“Those middle-of-the-pack blenders might be ideal for someone with more modest needs,” Holmes says. But as blenders continue to evolve, more high-powered models are entering the market, performing well in our tests and subsequently burying conventional, budget-friendly blenders farther down in our ratings. “Currently, all full-sized blenders go through the same tests in our lab regardless of wattage,” says Jason Holmes, who oversees CR’s small-appliance testing.

Plus, they’re overkill if you mainly want to blend the occasional smoothie after a workout or serve up a batch of homemade frozen drinks to friends. The Vitamix home-use models we rate range from $250 to $600. (Wolf is the other.) That may be partly because its blenders use high-quality materials-the blades are made of hardened stainless steel and the jars are Eastman Tritan copolyester-to withstand lots of torque.īut that kind of power, design, and functionality, while impressive, comes at a premium price. In fact, Vitamix is one of only two blender brands that garner Excellent ratings for both predicted reliability and owner satisfaction in CR’s member survey.

They’re built to last, too Vitamix models often outlive their 5- to 10-year warranties. Some can also perform culinary feats that the average blender can’t, such as grinding nuts into nut butters and heating up ingredients as they’re being transformed into soup.īlenders from Vitamix, which are considered “pro-style” or “high performance,” have dominated our ratings since we began testing the brand in 2006, earning a score of Excellent in many of the metrics we test and currently occupying the top five slots in our full-size blender ratings. Today, they’re essentially kitchen power tools.Ĭertain newer models boast a wattage equivalent to 2 to 3 hp-as much power as a 50-cubic-centimeter engine on a moped-which means they can pulverize ice, fruit, vegetables, and most other foods in less than a minute. And their versatility has advanced significantly, far beyond the classic milkshake. Nearly a century later, they’re still a kitchen staple (never mind at restaurants, bars, and Starbucks). Well before microwave ovens and air fryers came along, blenders changed the game. The first blenders hit kitchen counters in the 1920s-for whipping up malted milks-and gave busy home cooks a handy option to prep food and snacks.

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