Brieftons InstantVeg Spiral Slicer: Reviewed

I like finding ways to sneak in vegetables and healthier nutrient rich options for myself and my family. I have been known to add applesauce in cakes, small cooked carrot pieces to spaghetti sauce, grapes, thin carrot slivers, and pecans to tuna or chicken salad sandwiches, etc.

Recently I had learned of making vegetable "noodles" and had the opportunity to try out a product designed to transform almost any firm vegetable into spaghetti-like strands or incredibly thin, long vegetable ribbons. Brieftons InstantVeg Spiral Slicer is a non-electric, dishwasher safe, attractive looking gadget. It is a pretty lemon-lime color that brightens any kitchen.

Cutting veggies into spirals and various thicknesses is possible with 4 cutting blade widths, all controlled by hand crank manual power and includes an attached container that collects sliced foods below. This slicer is made from 100% BPA-free, food-safe, durable reinforced ABS plastic. It is dishwasher safe and includes a cleaning bristle brush to remove any remaining veggie skins that might get lodged in the blade.

I was excited to try this. When it arrived I was impressed with how professional and sturdy it looked. Everything seemed easy and quick to put together with the exception of the handle. The handle on my particular spiralizer creaked a bit when attempting to put it on, and the plastic piece did not slide on as smoothly as I had hoped. After everything was washed, assembled, and ready to go, I cut an able as directed and positioned it inside the spiralizer. Unfortunately my spiralizer crank handle was very difficult to turn and I was not able to smoothly or easily turn if near the end of the crank as is was intended to function. I had to hold it firmly near the base of the crank (see where my fingers are) in order to get it to turn. My apple which was once firm and crisp, turned a bit mushy after several cranks of the handle. It left a large chunk of the apple unsliced. I was able to get some small pieces of apple in my container, but what came out resembled a natural apple sauce instead of apple slivers or ribbons. My 3 1/2 yr. old daughter loves apple sauce and so she happily enjoyed it. I bet it was delicious and would have been nice with some cinnamon. It did give me a few pieces of thin noodle slivers and some flat apple ribbons. Sadly most of it was mushy and liquid. It left a lot of apple remaining.

Next I tried some carrots. We only buy peeled baby carrots, so please understand that I have only tried baby carrots with this and not large, full size ones. I was able to experiment a bit with the variations of blades, from numbers 1-4. The carrots did slice, however I am not sure if my lack of variation of slice thickness was perhaps due to the fact I used baby carrots, or was a defect in my particular device, or if it was partially operator error. I am thinking it could have been a mix of the first 2, as I read all the directions and watched the video of how to use the spiralizer before using it. I had a good understanding of how to use it, so not sure I did it incorrectly.

The carrots came out decently, and in 2 different desired sizes, however, there were several still left in the container that would not slice. I was not trying to get a particular size or thickness, I just wanted all the carrots to slice easily and unfortunately they did not. I had many remaining after numerous tries. My hand would get cramped from the stiff turning of the crank. I was able to get a small bit of natural carrot juice from this, and my daughter, who only has ever had milk or water to drink in her life (with the exception of some watered down low sugar 100% apple juice a few times and some almond milk another time) enjoyed the sampling of juice. The carrots did not slice well at all. I realize it might have been due to the fact they were baby carrot size, but I was really hoping that this gadget would be a fast way to slice them.

I also want to note that although a fun adventure for my 3 1/2 year old to watch and sample the goodies, this now had stained my pretty lime colored slicer orange. The orange tone did not remove even after washing it up with soap. It also seemed to be a lot of work for something that I could easily use our electric chopper quicker, easier and less mess. I originally thought this would be great for taking with us for travel, however, this made a bit of a juicy mess and was not easy to clean. I am not sure if my unit was defective, it is possible.

After lots of heavy cranking, this is what was left in the slicer. The carrots did not slice well.

My slicer was stained orange by the carrots sadly. I did not try any purple / red toned vegetables such as purple / red cabbage, or beets, but I imagine those would have stained even worse.

I would rate this 3 out of 5 stars. This might be a great product for some who are intending to use this more often (perhaps daily) and want to use non electric. I am hoping mine was indeed a defective one and that my experience was not the norm. Brieftons does offer a lifetime no hassle warranty if you purchase this slicer, so if you are interested in it, you might want to try it and if there is any issue, they can assist with a replacement. I really wanted this to work for me, but it did not live up to my expectations.

If you are interested in learning more about this product, you can find it here: Brieftons InstantVeg Spiralizer

To connect with the company or to get answers to your questions and concerns: Brieftons Website

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.