Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2017
**NOTE** I purchased this product from Amazon but received a full rebate from Brieftons as a repeat customer. I was NOT required to leave a review to receive the rebate, and the rebate has not affected my review of the item.
This is actually the 3rd spiralizer that I have owned, and by far, the one that I am most happy with. My first spiralizer, which I still have, was a handheld version from another brand, which works very well for making noodles from long, thin vegetables such as carrots and zucchini, but it leaves quite a bit of waste vegetable and gives only 2 options for noodle size. Because I wanted to try spiralizing larger veggies, I purchased a vertical spiralizer model from brieftons that offered the ability to spiralizer larger vegetables such as beets and had a rotating blade adjustment for different sizes. That model is no longer offered, but I had very poor results from it, even on softer veggies. It was difficult to maintain constant downward pressure while rotating the handle, many times I ended up with half moons instead of pretty spirals, and harder vegetables would not turn or spiralize.
I had been a bit cautious about the horizontal spiralizer models, as many reviews stated that they were difficult to keep pressure on because of the sideways orientation, and they just didn't look that stable when supporting longer vegetables. So, when I purchased this model, I went out and bought a selection of vegetables to try out as soon as it arrived. So far, I have spiralized zucchini, fresh beets, carrots, red onion, red cabbage, and bell pepper using this spiralizer, and I have been very impressed with it's ease of use and with the results. Zucchini spiralized easily, and at least 90% of the output was long, spiralized strands, instead of the short half-moon shapes. Cabbage shreds quickly and easily. Bell peppers gave me impressive spirals for fajitas, and onions produced very pretty spirals for salads and a stir fry. I was really skeptical of the beets, since they are a harder vegetable, but after the first turn to get it started, the beets spiralized easily and with barely any more effort than the soft squash, and they produced beautiful spiraled noodles that we roasted. Off all the veggies that I tried, carrots were the only ones with which I had disappointing results. Even after trimming off the narrower portion of the carrot, it kept wanting to crack and split when I put in on the guide. Finally, I did get some very pretty spirals from the thickest part of the carrot, and after looking at a few videos online, I discovered that most people recommend veggies of at least 1.5 inches in diameter for spiralizing. Although I bought the biggest carrots that I could find in the grocery store that day, none were nearly that large, so unless I can find giant carrots at a farmer's market, I am probably stuck using my handheld spiralizer for them. I have yet to try sweet potatoes and butternut squash, which would be the best test because of their hardness, but I am the only one in the house who will eat those 2 veggies, and i didn't want anything to go to waste.
The spiralizer itself held even the long veggies securely, and lengthwise, it could have held the entire carrot without trimming. At no time, did the spikes to secure the veggies to the handle slip in the vegetable while spiralizing. After the initial rotation of the handle to start the vegetable spiralizing, I was surprised how little forward pressure I actually had to put against the stationary handle. Reviews on other products had always made me think this was rather hard to do, but just light pressure kept the vegetable spiralizing well. My 70 year old mother had no problems spiralizing one of the beets, even with her arthritis. This unit has 1 large clamping suction cup located on the end opposite of the blades. It clamped down securely to my smooth countertops, but I think it would have problems securing against a non-smooth surface. (If you have tiled countertops, for example, I think that grout lines under the suction cup may prevent it from sealing well.). I did watch a video where a woman used the spiralizer successfully by suctioning it to a heavy granite cutting board. When I clamp it down to my counter, the front end (by the blade) will wiggle a bit if I take a hold of it and try to move it, and I was worried at first that this would affect the spiralizer during use. But, since I'm applying pressure away from the suction cup, I've not experienced the device moving at all during use. As you spiralize, the plastic tray will move forward past the blades, so you cannot set a bowl there to catch the spirals. But, a thin cutting board will be able to sit right up against the spiralizer to catch the veggie spirals and keep your countertop clean. The spiralizer disassembles easily for cleaning, and I used an old toothbrush to get in the little crevices, especially after the beets to prevent staining. It would be nice if the spiralizer came with a cleaning brush included.
When you purchase the spiralizer, you will receive an email from Brieftons with links for how-to videos and for PDF versions of cookbooks. The videos were fairly helpful, but I also found how YouTube videos for how to spiralize specific vegetables, which were very helpful in regards to the bell peppers and the carrots.
