pepperhead212
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 2844
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:52 pm
Location: Woodbury NJ Zone 7a/7b

Bella Spiralizer testing on harder veggies

Today I tested this spiralizer with two harder veggies - butternut squash and sweet potatoes. Here are my observations and photos.

It definitely didn't work as well as it did with the bottle gourds, which were much softer. With the butternut I had to help it along, as it stopped about an inch into the cutting. The first bit of cutting, about 360º, was not cut all the way through, maybe because it was uneven? Same thing happened with the softer gourds, but the rest went ok.

Here is the trimmed butternut - I cut it just past where it turned solid, but that was no problem, as the last 1/2" is wasted, when the machine stops.
ImageDSCF0845 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here is the trimmed piece on the spiralizer, ready to cut:
ImageDSCF0848 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here is a closeup, showing the scoring blades, and the cutting blade on the very bottom, barely visible.
ImageDSCF0849 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here is the finished pile of noodles, with that uncut start I mentioned.
ImageDSCF0850 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here is the rest of the squash, actually two of them, as I cut open another, and the entire neck was hollow! I'll have to make something else with this.
ImageDSCF0853 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here is the sweet potato in the middle of cutting. This one had a couple that weren't quite cut all the way through - I figured because I let it go by itself, instead of "helping it along". So I did another smaller one, and pushed it, as it went, and it cut through all of them.
ImageDSCF0859 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The end, where the machine stops, leaving 1/2". with these, and the gourds, I just cut them into chunks, since I had more to cook like that. Otherwise, I might just slice them thin, and into strips, to go with the noodles.
ImageDSCF0860 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

One drawback to this is the cleanup - the blade assembly comes off, as well as the turning head, but the moving part that the blades attach to does not come off - I just have to slide it back and forth to get whatever is under it (It does come off, but only with two screws removed underneath!). This wouldn't be allowed on a commercial machine, for sanitary issues. Still, it's easy to clean, and I am not slicing meat on it!

Here it is at the starting point:
ImageDSCF0855 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here it is at the end. You can see the curved bed, that needs cleaning.
ImageDSCF0854 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Overall, I'd give this a 3 1/2 out of 5, for the reasons given. I think they may be creating a new model, and hopefully, they will address some of these problems. Still, it seems ok for me at the time, given the price.

pepperhead212
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 2844
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:52 pm
Location: Woodbury NJ Zone 7a/7b

Update: remembered when putting it away - didn't matter much to me, but it only has a 3' cord. Not very long, and it may be an issue to some, depending on location of outlets.



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