Equipment Review: Best High-End Blenders (Vitamix, Blendtec, KitchenAid, Breville) & Testing Winners | America's Test Kitchen

Buy our Winning High-End Blender: http://amzn.to/2B07Pki
Buy our Runner-up High-End Blender: http://amzn.to/2AT46V3
Behind the Testing: http://bit.ly/2AxBZIt
Full testing details and ranking chart: http://bit.ly/2BKGcsD

We tested 5 high-end blenders to find the best one (listed in alphabetical order):
Blendtec Designer 725
Breville The Boss
KitchenAid Pro Line Series Blender with Thermal Control Jar
Vitamix 5200
Vitamix Professional Series 750

We investigate the new crop of pricey blenders to see what you get—and whether it's worth it—when the sky's the limit.

Looking for a mid-range model instead? We review the best blenders with a budget of about $200: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7kWmAAneUM

Our favorite slow cooker ("crock pot")—and why:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9__CI_oLwQ

WINNING TRAITS OF A GOOD HIGH-END BLENDER
- Powerful, durable motor
- Tall, narrow jar to minimize aeration
- Reasonably quiet
- Clear, logical control panel
- Maneuverable base and jar

WHAT WE TESTED

We tested five blenders, priced from $399.95 to $679.95, rating them on their ability to blend smoothies, crush ice, puree hummus, emulsify mayonnaise, grind almond butter, and make ice cream, hot soup, and carrot juice. Throughout testing we evaluated each blender on how easy it was to operate, clean, and maneuver, as well as how loud it was. We weighed and measured each blender’s base and jar, used a tachometer to measure how fast its blades turned, and used a decibel meter to measure how loud its motor was.

RATING CRITERIA

Smoothies: We made smoothies using fresh kale, frozen pineapple, and orange juice in two ways. First, we blended the ingredients for exactly 60 seconds on high in each machine. Next, we followed the instructions each manufacturer provided for making smoothies; we used the “smoothie” button if the machine had one. The best blenders made completely smooth smoothies with minimal air incorporated into the blend.

Hummus: We made one batch of our Restaurant-Style Hummus in each blender; the best blenders required minimal scraping to completely puree the ingredients into a smooth and homogeneous dip.

Crushed Ice: We crushed ice in each blender; the best models quickly turned the ice into fluffy white snow with minimal scraping.

Mayonnaise: We emulsified eggs and oil into mayonnaise using our Quick Food Processor Mayonnaise recipe to evaluate the lower speeds and the opening in each lid designed for adding ingredients while the blender is running; the best models produced smooth, creamy mayonnaise.

Almond Butter: We ground almonds into Almond Butter. The best models were able to produce extremely smooth almond butter with minimal scraping and without overheating.

Frozen Desserts: We made vanilla ice cream in each machine; none of the blenders was able to make acceptable ice cream.

Hot Soup: We made tomato soup in each machine, testing their ability to puree and heat ingredients; the best machine was able to get the soup up to a piping-hot 160 degrees.

Juice: We made carrot juice in each blender by combining carrots and water; all the blenders made similar, slightly pulpy juice that was drinkable but not as good as juice from a dedicated juicer.

Maneuverability: We rated each blender on how easy its jar and lid were to attach and detach and how easy it was to move around.

Ease of Use: We rated each blender on how logical and intuitive its controls were, as well as how easy it was to use and clean.

Noise: Noise is measured in decibels on a scale of zero to 140. We noted how loud the blenders were throughout testing and measured them with a decibel meter, recording a range of 96.1 to 105.7 decibels. Those that stayed under 100 decibels rated highest.


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