Buying the Best Blender
Been looking for the best blender for your budget? Unsure where to start or overwhelmed with the sheer number of options confronting you? Choosing the best blender isn’t easy because there are so many good otpions out there and, like with many things, your ultimate selection will come down to a combination of factors — features, price, needs, and availability.
Purpose
Determining your purpose, or need, is the first step in choosing the blender for youl. Do you need (or want) a heavy-duty blender used in restaurants? These blenders are generally more expensive, but they last longer, have fewer parts to replace, and can do things like grind cell phones into dust.
Or, would you prefer a lighter-use designed-for-home blender? Not only are they smaller, they’re also less noisy, less power intensive, and generally are more capable of matching the decor of your kitchen.
What sort of features do you need or want on your blender? Some people prefer the classic “on-off” blender that has one speed, while many others enjoy having timers, various speed settings, and other gadgets.
Finally, how much are you planning on blending? A few cups of fruits and vegetables is a completely different ballgame than enormous batches of food at one go.
Free-Standing Blender or Hand Mixer?
Technically, hand mixers are barely blenders, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have one in your kitchen. Not only are they extremely versitile, they’re also cheaper and can be much more dynamic than a standing blender in your kitch. Most people own both, prefering to use the hand mixer for things like cake batter, crepes, or soups and using the free-standing blender for things like smoothies.
Budget
Blenders range in price from less than $40 to mor than $400. Don’t, however, be drawn in by the idea that the most expensive blender is the blender you need on your counter. More expensive blenders often include features that most people don’t need, don’t use, or simply don’t want. The most expensive blender doesn’t guarantee quality, nor does it guaranteee that it will be the right fit for you.
Features to Look For
The Base: You want a blender with a sturdy rubberized base. The rubber feet help absorb the vibration generated by the blender while operating and help keep it in place both during operation and when you’re cleaning around it.
- Speed Setings: Some blenders come with only an on-off switch, some come with high-low-off settings, but most come with a multitude of speeds. More settings increase precision, but generally aren’t necessary for normal usage. Try to find a balance between having choice and having ease of use.
- Pulse button: A great feature for helping you get the right consistency in foods that you are preparing.
- Capacity: Usually only an issue if you’re planning on blending a lot, most blenders come with fairly standardized capacities.
- Power / Wattage: Make sure you buy a blender with enough juice (pun intended) to get the job done. Certain foods are harder to blend than others.
- Manufacturing materials: A glass jug will last longer, but obviously is prone to breakage if it gets dropped. Glass will not fade, get cut up, or turn opaque over time like plastic will. A plastic jug is lighter, easier to replace, and less worrisome.
- Other considerations: Get a blender with a long warranty. A company that is willing to back its product with a good warranty is a product probably worth owning. Make sure that you have enough space (particularly vertical space!) for the blender you want. Nothing is worse than buying your “perfect” blender only to discover you can’t store it where you thought you would be able to.
With our little primer out of the way, let’s move on to the blenders we suggest:
Oster 4093 Classic 2 Speed Beehive Blender
Oster, who I became familiar with through their line of hair trimmers, has been making blenders for decades and with a timeless brushed chrome finish and the distinctive “beehive” design, it definitely stands out in a crowd. Though the retro styling may not be for everyone, this blender really packs a punch!
Oster blenders are known for their power and reliability and this model is no different. Powerful enough to fully blend frozen ice cream with no stratification (a uniform consistency) and with sharp enough blades to grind up pretty much anything you throw at it, the Oster blender delivers a perfect blend nearly every time.
In our tests, the 4093 blended soups, salad dressings, frozen goods, margartias, etc without a problem. Most blending was complete in under a minute, due to the power of its 600 watt electric motor.
The construction is top-notch. With stainless steel blades, the Oster does not dull over time. It’s glass pitcher ensures that there is no cross contamination between foods after a thorough washing. The glass also prevents smells from lingering in your blender. Though it only has two speeds (fast and faster), our testing found that while other speeds can be nice, the two settings o nthe Oster are more than enough for nearly any task.
One major drawback to this model is the noise. The powerful 600 watt motor makes doing anything else nearly impossible while it is blending away.
Vita-Mix 1700 Turbo Blend 4500
Vita-Mix has become a very, very popular company in the last few years, producing some of the best (and priciest) blenders on the market. Though it may not come with all the bells and whistles (or the cool stylings) of some other blenders, the Vita-Mix 1700 is a fantastic blender.
Sporting a 1,380 watt (nearly 2 horsepower) motor, this Vita-Mix blender can slice, dice, and puree just about anything you throw at it. Ice cubes? Peanuts? Not a problem, they’ll be blended into a silky smooth liquid in a matter of seconds. Have you ever had to blend frozen vegetables and watched your blender spitter, sputter, and spatter food all over your kitchen? Never, ever worry about that again with the Vita-Mix. We’re pretty sure this thing could blend bricks if you really wanted it to.
The Vita-Mix features only two switches — on / off and high / low — which reflect their company philosophy: Blenders are for blending, why complicate it? The Vita-Mix is designed to pulverize food and, while it does feature a dial to adjust the high / low speeds, we didn’t find it necessary to mess with it much in testing.
Beyond just the motor, the Vita-Mix features a gigantic 64 ounce jar, perfect for making large batches of food. Though the jar isn’t glass, it is made from heavy-duty polycarbonate meaning that it won’t crack spill, or split any time soon. The plastic also drastically cuts the weight of the jar, making it easy to move on and off the blender body, even when full.
Standing over twenty inches tall, this professional-grade blender is for serious foodies who crave having the biggest, best, and baddest blender on the market. We can safely say that this is the best blender we’ve tested in any price category and it comes highly, highly recommended.
