OT: Kitchen Blender Recommedations please!

[sbirmantaz]

Boring post, but I need a new blender that crushes ice well. I've been making my dd's smoothies (so they eat fruit) and my blender doesn't crush ice well at all. Anyone have a blender that does ice well? Thanks!

[kensjen]

My kitchen aid blender works well with ice. In fact, I haven't found anything that it doesn't crush, smooth, or blend! It was a wedding gift and is still going strong.

HTH!

[nd93]

another vote for kitchen aid. Nice big opening, short squat glass container so it has good balance.

[ktdid74]

I was planning to buy a nice one at Williams-Sonoma but ended up getting a cheaper one at Target. I got the Osterizer with the silver base. It is the best blender I've ever owned! I bought it mainly to make margaritas. It's awesome at crushing the ice (no chunks left over) and makes an awesome margarita! It only has 2 speeds but it's so powerful. I believe I paid $40 or $50 for it.

[bostonsmama]

If you can afford it, Cuisinart is great ($60-80). Kitchen Aid is probably fantastic, too. I've had lots of luck with our Black & Decker we got as a wedding gift from Target. It has a crush-ice feature that really whips up the chunks and we hardly ever get any lumps if we pulse it long enough. Plus, I was really impressed with their customer service: we called them & said our seal and connector cracked in the D/W and they fed exed us out a new one, which we received in 2 days (no questions asked, except the model # from the base). I have the glass one, not the plastic pitcher (I've heard there's a difference).

Perhaps if anyone has the Consumer Reports ratings on these things...I'd trust that more than what I have to say! HTH!

L

[mama2galpals]

another vote for the cuisinart. i got it for my shower (12 years ago) and it works great. i keep it out on the counter because we are big on smoothies here too.

btw we did receive one of these special smoothie makers but i haven't had a chance to use it yet.

http://lnt.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pLNT-1078543_group_reg.jpg

rita
mommy to
olivia '97
stella '00
emma '03

There is no remedy for love but to love more.
--Henry David Thoreau

http://lilypie.com/baby3/030123/3/4/1/+10/.png

[C99]

I have the Cuisinart and it does a good job w/ crushing frozen fruit, ice, etc. for smoothies. I've been making one every morning for the past 3 weeks!

[houseof3boys]

LOL since I am looking on LNT right now at blenders and was going to post about this tonight too. Thanks for being on the same brain wave!

ETA: We had a kitchenaid one that was pretty swanky that we got as a wedding gift 6 years ago but the motor broke. It is the first blender that I ever had that broke too. :(

Here is the snippet from CR on blenders rated 12/4:

The $50 Braun PowerMax MX2050, top-rated in our July 2003 report, was as good as or better than 15 pricier blenders in all our major tests. (See our complete blender Ratings.)
Most of the pricey blenders come from companies synonymous with high-end kitchen gear, such as KitchenAid, Bosch, and Viking. Distinctive containers and distinctive styling are their hallmarks. But the Braun still made the best strawberry smoothies and was one of the best at making piña colada drinks and puréeing vegetable soup. The Braun is also among the more convenient blenders, with an easy-to-clean glass container and a sensible number of speeds (5).

We put all the blenders through a very severe durability test: 50 minute-long ice-crushing cycles. The Braun, which we had criticized in a past report for poor durability, passed this time. The manufacturer says it made improvements. The Juiceman, Waring Pro Mega-Mix, Black & Decker, and Waring PBB failed. The Dualit lasted, but it began smoking and its motor slowed.

The bottom line. Price, styling, or the word “professional� are no guarantee of excellent performance in a blender. The $50 Braun PowerMax MX2050 is still top-rated and a CR Best Buy.

[mamicka]

I have a Kitchenaid that I hate. It's 8 yrs old so maybe they've improved it since then. I've been craving smoothies but can't stand my blender so I won't indulge. My parents had an Osterizer that was like 20 yrs old that worked *great*. They just replaced it with another Osterizer & they love it too.

Allison

[pritchettzoo]

Debbi, I read this and apparently had a brain fart and missed that it was CR's report. I wondered what the heck *YOU* were doing putting blenders through 50 minute ice-crushing cycles ("They seemed so normal..."). Time to go night-night.

BTW, do you want your shoes? I should just drop them in the mail!

Anna
Mama to Gracie (Sept '03)
and a BOY! (coming July '05)

[aa2mama]

I second the Osterizer! It does great with crushing ice.

[zuzu]

I think the Kitchenaids may have improved in recent years. We had one from maybe eight to ten years ago and it died a few years ago after minimal use. It worked fine for most things, but was lousy with ice. We called Kitchenaid to see if they had any replacement parts and they said they said they had redesigned the blender and didn't stock the older parts any more. They sent us a new blender and it works so much better than the old one, especially at crushing ice.

Melissa, mom to Sarah (5/03)

[nitaghei]

I have a Krups with an ice crusher feature that's fantastic. I've generally have excellent luck with Krups small appliances - they work well and last forever.

Nita (fleece is my friend)
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a PWD and a cocker (at the Rainbow Bridge)

[houseof3boys]

CYE. I am such a big slacker but then I must be busy doing ice crushing testing. :)

[miki]

I have a Waring blender. It's the one called the professional model with a metal base and glass pitcher. There are only 2 settings--fast and super fast. It's great and totally pulverizes ice. But I only have it because I happened to see it on a website that I think listed it at $19.95 by mistake. Everywhere else lists the regular price as close to $200.

[sbirmantaz]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Off to research all these blenders...