If you’ve taken a look at social media food pictures lately, it’s easy to see the rise in vegetable “noodles,” or zoodles. That name is from the humble zucchini, which is the most common vegetable to twist into noodles and ribbons. Whether it’s due to the increase in people following a paleo diet, an increase in diabetes and celiac disease diagnoses or an increased number of people who love new gadgets, the veggie noodle seems to be here to stay. From stir fries to soups to traditional Italian dishes, there are many different uses for vegetable noodles.
In order to make these bowls of zoodles, you have several choices in gadgets. Before you pick your favorite, wash and peel (if needed) your zucchini, summer squash, sweet potato or other sturdy vegetable. Peeling the zucchini will result in long white noodles that resemble pasta. After washing and peeling, pick your veggie noodle gadget and start slicing, dicing or twisting. Check out these popular zoodle-making instruments:
Hand-held spiralizer. A spiralizer does exactly what it sounds like: It makes long, curly spirals of vegetables. A Veggetti® is a great example of this type of spiralizer. While holding the Veggetti® with one hand, twist the vegetable with the other hand. Common complaints include zoodles that are not cut all the way through, slippery grip position and the blade breaking off the plastic grip.
A Saladacco® spiral slicer is a top-turning slicer with a container to hold the veggie noodles. The turning difficulty naturally depends on the density of the vegetable. It’s an awkward twisting position, but once you get the hang of it, it works great. This instrument is great for small home use. I wouldn’t recommend it for commercial use unless you have a steady rotation of people willing to twist the vegetables into submission.
A julienne slicer is another small tool that can slice vegetables into thin strips. It doesn’t produce the curly spirals, nor does it produce round noodles. Before the availability of spiralizers, many cookbooks and recipes suggested using a julienne peeler. Common complaints include making strips of vegetable flesh instead of noodles.
A multi-purpose mandoline can also make great vegetable noodles. If you’ve never used one of these before, beware of losing a finger — it’s been known to happen. In fact, there are safety gloves available to use with a mandolin, due to the high likelihood of a kitchen injury. To make the noodles, use the julienne slice blade to create symmetrical strips of zucchini. Just watch those fingers.
If you’re not too keen on losing digits in your food, there’s always a good box grater somewhere close at hand. The box grater doesn’t make the round noodle shapes. If you don’t really care about the shape of the strips, a reckless encounter with the box grater might be just the thing for you. It makes long thin pieces of flesh, just like cheese and potato strips.
Last but not least is a big favorite in the paleo world: the Paderno ® World Cuisine Spiralizer Pro. It takes up precious counter space, but collapses for easy cabinet storage. This instrument has a side rotating handle that twists the food through a blade to create long spirals of zoodles. If you peel your zucchini, this gadget makes the most beautiful spiral noodles that will pass for a perfect twin of pasta. The pictures will be gorgeous. Common complaints are cleaning ease and time adjustment to figure out how to make it work best.
Here are some cooking tips to keep in mind when using vegetable noodles: Zucchini and squash have excess water in them. Spread them out on a cooling rack over a baking sheet or over a sink. Spread them in a single layer, and salt the noodles. Don’t be afraid to be generous with the salt, because you’re going to rinse them after. Let them sit for 20 minutes until they release the water.
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An Introduction to Veggie Zoodles — and the Instruments Used to Make Them originally appeared on usnews.com
