Bilderback - The Spiralized Kitchen: Transform Your Vegetables into Fresh and Surprising Meals

Welcome to the Spiralized Kitchen. These pages are intended to acquaint you not only with the possibilities of the spiralizer, but with your own creative possibilities. What follows are over 100 ideas for healthy, delicious, and fun ways to energize your menus. The spiralizer is a kitchen tool, similar to a grater, designed to make long, noodlelike ribbons out of vegetables and fruits.

Spiralizers are fairly new, but fancifully shaped fruits and vegetables are very old. The classic kitchen station responsible for vegetable carving is called Garde Manger. In certain areas of the food service industryfine dining, cruise ships, large hotels, culinary schoolsand in the hand of its masters, vegetable carving is high art. As such, there were already tools available for the creative cook before the spiralizer hit the market. Until recently, long, noodle-shaped vegetables were created with a paring knife, a vegetable peeler, or a mandolin.

Besides people who just like gadgets, and those who like fun-shaped food, the spiralizer has been marketed to those looking for ways to replace starchy, high carbohydrate pasta with something more healthful. Besides people who just like gadgets, and those who like fun-shaped food, the spiralizer has been marketed to those looking for ways to replace starchy, high carbohydrate pasta with something more healthful.

Carbs have long been touted as a food to be avoided (thanks to Dr. Atkins), and this trend has been boosted by the recent onslaught of gluten-free foods. Whether you have a real aversion to gluten, or youre just looking for a way to add more vegetables to your diet, a spiralized meal is fun and healthy. The recipes in this book will definitely help you add more vegetables and fruits to your menus. But you will not be able to successfully trick anyone into mistaking these recipes for pasta dishesnor should you. They are clearly made with vegetables or fruits, and should be presented as such.

Why? Because they should be eaten and enjoyed! Trying to trick someone into eating veggies and fruits will not cultivate an appreciation; it will only build resentment toward themand you. So be honest with your eaters, and enjoy these spiralized recipes for what they arebeautiful and delicious.

If you are setting out to purchase a spiralizer, you will find several options on the market. Regardless of the make and model, pay attention to a few key attributes when choosing one: Look for spiralizers that easily advance the vegetable through the mechanism, without forcing your fingers to come in contact with the blade. There should be a safety guard or handle that lets you push the produce through without touching the sharp cutting edge. The spiralizer should easily create shapes of even thickness with little effort: You should not have to work hard to push the produce through, and the resulting shapes should be the same every time.

If the blade bends out of shape after spiralizing your first carrot, the device is no good.

Too many parts make any gadget cumbersome. If you need to refer to the instruction manual every time you use your spiralizer, its probably too complicated. And if you are anything like me, difficulty of operation or cleanup is a deal breaker. As with most products, price is a good indication of qualityyou get what you pay for. That said, there are some very durable spiralizers that come pretty cheap.

I suggest you check the myriad reviews posted online for the best indication of quality.

The simplest and least expensive spiralizer is the handheld model. There are several makers, and as with most things, the price often determines reliability and durability. These look and work essentially like a big pencil sharpener, and can produce two noodle sizes. They are perfect for foods like zucchini, carrots, and cucumbers. (For example, it is near impossible to spiralize a beet with this model.) (See .) The tabletop spiralizers offer three blade options, and can create not only long, thin or thick noodles, but thin, flat corkscrews. (For example, it is near impossible to spiralize a beet with this model.) (See .) The tabletop spiralizers offer three blade options, and can create not only long, thin or thick noodles, but thin, flat corkscrews.

This model is the more reliable tool, and the one I find most durable. It sticks to your counter with suction cups, and the vegetables advance through the blade easily on a sliding platform with the help of a handle that is oriented away from the blade. It is also surprisingly easy to clean and store, considering that it has several parts. (See .) Another model with several interchangeable blades is operated like a handheld food mill. It offers a few more shape sizes than the tabletop model, but is less durable, and a little harder to use because it is held in the hand rather than suctioned to the table. There is also a handheld julienne peeler that works like a potato peeler.

This tool is ideal for oddly shaped produce, and is great for really firm vegetables that might otherwise damage a more expensive tool. The downside to this model is that it does not create long spirals, but rather straight julienne strips that are only as long as the vegetable. (See .) The mandolin, also sometimes known as a V slicer, is a manual slicing machine. It became a crucial part of the professional kitchen in the early 1970s, and has features even the spiralizer doesnt, including a waffle-chip attachment, which is super fun. However, like the handheld julienne peeler, the strips created by the mandolin are only as long as the vegetable itself.