Okay, here is a longer post on the spiralizer now that I have played with it more. If you go to Amazon, you will see 2 different Paderno spiralizers. The Paderno 4-Blade (my link) is the newer version, which is the one I got. I have never tried a spiralzer before, so I can’t really tell if it is better than the 3-blade one. However, the reasons I upgraded were:
A. It stores compact
B. It has 4 blades (with an angel hair one).
C. Designed for less waste.
D. I had a gift certificate, so I spent more 😀
Here it is all compact:
Everything is stored inside and everything is washable. That red label is where the blades are stored (which are uber sharp, btw).
It all unfolds thusly:
It has suction feet to hold it in place, but I had trouble getting more than 3 of the feet to stick on my wood countertops, but I think that is because of their handmade nature. It sticks great to stovetop, though.
The blade slides in and out sideways in this model very easily:
Just cut the ends of each piece of produce to be flat. Push the center of one end onto the little peg you see above (above the blade). Then slide the handle until it grabs the other end:
Then just turn the handle. You don’t want to push the handle in. See that little lever sticking out at the bottom of the handle? That is what you use to guide the handle towards the blade. It cuts just about like a knife through butter. Super, super easy – even with the hard sweet potato!
I did angel hair on this one:
That is the little waste stub that was left over.
Here is a zucchini with the spaghetti blade:
This was a small zuke and the noodle came out with more shreds. Also, if your veggie isn’t straight, cut it in half and spiral twice or it will get whonky. I just did this whole thing to have less waste. Here is the waste end:
You can save these for soups or whatever. Eat them or compost them. My zoodles:
I dipped these in boiling water for 2-3 minutes to cook. Served with grilled chicken and Alfredo sauce:
The chipper blade will do spiral potatoes or fruit. Here is John demostrating an apple. The apple was cored for this:
See how his thumb is guiding the handle? That stablizes the machine and keeps you from breaking the handle.
Spirals!
Remember that sweet potato I did the angel hair with? I put it on a big cookie sheet, sprayed with cooking spray, a little salt and pepper and baked for about 12 minutes:
Then following directions from Inspiralized.com – I mixed the cooked noodles (after they cooled a bit) with a beaten egg and used a ramekin with a can to press into disks:
Then dropped them in a pan and cooked to crisp up on each side:
Topped with pasta sauce and mozzarella cheese:
Cover with a lid to melt the cheese. And serve:
Little gluten free pizzas! The possibilities are endless here. You could use regular potatoes for these ‘buns’, carrots, butternut squash or any other starchy veggie (I think I am going to try parsnips).
It’s easy to clean. You need a brush to clean the blades and handle with hot soapy water. The sweet potato gave an orange tinge to the parts, but it scrubbed off. I imagine beets might stain if you leave the juice on it too long.
This is a totally fun machine. I am really glad I decided to get it. I certainly have been eating a lot more veggies and it doesn’t take up much space.
It’s on the counter now because I am using it a lot, but could easily go into a cabinet and not take up much storage space. I don’t know if the 3-blade one collapses like this or not.
So, be prepared, you will see a lot of spiralized food on the blog in the future!
**This is totally my opinion only. I purchased the spiralizer myself and was not asked to review it. I just like it. The above link is an affiliate link for me, though.
I’d never heard of a spiralizer before this. How interesting! And, if it helps you eat more veggies, all the better. 🙂
Thanks for sharing.
It is neat. I need help making veggies more palatable for me. 🙂
Very cool – I’m sort of thinking I want one – it would be interesting to see if the boys liked the creations!
Might have to go stalk Amazon for awhile.
I think it would be great for picky kids. It’s working for me! LOL
Very cool- I’d love to make sweet potato curly fries!
Yes! I have to admit that I want to fry some…
Thanks for the review. I’ve added this to my Amazon wish list.
You’re welcome!
Wow. That looks really nice.
Wow, Lori, they should totally give you a free spiralizer for such a great review! I am making some rutabaga fries tonight, and when I saw your sweet potato demo, I thought how fun it would be to do that with my rutabaga. I’m going to go straight to Amazon and put that one in my cart.
I wish I got it free!! The rutabaga fries sound good. I bet that would spiralize well. I have parsnips to try this week. I have read that plantains (the green ones) also work well.
ahh I bought mine in OAKLAND and STIL NEED TO FIND IT HERE.L
Thanks for doing the review for us. Great pictures
you took there makes me want to buy one and I’m not
one for buying gadgets. Thanks again.
I don’t like a bunch of gadgets, but this is very fun.
I have enjoyed my spiralizer a lot, even though it’s not quite as fancy as yours. I’ll have to try that sweet potato cake thing… maybe just as a potato cake though. I don’t think I’d like sauce on it. I was wondering how much waste you get and I see you get about the same as I do. I usually chop those pieces up and throw them in with scrambled eggs for breakfast.
I wasn’t sure I would like the sauce on the sweet potatoes, but it was actually really good. I bet it would be great with a white potato and even making eggs bennie with it would be really yummy!
How cool is that!!!!!!!!!!! Is it hard to clean… I am sooooooooooooooo lazy in the kitchen! 🙂
Very easy to clean. Mostly you just need to rinse it off and use a brush to clean the blades.
I love the idea of spiralized noodles – I may have to look into that – I have a small hand held one and I find that it wastes a lot of the veggie. Love the gluten free pizzas!
It’s fun. Yes, it is another gadget, but the possiblities are endless!
Dang it. Now I really want one. Thanks a lot, Lori! 😉
I am sorry Shelley! I was thinking while writing this that it was going to make you want it 😀
Oh that is FANTASTIC. I have a little hand held one….and it’s “ok”. Works well for zucchini, but that is about it. “Dear Santa….” 🙂 Have a great week Lori
Thanks for the review. It looks like a really cool product. I have a hand-held spiraler that doesn’t really work very well. I will have to check this one out.
Color me intrigued! (It’s a good color on me, yes?) I have a mandoline that I like except: 1. It scares me, as it works best without the hand guard – yikes!
2. The extra blade storage is such that they get dirty every time too. Things that are a pain to clean up don’t get a lot of use with me. I put this on my wish list as I have less than zilch to spend on it this month. But if you keep showing beautiful vegie recipes with it I’m sure I’ll cave eventually. And I might be able to pawn my mandoline off on my niece. LOL. Thanks for the review!
Hi Lori,
That looks like fun! I almost bought one, once – I guess I should have.
I also wanted to add that having cancer is not the only reason to visit an oncologist. They also deal with other blood disorders. I have something called Factor 5 Lyden (sp?) and so I would be prone to having blood clots. My doctor once suggested I consult with an oncologist to learn more about it (which I did). 🙂
But, I’m sure in the work that you do, cancer is the main diagnosis seen at the oncologist.
Can you spiralize beets, cabbage, turnips with this too?
You can do those veggies as well. Cabbage mostly shreds rather than spiralizes, though.