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37 of 41 people found the following review helpful.
Almost Idiot-proof blender.
By M. B. Osborne
DON'T BELIEVE the BAD reviews of this blender! Some people could destroy an armored tank, because they are such idiots, they can't read and follow SIMPLE instructions, and don't know how to treat electrical appliances with a tiny bit of care and respect.I bought this blender to replace my Cuisinart Smart Power blender, which was 500 watts, and served me quite well for over 2 years of very heavy usage. I searched HARD and read reviews on every make of blender out there to replace my Cuisinart. I was hesitant after reading so many negative reviews of them here, and elsewhere, but in the end, bought this Cuisinart because I had been so happy with my previous one - it still works, by the way, but the On/Off button is starting to wear out, and I wanted a little more power, because my smoothies have a LOT of frozen fruit, but not a lot of liquids, which seemed to strain my 500 watt Cuisinart more than it does my new CB-1400. I am fully confident that I made the best choice.No shaking/vibrating/walking across the counter. SURPRISINGLY quiet (my old 500 watt Cuisinart was MUCH noisier!), and POWERFUL! It liquified the frozen fruit quickly, and beautifully incorporated enough air into the mix to make my smoothie "fluffy" and tasty, like a fruit milkshake.This blender has 700 watts of power, and makes WONDERFUL smoothies, with hardly any effort at all. You need to put the liquids in first, then the frozen fruit or ice cubes, then fresh fruit and any additions (I like to add some protein whey powder and a spoon of Metamucil for fiber, along with a splash of sugar-free caramel syrup for an extra bit of sweet). You then SIMPLY push the On/Off power button, and the Smoothie button, and walk away. The blender does the rest, and 30 seconds later, tells you your smoothie is ready by beeping (fairly loudly!).I too, like the "eat with a spoon," thicker smoothie, and reduce the liquid amount, but then expect some air pockets, because that is just the way blenders work, because they are not all powerful. When this happens, remove the cap in the lid and add just a splash more liquid. It's not rocket science, just a bit of common sense...If you follow the recipe suggestions, and try to have at least an equal amount of liquid to solids, you should not have much of an air pocket problem - Be aware that ALL blenders will have difficulties if there is too much frozen ingredients. It gets flung to the sides of the container, and away from the blades. That's not the blender, it's simple physics...Just try to have sufficient liquid in the blender, to prevent air pockets, and DO put the liquids in first. If you follow the INSTRUCTIONS, you should not have an air pocket problem.Yes, if you use fruit with small seeds, like strawberries, there will be little seeds in your smoothie. DUH! And since the Cuisinart blends air into the mixture, they will not easily sink to the bottom of your glass, so you might have a bit of "chewiness" in your mix. Do not expect the blender to be able to puree seeds.Depending on what you are trying to liquify or puree, you may need to run the blender for a couple of cycles, but unlike the reviewer "spoiled" on Blendtec and Vitamix, you will find that it does "chew up pretty much anything," if you give it a bit of moisture to work with...The plastic lid is NOT a problem to get on, there is a clearly marked arrow on the front corner, which is the corner you place over the pouring lip edge. It's not that hard, unless you are an idiot, who can't be bothered to look...You simply align the lid properly, and then push down.The glass jar is NOT that cumbersome or heavy, it is a glass jar. I much prefer it over plastic, because it does not scratch, leach any chemicals into your food, or weaken with age. Yes, it is heavier than plastic, but if you need to use two hands to lift it, you may be very old or very weak, but it is still manageable. Pouring is NOT a problem, so long as you tilt the pitcher back up reasonably quickly when you done pouring. If you dawdle, it may run down the outside of the jar, but that is purely "operator error." Those are the types of idiot who can spill coffee from a "no drip" spout, too...Cleanup is simple. You unscrew the bottom, carefully remove the blades (Yes,they are sharp! They are supposed to be. Just handle them by the plastic base, and you'll be safe...), and rinse the parts with hot water, using a dish brush or sponge to wash the glass container if needed, and then let dry. You do not need to put this in a dishwasher IF you simply clean it as soon as you use it. That will help prevent 99% of any damage you might do to the jar. Again, idiots will find a way to damage something, usually due to careless actions.Do tighten the screw on base with a slight bit of torque when you reassemble it (but NOT like you are trying to tighten a lug nut on a tire), and you will NEVER have a leakage problem. The rubber gasket does a fine job of preventing leaks. You don't have to be a strongman, just make sure it's secure. Unscrewing the base should be no problem, run a bit of hot water on the base if it is difficult to unscrew, and it will come off.If you want a GOOD, powerful blender, and are not an idiot, get this one. It is WELL WORTH THE MONEY, and you will NOT be disappointed. Just use a bit of common sense with it, don't expect it to work miracles, and treat it with a bit of respect, instead of expecting it to be a steel plated, takes any abuse, chews through trees, type of appliance. No such animal exists.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
By C. Palmer
The Good:The glass jar is thick. The lip seals the jar well. The various mixing speeds (and pauses) are a real plus. And the blender crushes ice with ease.The Bad:The blender's ability to make smoothies may depend on your recipe. For larger batches, you must include twice as much liquid (juice/milk/water) in your recipe as solid (fruit/yogurt/sugar/honey/fiber/ice), or it will not mix.The Ugly:Pouring (or should I say after-pouring) is a nightmare. Because there is no pitcher spout, part of the mix runs down the outside of the jar every time I raise the jar to stop pouring. And you have to stop the run quickly before it gets to the gap between the glass and the base of the jar, or you will have two simultaneous pours (from the spout at the top and from the gap at the bottom) the next time.UPDATE:After 2 months, the plastic blender coupling broke.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
Powerful blender that does the job....for a couple of weeks
By KC
Update:I should know better than to review a blender before I've used it at least a couple of months, rather than a couple of weeks. As noted in my initial review, it had a lot of power and worked swell for my demanding smoothies, which I prefer so thick you have to eat the with a spoon rather drink them. This requires lots of the frozen fruit I mentioned and very little liquid, a half cup of milk, so the blender has to work pretty hard with almost entirely frozen fruit and a splash of milk. After only a couple of weeks, a small PLASTIC ring that was part of the mechanism that actually rotated the blades, essentially stripped and separated from the gear that turned the blade, rendering the blender completly USELESS. Needless to say, I returned it to Costco, which typically has a relatively small selection of blenders, and went to Tarshay to peruse their blenders, which can vary from real cheap to over priced. I had had reasonably good experiences with Osters in the past, and eyeballed a particular model with an all-metal drive (what a concept), fairly large glass container, and about 6 levels of power, about right for my intended use. It has 450W, no model number on the front or back, however a model DGB00 is discernible on the bottom, and the users manual doesn't even reference a model number, just part number, 135518. Anyway, after a few months of abusing this guy, it's stood up to my demanding smoothies, with some occasional help from me, in that some of the fruit must be pushed to the bottom at times, in the absence of much liquid, which is understandable and probably required of most blenders, even those ridiculously priced blenders you might see demoed at Costco once in awhile with a fast talking pitchman making stuff any blender could make. Anyway, my process is to fill the blender with 16 oz. of yogurt, about 6 different varieties of Costco frozen fruit, a spoon full of their vanilla whey powder, and a splash of milk. I start on medium speed and it's usually able to blend the blueberries and smaller pieces I put in first, then gets hung up trying to suck the peach slices and large frozen strawberries into the blades, requiring that I push the fruit down with a sturdy spoon or plastic utensil. You can turn the blender off when you do this, or be brave (and somewhat stupid), and agitate the remaining fruit while it's still on, which I have perfected without losing any fingers or utensils. At this point, give it more power and hit the high button, which helps pummel the remaining fruit. The consistency will remain very thick, even after all the fruit has been pulverized. When you're satisfied that no more chunks remain (some elbow grease is required to even stir the concoction, pushing the remaining chucks to bottom), it's done and ready to spoon (not pour) into a glasses or a large container, depending on how full the blender is. Believe me, if done as described, it will be so thick that it can be spooned well above the top of the glass without dripping, at least long enough to leisurely put the fruit back in the freezer, wipe up your workspace, and rinse the blender thoroughly and fill it with hot water and dish soap to soak for awhile, at which time you're ready to eat the tastiest smoothie you've ever had...with a spoon, of course.Original review: I purchased this blender at Costco a couple of months ago for $70.00. I use it primarily for smoothies, the ingredients for which I also buy at Costco (good price on Horizon 32 oz. fat-free yogurt, as well as a good selection of frozen fruit, such as strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, mixed berries, mixed melon pieces, mango and more). To fill approx. half of the blender, I'll use half the yogurt, 5-6 strawberries, and a relatively small mix of each of the frozen fruit previously mentioned. If you like your smoothies thick enough to consume with a spoon, as I do, I won't add much liquid (like milk), if any. In the absence of additional liquid, this will usually require two 30 second smoothie cycles to adequately chop all of the frozen fruit, but when it's done, the consistency is perfect. I'll also add a scoop of vanilla whey protein powder, also available at Costco (what a surprise). Regarding the lid of the blender, which a couple of reviewers have mentioned, for some unknown reason it's not square. If you look closely, there's a small triangle on one corner of the lid which must point to the spout or it won't fit properly. I agree it takes some pressure to completely close the lid, but if it's closed properly, it's a very tight fit a and won't come close to "floating", as one reviewer suggested. It's my guess that some of the cycles that pulse (turn off for a few seconds) cause the unchopped ingredients to settle, as well as alleviate air pockets. Also, if you're making a full batch (nearly filling the blender) with the same thickness, there will be times when you need to stir once or twice with a spatula to move unchopped fruit towards the bottom. I've found this to be true of most blenders with comparable power...if you like your smoothies thick enough to use a spoon, chunks of fruit at the top of the blender will not always be sucked to the bottom. Without the kludgy lid (sounds like something I might have said in high school 40 yrs ago..."hey, I got a bum lid!"), this bad boy would be worthy of 5 stars.
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