Presto Salad Shooter Vs Professional

One of my favorite small appliances stopped working last week after decades of service. My faithful Presto Salad Shooter had shredded its last carrot. I felt as if I had lost an old friend.

I couldn’t imagine preparing summer salads or winter soups without my faithful shredder/slicer, nor the mountains of shredded cheese for pizzas and macaroni and cheese over the years. My larger appliances will do the work, but the Salad Shooter is so much more convenient to use.

I always loved my Salad Shooter, but I have a new appreciation for it now that I am older. If there ever was a kitchen gadget to make healthy eating for older adults easier, the Salad Shooter is it. With the arthritis in my hands getting worse, I can’t imagine trying to chop with a knife all the vegetables we eat.

Presto Salad Shooter

As luck would have it,  and with my birthday around the corner,  my dear husband ordered a new Salad Shooter for me and it was delivered within the week. So I wasn’t without it for too long. The new one is a bit sleeker and came with the slicer cone and a larger shredder cone. The main difference between the two is that the cord is attached to the new model where the original cord was not. The original plugged into the base and the wall outlet.

Presto Professional Salad Shooter

Having heard about the demise of my original Presto Salad Shooter, my daughter also ordered a replacement for me, but she ordered the Presto Professional Salad Shooter black version.  As much as I love my old Salad Shooter, I was curious to learn the differences between the Salad Shooter and the Professional Salad Shooter.

The first thing I noticed was the difference in box size. The Professional Salad Shooter comes in a significantly bigger box. I found out after opening it that this is to accommodate the larger size of the Professional model and all the extras that come with it.

VIDEO: Presto Salad Shooter Vs Professional

 

Presto Salad Shooter Vs Professional

	Salad Shooter Model  # 02910	Professional Salad Shooter Model  # 02970
Dimensions	9.5”H x 7”W	12” H x 8.5”W
Motorized Base	120 VAC 60 HZ .85 AMPS	120 VAC 60 HZ 1.0 AMPS
Food Chamber	Opaque Food Chamber and Chute	Clear Food Chamber and Chute
Food Guide	Non Adjustable	Adjustable Food Guide (Large and Small Sizes)
Funnel Guide	Not Included	Included
Included Cones	Slicing Cone Shredding Cone	Super Thick Shred Cone (Black) Medium Shred Cone (Gray) Thick Slice Cone (White) Ripple Slice Cone (Green)
Also Included	Twist Lock Ring	Twist Lock Ring Funnel Guide
Extra Cones Available	Fine Shred Cone Super Shred Cone Ripple Slice Cone	Fine Shred Cone Thin Slice Cone
Do Not Shred or Slice	Ice or  Coffee Beans (may damage the unit)	Ice or  Coffee Beans (may damage the unit)

Salad Shooter or Professional Salad Shooter?

The Salad Shooter is a great little machine that served me well for decades, and I don’t think you can go wrong with it. The smaller size and fewer attachments make it convenient to store, especially in a smaller kitchen.  But there are a few more differences between the Salad Shooter and the Professional Salad Shooter, besides the size, that also are worth noting.

Color

The next major difference is the color, with the smaller Salad Shooter being white, while the larger Professional Salad Shooter is black. Since both are neutral, I’m happy with either color.

What is nice about the Professional Salad Shooter is that, unlike the smaller, completely white machine, the Food Chamber and Shredding/Slicing Chute of the black Professional Salad Shooter are clear. So it’s easy to watch your food being shredded and sliced from start to finish.

Both machines are point and shoot: Just load the Food Chamber and aim the Chute where you want your shreds or slices to land. Both models power on using an On/Off Switch located on the handle. Once you turn it on, press down on the Food Guide and the slices or shreds fly out of the front of the Chute.

Capacity

The Food Chamber and Chute of the Professional Salad Shooter are bigger and hold more food than the smaller Salad Shooter. So I could process more food more quickly than with the smaller machine.

Both machines sliced carrots and zucchini without a hitch. I could fit more carrots at one time in the Professional Salad Shooter compared to the  Salad Shooter.  And I could fit half of a zucchini  in the Professional model’s chute, compared to a quarter of the zucchini in the smaller Salad Shooter.

Power

Another difference, besides the larger capacity, is the increased power of the Professional Salad Shooter.  It easily sliced through my celery stalks and red onions. The smaller Salad Shooter had trouble powering through stringy celery stalks and cut onion slices a bit unevenly.

The Chute of the Professional Salad Shooter also adjusts to accommodate smaller quantities of food with a detachable part hidden inside its Food Guide.

Extras

The Professional version comes with a Funnel Guide intended to help channel the shreds and slices for more precise direction.  Sometimes the food builds up inside the Funnel Guide. When that happens, just remove the Guide from the Chute and empty it into the bowl or container. Either way, it does keep the bits and pieces from landing all around the counter top.

Also included are extra Cones for making different slices and shreds. The smaller Salad Shooter comes with two Cones: a Slicing Cone and a Shredding Cone, each measuring 2 inches by 3 inches. The Professional Salad Shooter comes with four Cones: Super Thick Shred Cone (Black), Medium Shred Cone (Gray), Thick Slice Cone (White), and a Ripple Slice Cone (Green). Each of the Professional Cones measures 3 inches by 4 inches to fit the larger capacity Food Chute of the bigger machine.

Cleaning Tip: The attachments are listed as dishwasher safe, but we generally hand wash most gadget pieces.  The blades of the Cones are sharp, so for washing by hand we use the Oxo Good Grips Bottle Brush. The motor base can be wiped clean with a damp cloth (do not immerse in water).  Either way, like most kitchen gadget attachments, we rinse right after using to avoid bits of food sticking to them.

VIDEO: Unboxing the Professional Salad Shooter

Verdict: Presto Professional Salad Shooter

My new Professional Salad Shooter has taken up the  counter space previously taken up by my old Salad Shooter. I feel a bit disloyal to my old Salad Shooter, which served me so well for decades. But the larger capacity and extra power of the Professional Salad Shooter over the smaller Salad Shooter convinced me.

Just last night I discovered the remnants of a cabbage I had used earlier in the week.  I checked my prepped veggie box and found carrots and onion ready for use.  I added each vegetable in turn to the Professional Salad Shooter. The Professional Salad Shooter worked its magic, and in minutes my cole slaw for supper was ready to be dressed. It made me realize that, with the right tools, prepping and saving in the kitchen is still something I can manage, even through some of aging’s discomforts.

Thanks Presto, for improving on a gem of a kitchen tool.

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