$50 to $100 Blenders

Nice to be cord free, January 24, 2009

By

Keri Vaca (San Francisco) – See all my reviews

I have had the Cuisinart plug in hand blender, but wanted to go cordless. I finally broke down and got this one. It is nice to be cord free, but it is pretty heavy, and big for my hands. It does blend well. The other thing I do not like, is that when you charge the base, it does not give you a green light that it is charged. That would be helpful.

It is also very easy to charge, because the handle has a plug built right into it, no separate base. I really like the small mixer bowl attachment that came with it as well. I have used it more than I expected.

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Big Boy!, March 9, 2009

This is a wonderfully powerful hand blender. It is LARGE. People with small hands might want hold one first before making an online purchase. I am not delighted with nicad batteries since they are fussy about being discharged before being recharged, but maybe they are necessary due to the large current draw of the motor. This is ideal for pureed soups. No more 10 trips to the blender with hot soup dribbling all over the counter or burning my hands.

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Great kitchen utensil, January 18, 2009

By

C. Michael Watkins – See all my reviews

I aso have an earlier version of this hand blender and have always loved its usability and effectiveness. Very impressed with this later model – love the extras – whisk and chopper attachments are really excellent – a true multi-tasking “Wizzk kid”.

Easy to use, easily stowable, space saving. Great buy!

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Ah hah, I’m all shook up!, August 15, 2006

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C. Scagliola (Santa Rosa, CA) – See all my reviews

Well ok, maybe I am not all shook up so much as BLENDED up. I purchased this immersion blender after my older no name brand unit purchased at Wally World died in the middle of blending a pot of hot soup. I like that you can wash the blenders blade assembly in the dishwasher and the stainless steel shaft is not stained like so many of the ALL PLASTIC models. Another thing I love is the power of the unit and the sharpness of the blades; they will reduce a pot of cream of broccoli soup to a smooth consistency in nothing flat.

Oh and when I say broccoli soup folks, I MEAN broccoli soup. I put nearly two bunches of steamed broccoli in my soup and I only chunk it prior to blending with the immersion blender. This blender will puree` the soup to a perfect creamy texture in nothing flat. (Reserve a few pieces of the chunked broccoli to add back to the soup for texture purposes) I have also used it on my potato and asparagus soups with equally great results.

If you are looking for an immersion blender with lots of power and a “NO STAIN” Stainless Steel shaft then IMO, you cannot go wrong with this model from Cusinart.

Happy Blending!

Ciao!

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Best yet!, August 2, 2006

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P. Kothari “mixerman” (Chicago, IL) – See all my reviews

This is the third hand blender I have owned, and is by far the most solid, smoothest running and easiest to clean. The brushed chrome construction looks great and is also easier to clean than plastic versions. Handy features like detachable base, included mixing cup and extra long mixer are thoughtful and useful. The motor is smooth and powerful – it is the Audi V8 of the hand blender world. For the quality, brand and power, is an absolute steal.

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Dangy-dang!, September 19, 2006

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The Queen of Noirs “I’m no stinkin’ princess” (Santa Clara, CA USA) – See all my reviews

Holy guacamole! I was a disbeliever, but now that I have this Cuisinart immersion blender, I am a True Believer. It is substantial yet quiet, and it works really, really well. It is easy to clean as the blender piece pops right off. I love that I can just place it into the pot and puree my soup right there! Awesome! Carrot soup, cauliflower soup, sweet potato soup have all fallen under my spell with this magic wand. Recommended.

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Ah hah, I’m all shook up!, August 15, 2006

By

C. Scagliola (Santa Rosa, CA) – See all my reviews

Well ok, maybe I am not all shook up so much as BLENDED up. I purchased this immersion blender after my older no name brand unit purchased at Wally World died in the middle of blending a pot of hot soup. I like that you can wash the blenders blade assembly in the dishwasher and the stainless steel shaft is not stained like so many of the ALL PLASTIC models. Another thing I love is the power of the unit and the sharpness of the blades; they will reduce a pot of cream of broccoli soup to a smooth consistency in nothing flat.

Oh and when I say broccoli soup folks, I MEAN broccoli soup. I put nearly two bunches of steamed broccoli in my soup and I only chunk it prior to blending with the immersion blender. This blender will puree` the soup to a perfect creamy texture in nothing flat. (Reserve a few pieces of the chunked broccoli to add back to the soup for texture purposes) I have also used it on my potato and asparagus soups with equally great results.

If you are looking for an immersion blender with lots of power and a “NO STAIN” Stainless Steel shaft then IMO, you cannot go wrong with this model from Cusinart.

Happy Blending!

Ciao!

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Best yet!, August 2, 2006

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P. Kothari “mixerman” (Chicago, IL) – See all my reviews

This is the third hand blender I have owned, and is by far the most solid, smoothest running and easiest to clean. The brushed chrome construction looks great and is also easier to clean than plastic versions. Handy features like detachable base, included mixing cup and extra long mixer are thoughtful and useful. The motor is smooth and powerful – it is the Audi V8 of the hand blender world. For the quality, brand and power, is an absolute steal.

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Dangy-dang!, September 19, 2006

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The Queen of Noirs “I’m no stinkin’ princess” (Santa Clara, CA USA) – See all my reviews

Holy guacamole! I was a disbeliever, but now that I have this Cuisinart immersion blender, I am a True Believer. It is substantial yet quiet, and it works really, really well. It is easy to clean as the blender piece pops right off. I love that I can just place it into the pot and puree my soup right there! Awesome! Carrot soup, cauliflower soup, sweet potato soup have all fallen under my spell with this magic wand. Recommended.

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Top Rate Blender, April 27, 2010

We were looking for a blender that would make smoothies on a daily basis, last longer than 90-days and not cost us a fortune. This blender easily crushes the ice and blends the frozen fruits into a delicious smoothie without problem. It does not over heat or stall and the 4-level blade prevents air pockets common with other blenders. It is somewhat loud but that is to be expected from a motor powerful enough to easily crush ice in seconds. We recommend this blender to anyone looking for quality at a reasonable price.

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No complain!!, July 20, 2010

Before I bought this I checked many reviews. I chose the glass jar over polycarbonate one that would be nice, if there in no leaking possibility.

Cleaning and assembling are easier than other brand that I owned before since it is built well.

Primary purpose of this is making smoothy and ice crush. This is doing better than I expected. Especially, for ice crushing, it does crush and pulse and it is very effective. I recommend it with 5 star.

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Very good blender., May 25, 2010

I’ve only had the blender for a couple of weeks, but it is working well. The base (that the blender fits into) is metal, but the piece that goes into the base is made of plastic. It does ice very well. It is very noisy.

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We like to buy things that last, April 23, 2009

So, after 30 years, we needed a new blender. Hmmm. My wife and I hadn’t a clue where to start nor what was out there. On my first two internet searches all I found were the two extremes: small fractional Hp motors or the ridiculously priced 0 to 0 unit.

And yes, of course we want to crush ice – who doesn’t? I have enough engineering background to know that a 0.2 to 0.5 Hp motor is NOT going to crush ice. Finally, we found the KitchenAid models! Some were 0.9 Hp, which is more like it. The pitcher (I call it) was a larger diameter and a little squat – perfect design for better blending, not to mention storage.

We decided that two speeds just wasn’t enough, 3 speeds would be borderline and we certainly didn’t want anything ridiculous like 10 or 15 speeds. (That’s what they do when the motor is underpowered to do the job.) We settled on the KitchenAid KSB465Wh 4-speed with 48 ounce jar and 0.9 Hp motor. The weight wasn’t given but the appearance gave you the idea that the base was good and heavy – a prerequisite.

We’ve used it several times starting about a month ago – it’s perfect. It’s even better than the one that lasted 30 yrs. The pitcher is dishwasher safe, it has something they call “intelli-speed” which adjusts the horsepower as needed to deliver constant speed. This is something where most blenders fall short, you put something heavy in it and the motors just slows down. The base is good and heavy – hurray, no more tipping over. The ad doesn’t mention this but you do NOT dissasemble the pitcher for cleaning! Another big plus.

By the way those to blenders don’t work and don’t last. This one is priced around and you get what you pay for. A very solid unit with a decent motor and good features. And yes, it does a marvelous job grinding ice – a whole tray at a time. And, if you let it go for about 10 seconds you have ice “powder” – it’s better than our ice shaver for snow cones.

Blending is far superior to our old blender. It digests even the tough stuff easily. We haven’t yet really needed to use it but it has pulsed speeds for those really tough materials. I’d recommend THIS blender to anyone who doesn’t need to grind nails.

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A clear winner!, May 26, 2009

By

B. D. Earthcare “Not quite retired” (Seabrook Island, SC United States) – See all my reviews

After doing more blender research than I care to admit to myself, I narrowed my search to three blenders. I selected this model after speaking to a most informed and helpful Kitchenaid customer service rep who answered my remainding questions one Saturday afternoon. Since, they staffed their customer serviced department on the weekends, I was already impressed. This blender replaced a just out-of-warranty Cuisinart blender which I loved, until it died a premature death, I can say without hestiattion this model is far better. Since I use our blender daily to make breakfast smoothies, some with ice, I thought my blender needs were simple. Quite to the contrary, I discovered. There is no middle ground when it comes to chopping ice and this blender does a superb and lighin’ quick job. I add very frozen berries to the morning mix and this blender handles them beautifully. The performance, design, ease of operation and cleaning each have exceeded my expectations.

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Best blender ever., September 26, 2009

By

William J. Kelly – See all my reviews

I have only used about four blenders in my life but this is by far the best I have come across. I picked it up by chance on the clearance end cap at Target but if I knew how well it worked I would have gladly paid full price. I have never seen a blender crush ice so well, in fact my fiancee and myself are eating snow cones we just made with it as I type. It makes the smoothest smoothies ever, I can’t wait to find more uses for it!

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Great, but no “ON” button, just “pulse”, November 23, 2007

By

L. Bollinger “bollinl” – See all my reviews

I love handblenders. I have this one and its attachments, and I use it pretty regularly. I have two complaints: 1) the powercord is thick, cumbersome, and hard to keep out of one’s way. I had a cordless unit from a different manufacturer before, and I must say–the extra power here is nice, but I’m not 100% convinced the hassle of the cord is really worth that extra umph very often. 2) and here’s the kicker–there’s no actual “on” switch. You’ve got to hold it on the whole time. I really wanted to give one to my mom for Xmas, but she simply doesn’t have the hand-strength any longer to make use of this unit. It takes me two hands to keep it held “on,” and my hands cramp up when I’ve got something that I need to blend for a sustained amount of time. That said, this is a lovely unit (I adore the red color), and I get lots of use out of it. I just would have liked a chance to think about those two issues before I bought it (about a year ago), and certainly before I gave it for a gift.

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Unsanitary – eventually may cause food poisoning, January 22, 2010

I bought this to replace a Braun I had for 15 + years. This was to replace the cheap Braun on which the motor finally gave out after thousands of uses. I have the most expensive Braun and it is the best ever made, however Braun has stopped making hand blenders all together (I wrote to Braun and that is what they told me). I have always thought kitchen aid to be a great product and in the past they were, until they sold out to Westinghouse. The blender works well, although the slowest speed is higher than medium speed on my Braun.

The problem is the seal on the bottom of the mixing shaft under the blade. There is a rubber gasket or sealer that does not seal, but traps blended food under it. After a through washing and allowing it to stand and dry the food particles leak out and dry. I used mine daily, week days at work, to make a whole food/protein shake. Each day I washed it thoroughly and dried it. The next day I would take it to make my shake and note that particles of yesterdays shake had seeped out from under the rubber seal. I tried cleaning under the seal on the outside only to discover that the problem also appears to be in the center next to the shaft where it is impossible to clean. I could actually see food trapped half under the rubber seal and there is no way to clean it out. My shakes are green in color and I can see the green, gradually turn to brown, on the outer edge of the rubber seal and again whole food trapped under the center.

Amazon has been great about returning products that are defective and has assured me that they will get me a full refund for this product. My problem now is finding a quality hand blender equal to the top of the line Braun to replace this KA.

If i can see the very bottom where the blade and seal are it would make the purchase easier. Braun put a stainless steel plate with an O ring in the center and what appears to be a durable sealant on the base. That is how you make a quality product, not the way kitchen aid made this product. If they would fix this problem, the rest of the blender has worked fine 5 days a week for 4 months.

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handy, October 24, 2005

By

Barbara Rockwell – See all my reviews

I had one of these that had a battery and the recharger hung on the wall with its attachments. I loved it, it was light and convenient. It finally broke and they don’t make them that way anymore.

This whips up a storm, its detachable head cleans perfectly in the dishwasher with no fuss. It has tremendous power and its design sucks the food into the blade and a circular motion is set up for efficient blending. It does not whip cream, you need a whisk or beater for that. Instead it would turn cream to butter. It is kind of heavy but stands up on its own without tipping over. The beaker is the perfect container. It is kind of tall and the cord has so much memory that it takes up too much space on the shelf over my sink where I keep it. There is no safety. At all. If it were plugged in and you accidently hit the switch while your finger were in the blade, they would be chopped up. Because of this, it should never be stored plugged in. But overall, I do like it and I use it often. If I had small children, I would not have this in the house. And if I were teaching a child to cook, I would never, ever use it.

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The Blender with Intelligence, July 21, 2007

By

D. Wooten “Real Shaka Zulu” (NorCal, USA) – See all my reviews

I have owned a lot of blenders and this one is very impressive. I was tempted to give it 4 stars as it is not the best blender I have ever owned. That distinction goes to the Vita-Mix which has a nuclear reactor for a base, sounds like a Harley and cost as much as a microwave but if you need a blender that can crush anything and make flour and HOT soup….well….but back to the KitchenAid.

First it looks great. As a home chef, having a sleek modern looking kitchen is important. Second it is easy to clean… I will never own a push button (i.e. old Oster-type) blender again. Nor one with a multi piece jar. One leak can and has ruined an evening or party, as you run to grab paper towel and dish clothes to control the margarita or soup that is running across your counter and down your cabinets. Then the fun of cleaning your blender nooks begin….grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Now the really impressive part. I have owned a Waring for years. Everyone always raves about it and if you have a thin liquid, it works great. But for crushing ice and making smoothies, it just flat out sucks. So I sought out an ice crushing (margaritas), sealed jar (gravies/soups), lightweight, large capacity (parties), easy touch (easy to clean), piece of art. The KitchenAid is all those things and has a logic built in that controls the blade speed. It knows how well it is crushing the ice and modulates the motor to ensure an even snow like texture that is incredible. The same system is also built into the other modes, measuring resistance to step the motor up, then back it down to ensure smooth results.

This is my first KitchenAid product, but it will not be my last. BRAVO

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Top-Notch Blender, March 11, 2008

By

Thomas Tracy (Northern GA, United States) – See all my reviews

This is an excellent, high-quality blender. We replaced an inexpensive Oster with it and like this KitchenAid much, much more. Things I really like:

1) Power – this blender whips through hard-frozen fruit like nothing is there for wonderful smoothies.

2) Smooth, one piece control panel – makes for super-easy clean-up as there are no cracks or crevices to trap spills. Yet, the buttons behind the panel still have a nice tactile click response so you know you pressed one.

3) Brushed nickel finish – very attractive on your counter.

4) Polycarbonate jar – this worried me when considering this purchase as our old blender had a nice, thick glass jar. But, after using this blender for 3 months, I like this jar better. It is thick, yet lightweight, and hasn’t scratched (although I only use rubber or silicone spatulas inside any way).

5) One piece blades & jar – our old blender had a screw-off base, resulting in 4 parts for clean-up – the base, the blade assembly, the jar itself & a rubber gasket. This blender’s blades are permanently mounted in the bottom of the jar making for easy clean-up. I either just put it in the dishwasher on the bottom shelf, or I rinse it out, fill it up halfway with warm water & a small squirt of dishwasher detergent and run it on medium for 10 seconds or so.

Unlike another reviewer, I have experienced no leaks. There is a hex hut on the bottom of the jar that holds in the blade assembly & I am sure there is a rubber gasket underneath the nut. If I ever do get a leak, I plan trying to slightly tighten this nut with an adjustable wrench – I imagine it could possibly loosen over time due to vibration.

The bottom line is that while there are certainly many less expensive blenders on the market, this is an extremely powerful, well-built & attractive option. I think it is worth the price (I had a rebate to lessen the sting), but others may not depending on their budget.

UPDATE after a summer of making daiquiris & margaritas – This blender makes FANTASTIC frozen drinks. It really pulverizes the ice & frozen fruit to make a killer frozen cocktail!

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Monster ice crusher, July 2, 2007

By

Jason Austin (Virginia Beach, VA USA) – See all my reviews

If you’re into crushed ice and smoothie type drinks, this is easily the best one I’ve found. It reduces ice cubes to a smooth slush in just seconds. The “crush ice” mode pulses on and off to crush the ice quickly and few more seconds at a higher speed smooths it out and adds some air volume. It also looks very sleek, so won’t mind leaving it out on your bar or in the kitchen.

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The GrandDaddy of Hand Blenders!, June 25, 2004

By

Stephanie Lamphere “mom and web geek” (Birmingham, AL USA) – See all my reviews

June 25, 2004: I have had a Braun handblender for many years (10 years?), and was pleased with its performance, until it finally lost its spunk last week. I bought this product yesterday as a replacement, and I must say I am very pleasantly surprised! This was a HUGE step up! I would even say that this is a professional quality gadget! (It is certainly styled to look the part!)

My favorite thing to make with my handblender is hummus – a mediterranean chick pea dip – and last night I made some the smooooothest hummus I ever made! This is in part because of the 9 speeds available on this model. I started out with lower speeds and then worked my way up to the top one. This is a large handblender, but it was comfortable and easy to use – lightweight even, and sure has a LOT of power. As with most of these products, it was a little difficult to clean the blades, but not a problem. (Really, the best way to clean it is to “blend” a cup of soapy water!)

There other models of this that come with attachments – that might be nice in the future, if I want to whip or chop using the attachments – but this basic model with the blender and the cup are all I need for most anything, and worth the price tag for the POWER you get from this brand! It’s true what they say – KitchenAid ROCKS!

UPDATE: yikes! I was blending bread into breadcrumbs (not toasted, silly me) and it got doughy and really thick and blew the fuse. If anyone knows how to fix that, please comment. I stand by my earlier glowing review – this incident was my fault!

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Quite useful, seems well made, December 21, 2006

By

Matthew Leo “grumpynerd” (Boston, MA) – See all my reviews

For those of you have have never had one, these immersion blenders are quite handy. They are easy to clean, and convenient to use. They also don’t take up much space; I keep my KitchenAid unit on the counter, and store the beaker in the cupboard where I keep glasses, with the blender attachment inside. It’s no fuss at all if you want to mix just a single drink. While a traditional blender is more versatile, if I had a choice of only one I’d go with the hand blender as being the most useful on a day to day basis.

This is the second immersion blender I have owned. I like this one quite a bit; it is powerful, but quiet. I’m not sure whether having 9 speeds is so important, I find I either use speed setting 1 or 9. Maybe they should make custom units that go all the way to 11.

One concern with a device like this is marrying a powerful motor to a removeable attachment. My first device (an Oster) chewed itself to bits, leaving metal shavings in my food (good thing I checked). The KitchenAid unit’s attachment has a good positive lock design which makes this improbable. A safety interock would have been better. The metal shaft of the blending attachment is driven by a hard plastic socket with slim splines. This means in the unlikely event of anything ending up in your food, you’ll have tiny bits of fractured plastic, not desirable of course, but preferable to long, razor sharp metal shavings. The socket looks like it could be replaced if necessary, but given the price most people would opt for replacing the entire unit over having it serviced.

One thing would be nice is if the guard around the actual blades was plastic instead of metal. Then it could be used directly inside nonstick saucepans for pureeing soup.

Conclusion: a safety interlock and plastic blender shield would improve this product, but overall it is well made, quiet and safe. Few things are made to last these days, but given how useful this device is, its a safe bet you will get your money’s worth.

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Cumbersome in the kitchen., January 29, 2006

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M. Rumph (Isle of Palms, SC USA) – See all my reviews

Pros: This stick blender is mighty and powerful.

It’s stainless steel base and shaft make it easy to clean; and it doesn’t stain like the white plastic ones.

Cons: For normal kitchen use I found it awkward and heavy.

Nearly 17″ tall (with the switch at the tallest point) and weighing nearly 2 pounds, it is cumbersome. Considering that most countertops are 36″ tall, it is 53″ high when operating. That’s shoulder height or higher on most woman.

The power switch requires continual pressure to operate it, which adds more stress to the already too high, heavy device. It’s more comfortable if you put your mixing bowl (or included plastic container) down in the sink. This lowers the device considerably and makes it much easier to operate.

If you plan to keep it on your counterop (as I do) be prepared for it to fall over often, as it is very top heavy. I screwed a metal cup holder into the underside of my cabinet to “hang” its cord and keep it from crashing into every other appliance I have there. If it had come with a stand or wall-mounted holder, I would have rated it a 4. If you plan to keep it in a drawer, you will have no problem.

Overall, it’s a nice gadget, and certainly easier than cleaning a blender.

Mahlon Rumph, SC

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