157 replies to this topic

[HarryB3]

I just bought I VitaPrep Tuesday. I made gazpacho without even bothering to seed anything. It came out fabulous! I think washing the vegetables was the longest part of the process. Then today I made stock with a roasted chicken carcass. Just tossed the chicken with a few carrots, celery, and a peppercorns. On impulse for some reason after I strained the stock I tossed in a potato or two until tender. Then put the stock and veges in the blender! Wow--it was fantastic. I sliced some of the chicken put it in the bowl and added the soup. Tossed with a dollop of sour cream...

[David A. Goldfarb]

My conclusion from this discussion is that anyone who buys an expensive high-powered blender necessarily goes on a liquid diet for about three weeks after setting it on the counter.

Don't tell me about the steak. I don't want to know.

Edited by David A. Goldfarb, 03 June 2010 - 07:47 PM.

[Fat Guy]

For the soup I tried to do basically what I sort of remembered the guy at the Costco demo doing. I boiled a potato, washed some celery, carrots and tomatoes, and cut a small piece each of parmesan and cheddar. I added it all to the pitcher with some warm tap water and salt. I pushed (or rather had my son push) the soup button and the unit went wild for 90 seconds, after which there was a steaming hot soup in the pitcher.

Could you say a little more about this? Is the friction from the blades heating the soup up (above the warm tapwater temperature)?

Correct.

[slkinsey]

It's not clear to me that you even have to precook the potato.

[Fat Guy]

I wondered about that and will definitely experiment, though with summer on the way I'll probably be focusing more on cold soups for a while.

[Fat Guy]

No idea if this is accurate or not but Wikipedia says a potato is cooked when it reaches 99C. If so, the temperature of blender-friction soup never gets anywhere near that. I'm guessing 80C is normal for blender-friction soup. I think it might therefore be necessary to pre-cook the potato. Then again maybe the action of the blade breaks cells down in a way similar to cooking?

[Dakki]

This calls for an experiment.

Anyone want to stick a thermometer in their (safely unplugged) hotrod blender before and after blending a few things up?

[Fat Guy]

Final temperature really depends on how long you run the blender. I'm sure it's theoretically possible to hit boiling temperatures, but I'm not aware of anybody who bothers to do that. It's already a staggeringly inefficient way to heat food, so the idea is to heat it only as much as needed to serve warm.

[slkinsey]

I've made a cooked carrot soup starting with raw, but I really only did it to see if it was technically possible. Was pretty good, tho.

[tangaloor]

In the meantime, my friend Sean now has a Waring Xtreme. This is the other and newest contender in the high-power blender arena. Sean and I spend a lot of kitchen time together, so I'll be experimenting with his blender over time. My preliminary reaction to the Waring Xtreme is that it's still a beta product but we'll see if it grows on me.

Any reviews of the Waring Xtreme? I've been considering one of these because they're available with a stainless container.

[paulraphael]

I can't vouch for any of this, but here's a review site. They seem to like the vita prep 3 ...
http://www.3blenders.com/Choose.html

By the way, I wish someone would call out these manufacturers on their looney-tunes power ratings. 3 horsepower? No way. A motor that's 100% efficient (which doesn't exist) would consume over 2200 watts. The maximum consumption of the 3hp Vita Prep is barely over half this. Such marketing doesn't inspire my confidence, but the makers are all guilty ...

Edited by paulraphael, 04 June 2010 - 06:56 PM.

[jk1002]

How do the high powererd ones work with small quantiities?

I am using a 1 cup dualit mini chopper for everything from nut butters to vegetable purees. I usually just need a quarter to half a cup.

I'd think that is where they fail correct?

[Fat Guy]

I don't think there's much difference between a high-power blender and a regular junk blender in terms of minimum quantity needed for processing. Neither is going to go down to the quantities that a mini-prep kind of device can handle.

[PaulDWeiss]

No experience with the other brands, but I've been torturing the same VitaMix for over 15 years, and it's done everything I've ever asked it to do. I did go through a "liquid diet" phase where there was a smoothie or two every day, but I mostly use it for sauces, purées, and soups now. One thing which hasn't been mentioned in the discussion so far is the availability of a container and blade setup with the geometry optimized for dry solids, like grains. I bought mine as a refurb package from VitaMix, and the package included both containers. I haven't used the dry container a lot, but I've made dal flour for Indian recipes, and mung bean and rice flour for Vietnamese banh xiou (which I'm sure I'm spelling wrong).

I just bought a second VitaMix for my wife's kitchen a few months ago (also as a refurb), and was told that, in the current product line, they've changed the sourcing on the motors, using a Swedish OEM now, in preference to the previous US-made motor, because they think it will hold up better. (They also re-engineered the container's cover latch, which is easier to use than my old machine's.) I also explicitly asked about the relationship between VitaMix and VitaPrep, and was told that there are no engineering differences. The marketing, pricing, and warrantees are different, with the assumption that the VitaPreps are going to get rode hard and put away wet, and that consumers get all whiney and want to have a nice warrantee story told to them, and are willing to pay for that.

They don't publicize the direct-sales refurbs, but they're generally available, and priced well. You've got to call them up and see what's available.

Oh - motor power: they play the same game as the power tool manufacturers - it's momentary peak, not sustained output. I don't think it really matters; I've never been able to make the thing bog.

[Fat Guy]

I've now been through 44 cycles in the Blendtec (it tells you the total when you turn it on) and can make some preliminary conclusions:

The Vita-Mix is highly dependent on its tamper. The Blendtec is far less tamper-dependent, which is good because it doesn't come with a tamper. If your Blendtec cavitates or otherwise loses traction on what it's blending, you need to shut it down and manipulate the ingredients. Some practice is required to avoid the need to do this. But all other things being equal, for example in a given frozen-dessert recipe, the Blendtec can do without a tamper what the Vita-Mix can't. This is I think largely due to a superior pitcher design.

In my experience with the Vita-Mix, use of the tamper is the big challenge to the system. Especially with frozen items, when you start pushing down that's when you can cause the system to shut down or you can damage the various parts. With the Blendtec, since you don't work with a tamper, that stress never gets put on the system. That's why, I think, the Blendtec is going to last longer for me even though as far as I can tell it's not as hefty and sturdy as a Vita-Mix. It doesn't need to be. Which isn't to say it's flimsy. But the Vita-Mix is definitely a more robust product that, for me, is more easily broken because of its dependency on the tamper.

I think if you only ever make smoothies, soups, dressings and other easy stuff -- the stuff you can make in a normal blender and just comes out better in a high-power blender -- you're never going to test the limits of either machine. They'll both probably run for a good long time without much stress on their systems. If you're going to get into frozen desserts and other stressful things, then you start pushing the limits of the devices. In this regard I'll be interested to see how the Blendtec holds up over several months of using it a couple of times a day on frozen stuff. This destroyed my Vita-Mix but perhaps the tamper-free design of the Blendtec will give it more longevity.

I think in a given number of seconds the Vita-Mix makes a slightly smoother smoothie, probably because of its sharper blades. I find that I need to run the Blendtec about 10 seconds longer to liquefy flax seeds and eliminate the graininess of blackberry seeds and such. In the end, however, I prefer the texture of the Blendtec smoothie. It comes out more like a Jamba Juice smoothie, assuming you use ice or a decent percentage of frozen fruit. The Vita-Mix makes a more liquid smoothie, whereas the Blendtec smoothie is more slushy -- I prefer slushy.

Ergonomically, I vastly prefer the Blendtec. Even though the pitcher holds the same amount as the Vita-Mix, it's much shorter. It's also dishwasher-safe. The Vita-Mix pitcher asks not to be put in the dishwasher, but it's an academic request. I routinely ignore manufacturers' instructions not to use the dishwasher, but even if you want to put a Vita-Mix pitcher in the dishwasher you can't because it's taller than the bottom rack of a residential dishwasher will tolerate. The Blendtec pitcher fits just right, and the base is designed to drain when upside-down so It doesn't collect dishwater -- water runs out through four little holes in the corner.

Likewise, because the Blendtec base is more compact, you can store the base and pitcher on the counter under a normal-height kitchen wall cabinet. This is the sort of thing that, as a home cook, I have to care about. As much as I'd like not to care about the size of my kitchen equipment, I have no choice.

I've read that the Blendtec is louder than the Vita-Mix. I'm not so sure. But both are quite loud. I've taken to using hearing protection.

The Blendtec's program cycles are nice but not terribly useful. First, you really have to operate the blender with a hand on the lid or you risk having it jump up off the base. So you have to be there. At Jamba Juice, where they use pro models in sound enclosures, it seems they don't have to worry about that. It may also be that for simple smoothies there's no jumping risk. But when you do frozen stuff the risk is very much there. I also find that the program cycles aren't necessarily right for a given application. The frozen-dessert program works better for smoothies than the smoothie setting, etc.

More thoughts to come.

[Fat Guy]

One thing which hasn't been mentioned in the discussion so far is the availability of a container and blade setup with the geometry optimized for dry solids, like grains.

I haven't done any tests with grains or nuts, but literature-wise the Blendtec claim is that the Vita-Mix wet container is inadequate for dry ingredients so you need a special dry container, whereas the Blendtec container works for both wet and dry.

[JimS]

Vitamix asserts that the dry container is the "opposite" of the wet. The blades in the dry are designed to push material up and over the blade for kneading bread doughs, whereas the blades in the wet container are meant to drag the contents down towards the bottom of the container.

[Fat Guy]

One thing I can say for sure is that the Vita-Mix and Blendtec have very different blade designs. The Vita-Mix has a four-blade design and the blades are very sharp. The Blendtec has a single blade kind of like the rotor on a helicopter, and it's not sharpened -- it just does its work by blunt-force trauma. Both the Vita-Mix wet blade and the Blendtec blade pull food down through the blade, but the Blendtec blade seems to do a better job of it.

I've read one comparison that said the Vita-Mix dry container does a better job with grinding grain than the Blendtec all-purpose container -- better job being defined as a finer grind. I don't know. I haven't explored that area.

[Kayakado]

I have two older Vitamix 4000 models, but I've been having clear container envy of the newer models. Based on your tests, I guess I'll stick with my old stainless steel containers. Thanks!

[Esteban Ambriz]

I agree with Kayakado, I also have a Vita Mix 4000 and thought about getting a new one. I think I'll stick with my all-metal workhorse. I've had it 15 years and it runs perfect and no cracks or broken parts. I've only had to replace the seal on the dome.

[therippa]

This calls for an experiment.

Anyone want to stick a thermometer in their (safely unplugged) hotrod blender before and after blending a few things up?

I have a vita-mix 5200, and one of the first things we did was put about 2 cups of water in it and let it run on high, monitoring it with an infrared thermometer. It quickly climbed to about 180 (in a matter of minutes), then took another couple minutes to get around the boiling point.

[Chris Hennes]

Yesterday my wife decided she wanted a smoothy for lunch. I do not have a high-powered blender, so the result a) was not very smooth and b) nearly destroyed the old blender. The upshot is that she agreed to pitch in for a new blender, so I've got the base BlendTec model on order, as suggested by Fat Guy. Has anyone used theirs for Mexican sauces with dried chiles in them? I'm interested to know how smooth the result will be. What about nut-heavy purees like a mole?

[Richard Kilgore]

That should not be a problem, Chris. You can make creamy smooth peanut butter with either the Blend-tec or the Vita-Prep (and I assume the Vita-Mix), not to mention a great concrete block smoothie.

[mgaretz]

Yesterday my wife decided she wanted a smoothy for lunch. I do not have a high-powered blender, so the result a) was not very smooth and b) nearly destroyed the old blender. The upshot is that she agreed to pitch in for a new blender, so I've got the base BlendTec model on order, as suggested by Fat Guy. Has anyone used theirs for Mexican sauces with dried chiles in them? I'm interested to know how smooth the result will be. What about nut-heavy purees like a mole?

I haven't made a mole in my BlendTec but we routinely make a version of the tortilla soup - whole tomato (skin seeds and all), celery, carrot, onion, chicken bullion (paste), water and seasoning. Comes out super smooth, so I imagine a mole would be just as smooth. I would be sure to remove the seeds from the chiles though.

[Chris Hennes]

OK, I admit to some skepticism going in here: I was sort of looking forward to mocking Fat Guy about how this blender was pretty good, but way overhyped, and overpriced to boot, and really, not that much better than the Cuisinart it replaced. Allowing me to give him crap for the rest of his life about how he convinced me to buy this über-blender and it was only so-so.

Damnit, Fat Guy! I totally get it: a high-end blender is a whole different animal than those sub $100 models. It's not even really the same appliance. The first thing I made was a piña colada, because it seemed like ability to destroy ice and frozen pineapple efficiently is a good test. It's something my old blender could manage, with multiple stops and starts to stir, with carefully balanced ingredient ratios, etc. And those were still pretty grainy/icy drinks. The one made with the Blend Tec and the "Ice-Crush" button (no stopping, no stirring, etc.) was the strangest piña colada I have ever had: it was the texture of pudding. I mean, so completely smooth it was bizarre. I'm not sure I'll use the "destroy and pulverize everything" mode next time, but it's a hell of a convincing demonstration.

[Fat Guy]

I recently passed the 100-cycles mark on the Blendtec. I'm confident now that I prefer it to the Vita-Mix, and probably to any tamper-dependent machine made by that company.

Once you get the hang of the Blendtec -- and I should emphasize that there is a learning curve with all these machines -- you can do most any task without the need to tamp, stir, stop, knock, anything. That to me is such a significant difference that it ends my decision-making process. (That being said, Blendtec should offer a tamper anyway because there are situations in which it makes sense to use one, such as with an herb puree.)

I also prefer the Blendtec's size. When you consider that the Blendtec and Vita-Mix containers hold the same amount, and that the Blendtec's motor is more powerful, it's pretty nice that the Blendtec fits under standard-height wall cabinets.

And I like the container material that Blendtec uses. The Vita-Mix container just feels cheap.

On the other points of differentiation, I have no strong feelings. There are advantages and disadvantages to electronic controls. The program cycles are nice but my life would go on just fine without them, and the lack of analog controls on the Blendtec creates minor annoyance when you just want to blend on 10. Both units are very loud. I don't know which is louder -- a lot of people say Blendtec is louder but I'm not sure -- but since I wear earplugs when I use the thing I don't really care about a slight difference in noise level. The Vita-Mix has at least a superficially better build quality but I don't know how that works out over time or if there's really anything to it.

A side note: I just got an email notice from Vita-Mix that the 5200 is now available in a stainless finish.

[Fat Guy]

Faced with an abundance of cheese I decided to make fondue for lunch today. As was assembling my ingredients, my son asked if I was going to make it in the Blendtec. I guess he had been paying more attention during the Costco demo than I, because right there on the machine it says "fondue" on one of the buttons. There's also a whole fondues chapter in the cookbook that comes with the unit.

Well I'll be a monkey's uncle if the Blendtec doesn't produce the smoothest, creamiest fondue ever. No need to use the stove, stir or anything. If you're going to serve it the regular way you'll need a fondue pot, but we just ate it out of the Blendtec pitcher and when it started getting lukewarm gave it another 45 seconds on the machine.

[Chris Hennes]

I saw those recipes in the little recipe book that came with the blender, but was skeptical: many of the recipes in that book seem very, very lame. Did you just wing it with the fondue, or did you actually follow a recipe from someplace?

[Fat Guy]

The Blendtec recipe book is so bad it's alarming. If it reflects American tastes, I never want to let anybody from another country see it. I'd be too embarrassed.

The only thing I use the book for is to get an idea of general ratios. For example I could see in the traditional cheese fondue recipe that they used a certain amount of liquid and a certain amount of cheese. So I started from there, because it does seem they test their recipes and the ratios of solids to liquids seem to be the key to good results in the Blendtec.

I also find that with soups and other hot items you need 2 or 3 cycles to get it to a decent temperature.

[Fat Guy]

Speaking of ratios, I dramatically improved my frozen desserts recently by using the ratios in the Blendtec recipe book. Measuring by volume: 2:1:3/4 frozen fruit:liquid:ice. So for peach ice cream it's 2 cups of frozen peaches, 1 cup of milk, 3/4 cup of ice cubes (plus a dash of vanilla and however much sweetener of whatever kind you like). If you do it that way it really comes out like at the demo at Costco.