Tell me about spiralizers please!

[rolosOrTopic]

DH does all the cooking in our house, and likes to make healthy stuff. It's his birthday next week. I was thinking of getting him a spiralizer, so he can experiment with making vegetable spaghetti. I've only ever seen pictures or demos. Are they a good buy, or a gimmick?

I have a cheap one I found in the charity shop, I went through a phase of using it loads to make courgette spaghetti, but the novelty soon wore off! If you think he'd use it then I'd say worth a go, wouldn't invest loads though, the one I have was cheaper as second hand but new would have been about £15 and works well. I'd only get him one if he asked though, if I got a kitchen item for my bday I hadn't asked for I'd be a bit raised eyebrow 😂

i love mine. Have had it several years and wouldn’t be without it. Courgetti especially easy. Make nice salads with it too. Mmmm. Might use it today.

Gimmick for most (which is why they aren't used all the time now), but for some people who would use it, they're fine.

Personally, if I want courgette ribbons, I just use a peeler and have a separate one specifically for creating long carrot shreds, but if your DH is a fan of gadgets, it could be an inexpensive way of entertaining him.

The hand held ones are just as good as the electric ones and take up a lot less space. (They look like giant pencil sharpeners - or you can get windy ones with different attachments but they are bigger again.)

I bought one and naybe its crap but not one of by better buys. My air fryer on the other hand and the pressure cooker (drew and cole) as a gift ......

What type do you have @BunsenBurnerBaby?

Cheap, plastic gimmick made in China and loses novelty after a week.

I love courgette spaghetti! Steamed with butter and black pepper. Goes really well with tomato based sauces.

I like mine but I can’t think of anything other than courgette that will spiral well. A carrot might but I’m not sure that would ever be more useful than grated carrots.

Hopefully others will come along with more creative uses for one.

Gimmick for me. It's stuck somewhere at the back of the cupboard because it's easier to get a knife out of the drawer.

Untouched in the top of the cupboard, used a handful of times.

There are literally hundreds on eBay, all listed as ‘used once’ or ‘new in box’.
There might be a clue there.

I use this one. No need to spend more.

I found this at John Lewis & Partners. What do you think?  https://www.johnlewis.com/oxo-good-grips-hand-held-spiralizer/p2185523?tmad=c&tmcampid=7&sshare=jlappioss_Y29tLmFwcGxlLlVJS2l0LmFjdGl2aXR5LkNvcHlUb1Bhc3RlYm9hcmQ=

Gimmicky. Buy a really cheap one and perhaps a nicer big present. What about a great chefs knife if he doesn't already have good ones?

Mines not electric is hand held it says Lurch on it and I bought it a good few years ago so can’t remember what it cost. I mainly make courgetti and definitely can’t be faffed with a peeler. I make a great salad with courgette cucumber and carrot all spiralised and dressed with a chilli and peanut butter dressing mmm. Carrot yes can grate but not quite the same. Maybe ask him if he wants one?

I have this one and love it: https://www.johnlewis.com/joseph-joseph-spiro-spiralizer/p3078026?tmad=c&tmcampid=7&sshare=jlappioss_Y29tLmFwcGxlLlVJS2l0LmFjdGl2aXR5Lk1lc3NhZ2U=

I've got this one too. It hardly takes up any space in a drawer, so if it's not used loads it's not hogging counter or cupboard space. I do use it pretty regularly though for courgetti.

And in charity shops. That’s where mine went. Used 1/2 dozen times at most.

Very dangerous gimmick.
Every time I cut myself, the vegetable just becomes a pointy mess. The blades just get clogged constantly.

I have a mandolin slicer which can make corgetti, as well as various thicknesses of slices and ribbons.

I use it a lot, eg thin potato for dauphinois or aubergine slices for moussaka.

I don't often make corgetti itself, but thin spirals or courgette or carrot are great in salad. It's very different to grated - more bite and less wet.