Eating healthy is hard sometimes, and having the right tools and reinforcements to aid good habits is a key to success. On Black Friday, I found a manual spiralizer that is easy to use and has helped me try some incredible recipes that would be sure to delight health-conscious AU-students. If you’re looking for a kitchen gift for a health nut on Christmas, a spiralizer may be a great choice.
Spiralizers come in various models and brands, electric or manual, and compart or large. The particular model I purchased is manual and medium-sized. However, the size can range from The smallest, one no larger than the size of a peach (and resembling a basic pencil sharpener) while the largest spiralizer can be as large as an electric dough mixer. Because of the smaller size of my kitchen, I wanted a tool that could be easily integrated into the countertop.
Functionality: ★★★☆☆
When I first made the purchase I was very eager to test the set up out. However, it wasn’t as intuitive as I had imagined. First, the quality of the spirals is highly dependent on the texture of the fruit or vegetable. For example a zucchini produces perfect spirals but a tougher-textured yam would not produce spirals that are as perfect. This is partly due to the plastic build of my spiralizer. Perhaps with a stronger metal build and a larger blade, nice spirals can also form that way. Another variable that affected the quality of the spirals was the size of the vegetables. An ideal vegetable would be the size of an English cucumber, however medium sized carrots (the width of a quarter) did not optimize the spirals since it required a larger surface area of the vegetable to produce continuous strands. Some thoughtful features the designers added included a suction cup at the bottom of the device which helps hold the set-up in place when manually creating the spirals. Additionally, there are five blades that help create various types of spirals and slices. The blades are stored in a smaller compartment underneath the spiralizer.
Clean up: ★★★★☆
Clean-up was relatively simple since the device was plastic and easy to wipe. The blades are also removable and can be easily cleaned. Furthermore, a small drawer underneath the spiralizer helps contain the different types of blades after washing and drying.
Overall: ★★★☆☆
Spiralizers can be a great addition to your kitchen depending on the model selected. After ordering this particular model, I’ve noticed various models including electric spiralizers that take the manual effort out of the equation! The general rule is to do plenty of research before committing to a single device. Sometimes, the product sounds good in theory but does not always hold up to expectations. If you’re a kitchen nerd like I am, though, investing in a high-quality product that will last you many years should be an important goal.
