Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Help me choose a new blender . . .

I'm missing my Osterizer! That thing would blend anything -- frozen fruit and/or ice in smoothies, grains and nuts, hummus; it was awesome -- in fact, I was unconvinced that even a Vitamix could do much more.

But now that I need a replacement, I'm torn. Should I spring for the Vitamix even though I can't imagine paying that much for a blender. Should I go for a Waring -- somewhat less costly but by no means cheap. Or get another Oster. I'm seeing mixed reviews on amazon.

Tell me -- what do you have and how do you like it? What do you recommend -- and please give specific models if possible. I see many kinds of Waring and Oster's all with different reviews.

Thanks for your help.

10 comments:

anna o said...

I really like my Oster Fusion, which is supposed to be part food processor, part blender. It is so powerful that I have to physically restrain it while blending my morning smoothie. I particularly like its "frozen drinks & shakes" button because it effectively prevents my frozen banana half from getting stuck against a blade for the duration of blending. Admittedly, it is the second one I have owned. I made the mistake of trying to chop frozen veggie sausage patties, and a plastic piece involved in spinning the blades broke (I don't know the right terminology for blender parts). The customer service people at Oster were AMAZING, and I had a replacement blender within a week. So I recommend buying an Oster Fusion, and don't forget to register it in case you put rocks or veggie sausage patties in it!

anna o said...

By the way, here it is:

http://www.osterfusion.com/

I bought mine at Target for around $69.

Unknown said...

Cathy, I suggest the VitaMix you can get a reconditioned one from their web site for $379. that is just like new with the same warranty. I bought one for myself and my daughter and they are the best thing we own. Once you use one you can't do without it and they come with a 7 year warranty. The new container is BPA free.

Unknown said...

Also, you can grind up a tennis shoe or an Ipod in a Vitamix and it won't break, not that you should really do that. I made the most delish frozen dessert from just a few seconds of blending frozen peaches, peach yogurt and amaretto. Yum!

Unknown said...

Thanks Anna and Phyllis -- keep the recommendations coming . . ..

Kristen said...

I have a Blendtec Blender which is the Vitamix competition and since our family has transitioned to HRAV (high raw all vegan) diet, this is literally the best appliance I own! I use it 2-3 times a day and it's amazing. I would probably be just as happy with a Vitamix but we travel a lot and the blendtec is smaller so it travels easier. I take it everywhere!

Unknown said...

Yeah . . . I've heard good things about Blendtec too.

What's a 'high' raw all vegan -- is it different from a 'raw vegan'?

Kristen said...

Hi Cathe, HRAV is a term I guess I picked up in the blog world :-) We consider ourselves "high" raw, only because we aren't totally raw, we just try to eat as raw as possible. But we travel a lot, so it's a bit easier for our family to not aspire to an all raw diet. It gives us a bit of leeway if you will. Then again, our definition of "high" could be a lot less than someone else so we may not be that "high" at all :-)

Kerri said...

Hi
We have owned a VitaMix since 2002 and love it. We use it nearly every day. We make lots of frozen drinks. One reason I chose this machine over a department store blender was how easy it is to clean. You do not take it apart! You add a drop of dish soap with hot water and blend and rinse well. The blades are not ment to be removed (you can with a special tool if you need to). It is also much more powerfull than and Oster(which I owned before). Good luck. Also you could go to a restaurant supply store and get a great blender at a good price.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the info Kerri -- didn't know that it was that easy to clean.