Seeking Blender Recommendations

My lovely wife and I were trying our bset to enjoy Memorial Day weekend, Garth Brooks style (two pina coladas...). Sadly, our relatively new blender died in mid-colada.

Knowing that ice crushing is one of the more strenuous tasks required of a blender, I'm wondering if anyone here has a blender they'd highly recommend for the aforementioned task. I can share that I do not recommend the Oster 6871. Thanks!

My wife and I got a vita mix a couple of years ago. We use it almost everyday to make protien shakes and smoothies. My wife also makes ice cream and soup with it.

The blender is a little bit pricey. It will cost around $400.

kwk285 said:

My wife and I got a vita mix a couple of years ago. We use it almost everyday to make protien shakes and smoothies. My wife also makes ice cream and soup with it.

The blender is a little bit pricey. It will cost around $400.

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+1, we too got one of those... not cheap, but US Made, and built to outlast you.

Gruder said:

My lovely wife and I were trying our bset to enjoy Memorial Day weekend, Garth Brooks style (two pina coladas...). Sadly, our relatively new blender died in mid-colada.

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Do you have an good recipe for piña colada?
I have an stick-mixer (?, dunno the english name for these..), which crushes Ice, but when trying to make an colada I thought it was clever to use pineaple meat, the result on the other hand suggested that was not an clever idea... felt like soup/slush..

+2, I have had a Vita-Mix for about 15 years, it is an amazing machine. I make smoothies, adult beverages, grind my own flour, puree compost for the garden, and have even used it in a pinch to grind coffee (though a burr grinder is better). It is a great multi-tasker in the kitchen.

I love our Vita-mix. We got it at Costco when they ran a demo. You get a pretty good deal that way and they'll throw in a couple of accessories. I have a protein smoothie almost every morning. It's worth it if you're going to use it a lot, otherwise get a good blender.

asbjorn said:

Do you have an good recipe for piña colada?
I have an stick-mixer (?, dunno the english name for these..), which crushes Ice, but when trying to make an colada I thought it was clever to use pineaple meat, the result on the other hand suggested that was not an clever idea... felt like soup/slush..

Click to expand...

I'd not thought to use an immersion blender (that's the fancy english name, so far as I know), but we do own one, so it's good to know that I have something that'll work in some sort of frozen drink emergency! Wish I'd thought of that last weekend...

And no, I don't have a good pina colada recipe, I'm afraid (I was just using the pre-made white mix I picked up at the local grocery). If someone else has one to contribute, though, it'd be a fine secondary use for this thread.

I saw vita mix recommendations online, but fear that the price might too severely damage my frozen drink budget (not to mention my marriage...). Any other blenders folks swear by?

(Wow -- two more vita mix recs came in while I was typing this -- that's high praise indeed!)

well, any man gotta have tools.. wether it's in the kitchen or otherwise..
I bought an Magimix, think it is to huge to be used as an blender, and an kenwood kitchenmachine with lots of tools, even an blender on it. And an braun stick-blender(or is it called primer or something).
And after looking at the Vita mix, I am grateful that they don't sell it here..

I have had this Oster for three years with no problems. I like that there are no buttons, just one little toggle switch. Nice simple and neat.

I have had a Black and Decker blender for 4 years now that I used to make smoothies with for about 2 years solid. However, the SWMBO has decided there was not enough counter space in the kitchen so it has been hidden away. I will try to find it and get you the model number if you want? I think I paid 50 to 60 for it.

This should do the trick:

http://www.willitblend.com/videos.aspx?type=unsafe&video=christmasdinner

Suzuki said:

This should do the trick:

http://www.willitblend.com/videos.aspx?type=unsafe&video=christmasdinner

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Looks like it'd work, though the price point is steep! (As an aside, I highly doubt that the elderly gentleman at the end of the video drank that concoction!) Thanks for the laugh.

And thanks to you, Grayraven for offering to dig out the B&D. Trouble is, I can't find any good reviews on current B&D models so I'm not sure it'd be worth your time. I'm seeing lots of complaints on amazon, etc. about respected names using throwaway parts of late. Fun with the Wal-Mart Effect

fatt_tony, thanks for your advice, as well. I'm going to pass on Oster, though, since they made the model that died on me. (I'm sure some of their products are great, but I hate to give them more money based on my experience.)

Keep 'em coming -- you guys (and gals) are a fantastic resource!

I've blown out too many cheapies over the years. I could use a good pulverizer.

Agreed that the Vita-Mix is the best machine, if cost is no object. But if you're not running a juice bar, I suspect the best price/performance ratio lies in the Waring blender. I'd probably go for the trad-appearing PBB-2, which looks just like the one my mother got in 1950:

http://tinyurl.com/6pu8yu

If you really feel the need to be excessive, you can move up to the 1 HP HPB-300:

http://tinyurl.com/5m7mrh

Granted, these don't have the NASA-grade construction of the Vita-Mix, (actually, more like NASCAR-grade,) but how many blended drinks do you make?

I will have to get the name of our immersion blender from Braun. After the passing of our Oster (her parents got it as a wedding gift 30 years ago and PIFed to us for another 8) and the crankiness of our food processor, the wife bought one of these after doing a lot of research (cook illustrated finalized the decision). While skeptical at first it and its bat-belt of attachments (2 sizes of food processor containers, ice crusher, whirling blades of doom, and whisk) it has saved us a ton of counter space. As far as it durability In addition to our normal usage (which ranges form moderate to heavy), the wife teaches cooking classes to the Japanese and uses it for 6-8 classes a month making meals for 8 people a go and the thing is still going strong after 4 years. I’d say the thing is pretty battle tested.

greenerock said:

I love our Vita-mix. We got it at Costco when they ran a demo. You get a pretty good deal that way and they'll throw in a couple of accessories. I have a protein smoothie almost every morning. It's worth it if you're going to use it a lot, otherwise get a good blender.

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I can't buy one simply because of the name. I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about this.......

I bought a Kitchen Aid to replace the Cuisinart that died while I was making potato leek soup. The Kitchen Aid has worked quite well for the last few years.
Ken.
Thinking a pina colada sounds pretty tasty..

I swear by the Waring blenders. It's one of the old school models that hasn't changed much over the last fifty years. They didn't fare so well in Consumer Reports the last time they were rated but we like ours and are pretty confident it will never die.

Suzuki said:

This should do the trick:

http://www.willitblend.com/videos.aspx?type=unsafe&video=christmasdinner

Click to expand...

I was going to post this but I figured I wouldn't be the first!

We use a Waring Professional bar blender. It has never let us down.

Tim