I am not a proponent of accumulating useless crap. Especially when it comes to my kitchen. I mean, why the hell do I need an avocado slicer? Just use a freaking knife. And a salad spinner? Please. Put your freshly washed greens in a clean & dry kitchen towel, gather up the edges and spin it over your head to get rid of excess water. But there are some items that you need for kitchen basics.
Enter the blender.
A blender does everything from the most basic of tasks for the beginner home cook to more complicated homesteading projects. Here’s just a short list of the things I commonly use my blender for:
- Smoothies
- Soups
- Sauces
- Dips
- Sorbets
- Slushies
- Nut butters
- Nut milks
The next question is, what kind of blender you should select. As with all kitchen tools, it ought to be high quality and perform well over several years. I happen to have the Oster Versa Performance Blender. I got it on sale and had a gift certificate to cover some of the cost. It has a 1,400 watt motor and a 7 -year warranty. I’ve had it for almost 3 years and it’s still going strong. But let’s see what ATK recommends:
The winner was the Vitamix 5200. But at a whopping $449.00, it’s hard to keep a straight face and tell you to buy this unless you use blenders A LOT and want it to last for years. The other option if you want this model is to buy it certified refurbished from the manufacturer. It’ll cost you about half as much, but I’m not sure what kind of warranties they’ll have on it.
The blender that came in second place was the Breville Hemisphere Control. At about half the cost of the winner above, it’s a much more reasonable (and worthwhile) option for the average home cook.
Remember, when buying kitchen tools and gadgets, ask yourself how often you’re going to use it. If you know you’ll only use it once or twice a year, maybe it’s not the right gadget for you. If it’s super cheap and low quality, prepare to shell out more cash because it’s going to break down, forcing you to buy another (or be so annoyed that you opt for the more expensive thing you should have purchased in the first place). Another thing to consider is storage space. If there’s simply no room, don’t buy it. Or perhaps you’ll need to get more creative in your kitchen to utilize all the space.
Whatever you choose to do, enjoy yourself and get cooking!
**NOTE: I do not receive any kickbacks or payment for posting these product recommendations. I simply post them because I have experience with them, or I trust the reviews left by America’s Test Kitchen or other consumer product reviews.