Review Exercise 4 Slithering Speeds to Magic Squares
The inquiry
- Why yous should trust us
- Blender vs. food processor: Which one should you become?
- What type of blender should you become?
- How we picked
- How we tested
- Our pick: Vitamix 5200
- Flaws simply not dealbreakers
- What about other Vitamix models?
- Runner-up: Oster Versa Pro Serial Blender
- Also corking: Cleanblend Blender
- Budget pick: KitchenAid K150 three Speed Ice Burdensome Blender
- Blender intendance and maintenance
- What to look forward to
- Other adept blenders
- The contest
- Sources
Why you should trust united states
As a senior staff writer for Wirecutter, I've covered everything from chef'due south knives to stand up mixers, and I've tested every blender worth testing since 2014. I also have a breadth of cooking and entertaining noesis from decades of working in restaurants and mag test kitchens. This guide builds on the piece of work of Christine Cyr Clisset, at present a deputy editor at Wirecutter.
Nosotros reached out to Jonathan Cochran, a former blender salesperson who now runs the site Blender Dude, for his have on the all-time Vitamix and Blendtec models to test (his site has affiliate partnerships with both companies). For our original guide, authored by Seamus Bellamy, we consulted with Lisa McManus, an executive editor in charge of equipment testing at Cook's Illustrated and Melt's Country magazines.
Blender vs. food processor: Which ane should you get?
Although at that place'southward some overlap in what they can do, blenders and food processors aren't interchangeable appliances. A countertop blender is a better tool for making purees, quick sauces, and emulsifications (such as mayonnaise and vinaigrette), and information technology's the only apparatus that tin can whip berries and fibrous veggies into a silky-smooth texture. Considering a blender's jar is narrow and commonly angled at the base of operations, it creates a vortex that helps pass ingredients through the blades more frequently than in a food processor, yielding smoother textures.
With a little effort, you can as well puree wet ingredients (such every bit tomatoes for sauce) in a nutrient processor, but the doughnut-shaped container doesn't handle liquids also as a blender's jar does—information technology tends to leak. A food processor works fine for thick purees like hummus and is smashing for sauces with a coarser texture similar pesto. Merely it can't make a expert smoothie and—since you can't command the speed of the blades—is liable to shoot hot soup everywhere. Instead, a nutrient processor is best for chopping, slicing, and grating. With the right attachment, information technology can even mix and knead dough. Many people use food processors for mincing vegetables, but this appliance is also your best friend for easily grating cheese, slicing potatoes for a gratin, grinding fresh staff of life crumbs, or quickly cutting butter into flour to brand pie dough.
In short, blenders liquefy, food processors chop and slice. Depending on your needs, yous might choose one over the other, or you lot might desire both. We have a guide to the best food processors, too, if you're interested.
What type of blender should you get?
A countertop blender delivers the silkiest smoothies, daiquiris, soups, and sauces of whatsoever fashion of blender you can buy. It's more than versatile than a personal blender (which is meant mainly for smoothies) because it holds more and can handle hot liquids. It's besides more powerful than an immersion blender, which is great for pureeing soups straight in the pot or making a quick mayo merely doesn't yield the velvety textures you lot get from a good countertop blender.
That said, a blender's performance and longevity are usually proportional to its cost. High-end blenders are more than powerful and designed to puree the thickest mixtures without burning out, something that inexpensive blenders simply tin't do. If y'all want a kitchen workhorse—a machine that tin can tackle everything from hot soups and sauces to thick frozen concoctions—a full-size, high-powered blender is the all-time choice. How much you should spend on one depends on exactly what you'll use it for. Below is a breakup of what each of our picks will exercise for you lot.
Get our upkeep option, the KitchenAid, if:
- Yous use your blender only for the occasional smoothie, frozen drink, or soup.
- Yous don't blend nut butters or other motor-taxing mixtures.
- A curt, limited one-twelvemonth warranty isn't a concern.
Get our runner-up, the Oster, or our too-great pick, the Cleanblend, if:
- You alloy no more a few times a week.
- You rarely make nut butters.
- A 5- or vii-year warranty is important to you.
Get our summit pick, the Vitamix, if:
- Blending is part of your daily lifestyle.
- You frequently alloy thick, motor-taxing mixtures like nut butters and spoonable smoothies.
- You want a blender with the widest range of speeds for easily doing everything from blending hot liquids to pulverizing ice cubes.
- A 7-yr warranty is important to you.
Alternatively, if yous just want to make a daily smoothie, you might exist improve off with a NutriBullet (we've tested them all).
How we picked
Since 2012, nosotros've researched or tested almost every decent household blender available, from budget models starting at $40 to powerful, high-performance models topping out at $700. In all this testing, we've found the post-obit criteria to be the about important to look for in a blender:
Jar shape and motor force
A great blender should exist able to smoothly process tough items like fibrous kale, frozen berries, and water ice without called-for out the motor. How efficiently a blender does this depends on a combination of the blade length and position, the shape of the mixing jar, and the motor strength. All iii of those elements combine to create a vortex that pulls food down around the blade.
In our testing, nosotros've plant that tall, tapered jars with a curved lesser develop a more than consistent vortex than short, wide ones with a apartment lesser. But the better blending that you become from a taller, tapered jar comes with a trade-off: A fully assembled blender might be besides tall to fit under low-hanging cabinets. Blenders with wide, short jars are better for countertop storage, simply you're sacrificing performance for that convenience.
A more powerful motor also helps to create a better vortex and blends thick mixtures more easily than a weaker one. But a blender's power rating isn't easy information to come up past. Almost blender companies annunciate but "tiptop horsepower," a spec that's misleading if you're trying to determine a motor's strength. A motor works at peak horsepower for merely a fraction of a second, when y'all beginning the blender, in club to overcome inertia. Immediately after, the motor drops to its "rated horsepower," which is the amount of power it tin sustain without called-for out. As explained on Cooking For Engineers, you lot can get a ballpark estimate of a blender's rated horsepower by dividing its wattage by 746 (considering 746 watts equals approximately 1 unit of measurement of electrical horsepower). This equation doesn't business relationship for efficiency, but it does offer a more realistic approximation of a blender's power output.
Jar material
Most of the blenders we've tested come with plastic jars. All of our picks take jars made of BPA-free Tritan plastic, which is very durable. Many of the lower-end blenders nosotros've tested don't advertise which textile their jars are fabricated of beyond a "BPA-free" note. Simply the majority of these jars are probably made of polycarbonate, which is more rigid than Tritan simply also very stiff. Both materials will crack if heated also high, which is why these jars should non go in the dishwasher.
We understand that some folks prefer metal or glass jars. But you'd be hard-pressed to detect a powerful blender with a glass jar, and there'south probably a good reason for this. As April Jones explains in her article on Cooking For Engineers: "Due to the loftier-speed blades and high horsepower motors, drinking glass isn't the safest option for professional person-grade blenders. If a metal object, such equally a spoon or knife, were accidentally left in the blender, a glass pitcher could shatter and potentially cause an injury. Using polycarbonate plastics or copolyester is a much safer choice to avoid the hazard of broken glass." Stainless steel jars are durable only opaque, and nosotros like to monitor the progress of purees and emulsifications without having to remove the lid.
Price
Judging from buyer reviews, the holy grail for many home cooks seems to be a $50 or $100 blender that performs like a $500 Vitamix or Blendtec. But that isn't realistic. High-cease blenders priced at $150 and upward—often called high-performance blenders—offer more power, produce much smoother textures, and mostly last a lot longer than lower-finish, under-$100 blenders. High-performance blenders as well tackle tasks that you'd never want to try in a cheap blender, such as making peanut butter or milling grains.
That said, there'south nix incorrect with a cheap blender as long as you understand its limitations. Some people want an affordable midrange blender to make the occasional daiquiri or smoothie. So we've tested blenders in a broad range of prices with the understanding that, for the nigh role, y'all get what yous pay for.
Warranty
The most common complaint nosotros've found about cheap blenders is that their motors burn out easily and their jars crack or leak. But information technology'southward non incommunicable for even higher-finish blenders to encounter burnout. As Lisa McManus, executive editor in charge of equipment testing at Melt's Illustrated and Cook'south Land magazines, told our writer Seamus Bellamy in an interview for our 2012 guide, "Blenders accept a really hard job to do in that fiddling space. The motor is only so big. If y'all go far practice something difficult every mean solar day, a lot of them fire out. It's a lot of stress to put on a little auto." This is why a long warranty is important, especially if you lot're paying a lot for a blender. Vitamix, Oster, and Cleanblend models all come with warranties of five to seven years, and—at least for Vitamix machines—we've read plenty of owner reviews saying the blender lasts much longer. You can't wait that level of performance from dirt-cheap blenders, which is probably why most of them come up with only 1-year express warranties.
Speed control
Whether y'all cull a blender with manual controls or preset functions is largely a personal preference. But we appreciate a powerful blender with a simple interface that includes an on/off switch, a pulse button, and a variable-speed punch. These easy controls allow you to speedily accommodate the speed or plough off the machine if things get messy.
Preset programs for making smoothies, mixing soups, or crushing water ice can exist great if you want to multitask in the kitchen while blending. But we've also found that these functions rarely deliver purees as smooth as when we command the speed and time with the manual setting.
Tamper
In our years of testing, we've found that a tamper—a small plastic bat that lets you button nutrient down into the blades—separates the great blenders from the good ones. When a blender is really cranking, air pockets tend to grade around the blade, and a tamper allows you to burst them without having to stop the machine. The tamper that comes with a blender is designed to safely clear the blades of that particular model, as long equally you use it with the hat on. Using a different tamper or another tool that might striking the moving blades is dangerous and could damage the machine. If your blender doesn't come with a tamper, the merely style you lot should burst air pockets is to turn the machine off, remove the jar from the base of operations, and stir the mixture with a spoon.
So why don't all blenders come with a tamper? Considering forcing frozen and thick mixtures into the blades puts a lot of stress on the motor. Performance blenders that include tampers take powerful motors that can handle this stress—they're designed for it. Only cheaper blenders have weaker motors. If they were to include tampers, people would probably button these machines past their limits, ultimately prompting the motor to burn down out.
How we tested
We judged each model on how well it performed everyday blending jobs such equally making thick frozen smoothies and hot soups. We also wanted to see which blenders could emulsify eggs and oil into mayonnaise and pulverize nuts into a smooth butter. In each blender, we made a thick green smoothie packed with frozen bananas and berries, kale, and coconut water. We looked at each blender's ability to create a consistent vortex without taxing the motor or needing additional liquid. Later, we tasted the smoothies to assess mouthfeel, and so we strained the remainder through a fine-mesh sieve to meet how well the blenders had pulverized tough greens and berry seeds.
A blender can exist a useful tool for making emulsified sauces such as mayonnaise, hollandaise, vinaigrettes, and Caesar dressing, so we tested each model'southward ability to emulsify mayonnaise made with ane egg yolk. Making a successful blender mayonnaise (or hollandaise or Caesar) hinges on the blades sitting low enough in the jar that they start whipping the egg yolk earlier yous add a drib of oil.
To come across how the motors handled dense purees, we candy raw peanuts into peanut butter. With our finalists, we made rounds of piña coladas to encounter how well they composite ice into slush.
Additionally, we noted how easy or difficult each blender was to make clean, how noisy each model was, whether any of them produced a called-for scent while the motor ran, whether the jars were hard to attach to the bases, and how easy the interfaces were to use.
Our pick: Vitamix 5200
Our option
Vitamix 5200
The all-time blender
This high-performance automobile blends more gracefully than any of the others we've tested. Its motor powers through thick mixtures, and information technology comes with a seven-year warranty backed by first-class customer service.
The Vitamix 5200 offers the all-time operation you can make it a home blender. This model has been 1 of our favorite blenders since 2014, and it's the classic Vitamix that has remained the standard for pro chefs and blender enthusiasts. It consistently performed at the top of the pack in our tests, and it came recommended to united states of america by multiple experts considering it powerfully purees and pulverizes nutrient more reliably, thoroughly, and elegantly than virtually blenders.
The Vitamix 5200 did not make the absolute smoothest smoothies of all the blenders we tested—that prize went to the Blendtec and Cleanblend machines. Simply when information technology came to consistent and graceful performance, the Vitamix won every time. This model was the only blender nosotros tested that smoothly blended peanuts and almonds into butter. And whereas other blenders, such as the Blendtec, Cleanblend, and Oster, spit bits of mayo up the sides of the jar and out the chapeau'due south center hole, the Vitamix kept the mixture smoothly and evenly moving effectually the base of the blade.
We institute Vitamix'due south variable-speed dial to take the best range amid the blenders we tried. Its depression is actually low, and the blender produces a noticeable shift as you advance through each number. In our tests, this range of speeds made the Vitamix the best blender for hot liquids: You can start blending at a lazy swirl and slowly increment the speed then that the hot liquid is less probable to shoot up toward the lid and risk a volcanic, trip-to-the-burn-unit of measurement situation. In comparing, the Cleanblend has a forceful start on the lowest setting, which increases the chances of a painful eruption when you're blending hot soups. The same goes for the Blendtec Designer 675, which in our tests was so powerful that the soup setting created a whirlwind in a jar.
The Vitamix'south tamper is essential for breaking up air pockets and pushing ingredients downwards toward the blade while the machine is running. When using models without a tamper, we frequently needed to stop the blender to burst air pockets or scrape ingredients down the sides of the jar with a spatula. In some cases, nosotros also had to add more h2o to the smoothie to get all the ingredients to move around the blades without the assist of a tamper. For all these reasons, blending in the Vitamix with a tamper took nearly half the time equally it took in the Blendtec with no included tamper. By keeping the ingredients moving, nosotros were able to whip up a smoothie in well-nigh 30 seconds.
The Vitamix's Tritan-plastic jar feels sturdier than those of the other blenders we recommend, and the grippy handle is comfortable to hold. We too establish the tall, narrow, tapered shape of the jar to be ideal for creating a strong vortex that pulled ingredients down toward the blade. That characteristic helped the Vitamix blend more than efficiently than the Oster, with its wider jar, and the result was vastly superior to what we got from the broad, blocky jar of the Blendtec. Similar the jars of most other loftier-powered blenders, the jar of the Vitamix (which has the blade attached) is very easy to make clean: After you make a smoothie or something like, you lot should find information technology sufficient to only cascade in a chip of hot h2o, add a couple of drops of dish lather, blend for 30 seconds or and so, and then rinse out the jar.
No high-powered blender nosotros tested could exist described as repose, only we found the noise from the Vitamix to be much less offensive than the high-pitched whine of the Blendtec, and it was quieter than the roar of our runner-up, the Oster Versa.
Should its motor overheat, the Vitamix is equipped with an automatic shutoff feature to keep it from called-for out. In our feel, the Vitamix should be able to handle a lot before it gets to that point, but if your Vitamix does shut off, information technology's best to let the automobile rest for an 60 minutes before you try to use it again.
I matter that softens the accident of spending more than than $400 on a Vitamix is the condolement of knowing that it's backed by a 7-year warranty. Nosotros called Vitamix'southward customer service and learned that the approximate fourth dimension between filing a claim and receiving your blender back in working guild (or a certified refurb) is six to 10 days. For an additional fee, y'all tin can buy a three-twelvemonth extended warranty for the 5200. If yous purchase a new Vitamix from the company's site or from a certified third-party retailer, such as Amazon, you take thirty days from the date of buy to purchase the extended warranty directly from Vitamix for $75. After 30 days have passed, you can purchase the extended warranty upwards until the original one expires for effectually $120.
Yous tin can save some money on a Vitamix if you lot opt for a certified-refurbished model. Jonathan Cochran of Blender Dude highly recommends them. "My pick for 'best bang for the buck' continues to be the Certified Refurbished (Blendtec) and Certified Reconditioned (Vitamix) models. I have personally inspected hundreds of each, and for all intents and purposes they are indistinguishable from the new models at a significantly reduced price point," he told us. A certified reconditioned Vitamix comes with a five-year warranty, with the pick to extend coverage iii more than years for an additional $75.
Long-term exam notes
We used the same Vitamix 5200 in our exam kitchen for five years with naught but excellent results. It finally did burn out, but only after nosotros put it through strenuous use over the course of many tests for both this guide and others. Still, it hands outlasted the Oster, and it fabricated many more (and better) batches of nut butter and extra-thick smoothies before we pushed it to its limit. Since our Vitamix was withal under warranty when information technology burned out, we contacted customer service, and the representatives promptly replaced it.
I've also used a Vitamix at dwelling for years, and information technology's still my favorite household blender, period. I long-term tested the runner-up, the Oster, for six months and noticed some glaring differences: The Vitamix can handle more without its motor straining, and the Vitamix's tamper is much improve than the Oster'southward, which is really hard to get down in there.
Over the years, other Wirecutter staffers have expressed love for their Vitamix blenders. Old special projects editor Ganda Suthivarakom, who had used hers since 2015 without result, said: "I beloved that I can make a lot of vegan recipes for cashew creams without having to soak the nuts beforehand." Senior staff writer Chris Heinonen, who has endemic his Vitamix since 2018, guesses that he has "used information technology more than than all my blenders in the past combined." The only minor complaint we've heard is from senior editor Kalee Thompson, who notes: "Information technology's so tall, information technology doesn't fit under the upper shelves over my counters ... so I'm less inclined to get out information technology out, and in one case information technology's abroad, I don't use it equally much." That said, others have told us how much they capeesh the Vitamix'due south large capacity.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
We know that for many people, the biggest issue with the Vitamix 5200 is its steep price. At around $400 or so, information technology's at least twice the price of our runner-upwards, the Oster Versa Pro Series Blender. In the past, we've even made the Oster our elevation pick considering of its insufficiently affordable toll. Merely later on years of testing the Vitamix and using it in our test kitchen, nosotros think it'southward truly worth the investment. Information technology's more durable and all-around more effective than any other blender we've plant, and if you programme on using a blender regularly, it will brand your life a lot easier. Plus, consider the cost of ownership a smoothie rather than making it at home: A morning smoothie can run from about $5 to $13, so in 2 to 4 months y'all will have paid the same amount as for a 5200. A Vitamix, by contrast, will last you at least 7 years (and it makes a lot more than smoothies).
At more than than twenty inches tall, the Vitamix 5200 is a big appliance—also big to fit under some kitchen cabinets. Just none of the other high-powered blenders we tested were much smaller. Though the Oster is a couple of inches shorter, it too has a beefier base. If size is an effect for y'all, Vitamix makes other lines of blenders (equally mentioned beneath) that have a shorter contour. But nosotros've found that the tall, narrow shape of the 5200'due south blending jar is one of the components that help this motorcar create such an effective vortex.
Finally, the Vitamix 5200 doesn't come with any presets, just a variable-speed dial. But even though it'due south squeamish to be able to press a push and have your blender run through a smoothie-making program, it'south not really essential. You'll probably stick close to your blender anyhow in order to use the tamper to get things moving, and it's non difficult to adjust the dial if y'all experience the need to. With the Vitamix information technology's besides easy to get good results without whatever presets.
What most other Vitamix models?
The 5200 isn't the only blender in Vitamix's option—if you want the blending ability of the 5200 but strongly prefer presets, or if you need a shorter jar that volition fit your infinite, consider looking into other models. That said, the original 5200 remains our favorite because every new blender from Vitamix comes with a squat jar that doesn't blend pocket-size amounts as well every bit the 5200's tall and tapered pitcher. (Hither'southward a chart breaking down the features of the different Vitamix lines; the 5200 is function of the Legacy Series.)
Nosotros're currently testing our way through Vitamix's product line. Hither's what we recollect about the models we've looked at then far:
Compared with our top choice, the Vitamix 5200, the Vitamix 5300 has the aforementioned 64-ounce chapters and speed-command punch, but it lacks the ultra-high-speed switch available on the 5200. In testing, we found that the 5300'south low-profile jar failed to maintain a vortex besides as the 5200's narrow, tapered 1. Also, for smaller volumes—two cups or less—the 5300's tamper didn't accomplish down quite far enough to burst air pockets. We had to add together more liquid to thicker mixtures, such equally date puree and hummus, considering the tamper wasn't cut it. The 5300 is function of Vitamix's C-Series, along with the 5200 and Explorian models. I perk of the C-Serial blenders, albeit a pricey one, is that they all work with the original tall tapered jar, which you tin can buy for $150. This doesn't seem similar a dandy deal if you're buying a new Vitamix now, but information technology's something to consider down the line if you have a C-Series blender and find yourself struggling to blend small volumes.
The Vitamix Rise series 2300 and 2500 blenders perform similarly to the 5300 in blending power and basic functionality, with a graduated speed dial, a pulse switch, and on/off buttons. The 2000 Ascent serial models have bigger control dials than other models and digital timer displays. The divergence betwixt the 2300 and the 2500 is that the quondam is manual just while the latter has iii blending programs in addition to the manual blending part. Like all of the low-profile Vitamix blenders we tested, these Ascent models aren't as graceful or effective at blending smaller volumes every bit the 5200. And unlike the low-profile C-Serial blenders (5300 and Explorian), the Rise models don't adapt the original tall jar.
The Vitamix Explorian E320, available at Costco, is 99% identical to the 5300. A Vitamix customer service representative told the states that the two blenders had the aforementioned motor base, jar, tamper, and functionality. The main difference between the blenders is that the 5300 has a small-scale on/off switch located only below the command console. On superlative of that, the E320 is available only as part of a package with two personal cups and an adapter.
Vitamix added the Explorian Series E310 variable-speed blender to its lineup in 2017. Nosotros chose not to exam this model because we didn't call back it was a good value. Although it's typically 3-quarters the price of the Vitamix 5200, the toll departure is directly proportional to the E310'south smaller blending jar (48 ounces versus 64 ounces) and shorter warranty (five versus seven years). On the E310, Vitamix also replaced the switch that flips the machine from variable speed to loftier power with a pulse switch, thus eliminating the choice for i-affect loftier-power blending. If you take limited storage infinite in your kitchen, you lot might similar the E310 for its shorter elevation (about 17 inches tall, compared with the Vitamix 5200, which is about 20 inches tall). Merely if you're going to trounce out the cash for a Vitamix blender, we still think spending a piddling more on the 5200 is the best option.
Runner-upwards: Oster Versa Pro Serial Blender
Runner-upward
Nosotros don't think yous tin beat the value of the Oster Versa Pro Series Blender. It isn't quite as powerful as the Vitamix 5200, only information technology is nigh half the cost, and information technology beat out near of the other blenders in its price range at making silky smoothies, purees, and composite cocktails. It has one of the best combinations of variable and preset speeds nosotros've institute, and its settings are more intuitive to utilize than those on other models we've tried. Information technology besides offers features, such as a tamper and overheating protection, that are unremarkably available only on more expensive blenders. We don't recall the Oster is as durable every bit the Vitamix (ours burned out afterward ii and a half years). But information technology does come with a seven-year warranty, and information technology's a cracking pick if y'all're not prepare to spring for the Vitamix.
The Oster passed well-nigh every challenge we threw at it. And although it failed to accomplish the absolute smoothest drink textures compared with the Blendtec or the Cleanblend—information technology left whole raspberry seeds in smoothies and made a slightly grainy piña colada—its smoothies were still much smoother than any of the results from lower-priced blenders. Equally long equally the Oster had about 2 cups of basics to work with, it fabricated a decent nut butter (albeit one that was slightly crunchier than the batch we made in the Vitamix). And it whipped up a velvety puree. The but thing the Oster really struggled to exercise was brand mayonnaise; we were able to make an emulsification only once out of four tries.
We constitute the Oster easier to control than other blenders of a similar price, thanks to its wide range of speeds. Though not every bit varied as those on the Vitamix, the speeds on the Oster are far more diverse than those on the Cleanblend, which, despite its variable-speed punch, seems to have only two settings: high and higher. In comparing, the Oster's low speed is sane enough that y'all can start pureeing a batch of soup without having hot liquid shoot up the sides of the jar (a problem with the Cleanblend).
The Oster is the only 1 of our blender picks to have both manual speed controls and preset programs for soup, dip, and smoothies. This makes it more versatile than the more expensive entry-level models from Vitamix and Blendtec, which have simply variable or preset speeds, respectively. To get presets with a Vitamix, or a variable-speed "touch slider" with a Blendtec model, you need to spend even more.
The tamper that comes with the Oster is a little too brusk and oddly shaped. In contrast to the polish cylindrical tampers of the Vitamix and Cleanblend models, the Oster's tamper has three flat pieces of plastic that run into in the centre. Merely the design works sufficiently to flare-up air bubbling and help movement things like peanuts around the blades, so it's meliorate than no tamper at all.
This Oster model, like other loftier-performance blenders, is a beefy machine. The base takes up 8 by 9 inches of counter space. Merely at 17½ inches tall to the top of the hat, the Oster will fit better on a counter under most kitchen cabinets than the Vitamix or the Cleanblend, both of which are more than 19 inches alpine.
Also, like all the other high-powered blenders nosotros tested, the Oster gets loud when you turn the motor up all the way—much louder than the Vitamix but not every bit annoying or high-pitched as the Blendtec. For at present, this is just the way it is with loftier-performance blenders.
Like the Vitamix, the Oster shuts off if the motor is in danger of overheating. If the Oster'due south overload protection stops the motor, you should permit it to cool for 45 minutes and press the reset button on the bottom of the base before y'all run the blender again. This procedure reduces the risk of permanent motor exhaustion.
Should it burn out, the Oster comes with a express seven-twelvemonth warranty that covers "defects in cloth and workmanship," including the motor and the Tritan jar. That policy is most the same as the coverage from Blendtec and Vitamix, which offer eight- and 7-year warranties, respectively, on their models. In our feel, Oster's client service is courteous and quickly addresses any issues with a blender while information technology'south under warranty.
Merely if you're thinking that the Oster Versa will deliver the longevity and operation of a Vitamix 5200 at a fraction of the cost, call back over again. The Oster model'due south biggest flaw is its durability: We plant through personal experience that the Versa can burn out after two to three years of moderate to frequent employ (encounter our long-term test notes for this model below). We've seen some reviews on Amazon (as well equally comments from our readers) that mention the same problem. But Oster honors its seven-year warranty and is quick to send a replacement (nosotros got ours in well-nigh a week). Although it took three attempts for us to get through to client service by phone during the busy vacation shopping flavor, we're bold that hiccup was due to the unusually high call volume that occurs at that time of year.
The blending jar, lid, and controls on the Oster too experience cheaper compared with what you get on the Vitamix. Only given that this blender is typically almost $250 less, we're comfy with the lower-quality hardware.
Long-term test notes
For iii years, we used the Versa twice a calendar week on boilerplate to make smoothies and soup, and it never quit on us during that time—although we occasionally detected a faint burning odor from the motor while we were blending thick smoothies. Simply the motor permanently died when we formally tested the iii-yr-old Versa again for our 2017 update: 1 minute into our blending the nut butter, the overload protection cutting the motor. We should've let the motor rest for 45 minutes before restarting, simply we permit it cool for simply ten minutes earlier our 2nd effort—and that's when the motor burned out completely. However, our blender was still under warranty, and Oster chop-chop sent a replacement.
Wirecutter's audience evolution director, Erin Price, uses the Oster Versa and so far has no complaints. She told u.s.: "I've had the Oster Versa since 2016, and it's still going stiff (though it sat in storage for ane of those years). I generally apply it for smoothies, and information technology handles ice and greens so well."
Likewise great: Cleanblend Blender
Also nifty
If you're willing to take a hazard on a shorter warranty from a newer company, the ane,800-watt Cleanblend Blender costs about the same as the Oster Versa and produces finer purees. In our tests, it blended silkier smoothies and piña coladas than many blenders that cost more than twice as much. This model comes with a durable Tritan-plastic jar and a tamper for you to help move thick mixtures while it's blending. The Cleanblend doesn't accept any preset buttons, and its variable speeds aren't as nuanced as those of the Vitamix, but its interface is simple and intuitive to use. Judging from our long-term testing, the Cleanblend's motor is durable and able to handle tough jobs similar nut butter amend than the Oster. It's also backed by a complete five-year warranty.
The Cleanblend made some of the smoothest smoothies in our tests, performing better than the Oster and even the Vitamix in that regard. When nosotros strained the Cleanblend's kale and berry smoothie, barely whatever raspberry seeds remained in our fine-mesh sieve; the only blender that did better was the Blendtec. The Cleanblend also came in 2nd, backside the Blendtec, in blending a silky-smooth piña colada. We're talking restaurant-worthy blended drinks here.
For blending other things, the Cleanblend has a few limitations. Information technology doesn't have as wide a range of speeds every bit the Oster or the Vitamix, and it kicks into high gear even at the one setting, which in our soup test sent hot liquid shooting upwards to the lid. Although the Cleanblend was better at making mayonnaise than the Oster, this model'due south motor likewise seemed to produce a lot of oestrus; its mayo was noticeably warm. Like our other picks (except the KitchenAid, our budget pick), the Cleanblend comes with a tamper, but the bat is a little short. Although it works fine for near tasks, don't attempt to make nut butter from fewer than ii cups of basics, because the shorter tamper won't attain the mixture in one case the nuts are finely ground.
Over our long-term testing, the Cleanblend's motor has seemed more durable than the Oster's, though we're not sure it's a match for the motor of the time-tested Vitamix. In our 2017 testing, our four-year-one-time Cleanblend and Vitamix blenders both powered through two rounds of nut butter without quitting. The same test fried our three-twelvemonth-sometime Oster. That said, Oster offers a vii-year warranty on the Versa Pro Series Blender, simply Cleanblend offers only a five-twelvemonth total warranty.
For an extra $75, you tin extend the warranty on your Cleanblend Blender to a total of 10 years. This is a great value when you consider that the blender, including the decade of coverage, still costs about $200 less than a Vitamix. If you're looking for the all-around great performance of a Vitamix for less than half the toll, you won't discover that hither (or anywhere else for that matter), but the Cleanblend is a practiced value when you compare the numbers.
Withal, Cleanblend'due south client service is reachable only by email or a form on its website, and that might not inspire conviction in some people. Both Vitamix and Oster accept a customer service telephone number that connects yous to a representative. Even though the Cleanblend seems more durable than the Oster, Cleanblend is such a new visitor that nosotros're non yet confident in its blender'south long-term reliability.
The Cleanblend'southward base takes up 9½ past 8 inches of counter infinite, about the same as our other high-performance picks (our budget selection, the KitchenAid, is smaller). And at 19 inches high to the top of the lid, the Cleanblend is taller than the Oster, just it has just slightly more clearance under most kitchen cabinets than the Vitamix (which measures closer to 20 inches). Also, similar all of the other high-performance blenders we tested, the Cleanblend is loud. But compared with the Ninja Chef's thunderous roar and the Blendtec's loftier-pitched whine, the Cleanblend's audio is far easier on the ears.
Long-term test notes
Senior staff writer Michael Sullivan has used an older version of the Cleanblend at domicile for about four years and says he has never had an issue with it. He pulls it out about vi times a month to make smoothies, sauces, soup, or occasionally emulsifications like mayonnaise. He has even crushed ice in it a few times, and he says that so far it has never stalled out.
Sabrina Imbler, a Wirecutter staff writer at the time of our tests, used the Cleanblend in her home for more than than a year. She used it 3 to iv times a calendar week and never experienced stalling or exhaustion. She told usa: "[My] but minor complaint is that sometimes the blender rattles a flake on top of the base, which makes me a piddling wary, just otherwise it'southward great. I only apply it for smoothies and mixed drinks, never whatsoever kind of nuts, just it pulverizes ice pretty quick. Information technology's also the perfect size for two smoothies. I tend to employ the middle range of speeds, as I rarely need the highest, and the lowest is less effective for my needs. And I really similar that it's a dial as opposed to number buttons—easier to [crank] up if my stuff isn't blending fast."
Budget pick: KitchenAid K150 three Speed Water ice Crushing Blender
Upkeep pick
If you blend but the occasional smoothie, daiquiri, or soup, you lot don't need an expensive high-powered blender. The KitchenAid K150 three Speed Ice Crushing Blender will serve your needs. Offering a low contour and a 48-ounce blending jar, this blender is the most compact of all our picks. In our tests, the K150 proved adequate at blending thick smoothies, but not without a couple of stops and starts or our having to add a trivial more liquid to get a consequent vortex going. It can't puree tough berry seeds equally our top selection can, nor can it produce such velvety-smooth frozen drinks. However, the K150 has a mighty motor for the cost and will handle most simple blending tasks.
The KitchenAid K150 offers iii speeds plus a pulse setting for crushing water ice. For frozen drinks and smoothies, the 2nd speed seems to be the sweet spot, as that's where nosotros encountered the fewest air pockets. As with about blenders at this toll, you demand to add together more liquid to become smoothies and frozen drinks to blend with a continuous vortex; otherwise, you need to end it a couple of times to break upwardly air pockets. Overall, we were satisfied with the drinks we made in the K150. The piña colada was a little icy but non offensive, and the smoothie was what we'd await from a practiced $100 blender: very drinkable, with whole berry seeds and tiny flecks of kale.
When you lot plow the K150 on, the blades automatically start wearisome and ramp up to the set speed, a feature that'southward bang-up for safely blending hot liquids like pureed soups. But information technology'due south nevertheless important that yous take precautions when blending hot foods, such equally starting on low speed and securing the lid with a folded dish towel.
Nosotros were pleasantly surprised that the K150 let united states make a small batch of mayonnaise from one egg yolk and one-half a cup of oil. We didn't remember the jar's wide square base of operations and relatively short bract span would allow us to emulsify such a pocket-sized volume.
As its name indicates, the KitchenAid K150 iii Speed Water ice Crushing Blender does crush ice. We're not talking professional person-form fluffy shaved ice, but it'll practice the trick if you want to make a few snow cones on a hot summertime day.
The K150 is lightweight and compact—perfect for people who want to store their blender in a chiffonier. It also has a depression contour (fifteen inches) that allows it to fit easily in the standard clearance betwixt kitchen countertops and upper cabinets (18 inches). Only the pitcher is on the small side at 48 ounces, and it lacks the comfy rubber-clad handle on our other picks.
As an alternative to buying this blender as is (base, 48-ounce jar, and lid), you can get it bundled with two personal blending cups for effectually $fifty more. We haven't tested the personal blending cups yet, but we'll give them a effort soon and study back. KitchenAid too plans to release a version of the K150 with a glass blending jar, though nosotros prefer plastic blender jars for their durability.
At this writing the K150 seems to have some stock issues postal service–Black Friday shopping. We're told that stock should be replenished some time in Jan 2021 in a broader range of colors. The KitchenAid K150 comes with a one-year warranty that excludes accidents, drops, misuse, and corruption.
Long-term test notes
Wirecutter staff writer Sarah Bogdan has the K150, and she and her roommate utilise it a few times a month for smoothies. She says that it blends fruits simply fine, simply she wishes that it got a finer blend with the vegetables she adds like kale and spinach. Nonetheless, her roommate who sticks to peanut butter, bananas, and protein powder has no problems with it. It's been a little difficult to clean, but she also realizes that'south true of any full-size blender.
Blender intendance and maintenance
If you find that your blender is having a difficult time processing ingredients, don't exist afraid to exist aggressive (within reason) with the tamper to get the mixture moving around the blades. Also, brand sure the blender jar is at to the lowest degree 25% full. Although high speeds will assist process smoother mixtures, a lower speed (PDF) may also aid ingredients outset circulating if they merely aren't moving. When yous're following a recipe, it's likewise good to add ingredients in the guild listed; blender recipe books tend to be specific with the order (Vitamix, for case, generally lists ice every bit the concluding ingredient).
To limit the risk of hot liquids shooting out the meridian of a blending jar, always get-go on a low setting and slowly increase the speed (in full general, presets do this automatically). Never fill the jar by the hot-liquid fill up line. And for good measure, to limit the take chances of the hat popping off, place a dish towel over the lid, with your paw firmly holding the lid downwardly, while you blend.
Mitt launder the blending jar with warm, soapy h2o rather than running it through the dishwasher. This will help extend the life of the jar. In our own testing, we constitute that the best mode to clean a blender jar is to utilize a bottle castor or a scrub brush; processing water and a fiddling soap in the blender jar volition aid loosen up tough ingredients such as peanut butter, and the brush should do the rest.
What to look frontward to
We're standing to test more blenders, including the Nutribullet Smart Impact, the second-generation model of the iii-speed Nutribullet Total Size blender that we mention in the Other good blenders section. Compared with its predecessor, the Smart Bear upon has actress features including four blending programs and a digital display. We're too testing the Vitamix Ascent 3500—the about expensive and feature-packed model Vitamix offers. The Ascent 3500 has 5 blending programs, touchscreen controls, and Bluetooth connectivity that lets yous choose from more blending options via an app on your phone (though we're not sure how helpful that is on a blender).
Other good blenders
If you're looking for a powerful and bonny blender: The KitchenAid Pro Line Series Blender is a good choice for the aesthetically minded cook. It looks good when it's non in use—and good thing, because at 22 pounds, this blender is meant to alive on a countertop, rather than being lifted in and out of cupboards. In our tests information technology blended silky-smoothen textures (though non quite as hands equally the Vitamix 5200), only it didn't practise well at emulsification. Later on a few years of long-term testing the KitchenAid Pro Line blender, Wirecutter deputy editor Christine Cyr Clisset says that she really likes information technology. Christine uses the Pro Line everyday for smoothies and finds the preset blending programs useful on decorated weekday mornings. (She did admit, all the same, that she adds plenty liquid to her smoothies so that they blend without her needing to use a tamper.) Christine too oftentimes purees soups in the Pro Line blender with satisfactory results.
If you need speed and strength from your blender: The Braun Triforce Power Blender is a beast. When we tested it against other high-powered picks, the Braun Triforce yielded super-silky smoothies in tape time—just under a minute. Only we idea it blended almost too well. The Triforce's smoothies were liquified and lacked the creaminess and sorbet-like body we got from our other picks. It's so powerful that it shot $.25 of food through the hole in the lid, spraying our countertop and backsplash with smoothie in the 5 seconds between when we removed the tamper and replaced the lid cap. All that power makes a adept nut butter, though. We like the Braun's backlit control panel, which includes a variable speed dial, six blend settings, and a pulse button. We think this is a skilful blender for the price, if not a lilliputian likewise powerful.
If you're looking for a fairly powerful budget choice: We're impressed with the functioning and price of the Nutribullet Full Size Blender. Like the Braun, the Nutribullet tends to alloy the body and creaminess out of a smoothie, yielding a more liquified (nonetheless admittedly smoother) result than our budget pick, the KitchenAid K150. The Nutribullet too emulsified mayonnaise on the first try. Information technology failed our nut butter test, simply nosotros've all the same to find a $100 blender that can pulverize nuts into a paste. After much deliberation on whether to brand information technology our new budget choice, we decided to concur off and long-term test the Nutribullet to estimate its durability. I'll personally utilise the Nutribullet at habitation over the coming months and report back.
The competition
The pocketknife maker Zwilling now has a line of small kitchen appliances that includes the Enfinigy Power Blender. This blender didn't make it past the first round of our tests because getting a decent 20-ounce smoothie took us over ii minutes of blending and vigorous tamping—enough to brand my mitt sore for ii days after testing. The jar is simply besides broad, and the tamper too stumpy, to accommodate smaller volumes—and we don't fifty-fifty consider xx fluid ounces "small." We do like the Zwilling'south streamlined backlit control panel, which allows you to use merely ane dial to toggle between the six blending programs and 12 speed settings. But the icons are small and might exist difficult to decipher for some folks.
The KitchenAid K400 blender is more powerful than the KitchenAid K150 (our upkeep pick) but non enough to warrant its $150-plus toll jump. And in our tests the K400 wasn't nearly every bit skillful at blending gristly kale every bit the less expensive Oster and Cleanblend blenders.
Will the Blendtec Designer 675 alloy? Yes, just non likewise every bit our peak picks. Despite Blendtec's clever (if at times mildly sinister) video marketing campaign of blending everything from rake handles to iPhones, we've found its blenders wanting (we besides tested the Total model in 2012). Although in our tests the Designer 675 killed it in making smoothies and blended drinks, its lack of a tamper limits its usefulness. It failed to make peanut butter (a tamper would take helped), and the preset speed for soup was frightening, with hot liquid flying wildly around the jar. We do think this particular model is quite cute, with a sleek black, illuminated base. It'due south a great blender if you want something that looks slick on your counter and can make amazingly polish mixed drinks and smoothies. Simply we think a blender that's this expensive should perform well at more than just those two tasks. For more on how the Blendtec stacks up confronting the Vitamix 5200, read our article about testing the 2 blenders head-to-head.
Nosotros tested the Blendtec Total Blender for our 2012 review just found that it couldn't compete with the Vitamix nosotros tested at the time. The lid felt flimsy, and this model'south panel controls seemed cheap.
The Breville Super Q is a performance blender that's packed with bells and whistles. In our tests, with its squat jar and powerful motor, the Super Q performed a lot like the Blendtec Designer 675, throwing smoothie up the sides and into the lid. At 1 signal, the Breville shot bits of a smoothie in my face when I opened the cap to add more liquid. The Super Q pulverizes tough foods, only the Vitamix likewise does that for less coin—and with less drama inside the jar. The Super Q also generated a lot of heat when we fabricated peanut butter—and so much that we had to cease the examination early when we noticed steam coming out of the jar. Although the Super Q blended the silkiest piña coladas and came with lots of actress goodies (a 68-ounce jar, a personal blending jar, preset blending programs, and a vacuum attachment that's supposed to slow the oxidation of raw foods), nosotros don't think information technology'southward worth the $100-plus over the Vitamix's price, peculiarly since most of those goodies would simply clutter your cabinets.
In our tests, the Cuisinart CBT-1500 Hurricane struggled to process foods. Blending thick smoothies and peanut butter required adding more liquid, a lot of starting and stopping, and banging the jar on the counter. It did brand mayonnaise on the offset try, though, unlike the more powerful Cuisinart CBT-2000 Hurricane Pro. Merely without the Turbo push button of the Hurricane Pro (more on that below), this model is just some other middle-of-the-road blender.
The Cuisinart CBT-2000 Hurricane Pro performed similarly to the Cuisinart CBT-1500 Hurricane, except information technology didn't make mayonnaise too (nosotros achieved emulsification on the third try only). We did find the Turbo push button useful for creating a fine puree. But again, without a tamper to burst air pockets, this blender needed a lot of disposed to produce compatible, smooth purees.
The Ninja Chef CT800 1,500-watt blender is the get-go high-operation model from this company that doesn't have sets of blades throughout the jar. Instead, the Ninja Chef'south blades sit in the base of operations of the jar, every bit in normal blenders. This model also performed improve than its predecessors. But information technology was extremely loud, and our superlative picks—the Vitamix, the Oster, and the Cleanblend—nonetheless blended silkier smoothies in our tests.
For the price, the Ninja Principal Prep Professional person is a decent blender, but we don't recall it compares to any of our other picks. It did a surprisingly good job of making smoothies, mixing bean spread, and blending margaritas, simply the blueprint is terrible for making mayonnaise (the motor is pinnacle-mounted, and so you can't drizzle anything into the jar). The stacked blades are also dangerously abrupt, making them difficult to clean. The Ninja Master Prep Professional comes with 3 blending jars in various sizes; we thought that it added up to besides many parts and that they would just end up cluttering our cupboards. Overall, the motorcar felt really cheap.
The Ninja Professional Blender m didn't perform well. The dark-green smoothies we made in this blender had a weird, confetti-similar texture. And the mayo this model made was especially loose, which meant that it was whipping in too much air. Every fourth dimension we ran this Ninja blender, nosotros detected a stiff, burning-motor smell. The jar was hard to become on the base, and the lid was tricky to clamp on. Besides, the base of operations was large, clunky, and cheap feeling.
The Instant Pot Ace 60 Cooking Blender is unique in that it has a heating element in its base, so information technology can both cook and puree foods (some high-powered blenders too claim to "cook" soup, but they practise so merely with friction). After performing extensive testing, we plant that this seemingly nifty feature was impractical. We fabricated a decent broccoli cheese soup and a smooth butternut squash puree, but we had to alloy each ane for longer than the programmed setting to get a creamy texture. And we were disappointed to observe that we couldn't adjust the temperature or sauté in the car, since the heating chemical element doesn't start if it doesn't notice liquid in the jar. As such, the Ace doesn't produce the same nuanced flavors that y'all'd go if you started with a picayune caramelization. The heating element besides introduces some other possible point of failure into a type of appliance that is already prone to burning out.
The Ace whipped up smooth peanut butter and did a slightly better task of pulverizing ice cubes and tough kale leaves than most of the upkeep-level blenders we've tested. But it'south huge and loud, and its drinking glass jar is heavier and less durable than the Tritan plastic jars of our picks. The jar's wide base likewise makes it difficult for the Ace to course a powerful vortex (instead flinging ingredients all over the jar).
The i,800-watt Hamilton Beach Professional Blender performed well in our tests. When nosotros used the manual speeds, the blender'due south digital readout showed a countdown timer, which was helpful because the instruction transmission brash against continuously running the motor for more than than two minutes. Only the preprogrammed settings didn't effectively keep the mixture moving when air pockets occurred. In add-on, the on/off buttons are angled upward at the top of the base of operations and thus susceptible to nutrient and crud buildup over time.
The Braun PureMix is a small, tamper-less blender, and it didn't print united states of america in the least, with a flimsy jug and a lightweight base. The PureMix had a hard time blending our smoothie, and we needed to add so much liquid to the mixture that the texture was way too sparse—yuck! We disqualified the Braun after our first test.
The Waring Commercial Xtreme fabricated notably smooth smoothies, and it felt substantial. But ultimately it didn't perform amend than our picks from Vitamix, Oster, or Cleanblend. If we were willing to pay this much for a blender, we'd instead go for a reconditioned Vitamix 5200. We do similar that Waring has a metal jar that y'all can purchase for this auto.
Sources
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Midpriced Blenders (subscription required), America's Test Kitchen
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Andrew Gebhart, Ry Crist, From smoothies to pesto to almond butter: 13 blenders reviewed, CNET , August 22, 2014
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Lisa McManus, executive editor of equipment testing at America's Test Kitchen, interview
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Jonathan Cochran, author of the Blender Dude blog, interview
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J. Kenji López-Alt, Vitamix vs. Blendtec vs. Breville: Who Makes the Best High-End Blender?, Serious Eats , December 16, 2014
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-blender/
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