GEFUSpirelli Spiral Slicer (13460)

We have only used this spiralizer three times but it works great and thought I should add my two cents...It is VERY easy to use. It doesn't need directions. Insert the carrot or zucchini/courgette into the spiralizer just as you would insert a pencil into a pencil sharpener. Put it straight in and not along the side with cutter. It will get to the cutter after you give it a couple of turns.I don't find the cap very useful and don't stick your fingers inside of the unit because the blades are REALLY sharp. When it gets down to the end of the vegetable and there's not enough sticking out, I stick a fork into the end and then, grasping the fork tines close to the veggie, I continue turning and end up with just a little nub of the carrot or whatever left. I either pop this leftover into my mouth, cut it up, or set it aside for a different use... No problem.Besides this little nub, you will also have the core. This is about the size of a pencil. Either take a knife to it lengthwise to cut it into fine strips or use it as is... There's nothing to complain about except some folks think they must...Something like this Corn On the Cob holder/skewer would work much better than a fork 12pc Large Corn-on-the-Cob Holders Skewers and I will add this to my next Amazon order.Another plus is that it takes up very little of our limited kitchen space.We are very happy with our Gefu Spirelli Spiral Cutter.==> UPDATE: The corn cob skeweres didn't work as well as expected (the 2 prongs were just not strong enough) so I'll just use a small fork in the end of the carrot when it gets down too far for my fingers. Don't use the fork handle to twist the veggie... Grasp the fork as close to the veggie as possible so not to induce "wobble" as Black Adder would say!

I like the veg pasta but a horror to clean the device. Vege bits get stuck onto the teeth of the blade and you need something very thin to pick them out. Even washing under a faucet that has decent to high pressure doesn't do the trick. Absolute time consuming horror to clean. On the upside the pasta gave a new twist to veges and made an excellent main entree when sauteed with other veges, seasonings, etc. Maybe I was twisting the vege wrong but I found that the pasta does not come out the way pictured and I had to manually separate them. Not a big deal but wasn't what I expected. I pasta'ed a green zucchini and maybe that veg is a bit too soft but nonetheless it made an excellent meal. Tried peeling a yellow squash first and that was a disaster. Seems keeping the peel on is the only way to get the veg to turn and go through properly. The person who comes out with a vege pasta cutting machine that has a handle that turns and a vise grip/suction cup to hold it to a countertop will make a fortune...especially if it's electric.

I used to have an OXO julienne peeler and thought it did an OK job of julienning items. The teeth on that product got bent and I found it did find with the hard, outside flesh of a zucchini or squash, but not as well with the softer, seedy centers. Then someone decided it should be used as a potato peeler and it never worked right again. So I bought the GEFU Spirelli Spiral Cutter.Provided you buy 'skinnier' produce (1-2.5" diameter) items, this product works great. Keep the veggie very upright (you don't need to press the veggie up against the whole length of the cutting blade) and it will produce a lovely, long string of jullienned veggie. Zucchini and squash are a great pasta substitute. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are very pretty when roasted in the oven with a little oil, salt & pepper. I even have good success with carrots and cucumbers.For the safety conscious: I don't use the hand guard for most of the process. I tried it when the veggie got pretty small, but didn't have much success with it. When I can't spin the veggie anymore, I dice the rest and call it good.The obvious con, if you're an efficiency expert, is that there is a center core of about .25-0.5" that is waste if you choose not to dice it and cook it up as well; and the end nub of the veggie is also "waste" or diceable because it's just hard to push the whole veggie down the V shape.It comes clean mostly by running water over it. I do use a toothpick for the pesky bits that choose to hold on too tight. This item is small, easy to use, clean and store. I don't really understand user complaints of not knowing how to use it or "cheap" materials. Mine has worked fine for over 6 months with regular use. Julienning really doesn't get easier than this...