Spiralization...

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sudsmaster

sudsmaster

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Spiralizers of course are the tools than can do a multitude of things to food that don't necessarily have to be done to do basic prep and cooking, but they look to add a lot of fun to a dish and presentation.

I saw a manual hand crank spiralizer at Costco a week or two ago, and thought, "Hmmm, is that something I really need?".

Then yesterday I spotted a Kitchen-aid Spiralizer set with five attachments. It wasn't exactly cheap, $60, but when I checked the KA website list price of $130, I figure it was probably a deal.

Still I wasn't sure, but it's hard to resist a gadget like that, esp one that can add whimsy to common fruits and veggies. Unlike some here, I happen to really like zucchini, especially the gray Mexican variety I get at the local Hispanic grocery.

So I got it and was pleased to read in the manual that most of the attachments (except the peeler) are recommended for zucchini.

I am looking forward to stir-frying curly zucchini... maybe some potatoes too. I think cucumbers might be interesting. Big daikon style radishes? I'll give them a spin.

So far I've only looked at the contents of the box. And the box is very nice, sturdy hard cardboard construction with gray styrofoam compartments for each piece, and a magnetic flap that secures the cover for storage.

Here's a pick of the spiralizer in action, from the KA website:

spiralizer-header-lg.jpg


Wish me luck...

(and they're going to need a bigger bowl...)
 
I have the OXO full size spiralizer and LOVE it. I've actually given it to a couple of friends for a "test drive" and they ended up buying their own.

Roasted spiralized beets are fantastic, and surprisingly close in texture to regular pasta. Sweet potatoes tend to break as you cook them and don't look as pretty, but are absolutely delicious. I salt and squeeze zucchini before cooking, I find that gets the excess liquid out and keeps you from having a watery dish. If you can find large parsnips and carrots, those are fantastic combined and roasted with some olive oil at 425 - the parsnip caramelizes and gets this sweet flavor to it that is so good (throw in some sauteed sausage and onions and you have a delicious meal). Butternut isn't the easiest to process, but is great as well. You can also make "rounds" and use those for pasta-free lasagna which is on my list of things to try this fall.
 
We planted two Zuchs and are already reaping the rewards.   I put it in things like stew or chili and make a soup.  Basically you  soften the zuchinni and some onion in a pan.. Then add it to a chicken or veggie broth, a bit of lemon juice and a dash of curry, salt&pepper to taste,, I always whiz it in the blender a bit to chop it all up.. It's even good cold.   I've never tried spiralizing anything,, yet.. lol 
 
I got the KitchenAid Spiralizer as a Christmas gift in 2015.
I have made zucchini spirals a few times, but I don't much care for zucchini.

However what I do use is the peeler with the core and slice blade on potatoes.
Once it is peeled, cored and sliced just take the stacked slices and make one cut down the side and you have perfectly sliced potatoes to make scalloped potatoes. I have used it to peel, core, and slice apples to make apple sauce too.
 
Spiralising

Although I am not that keen on courgettes (Ok Ok zucchini - two nations separated by one language - lets call the whole thing off) I have had some ready meals with what is termed "courgetti" with the spiralised item replacing the pasta and actually it is not at all bad.

And yes, zucchini bread is very good :)
 
I got the KA Spiralizer attachment at the San Leandro Costco a few days ago. I imagine all the regional Costco's have it by now, if not nation-wide.

Today I gave it the first test spin. Two medium size red potatoes (very nice, no need to remove eyes or peel) and two Mexican (grey) zucchinis.

One thing I noticed right away is that this contraption produces very long spiral threads. So long that they interfered with the stir-fry method I chose to cook the results with. The potato threads did break apart a bit after getting fried for a while. The zucchini, not so much. Really like very long pasta or Chinese noodles.

I used the medium spiral attachment for the potatoes, the fine one for the zucc.

First fried up the potatoes, drained, and used the hot remaining oil for the zucc. The zucchini threads cooked relatively quickly. I suppose next time I could cook them like pasta, in a big pot of water, and use them like pasta.

All this dish needed was a little salt, and a splash of soy sauce on the zucchini threads to be delicious. I cooked everything to something akin to al dente. Potatoes mostly not browned but cooked enough to convert the starch into edible. The zucchetti were not crisp but tender enough to release their flavor.

Next time I'll probably halt the spiral process to cut the threads to a more manageable length every 10 inches or so. Maybe shorter for the spuds. The goal being to getting something akin to curly fries.

Cleanup a breeze, at least at the KA side. The geared attachment stayed pretty clean, only had to rinse and brush off the cutters.

As for the courgetti vs zucchini schism... "Courgette" comes from the French for "little gourd". Zucchini comes from the Italian for the same thing. The different usages probably reflect the greater impact of Italian immigration in the US vs. the historic English-French relationship in the British Empire. "Courgetti" is probably a neologism to reflect the resemblance of spiralized zucchini to spaghetti. I suppose we Yanks could call it "Zucchetti" but there's a limit to how much foreign language logic we can handle without starting such nonsense as "Freedom Fries".

[this post was last edited: 7/23/2017-15:00]
 
Thats a nice attachment.

A bit pricey, but I'd use it more than the processor attachments I have. Has no chopper, and requires extra bowl below and more work space.
It was given to me for that reason. She had to buy another kitchen aid food processor.
 

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