It seems that everyone is blending smoothies these days as people are trying to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into a healthy diet. Owning a quality blender in your kitchen will not only help in producing fresh smoothies but you can blend drinks, make salsa, crush ice, and much more with todays modern blenders. There are dozens of websites with reviews on all the latest blenders and we read up on all the top sellers to see just which blenders performed the best. to see what real people have to say and not just follow all the laboratory findings from manufacturers. The Wall Street Journal and Good Housekeeping have done reviews on blenders and come up with their winners, although their testing is not as thorough as that done by Consumer Reports (CR). CR did a recent blender test with 31 blenders and ran them through a bunch of tests to find out which ones live up to expectations. They made frozen drinks, smoothies, crushed iced, and pureed vegetables. Almost all blenders will make smoothies just fine as CR reported but not all crushed ice (many failed).

In all the reports we read online or in magazines about blenders, there is little difference between the $400 models and the less expensive products. For an extra $300 you can get better food processing ability, but for basic blending needs, the sub $100 blenders did a pretty good job. Most blenders capacities range from 5 to 8 cups and speed variations were Cuisinart with just 3 all the way up to 16 on the Blendtec. Most people prefer a glass jar for blending although some of the higher priced blenders offer a plastic jar instead which is more easily damaged by scratches. All are noisy, so you can't avoid the 30 to 60 seconds of ear numbing blending. In terms of convenience, I prefer a blender that has dishwasher safe parts since trying to hand clean around blades is not very fun. It was surprising to me that the most expensive Vita-Mix 5000 did not have dishwasher safe parts. I own the Braun PowerMax MX2050 (after seeing it score well in reviews) and it hasn't let me down at all. Other budget models rate fairly high too like the Oster Counterforms ($80).

We did see that the George Foreman Brainstorm was listed on several sites but no one gave it any terrific feedback, so we will leave it off our list of "best buys" for now. ninja bl770 blender & food processor mega kitchen system 1500Kitchen Aid blenders have always been more expensive than other brands but their durability is questioned by some. hamilton beach blender 58149 reviewsOther top blender brands are Breville, Oster, Villaware, Waring, Hamilton Beach, and Blendtec. braun hand blender winnipegYou can view all the best selling blenders on Amazon here.philips hr1361 hand blender price

RECOMMENDED Oster has been around for decades and I grew up with one of their blenders in my family. cuisinart bfp-703 blender & food processor duet combinationOster consistently rates right up near the top in ratings of blenders. breville 500w hand blender and chopperThe Oster 4093 Classic Beehive Blender ($60) remains a top seller and customers have mostly good things to say about it. vitamix blender pricerunnerThe Oster blender has a 500 watt motor which will blend, chop, grind, grate or crush ice. There are only 2 speeds, but the low-speed pulse function lets you still have some control. The glass container holds 40 ounces and is dishwasher safe. The chrome color make this a classic for any kitchen.

It's been a top seller on Amazon for years and owners say it's a "whirl of a blender" and "blends as promised". You can't beat it for the price. RECOMMENDED - An even more popular yet cheaper blender is the Braun PowerMax MX2050 ($50) which also gets excellent reviews not only from customers but from Consumer Reports in their latest survey on blenders. The Braun blender has a 525 watt motor with a 58 ounce capacity. The glass jar lets you pour from 3 different positions, the parts are dishwasher safe, and there are 5 speeds plus a pulse setting. The stainless steel blade will crush ice almost as effectively as the high price models. Customers rave about this blender saying "it's worth the money" and "best value blender I've ever bought". or in department stores like Sears or Target. , All Rights ReservedShipping to over 65 countries, Simplify customs Learn more Do You Know About This? Tips from The Kitchn The Mason Jar Blender Trick: Do You Know About This? Food Processors & Grinders

Sometimes there are kitchen tips that float around on the Internet for years before you bump into them. Sometimes those tips are potentially life-changing. Like this one: did you know that a standard mason jar can be used in place of the pitcher on most blenders? If you unscrew the base from your blender pitcher, you'll see that the blade fits perfectly onto a standard (not wide-mouth) mason jar and the base screws on to hold it securely. Fit it onto the blender and blend away! There's a lot of to love about this easy trick. If you're blending a smoothie, you can drink directly from the jar or put on a lid and take it on the go. I also like the idea of making a few smoothie kits in jars and keeping them in the refrigerator for quick blending in the morning. You can also use jars for blending spices or nuts and even store them in the jar after blending. It basically turns your blender into a DIY Magic Bullet — and saves you from doing a few dishes. Have you ever tried this trick?