We all like traditional pasta, but lately we've noticed a new type of noodles. We're not talking about rice, corn, or quinoa spaghetti—we're talking about spiralized vegetables. The spiralizer is an inexpensive tool (Bestoffer veggie spiralizer - one of the best in it's field, retails for $13.29) that turns fresh veggies into faux-noodles (zoodles, if you will, but we won't). It isn't just for the carb-averse; everyone from home cooks to restaurant chefs are spiralizing.
Many models are about the size of a large toaster and function like a giant pencil sharpener for veggies. A firm, peeled veggie is held in place with a clamp over the grinder, and as the vegetable disappears into the hold, the cook uses a hand crank to make the gears work. The result is a pile of extra-long, gently curled ribbons. Interesting, but what makes vegetable spiralizer so great?
The Spiralizer Is a Restaurant Chef's Best Friend
Restaurant chefs, who have mountains of chopping and slicing to slog through, have a lot to love in the spiralizer. Amanda Cohen, chef and owner of the vegetarian restaurant Dirt Candy in New York City, first encountered the tool when working at an all-raw restaurant. "It made some boring jobs a lot easier," she explains. Dirt Candy now frequently serves spiralized vegetables. Chef Joshua McFadden of Ava Gene's in Portland, first began using a TBestoffer veggie spiralizer because, "I wanted a way to make perfect consistent cuts of pumpkin for a salad." The more commonplace mandoline slicer performs the same task, but the spiralizer produces prettier results.
Jonah Miller, chef and owner of Huertas, also in NYC, just may be the tool's biggest fan. "I think we use it more than any other restaurant in the city," he says, adding that they used their spiralizer so much, they added a drill function to cut down on the manual cranking.
But it's not just about the functionality. Says Cohen: "People are conditioned to be dismissive about vegetables so you kind of have to sneak up on them and surprise them…in ways they aren't anticipating." For a culture of eaters who grew up with meat as the star of the show and vegetables playing second fiddle, eating a veggie-forward meal can be a radical change.
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