Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsA Comparison of the 3 major types of veggie noodle makers
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2014
There seem to be 3 types of devices for making veggie noodles. (I'm not counting the food processors or the salad shooter because the noodles they make are necessarily quite short, the size of the feed tube requiring that cuts be made on the cross section.) The 3 types are the figure-8 shaped veggie peelers, the Paderno type which is a free-standing structure that holds a variety of blades and the mandolin/julienne peelers with an exposed blade. I recently tested one of each type using cucumber, zucchini, crookneck squash and small sweet potatoes. I will be trying carrots, but didn't have any around of the proper size. I bought the Utensily Slicely by Tatiana Designs and the Spiralizer made by Bitoni USA and compared them to a Progressive International Mandoline Slicer I have owned for 4 years.
The mandolin is the easiest to use, although it requires a protective glove. You just swipe the veggie across the open blade. It is very versatile, because you can use any fruit or veg big enough to be swiped and up to about 3.5" in diameter. It comes with six blade insets that allow the thickness to be varied, and 2 julienne blades. I paid $14 for it and consider it to be an excellent value. The knife is still razor sharp. (It has been discontinued and replaced by a model priced about the same that has only 4 inserts.) It's fast, but not the fastest. It assembles and comes apart in a snap, but cleaning time is slightly lengthened by the need to use a toothpick to get out little pieces of veg that stick at one edge of the blade. It's safe enough as long as I wear a glove, but I am concerned about the open blade and handle it very carefully when I clean and dry it. The drawbacks are that the noodle length is limited to the length of the vegetable and the 2 julienne sizes are for my purposes either a bit too big or a bit too small.
Next I tried the Utensily Slicely. The main drawback to this device is that it is limited to round fruits and veggies of between 1 and 2" in diameter of the proper density. I tried it first with a large cucumber and I was only able to get small shreds. (My husband who has much larger stronger hands got lovely noodles from it.) It handled a zucchini of the proper size easily and made very nice noodles. Attempts with other veggies were unsuccessful because they were either too large or too irregular or too hard (the sweet potato). The other problem I found was that it was relatively quite slow. Included with the Slicely was a corkscrew blade. I used this very successfully with a small sweet potato and got a beautiful wide corkscrew. However, the blade is exposed and despite being as careful as I could, I cut myself. I would suggest using this device with a protective glove. I find it overpriced at nearly $30, but realize that the cost includes the device and two corkscrew knives. I received a call from the designer herself and discussed these issues. She has sent me a full refund, but suggested I keep the device and keep working with it. I will update the review if I can get better results. Cleanup is a snap with the enclosed brushes. Another strong advantage is the compact size.
Today I received the Spiralizer by Bitoni, which I believe is a knockoff of the Paderno. Since both had thousands of positive reviews and they seem to be identical, I went with the $5 cheaper knockoff, which sold for just under $30. Overall, I found it to be the hardest to use. It requires using one hand to advance the turning mechanism and the other to turn it. Although its suction feet hold it down well on the counter, I found that it slid forward when I used it as instructed. Also, I was concerned about the flimsiness of the handle that is used to advance the turning unit. I found it worked best when I cradled it in my left arm, reaching around the device to advance the base of the unit directly without using the lower handle and then turning the other handle in the usual way. However, it was worth the effort, because it very quickly made piles of excellent noodles. It is almost as versatile as the mandolin in terms of what it can handle, and I made great noodles from zucchini, crookneck squash, sweet potatoes and cucumbers. I am sure I can use about anything that is greater than about ¾" in diameter. (It says ½" but I don't believe it.) I think this is worth the value because I expect this unit to last as long as the mandolin and it is fun and rewarding to use. It appears to be well made, other than the flimsy advancement handle. Cleaning is easy but the parts are large since the entire unit must be washed, and it also required a toothpick to pull out bits trapped by the blade. It seems to be very safe although you are handling exposed blades when washing them. Update - cleaning is very easy and I rarely need to do more than rinse it off. If I need more, I grab a toothbrush.
Of the three, I expect to be using the Spiralizer frequently for making noodles. I would have returned the Slicely, but have agreed to continue working with it. If I just wanted to do a small amount and my veggies were the right size and very fresh, I might grab it. I will continue to use the mandolin for slicing.
One more comment: I noticed the weakness of the advancing handle as soon as I tried the product, so, as described, I don't use it. After posting this, I read quite a few reviews about the handles breaking. If you use it as I have been, your left hand regulates the pressure of the vegetable against the blades, so you can back off and cut a thinner slice if you have to use too much pressure on the turning handle. I'll update this review after I have more experience with the Spiralizer. Wanted to put this out now because it would have been very helpful to me.
One week update - have been using the Spiralizer every day and I absolutely love it!
