Choosing The Best Blender

Best Blender






If you're looking for the best blender to put in your kitchen our this page along with consumer blender reviews will guide you to blender bliss. The main things driving the sales of blenders today is appearance, power, and a sturdy construction. While we will also talk about features, types, and even blender parts; we'll start with the main segments first.


Appearance

Blenders come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors. They come in different finishes such as plastic, glass, and even stainless steel. You can even find one of these high-end looking blenders for less than $100. The best blenders however come with glass containers.


Types

There are two different types of blenders. You have a counter-top blender and an immersion blender.

  • Counter-Top Blender - Typical blender that sits on the counter-top. It has a container which holds 5 to 8 cups and is used mainly for puréeing and chopping, crushing ice for drinks. The containers for counter-top blenders can come in plastic, glass, or steel. While steel is most expensive, glass is very durable, easy to clean, and you can easily see how your mixing is going. Plastic can stain, and hold smells.

  • Immersion Blender - This is a long, thin, handheld appliance that is placed inside of the drink or food you're preparing. The shaft has blades at the end of it and is generally used for mixing or chopping foods and drinks while they're in their own container, glass, bowl, or cup.

    Immersion blenders are also good for making smoothies, soups, or powdered drinks. Although they're convenient for small jobs. This is definitely not something you would use in place of a counter-top blender.




    • Features

    The best blender will have most of, if not all of the following features.

    • Wattage - Blenders typically range from 300 to 500 watts. As far as counter-top blenders go, lower wattage blenders actually outperform higher wattage blenders. Lower wattage counter-top blenders blend the ice smoother, making for a better drink.

      Immersion blenders however require a higher wattage to perform well.



    • Controls - You have touch controls, dial controls, push button controls, and flip controls. Touch controls are best because they're easy to clean, and often have programmable settings. Dial controls aren't bad to clean but you can dial right through your needed setting. Push button controls are really difficult to clean, but can easily switch from one speed to another, and finally flip controls are limited to only a couple of speeds.


    • Speeds - Blenders range from 3 to 16 speeds. More doesn't mean better, many times it's overkill. Think about what types of things you want to blend and pick the speeds accordingly.


    • Wide-Mouth Container - It's just easier to load food, ice, etc.


    • Attached Blade - Many blenders come with blades attached. This actually makes cleaning a nightmare. If you can, try to find a blender with a detachable blade. If not, you might want to rinse and put it in the dishwasher!



    If your blender is broken you can get blender parts here. Just be sure to have the model number.


    Best Buy has a great selection of blenders. Here are a few I'd recommend:


    Oster 16-Speed Blender - Brushed Nickel Oster 16-Speed Blender - Brushed Nickel ($49)

    Wolfgang Puck Immersion Blender - Black Wolfgang Puck Immersion Blender - Black ($59)

    Oster Fusion 7-Speed Food Processor/Blender - Black Oster Fusion 7-Speed Food Processor/Blender - Black ($69)

    Cuisinart SmartPower 7-Speed Duet Blender/Food Processor Cuisinart SmartPower 7-Speed Duet Blender/Food Processor ($99)



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