Replacing pasta with vegetable noodles is trendy. There is a wide variety of cutting systems on the market to quickly and easily cut the vegetables into spaghetti shapes. We tried out eight products for you, ranging from very simple to sophisticated, and found two clear test winners.
Anyone who loves pasta dishes but wants to save on carbohydrates likes to use “zoodles” made from zucchini or other types of vegetables that can be shaped into spaghetti. Smaller quantities of zucchini noodles can also be made without special equipment, for example with a vegetable peeler or a sharp knife (you can find more tips here). But it is quicker and more practical to use a spiral cutter or “spiralizer”.
Spiral cutters tested
Anyone looking for spiral cutters on the Internet or in the household goods department will now find a wide range, starting with simple spiralizers that look like an oversized double sharpener, up to real cutting machines with several blade attachments. But which device is good, and does it really have to be a large spiral cutting “machine”, such as the company Lurch from Hildesheim has been offering with the Spirali since 1996? The EAT SMARTER team fought the ultimate spaghetti battle and tested eight products from the manufacturer’s Lurch and Gefu for their suitability for everyday use. We also tried a julienne cutter as a cheap and space-saving alternative.
This is how we tested
Soft veggies like zucchini, hard veggies like carrots – a good spiralizer should be able to handle both and cut visually appealing “noodles”. That’s why we chose zucchini and carrots as test vegetables.
In detail: Lurch Spiral
The Spiral is the all-time favorite among spiral cutters: it has been manufactured by the Hildesheim company Lurch since 1996. Like Lurch’s other large spiralizers, it comes with three interchangeable blades that are conveniently stored in the base of the unit.
In the test, the Lurch Spirali reliably spiralized soft vegetables into rather coarse, medium-fine, and fine vegetable noodles. The Spiral only passed the endurance test with the carrot with the finest blade, and only with a relatively large amount of effort. It would also be nice if the suction cups had a better grip on the ground.
In detail: Lurch Tango
With the Tango series, Lurch offers three small and particularly handy spiralizers. The Tango, which is sold in three different knife sizes, is still quite good at handling soft vegetables.
But when it comes to hard vegetables, the small spiral cutter reaches its limits: You can only get coherent vegetable noodles with a lot of patience. In addition, the vegetables are more difficult to spiralize, the shorter the rest to hold and turn.
In detail: Gefu Spiralfix
With the Gefu Spiralfix, storage is already integrated: the spiralized vegetables fall into the supplied box, which can be closed with a lid. However, this box only holds a small ration, which is why the Spiralfix will probably be used more “hands-free”.
The vegetables must be cut into pieces so that they fit into the Spiralfix. The fineness of the noodles can be adjusted using a small wheel. The Gefu Spiralfix has done well with both hard and soft vegetables. However, it takes a bit of practice to make even “Zoodles” or “Moodles” from carrots. If you use the Spiralfix freehand, i.e. without placing it on the can, it is more difficult to exert the necessary pressure on the vegetables.
