I'm stumped. I'm not so sure what is the answer to your question. I'll do some investigation and get back to you if I bump into an answer. You should email the people at Medifast as they probably know..

Buy it from Alissa's store, that's as good a place as any, and you know she'll stand behind it. But I have seen them at Sur Le Table (gourmet cook store) recently if that helps. And Williams Sonoma, under the Joyce Chen name..

I've only seen the Spirooli (which is a larger version of the saladacco type device, and which makes thicker slices and 2 sizes of thicker shreds) at a couple of health Medifast food places, but I know it's available online. I saw discountjuicers.com was recently selling it for about $20, though the usual price is around $35. Also Sur La Table and many asian supermarkets carry another larger heavy duty version..

The reason the saladacco caught on is that it very quickly and easily makes lots of long shreds, like the daikon shreds in a Japanese restaraunt. If you already have a Japanese mandolin, like the popular Benriner ones, you can do something similar, just not as curly and long...

I too suggest buying right here from Alissa. She has tried and tested many products and only sells the best. I feel very strongly about supporting her store, this is her site afterall and it's the best way for us to show our appreciation..

MBF..

I just received mine from Alissa, it arrived very quickly. I'm glad I bought mine from her as I know it will work as I need it to...

I read negative reviews about the saladacco on amazon and then tried out a friend's and had all the troubles mentioned in the reviews. why doesn't anyone here seem to have trouble with theirs? am I missing something? eek...

I bought one , and I can't for the life of me get the thing to work! I watched Alissa do it on her DVD, so I know they can work..I've listened to suggestions here on the board, but stillno success!.

I've experimented with mine off and on for about 6 months and it's never cooperated. It's now put away in a cabinet and I haven't touched it in a long time. Unfortunately in my case, I think it was a complete waste of money (even though it might just be me)...

Uh oh! I hope I can get mine to work. I haven't tried yet...

There are a couple of little tricks, but once you get the hang of it it's easy. What specifically is happening for those of you having problems - we can help you!.

Some poeple have problems, but I find that 5 minutes of 'Try it this way' demo works a charm when it's in person.... I'm sure we can do the same over the net. Any problems you are having are just small things you can easily change and then have it work perfect!.

It's best to start with large zucchini to get the hang of it (they are softer and easier when starting). Then the biggest factors are: cutting the right length, with straight edges, putting in the veggie and giving it a little push down to fix the little posts in it to hold it tight, then turning with just enough pressure to make it work (too much makes it mushy). Also you need to empty the container when it gets full, or the new shreds going on top start getting squished!.

Keep playing with it and it will start working exactly as it should (and you'll love it)!.

Cheers,.

Sheryl..

Hi Raene, I read those reviews on Amazon and didn't but one for the longest time because of them ! but felt a lot better buying from Alissa knowing so many people on this board were using them with no problem..

Sheryl help !! Mine works and I have no problem getting it to spiral it's the angel hair, I struggle with ! I went thru 6 zucchini the other day trying to get it to cut the angel hair...we just had spiral pasta marinara but I would love any tips on getting it to cut into angel hair typeIt leaves grooves int he zuch, it's like it's not cutting all the way through and when I press harder it makes the slices to thick..

Thanks.

MBF..

Oh, mbf. Some spiral slicers leave the factory with a small defect. The blade is in upside down! Simply unscrew the blade, flip it over and screw back together. That is exactly what the problem you are having sounds like to me!.

Warmly~.

Carmel..

We even occasionally get one with NO BLADES!! Easily fixable though!.

See if Carmel's theory is correct - sounds highly likely. If not we'll get to work!.

Cheers,.

Sheryl..

I lost the little circle thingie that controls the blades (or is that the blade?), does anybody know how I can get a replacement? I looked on my box, and couldn't find a distributor # or anything. HELP!.

Wendi..

Email whoever you bought it from - they can help. Or even try Alissa!.

Cheers,.

Sheryl..

Oh Carmel!.

Thanks for this post!.

I bought one six months ago, very dissapointed with it..

Its sat on the shelf for months..

I just read your post and fixed the defect!.

I just spiralized a courgette..

I am amazed how long the strands are!.

Thanks again..

I got so excited but that's not my problem. The blades are correct. As I mentioned it makes lovley spirals but when I flip the little blades up to make angel hair it still contniues to spiral but leaves lines in the vegtable where is should be cutting through but isn't, hope that's clear ? .

Thanks..

MBF..

Me too...I can't get pasta, I only get big chips out of it. What's going on? Only once did it make pasta like strands. I know it can, but how??..

Mbf and Raene, check these points....

1) The comb blade should be all the way ON, or all the way OFF. There is no in between setting..

2) The downward pressure yoo apply on the handle musy be firm, but not TOO firm. If you apply too little pressure you get inconsistent slicing, but too much pressure bends the blade so it chokes and gets too thick. If the comb blade is in the proper position and the pressure is right you will get angel hair. When the pressure is to light , you get marks but no separation of the strand..

My advice is just to try a couple of zucchinis, varying the pressure until you find the happy medium. You can always chop up your mistakes and throw thm onto a salad..

But with all these multi strand slicers, even the Benriners, I find that the "marks" are really partial cuts, and that if you just roll the veg between your fingertips a little, they will often separate...

Me too! chunks! no spaghetti! haven't used it in months.....

I have both, and if I were to buy one again, I'd get a spirooli instead of the saladacco! But actually, each has it's pros and cons..

The spirooli makes a fatter strand of "spaghetti", and is a larger rectagular shape. But you can make lots and lots without stopping to empty a little bowl. It is very sturdy and extremely easy to use..

The saladdaco is more compact and makes a much finer 'spaghetti' strand, but is very touchy and breaks really easy. You have to cut your product into smaller chunks to fit in, and the bowl fills up really fast..

Either way - tis fun to have a machine to make those 'spaghetti' strands to go with Alissa's awesome marinara sauce. I make beet curls to decorate my salads, really think potato chip slices, ... can be used for lots of things...

This is the third or 4th time I've read a post here that says something like this... that somebody didn't buy something they later loved becasue of reviews on Amazon. Shouldn't that tell you something about the quality of the reviews on Amazon?.

I call it Amoron because there are so many morons posting reviews there. When I used to read the reviews there I started noticing that people would bitch about things that had absolutely nothing to do with the item supposedly being reviewed. Like they'd complain that the "turbo" didn't work at all, when there was no "turbo" anything on the product. Or the nature of their complaint about something I already owned or was familiar with would reveal they had not read the instructions. Duhhhhh. And so on..

The crowning blow was reading someone's highly sarcastic comments about the Buzz Feiten Tuning System, a roughly $100 option on a high-end guitar that very subtly sweetens the sound of chords played at the first three frets, once the guitar is properly tuned. I have it on my favorite electric guitar and love it. But this guy, in "somebody should bomb the crooks" language, complained that it didn't keep his guitar in tune at all. He was totally unclear on the concept, and clueless that it wasn't meant to do that. But still he spewed out his disdain for the "total waste of money" he considered the feature to be..

That's when I stopped reading reviews on Amoron...

Thanks to this thread, I've dusted my Saladacco that I'd put away in a high cupboard because I couldn't make it work just got mush and now, following what has been said here (special thank you to Shivananda) I've managed to turn courgettes into perfect angel's hair pasta!.

Lily..

Thank you Lily, glad to help..

Courgettes... those are vegetables, are they? <ducking>..

Oops, here we go, divided by a common language! Sorry, that's zucchini to you, of course!.

Lily from across the pond..