Product Description

Joyce Chen opened her first restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1958. She found that the selection and quality of Chinese cookware in America didn't live up to her high standards¿ so she developed her own. Today, Joyce Chen Products sources from all over the Pacific Rim to bring the best of Asia to you. Make professional garnishes in minutes with this Spiral Slicer which quickly creates spiral strands, ribbons, or slices.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18406 in Kitchen & Housewares
• Color: White
• Brand: Joyce Chen
• Model: 51-0662
• Dimensions: 1.30 pounds

Features

• Spiral food slicer; great for garnishes or Asian salads
• Quickly creates spiral strands, ribbons, or slices
• Durable plastic construction; 2 slicing variations
• Clear plastic catch tray; simple clean-up; handle keeps hands away from cutting surface
• Dishwasher-safe; 9-1/2 inches tall; comes gift-boxed

Customer Reviews

The Infamous Joyce Chen Saladacco
I had to give this product two stars for the concept and at least one star because it does exactly what the manufacturer says it does, but nothing more plus not everything you make using this product turns out completely awful. Versatile this tool is not! To start your vegetables must be 1-inch in diameter and 3-1/2 inches in length. After you've finished cutting you are left with at least 1-inch of unuseable vegetable, unless you're willing to do the rest of your creative cutting by hand, not only does this limit you but it also creates a great deal of waste. You have only 2 blade choices which are housed in a poorly constructed plastic contraption that easily separates if pressed on in the wrong spot.

You have your choice of either Spaghetti type strands or spiral slices but don't expect anything pretty with your spaghetti strands because your only option is a very fine tooth edged blade which creates very fine strands of mush depending on what you're cutting. However, this product does have one redeeming trait and that's with the use of the flat edged blade it does create fairly nice looking spiral slices. If you're expecting true versatility than you will have to cough up the dough for "The Benriner Cooks Helper", "Benriner Cook Help" or the "Benriner Asian Sprial Slicer" (they're all the same) which gives you (3) Tooth edged blades (fine, medium and Coarse) as well as (1) flat edged blade, the size of your vegetables do still matter for cutting but you don't throw away nearly as much. Shop around for the best price!

Works properly 1 in 10 tries at best.
For this gizmo to make thin long strands of zucchini, the following conditions have to all be in place, and even then it doesn't always work. The zucchini:

* has to be straight or have very little curve.
* needs to be cut into pieces 3 1/2 inches long or shorter.
* ends need to be cut perfectly straight.
* has to be perfectly centered in the spiralizer.

The spiralizer:
* needs to be locked into place, which is often a bit of a struggle.

You:
* have to be exerting pressure as you spin the handle clockwise
* have to make sure the lever stays to the left and doesn't slide to the right as sometimes happens.

Even when all these conditions are in place, I can't always get it to work properly. Also, it's a huge struggle to get the top separated from the base when I'm doing using the spiralizer. My pieces usually come out looking like spirals that have been scored, but not cut, by the blades with occasional strands of zucchini pasta mixed in. Maybe the zucchini has to have a water content in a certain range, and Jupiter has to align with Mars?

Just as I wouldn't recommend a car that didn't start 90% of the time, I can't recommend the Joyce Chen spiralizer. The spirooli, another kitchen device which makes vegetable pasta is much more reliable and easier to use, although you need to be more careful with it because the blades are on the outside.

I've added back in one star because if you use the setting to the right for the long flat spirals, the device will work. Although you'll still likely have the struggle to lock the top in place and unlock it after use. Also, I've used friends' spiralizers that have worked fine for angel hair vegetable pasta, so I know there are some out there that work. But based on my experience with my own spiralizer, it's an overpriced piece of plastic junk.

Save your money and avoid this!
AA real disappointment, this spiral slicer is cheaply made and fails to perform reliably and adequately. It can be used best on large chunks of such vegetables as carrots, zucchini and cucumber, but forget about smaller or slender pieces, or small vegetables such as radishes, which it just can't seem to process at all. It also produces a great of waste. You also have to be careful that it doesn't come apart in your hands as you turn the crank. While it does (when you can get it to work) produce pretty strands and spirals (it has two different settings), its reliability and limitations make this a poor choice for the consumer. You'd be better off investing in a good-quality mandoline or a food processor (or purchasing an affordable Microplane grater).