Brieftons 5-Blade Vegetable Spiralizer: Strongest-Heaviest Spiral Slicer, Best Veggie Pasta Spaghetti Maker for Low Carb/Paleo/Gluten-Free/Vegan Meals, With Extra Blade Caddy, 4 Recipe Ebooks

Well, I researched before I leaped. When I saw the Brieftons and read the reviews, I agonized over it for a few days. But then I decided, for the price, that I couldn't really go that wrong. My son is a hobby chef, although I think he'd put most professionals to shame, and he loves to cook for guests. I could NOT see myself trying to spiralize with a little handheld gadget. I wanted a device that would do large quantities fast. I wanted to do onions, cabbage, sweet potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, melons, pears, apples--you name it. I wanted a device that would do that for me.Well, I FOUND IT! This thing works like you won't believe. I've done zucchini noodles, yellow squash noodles, and loved them as substitute noodles under a homemade spaghetti sauce. Yummy, but a carb free dinner! Well, let me rephrase that. A dinner with the only carb being in the sauce, and that is such a minimal amount of carb grams that it barely counts, compared to a pile of actual pasta. And what I learned is that I enjoy zoodles far more than I do actual pasta. They are so much more flavorful! Just be careful with seasoning. THINK NOODLES OR PASTA. They have little flavor. I want the contrast between a flavorful sauce and a blander noodle base. I made the mistake of over seasoning my veggie noodles only once. I really enjoy them if they are seasoned with only pepper, a very light addition of salt, as in VERY light, and some granulated garlic. In my opinion, lightly seasoned, they are better tasting than actual pasta.On this gadget, the suction cup, one large one, works fabulously. It hasn't lost grip on me a single time. The creators also included a little push handle, to put slight pressure on the vegetable as you process it. Works fabulously. I have had no issues with "pushing" a vegetable through, period. Zoodles, aka zucchini noodles, for a huge crowd are a breeze, and also easy to prepare for one or two people because the cleanup is so fast. The Brieftons washes up easily. I use a toothbrush to get the bits out. Tonight carrots left color, but with a brisk and brief scrub with a toothbrush dedicated to this gadget, the stain washed away instantly. I think avoiding stains could be eliminated by washing it off soon after use. Imagine only running water over it with a little dish detergent.I bought two heads of cabbage, one green, one red. I wanted to make a fabulous coleslaw with a non-creamy dressing. I was amazed! Use the flat blade! This thing will make quick work of a head of cabbage or an onion. I only used half of a green head. I found a recipe for a light coleslaw dressing, no mayo or cream, and our guest said that she loved the fact that the cabbage was sliced so thin! I agreed. Packaged cabbage slaw cannot compare. So how much do those bags of prepared coleslaw cost? I never really looked. But I now know that freshly done cabbage tastes so much better, and I also know that I'm saving money, which means that this kitchen gadget will pay for itself in no time at all. My coleslaw was beyond good. Can you imagine? Buy a head of cabbage. Wash it off. Pick away any discolored parts. Slap it in, using a flat blade, and before you know it, as in seconds, you have grated cabbage, cut thin for enhanced flavor. Do two carrots, and toss in some diced dried cherries, and make a fabulous no-cream dressing, and you have a culinary delight.I'm so sold on this product! No, I didn't get it free. I am not writing a review because I will be rewarded. The reward, for me, is the product itself, and the savings I will see. Want to make coleslaw? Well, shred your cabbage quickly by yourself. Don't buy that stale stuff, already shredded. The taste difference, to me, is amazing. And the savings is also amazing. Don't buy premade Zoodles, all nicely packaged. Buy a couple of zucchini and make your own so fast that you'll wonder, "What was I thinking?"I would recommend this to a friend. I WILL recommend this to a friend.

I am very pleased with this item. It is easy to set up, use, and clean. I haven't had it long enough to use it for anything other than zoodles, but it does a great job with those.

I purchased this device to help make different recipes. The package arrived on time. It has different slicers that work well. They are very sharp. So far I have used the device on apples, zucchini, and a sweet potato. The device worked well on the first two. It did ok on the sweet potato. As I got about half way through, the back piece started slipping. If the spikes were a little longer I think it would not have slipped.The device is very sturdy, solid built. The suction cup works great. The device is easy to clean and store. For the price, you can’t beat it. I recommend this to anyone that is looking for something inexpensive, easy to use, and for the occasional use.

**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.