Customer Reviews

Emsa Salad Shower Plus Salad Washer & Dryer

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Based on a test in consumer reports (which rated the Frieling Salad washer & dryer as their top choice! We bought it and have to say: THEY ARE RIGHT ! This is the best way to wash and dry your salad in one smooth step. No need to wash the salad leaf by leaf, no need to spin it in one of those closed spinners that do not get up to speed, no need to empty the bowl of the accumulated water, no need to spin again etc. This one does the job in no time at all! The Frieling unit gets more water out that others we have used. If you use one of those crank or push models your salad is still wet and your salad dressing will run off. As far as I know, it's the only one with a second insert basket. I use it to wash and dry herbs and berries all the time.

It may look like your average salad "dryer" but this is much, much more. The reviewer who panned it by saying it gets water all over the place, didn't read the instructions or doesn't understand the function of this mult-purpose kitchen tool. It washes produce from fragile berries to large quantities of lettuce in the sink, so the water runs THROUGH the washer-dryer into the sink. Then when it's whistle clean you turn off the water and spin the produce with the fast-reversing action and the water drains into the sink while the produce gets dry. A clever insert allows the cleansing of fragile berries and mushrooms; allowing it to wash and rinse and lower RPMs. German engineers thought of everything here and this is truly a marvel of modern kitchen technology. The BMW of salad washers!

I have attempted to use this machine to wash lettuce, spinach, and many other greens every week for 6 months while helping a friend with her cooking. If the lettuce from the market is the kind that is already clean, there is no problem. I have also, after many months, learned to avoid placing this dripping machine on the counter or carrying it across the floor. With drain holes covering the bottom, water pours out everywhere the machine goes. Unlike conventional spinners with solid bottoms, this machine must stay in the sink, or be held directly over it.

If there is sand in the spinach, I have found this machine is an extremely poor substitute for soaking the leaves in the sinks several times until no more dirt settles to the bottom, then drying them. Call me old-fashioned, but a few grains of sand left in the spinach do not create what lesser food critics describe as "good mouth feel." In fact, they ruin the texture, except perhaps for those rare folks who like eating dirt.

Every time I have used this machine, I have cursed: 1. The hassle of trying to pull the cord while the machine is resting on the bottom of the sink, 2. the pools of water everywhere if I take it out of the sink and, 3. the damned thing's inability to remove sand from spinach and other greens. I only wish my friend had purchased a conventional salad spinner, like the one I have at home, instead of this gimmicky gadget.

i guess this is kind of biased, but here it goes: I use my washer/dryer for drying only, to my knowledge and experience it should not be trusted for washing (lettuce at least). At DRYING it is spectacular. Very easy, u don't have to be strong, and its over in seconds. BEST I HAVE SEEN.

The yo-yo like string that causes the unit to spin is not that user friendly and my string broke after only 3 or 4 uses. I am returning it and getting the Oxo spinner; I have two friends with those and they love them. I got this one because it claims to wash the produce too. I didn't think the washing feature was that great; it would be easier to use a colander and wash with the kitchen sink sprayer.

I have owned an Emsa Salad Spinner for some time. My daughter first discovered this item in one of the Gourmet Stores in Florida and I tried it and had to have one. This is a wonderful item, since you don't have to worry to wash your salad fixings just put it in the spinner and it does all the work. I am presently visiting my daughter and put the lid on the hot stove which bent the lid, so I am replacing it since it is an item nobody should be without.

It took me 2 times to get the hang of this and it worked quite well for me. Keep it in the sink so water stays where it belongs. My greens were "cleaned" in no time. Very efficient.

CAUTION: This salad spinner/washer HAS to be used either in the sink, or, with a drip pan beneath it. There are little holes all around the base of the bowl holding the basket, so the water can run freely out. There is no way to stop the water running out. So, if you, like I, prefer to spin the salad on the counter top -- this isn't the salad spinner for you.

NOTE: Try the OXO. I bought the OXO when I discovered that the EMSA one had the holes in the bowl. Now, I have a wonderful SALAD WASHER (EMSA) and a superb SALAD SPINNER (OXO).

I have owned an Emsa salad Washer/Dryer for about 10 years and I'm really picky about quality of constuction as well as function. My Emsa still looks great and works like new. If used with basic common since it works perfectly. As for the complaints in other reviews like sandy spinach, don't try to over fill the basket (wash in small batches) and the lid does not come off while washing unless you have only one arm. For all other people -- hold lid in place with one hand and pull spinner cord with the other (again--common sence). If you need a well made salad dryer that can also wash as well --- You Can't Go Wrong with the Emsa!

Unlike other salad spinners, this one allows you to run water through the spinner and wash and extract the sand and dirt out through the bottom and into the sink. We grow lettuce in our summer garden and it is full of dirt and slugs and bugs, but our Frieling washer/dryer gets rid of all that easily. Then a quick pull and the salad is dry. A smaller basket insert allows you to wash and dry delicate items such as mushrooms and strawberries.