Smeg is unashamedly looking to out-retro the KitchenAid Artisan Classic Blender with the sumptuous and classy BLF01.It has curves, chrome and thick gloss paint in abundance, but it's also packing modern smarts in the form of three preset programs and a self-cleaning function.The Smeg BLF01's price puts it firmly in premium territory, though, so can its blending power justify the cost?If you're familiar with Smeg's iconic fridges, you'll know what to expect from the BLF01's design. Imagine a 1953 Cadillac Eldorado pressed into the mould of a blender, and then add some even smoother curves and a little more polish.The glossy paintwork is available in a range of typically retro colours: cream, red, pastel blue, pastel green and pink, as well as the more sober silver and black.On the side of the incredibly hefty base is a control knob for selecting the smoothie and ice-crushing presets, as well as the four standard speeds. In the middle of the knob is the start button, and above it is the pulse button.

Beneath the base is a simple cable tidy, which works well enough for coiling up any excess of the 1m-long power cord.The jug is a sturdy 1.5-litre number that's dishwasher-safe and simply sits in the recess on the top of the base. It has a twist-fit lid with a measuring cup that plugs firmly into the pouring hole. The measuring cup also cleverly doubles as a tool for unscrewing the blade from the bottom of the jug for thorough cleaning.I began by crushing a little ice using the preset – simply rotating the knob to the ice setting and pressing the start button. Just over 50 seconds later, the lumps of ice had mostly been reduced to fluffy white snow, with a few larger chunks left around the outside. Moving onto the smoothie mode, I dropped some banana, apple and yoghurt into the jug and selected the preset. Exactly 60 seconds of alternating fast-slow blending later, I had a smoothie of impeccable consistency. No chunks whatsoever, just creamy, fruity goodness.Although there's no dedicated soup-making program, varying between the two top-speed settings did an admirable job of smoothly blending an assortment of cooked vegetables into a perfect soup.

Cleaning is simply a matter of either unscrewing the blade from the bottom of the jug and giving everything a hand-wash or a run through the dishwasher, or using the self-cleaning option. The latter isn't really a program, but simply involves filling the jug with warm water and detergent, starting the blender on its slowest setting and then pressing the Pulse button about 10 times. It does a decent job, but the jug still needed a rinse therafter.More sumptuous than the KitchenAid Artisan Classic, but equally capable in pure blending terms, the Smeg BLF01 would be right at home in any retro-chic kitchen. It also feels like it will last a lifetime and can easily be cleaned, whether by using the self-cleaning option or taking it apart and popping it in the dishwasher.If you're interested in function and not so bothered by form, you should consider the cheaper, but far less pretty Braun JB 5160. Another alternative is the KitchenAid Artisan Diamond, an updated version of the Classic with a larger, plastic jug and a Hot Food function.

A gorgeous retro blender that's been built to survive the apocalypse – and it makes a mean smoothie to boot.If you are one of those people who didn't get a blender for Christmas, then surely the world's obsession with smoothies and juicing has you pining after your own right now?In case you haven't heard, benefits of blenders include: FEMAIL writer Toni Jones puts the £100 Nutribullet (left) to the test against the £400 Vitamix (below)breville food mixer vfp040 Toni's husband Dan Kennedy prefers the Vitamix blenderThe best blenders aren't cheap but you should think about it as an investment in your future body. waring margarita madness cocktail blenderAnd if you're ready to splash out how will you decide which one to go for?oster 12 speed blender meijer

The two hottest brands on the market right now are undoubtedly the Nutribullet and the Vitamix, both designed to pulverise fruit and vegetables and create easy, health-filled drinks (among other things). There's a lot of chat about which is the best buy and while the Vitamix's £400 price tag will rule some of you out straight away, for those of you with the cash to spend I've pitted the two against each other in a Battle Of The Blenders to see what the big deal is.russell hobbs blender 14449 Toni put the blenders through their paces testing five different recipes to see which produced the best resultI use the £100 Selfridges Nutribullet (Nutrition Extraction System to be technical). My husband Dan Kennedy prefers his Total Nutrition Centre aka the Vitamix. I know, such gross DINKYs. Our flat is too small for a dining table but we have two super blenders fighting for space in the kitchen. At least this means we know our stuff when it comes to juicing.

Like most people I know, we mostly use blenders to make smoothies and juices. They are generally a fuss-free way to get fruit and vegetables, and therefore lots of health, into your diet. But there are several tricky areas that can be deal breakers when it comes to a smoothie blender. I tested them both against some immense kitchen challenges like: kiwis (ooh), ginger (aah), celery (eeh), carrots (oh no you didn't) and even nuts (I can't even!). Here's how they got on... Juice wars: Results of the Simple Green Juice test for the Nutribullet (left) and the Vitamix (right)A green smoothie is the best way to get as much goodness as possible from your blender. I used a simple recipe - apple / kiwi / kale / cucumber /almonds / sunflower seeds /chia seeds - leaving all skin/stalks attached and adding seeds as recommended by both brands.The Vitamix bust up the nuts, seeds and skin within seconds and delivered a smooth and creamy drink (see picture above). Given the same time the Nutribullet couldn't quite pulverise everything, hence the darker colour and more bits on show, which makes for a more lumpy drinking experiece.

After giving it another 10-15 seconds the consistency improved a lot. It still wasn't quite as smooth as the Vitamix version but both were totally delicious and very drinkable. Although both the drinks looked virtually identical the Nutribullet was unable to blend the ingredients to the same extent as the Vitamix  These two ingredients are brimming with good stuff and are included in lots of healthy drinks recipes. They are both very fibrous though, creating lumpy, stringy drinks if not dealt with properly. I added one carrot, several nubs of ginger and 100ml water to each blender to see what happened.In the glass the 'drinks' look much the same but the Nutribullet wasn't able to liquify the carrot and ginger half as well as the Vitamix, as illustrated in the empty glasses. There was lots of stringy stuff left behind. And nobody wants a mouthful of stringy stuff. Lots more water and further blitzing reduced the amount of stringy stuff, but not completely. What lies beneath: The empty Nutribullet glass, left, features lots of pulpA nice alternative to dairy and soy, nut milks like almond, cashew and hazelnut are a big deal to smoothie fiends.

They offer protein, vitamins, good fats and a bit of calcium, plus they are low in calories. You can buy them ready made in most supermarkets now but most of them have added sugar, and it's a lot cheaper to make your own on demand. I added one cup of cashews and one cup of water to each blender and blitzed for 10 seconds. A light, frothy milk in seconds from both of them. Both the Nutribullet (left) and the Vitamix (right) produced an equally frothy milk in seconds Eating the skin of these furry little fruits might be a bit of a weird concept, but it actually triples the fruit's fibre content and adds extra Vitamin C to the drink. In a standard blender the skin is pretty hard to squish, but what happened when I added 100ml water and one kiwi to each of these bad boys? The fruit didn't even touch the sides in the Vitamix, it was pulverised into a green/brown liquid within 10 seconds. In the Nutribullet, one long blitz delivered a green, slightly furry sludge, but another 15-20 seconds and the result was almost a perfect match for the Vitamix's juice.

A draw (assuming you have those extra 20 seconds to spare) Toni put the blenders through their paces when it came to breaking down kiwi skinBoth blenders claim to make dips as well as drinks, and being able to create an instant homemade hummus is a nice party trick. I added tinned chick peas, sesame seeds, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic (peeled) and salt to both.The Vitamix was NOT happy to start with, despite me following the recipe straight from the Vitamix site. I've learned that this hungry blender requires a bit more lubrication to get things going, but once I had added a splash more chickpea liquid from the tin it created a smooth, great-tasting dip in seconds. This is where the Vitamix's multi-speed settings came into their own. NB don't run the motor for too long or the dip will become too thin. The Nutribullet created a dip with a nice texture but the ingredients didn't blend thoroughly enough and so it tasted very strongly of raw garlic. NOT great at parties. Before and after: No mess hummus in the Vitamix (top) and the Nutribullet (bottom)The overall winner in the five tests was easily the Vitamix, a super blender that takes no prisoners and could probably atomize a car engine if you were so inclined. 

The different settings mean that it can heat ingredients into a soup, or freeze them into ice cream so it's very versatile and the size of the jug means it's great for families or small businesses.BUT considering there is a £300 price difference, the Nutribullet didn't fair so badly. It's definitely leagues above your average kitchen blender.It's a bit like comparing a Porsche to an Audi - they'll both get you somewhere but the results are going to be a little different. Yes the Nutribullet drinks weren't quite as smooth, but considering the skin, pips, pith and stalks that they contained they were very drinkable, and almost on a par with the Vitamix once they were whizzed for a bit longer. Other pluses include the slimline size, and the to-go aspect (the drinks are blended directly into the cup so you just pop the top on and go once you're done).If you're a serious chef with money to burn the Vitamix is the one for you.But if you don't care about making ice-cream/soup/hummus/the neighbours jealous, and just want to enjoy some healthy smoothies then there's no need to splash the cash, the Nutribullet will be your new best friend.