Blenders: which one to choose?

Hi, everybody! Urgently need your advice about purchasing new blender. I had Oster Rapid, it was making almost everything what I wanted: crushing ice, fruits and vegetables, making soups, smoothies, creams e. g., but, unfortunately, broke down (I don't know, may'cause of the small capacity). Have read a lot of articles, comparisons, forums, most advised me this Ninja topchoice.best/main-review/best-countertop-blenders. And OMG in 2 months it died(((((( Waiting for your useful recommendations! My family won't endure another corpse. Need something powerful, but not very expensive. Thank's a lot in advance!

Hi Jane -

I think if you want the indestructible Cadillac of blenders, you have to go with the Vitamix. These are the monsters used in commercial situations in which they need a blender that will chew anything up and never break. Negatives are that they are expensive, large, and very noisy for a home kitchen.

We have a Breville that's worked well for us for a number of years. We don't use it all that often, though, so I can't say how well it would hold up under daily use.

And welcome to the FLDG.! While you're here, please take some time to check out some of the threads and add to them if you'd like.

I have an ancient Oster that keeps on whirling.

If I were you, I'd go back to Oster. You had a good experience with them and, frankly, many blenders are very good. It isn't rocket science, you know.

We went from Waring to Oster and now a Waring Pro, which I regret. Two speeds doesn't hack it, and Oster offers the option of little jars for special needs. All this over many decades.

[Jenise]

Jane, welcome to FLDG. Have to admit, I'm kind of sorry to hear about your Ninja but kinda not. That is, I'm always sorry when someone doesn't get what they pay for but I've heard SO many people go to the Ninja because they want Vitamix (what I have) quality without the Vitamix price tag, and your experience proves that the 'As Seen On TV' gag doesn't fly.

If my husband hadn't bought me the Vitamix, I'd still have and be very happy with a relatively new Kitchen Aid. They cost about $100, have a two quart blending pitcher (where many only have 1.5), they have strong motors, work extremely well, and I can't say enough about Kitchen Aid customer service. They protect their brand: if you have an issue, there's a phone number to call and a real human on the other end who will probably offer to send you parts or even a whole new appliance. They did it for me!

[Robin Garr]

Jane, let me add my warm welcome to the forum! Now that you've found us, I hope you'll hang around and talk about food and cooking. (And wine, too, in the other forum just over there, if wine's your thing.)

I don't know if this is of interest as an alternative, but have you considered a "stick" blender? We haven't had a standup blender for many years, and don't really want one now as it's just one more appliance to fill up the kitchen counter. Our stick blender works very well and is maybe a bit more versatile. You do have to be careful about splashing if you put it right in a pot - one with tall sides like a stockpot works best - but for small quantities, we use it in a tall tumbler just big enough to fit (replaceing the cheap, light plastic cylinder that came with ours.)

Ours is inexpensive and not motorboat-engine powerful; it's a 200 watt Braun. It's lasted us for 10 years or so, though, and still does everything we ask of it.

At a glance, it doesn't seem as if they make that exact blender any more, but here's a page on the Braun website that lists all their stick blenders:
http://www.braunhousehold.com/global/pr ... d-blenders

And here's an Amazon.com page with all manner of stick blenders from many makers:
http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=dp_bc_5?ie=UTF8&node=289916

I like looking on Amazon because they have seemingly un-censored reviews and star ratings for products, both favorable and unfavorable, so you can get a pretty good idea of the winners and the losers.