, it helps when the manufacturers of these contraptions make their tools easy to wash and especially if they make them dishwasher-friendly. This way, when a contraption gets dirty, all you need to do is take it apart, pop it into the dishwasher, and let it run for a while.
Since slicers are contraptions that you can use to make interesting shapes and aesthetically-pleasing meals, so to speak, it makes sense that many of these kitchen appliances come with a special instruction manual you can follow to learn how to make different patterns with the blades provided.
Usually, the main purpose of these booklets is to explain to you how to switch between the different blade attachments, how to wash them once you're done using them, and what sorts of vegetables you can cut.
Additionally, though, many of these booklets also feature a special section on cooking where you can find different recipes where you can use the vegetables you've cut into different shapes in your cooking.
While the blades of a vegetable spiral slicer are typically tough enough to last you for years and decades, some parts of these kitchen contraptions may not be as durable.
For example, plastic parts such as handles and other smaller movable parts tend to break the first due to the usual wear and tear over time. In such cases, it's useful if your product is covered by a warranty because you can immediately change it and receive the spare parts you need, or send the thing for repairs.
So, if you want to be sure your product will last you for years, definitely look into the products that have a warranty attached to them.
If you want to add a contraption that can slice up various vegetables into attractive slices in your kitchen arsenal, this model from Spiralizer can be an excellent choice. What you get when using this contraption are finely cut vegetable spirals you can then cut up into smaller pieces, or use to decorate salads and other dishes.
The great thing about this contraption is that it's fairly easy to use. All you need to do to produce spirals of vegetables of your choice is to simply take a couple of vegetables, stick them on the piece of metal that holds it in place, and then start turning the handle to start producing the delicious vegetable spirals.
Once you're done using it, the good news is that this Spiralizer is a breeze to clean, so you won't have to worry about any itsy bitsy pieces of vegetables getting stuck in it along the way.
Featuring an interesting design that makes all the parts of the slicing process easy to follow through, this Paderno World Cuisine contraption is a reliable and sturdy slicer you know is going to work like a charm every time you use it.
What's interesting about this particular model is that it does not only come with the slicing apparatus, so to speak. This thing also comes with 3 additional blades that you can use to cut vegetables of your choice in 3 different shapes. Using these, you can make long vegetable strands as well as zucchini noodles.
The material for the blades themselves is high-quality stainless steel, while the frame these blades are in is made out of ABS plastic, so you can rest assured that these components will be able to survive any sort of challenge you place before them, so to speak. As far as the rest of this contraption is concerned, it's made out of BPA-free plastic, so you needn't worry about any of the vegetables you're cutting getting compromised while you're cutting them.
Within this spiral slicer bundle, you'll get 5 different blades you can use to create a variety of different shapes out of your favorite vegetables. You can use these to make zoodles, as the title suggests, as well as different strips of vegetables and a host of other different shapes you may fancy consuming your vegetables in.
The plastic this thing is made out a strong ABS breed, which can tackle with ease even the toughest vegetables out there. All you need to do is place your vegetable of choice into this slicer and then turn the handle to instantly create high-quality, beautifully-shaped slices you can eat straight away or use in further cooking.
The blades themselves are made out of high-quality food-grade stainless steel, so you needn't worry about these getting dull any time soon. What's more, this model also comes with some supporting equipment such as the cleaning brush as well as a colorful instructions manual you can use to learn more about the ways you can cut your vegetables of choice.
With an appearance of a juicer with a handle sticking out of it, this slicer model from Sedhoom represents a unique and efficient vegetable-cutting kitchen contraption you can use to achieve all sorts of different shapes when it comes to cutting both soft and tougher vegetables.
Other than its curious design, this Sedhoom vegetable slicer scores highly also in the department of blades, as it comes with 4 different stainless steel blades you can use for a wide variety of cutting tasks. Thanks to these four attachments, you can make zucchini slices, as well as spaghetti-style strips of vegetables you can use in salads or for various sauces in meals.
Operating this thing is as simple as one, two, three, as all you need to do to start making delicious strips of vegetables is simply push down on the handle, apply some downward force, and then start rotating it. Thanks to the design of this model, gravity itself will do most of the job here, so you needn't worry about getting too tired while using this thing.
Made in its entirety out of tough, food-grade stainless steel, this contraption from MITBAK represents an excellent choice for anyone in need of a vegetable slicer tough enough to survive a nuclear disaster. Since all parts of it ( apart from the handle cover ) are made out of stainless steel, you don't need to worry about BPA, this thing getting damaged or any other funny business that can go wrong with plastic food slicers.
In addition to the stock blade, this model comes with, you can also use any of the three additional blades that the folks at MITBAK included in this package. This means you can cut vegetables in several different ways - depending on what sort of arrangement you deem the most appetizing at the moment.
What's more, these blades are a breeze to use and can be changed in seconds, so whenever you feel the urge to change things up when it comes to the way you cut your food, you can simply grab a different attachment and perform the change right there and then.
If you want to cut your vegetables in interesting ways and particularly in spirals and long strips, then the answer would be - yes, they are.
The thing is, while spiralizers do have fairly limited use in the kitchen, they're not the most expensive kitchen utensil out there either, so it's not like you're spending too much money on something you won't be using for too long.
The first step toward making your zoodles not too soggy would be to cook them separately from the sauce. ( In case you've been making them together with the sauce. )
Cook the noodles first, then prepare the sauce and then mix them after you've drained the noodles in a colander. This way, the noodles won't get too moist when you do mix them with whatever food you've prepared to go with them.
There's a wide array of vegetables that can be spiralized. Here are a couple of examples:
… and many others.
The easiest way to do this would be to use a colander, as we've already mentioned in one of the sections above.
The important thing to remember is to prepare zoodles separately from the rest of the meal you plan to serve them up with so that they don't pick up the extra moisture. Once your zoodles are well cooked, simply take them and place them in a colander until the excess moisture disappears.
Almost all vegetable slicers work similarly - you stick a vegetable in the holder and then you rotate the handle to produce strips or vegetable noodles - depending on what blade attachment you've placed in it.
On the other hand, there are some models that you use by simply placing the vegetable you mean to slice in a slot with blades, and then turn the vegetable itself to immediately create vegetable spirals.
At Coles, you can find different models that work in either of these two ways.
OXO Good Grips 3-Blade Tabletop Spiralizer with StrongHold Suction - Walmart Link
Paderno World Cuisine 3-Blade Folding Vegetable Slicer / Spiralizer Pro, Counter-Mounted - Walmart Link
Spiralizer 7-Blade Vegetable Slicer, Strongest-and-Heaviest Spiral Slicer, Best Veggie - Walmart Link
Mueller Pro Multi-Blade Spiralizer Vegetable Slicer Zester Chopper Dicer, ProQuality, - Walmart Link
Hamilton Beach 3-in-1 Electric Vegetable Spiralizer & Slicer With 3 Cutting Cones for - Walmart Link
OXO Good Grips 3-Blade Hand-Held Spiralizer - Walmart Link
Mueller Spiral-Ultra Multi-Blade Spiralizer, 8 into 1 Spiral Slicer, Heavy Duty Salad - Walmart Link
Brieftons 5-Blade Spiralizer: Vegetable Spiral Slicer, Best Veggie Pasta Spaghetti Maker, - Walmart Link
The Spiralized Kitchen: Transform Your Vegetables into Fresh and Surprising Meals - Walmart Link
Inspiralized: Turn Vegetables into Healthy, Creative, Satisfying Meals: A Cookbook - Walmart Link
Brieftons 7-Blade Spiralizer: Strongest-and-Heaviest Duty Vegetable Spiral Slicer, Best - Walmart Link
Spiralizer Ultimate 10 Strongest-and-Heaviest Duty Vegetable Slicer Best Veggie Pasta - Walmart Link
OXO Good Grips Handheld Spiralizer - Walmart Link
Handheld Spiralizer Vegetable Slicer, Adoric 4 in 1 Heavy Duty Veggie Spiral Cutter - - Walmart Link
Homarden 3 Blade Stainless Steel Vegetable Spiralizer - Industrial Quality Vegetable - Walmart Link
KitchenAid Spiralizer Plus Attachment with Peel, Core and Slice, Silver - Walmart Link
OXO Good Grips 3-Blade Tabletop Spiralizer with StrongHold Suction - eBay Link
Paderno World Cuisine 3-Blade Folding Vegetable Slicer / Spiralizer Pro, Counter-Mounted - eBay Link
Spiralizer 7-Blade Vegetable Slicer, Strongest-and-Heaviest Spiral Slicer, Best Veggie - eBay Link
Mueller Pro Multi-Blade Spiralizer Vegetable Slicer Zester Chopper Dicer, ProQuality, - eBay Link
Hamilton Beach 3-in-1 Electric Vegetable Spiralizer & Slicer With 3 Cutting Cones for - eBay Link
OXO Good Grips 3-Blade Hand-Held Spiralizer - eBay Link
Mueller Spiral-Ultra Multi-Blade Spiralizer, 8 into 1 Spiral Slicer, Heavy Duty Salad - eBay Link
Brieftons 5-Blade Spiralizer: Vegetable Spiral Slicer, Best Veggie Pasta Spaghetti Maker, - eBay Link
The Spiralized Kitchen: Transform Your Vegetables into Fresh and Surprising Meals - eBay Link
Inspiralized: Turn Vegetables into Healthy, Creative, Satisfying Meals: A Cookbook - eBay Link
Brieftons 7-Blade Spiralizer: Strongest-and-Heaviest Duty Vegetable Spiral Slicer, Best - eBay Link
Spiralizer Ultimate 10 Strongest-and-Heaviest Duty Vegetable Slicer Best Veggie Pasta - eBay Link
OXO Good Grips Handheld Spiralizer - eBay Link
Handheld Spiralizer Vegetable Slicer, Adoric 4 in 1 Heavy Duty Veggie Spiral Cutter - - eBay Link
Homarden 3 Blade Stainless Steel Vegetable Spiralizer - Industrial Quality Vegetable - eBay Link
KitchenAid Spiralizer Plus Attachment with Peel, Core and Slice, Silver - eBay Link
All in all, spiral slicers represent a curious breed of mechanical kitchen appliances that can make the preparation of certain foods notably easier than if you had to do it with a knife. Zucchini noodles, spaghetti-style vegetable strips, and other interesting shapes are all easy to make if you have one of these slicers in your kitchen arsenal. We hope you found this article helpful and we wish you a merry and hassle-free purchase.
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About Daisy Dao
Daisy grew up on the beautiful Honolulu island where she often found herself spending most of her day enjoying the ocean scent in sea waves. As such, Daisy came to appreciate the art of cooking seafood. She has experimented with baking, roasting, broiling, poaching, grilling (and every other cooking technique you can think of); and with all kinds of spices too. Now she is ready to present her experience: the art of cooking healthy food without any pre-packaged ingredients; food product recommendations for people who need a bit more guidance on what goes into their bodies; how to maintain an active lifestyle without having to give up your favorite foods!
Be with Daisy: 
Kitchen Goodness
