- Hey guys and welcome back to my channel.
I'm really excited about today's video
because this video is actually an update
to the most popular blog post on my website
that's been viewed millions of times
and it's all about zucchini noodles.
Five years ago, I was diagnosed with celiac disease
and had to go gluten-free overnight.
And as I was learning a whole new way of eating and cooking,
one of the things that I kept
gravitating towards was zucchini noodles.
Zucchini noodles, which are also known as zoodles,
are not only a great, gluten-free pasta alternative
but they're delicious and healthy.
Zucchini is a hydrating, low carb,
nutrient packed vegetable so even if you're not gluten-free,
it makes a lot of sense to get more zucchini into your diet.
In today's video, I'm gonna show you
five different ways that you can make zucchini noodles.
There are lots of options and I'll
share some pros and cons of each.
As you can imagine, after several years
of making zucchini noodles,
I definitely have my favorite method.
So make sure you stick around until the end of the video
and I'll tell you what that is but for now, let's dive in.
(gentle music) The first method
I'm gonna show you is called the spiralizer
and specifically I'm using the Paderno spiralizer.
It's a little bit bigger than some of
the other methods you'll see but it's really easy to use
and creates beautiful curls of zucchini noodles.
This specific model comes with three blades
and I love how that blades that you're not using
stash right below which keeps everything handy.
(gentle music) To make zucchini noodles
with any of the methods you're gonna see,
the first thing you'll need to do is slice the ends
off your zucchini to create a flat surface.
For the Paderno spiralizer, you simply
center the zucchini on the corer
and push the gripper into the end.
Then start turning, it really takes only a few seconds
to spiralize the entire zucchini with very little effort
and you can see that you get these gorgeous noodles.
(gentle music) When you're done,
you're left with a narrow core
that's really just the zucchini seeds
and you can dispose of this or chop it into your next salad.
The next method is something you may
already have in your kitchen drawer
which is a good old julienne peeler.
To make zucchini noodles with the peeler,
grip the bottom side of the zucchini firmly
and run the peeler down the length of the zucchini.
You'll do this several times and once you start
to see the seeds in the middle,
just flip it a quarter turn and start on the next side.
The julienne peeler produces the thinnest,
most delicate noodles and it's not exactly fast
but it is small and inexpensive.
(gentle music)
Next up we have a mandolin slicer
which is another device you may already have.
To make zucchini noodles with the mandolin,
you'll wanna use the julienne slicing blade
and you can usually vary the thickness.
Now my big word of caution with a mandolin
is that the blades are super sharp.
So while it's easier to just use your hands
and slide the zucchini up and down,
I strongly caution against that
and recommend that you use the including food gripper.
It does slow things down a bit
but trust me, your fingers will thank you.
The mandolin slice is very similar to the julienne peeler,
though the noodles are just a bit thicker.
(gentle music)
Alright, next we have KitchenAid's version of
the spiralizer, which is an attachment to the stand mixer.
It comes in a big storage box
and my version has six blades and a peeler.
You'll attach this to the power hub
on the front of the stand mixer,
just as you would any other attachment
and then drop in your preferred blade.
(gentle music) What makes this method unique
is that it's automated but one consideration
is that it does have a fixed width.
So if you have a large zucchini, like I do,
you'll have to cut the zucchini in half
and then spiralize each half separately.
To do that you'll add a food holder into one end
and then attach it to the spiralizer.
Then slide the slicing blade up against the zucchini,
turn on the mixer and let it spiralize.
(gentle music) As you can imagine,
this is the most expensive option
for making zucchini noodles but again,
if you leave your stand mixer on your counter
and plan to spiralize a lot of veggies,
this may be a great option for you.
(gentle music)
Lastly, we have a handheld spiralizer.
This is a small, all in one contraption
and you can find dozens of these online.
So there's really no particular brand.
But this spiralizer essentially
works like a pencil sharpener.
Just place the zucchini in one end and twist.
The handheld spiralizer is very inexpensive
but as you can see it takes quite a bit
of twisting to do one zucchini.
If you're only one person, this may be an option for you
but if you plan to cook for more than one,
just know that your wrists may get
a little bit sore because mine sure did.
When you get down toward the bottom of the zucchini,
it does have a little gripper gadget
to help you twist that last little bit.
Because this method doesn't remove the core,
you will have some softer noodles
which are the zucchini seeds.
As you can see there are several
different ways of making zucchini noodles.
So pick the method that works best for you.
For me, my favorite method is using the Paderno spiralizer.
I find that it's fast and easy,
produces consistently sized noodles,
and I like all of the different blade options
to keep my recipes interesting.
But I'd love to hear your favorite
way of making zucchini noodles.
I'm also thinking of doing a whole nother video
on all of the different vegetables you can spiralize
in addition to zucchini, so if you're
interested in that, let me know.
I hope you found today's video helpful
and if you did, I would greatly appreciate it
if you gave it a thumbs up and if
you're not already subscribed, make sure
to hit that subscribe button below.
In the description box below,
I will also link to the full blog post
on zucchini noodles that includes additional tips,
ways to cook them, and links to
my favorite zucchini noodle recipes.
Alright, that's it for me today.
I will see you in the next video.
(gentle music)