How to Choose a Blender

When I purchased my blender almost three years ago, I had no idea what to look for or which was the best. I just bought a brand I knew and one that looked reasonably priced.

Little did I know that there is more to buying a blender than I thought. Fortunately my blender has done pretty well. Although it is not the best blender in the world and it has its drawbacks, it pretty much does the job intended.

I’ve done a bit of research recently on blenders and found that there are quite a few things you need to look out for when deciding which is the best for you. So here’s what I’ve found.

What to look for when buying a blender:

1. Glass or plastic?
Plastic blenders tend to scratch easily and go cloudy after time. I know, I have one. They can also start to smell as they absorb odours - this is why I always store mine with the lid off. Glass is always a better choice although glass has the potential to break a lot easier than plastic.

2. Ensure the blender has removable blades
My blender has removable blades and it makes it so easy to clean up. If you buy one without removable blades you will really find it difficult to clean around the blades at the bottom of the blender.

3. Choose a blender that has an automatic shut off if the lid isn’t on properly
My blender won’t turn on unless everything is where it should be. In other words both the container and the lid itself have to be locked in place. It can be annoying at the start as you try to figure out what you haven’t done right if it doesn’t turn on but once you get used to how it is all supposed to work then you will really appreciate this feature. It means you won’t ever have the problem of foods flying around your kitchen because the lid hasn’t been fitted correctly.

4. Ensure the blender has a pulse mode.

This gives you more control over your blending.

5. Power is everything when it comes to blenders.

If you want to be able to crush ice then you need a blender that can do the job. Look for a blender with at least 350 watts of power.

6. Ensure the blender has a removable lid
This ensures that you can add extra ingredients while it is blending. My blender has a dual lid so that the main lid fits on and then within that lid is a smaller lid that can be removed to add ingredients.

Other things to consider include:

• Length of warranty
• Although blenders don’t take up a lot of width they do take up a bit of height so consider where you might store your new blender.
• Blenders that have those push buttons are going to be more difficult to clean as food can get in between the gaps.

What’s the difference between a blender and a food processor?

When it comes down to it, the main difference between a blender and a food processor is that a blender works with liquids and a food processor works with solids. There are some food processors that work well as a blender but in general most do not handle liquids terribly well. They tend to leak or splatter the liquid around your kitchen or seep out through the lid.

Our Recommendations

I have had my plastic blender for about three years now and it has done the job nicely. Although the plastic container has some scratches it is still working okay. It has broken once when someone in the household (I am not mentioning any names) decided to blend with a metal spoon in it. We had to buy a spare part to replace it but it is still going strong.

When the time comes to replace it I would probably go with one of the following. They have all received really good reviews on the net:

• Oster BPST02-B Professional Series Blender, Black - This one received exceptional reviews on the internet and is reasonably priced at under $50 (at time of writing this blog post)
• Oster® 4093 Classic Beehive Blender - Another Oster blender but this also received really good reviews. It is the one pictured at the start of this blog post. This one is a little more expensive than the first one mentioned.
• Cuisinart 40-oz. Duet Blender/Food Processor, Chrome - if you are looking for a blender/food processor combo then this one might suit. Again, it received pretty good reviews on the net.
  

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