Any recommendations for a blender?

[georgevan]

I am going to start making smoothies which of course requires a blender. Do you go by quality and cost. That is, the more expensive an item is the better quality that it probably is. Where is a good, reliable opinion?

 

[pictonguy]

Most blenders work decently and it really depends on the workload your going to be asking it to do as well as the frequency of that use. Personally I use one a lot and ask it to work hard and I purchased a Vitamix years ago and replaced the bowl once a couple of years ago and just replaced the top a few months ago.

 

[pepperhead212]

Whether you would want one of those more expensive type blenders, depends on your cooking habits. For just smoothies, and puréed soups and the like, a regular blender should suit you fine. Here's a link to Serious Eats, where they tested budget blenders:

After Days of Testing, We Found 4 Budget Blenders That Are High-Powered and Efficient

After testing 11 models, we found the four best budget blenders under $200. Some of our top picks have features like presets and multiple speed options.

www.seriouseats.com

They also have testings of the expensive ones, and immersion blenders you might want to look at - just do a search for blenders up on the top of their page.

The Vitamix will grind things a lot finer that a regular blender, plus make flour out of most grains, beans, and other dry ingredients. With some things, when grinding up tomatoes and peppers, FI, it grinds up the skin and seeds so fine that recipes I used to pour the purée through a strainer, and strain out a small amount of skin and seeds, nothing would strain out! Many of those Mexican sauces especially, this would save me a lot of time with, and the sauce can also be left thicker, before cooking - more water has to be added to circulate the mix in regular blenders. Also great for making Thai curry pastes, with all that thick stuff. It all depends on your cooking habits!

 

[blissful]

I've always had the option of getting a vitamix or blendtec, but I decided on an oster. It's got a good strong motor and my previous one lasted 10's of years. The one I have now is the beehive model. I use it for raw nut based salad dressings, pumpkin pie, smoothies, no-cheeze sauces made from cooked vegetables, stir fry sauce, regular tomato salad dressing.
It's not the most expensive or the least expensive.

 

[georgevan]

Whether you would want one of those more expensive type blenders, depends on your cooking habits. For just smoothies, and puréed soups and the like, a regular blender should suit you fine. Here's a link to Serious Eats, where they tested budget blenders:

After Days of Testing, We Found 4 Budget Blenders That Are High-Powered and Efficient

After testing 11 models, we found the four best budget blenders under $200. Some of our top picks have features like presets and multiple speed options.

www.seriouseats.com

They also have testings of the expensive ones, and immersion blenders you might want to look at - just do a search for blenders up on the top of their page.

The Vitamix will grind things a lot finer that a regular blender, plus make flour out of most grains, beans, and other dry ingredients. With some things, when grinding up tomatoes and peppers, FI, it grinds up the skin and seeds so fine that recipes I used to pour the purée through a strainer, and strain out a small amount of skin and seeds, nothing would strain out! Many of those Mexican sauces especially, this would save me a lot of time with, and the sauce can also be left thicker, before cooking - more water has to be added to circulate the mix in regular blenders. Also great for making Thai curry pastes, with all that thick stuff. It all depends on your cooking habits!

Thanks for the link, it really helps.

 

[caseydog]

I am going to start making smoothies which of course requires a blender. Do you go by quality and cost. That is, the more expensive an item is the better quality that it probably is. Where is a good, reliable opinion?

ATK reviews are usually very good. This video covers what you are asking.

CD