Ask any raw foodie, the appliance that gets the single most usage in a raw kitchen is a blender! You use it for making smoothies, dressings, sauces, soups, spreads, puddings, pie and cake fillings, ice creams... and I'm sure I must be forgetting something!
Don and I run our blender a minimum of 3 times a day. At first we just bought regular inexpensive blenders however we gave them such a work out that they had to be replaced once a year (if we were lucky!) Hanging with the online raw community we had heard that high power blenders were the way to go for superior results and blender longevity, still it was hard to get our minds (and our pockets!) around paying $400-500 for a little machine. But we needed to bite the bullet and saved our pennies in order to purchase a
Vitamix 5000. After trying it I wondered how we could have gone without a high power blender for so long! Not only was it a LOT more powerful but it also gave such a silky smooth texture to everything I blended! It was like entering a whole new world of possibilities!
A few days ago
I was telling you about our recent discovery of a new 3 HP blender that costs significantly less than other high power machines. (Yay!) I say 'new' but in fact the
OMNIBLEND V blender has been manufactured for several years but hasn't yet significantly penetrated into the North American market. (Our friend Thomas Fox of
3blenders.com is presently the only supplier!)
"The blenders like the Vita Mix, Blendtec, and Waring blenders are all great," Thomas says, "It is time though to offer to the consumers something more economical. I believe we have found it with the OMNI Blender at $250 plus shipping, and we stand behind it."
I couldn't agree more! We would have certainly found it easier to take that (for many of us HUGE) step from the 'cheapo' blenders to a high quality one if we had known about the OMNI back then. Now I can hardly hide my excitement that we've discovered such a high performing blender at such a fantastic price! *doing the happy dance*
I've already told you a few things about the OMNI in
this post and you can find out a great deal more on
Thomas' site.
Now Over To Don!
I'm usually the voice on The Sunny Raw Kitchen but today I thought I'd let Don (who's actually also my editor) take the stage. Just this morning he forwarded me this article he wrote and I thought it was too timely not to include it in this post.
Kitchen Blender VALUE Review
By Don Lacey
After many years of dedicated diet exploration as part of our journey towards physical, mental and spiritual freedom and health, it's our experience that as one progresses from SAD (Standard American Diet) to vegetarian, to vegan and finally engaging with the raw world, the blender takes on an increasingly important role. In the Sunny Raw Kitchen of all our appliances ours takes center stage.
In the raw community the blender gets used for many tasks, from fruit and green smoothies to sauces, dressings, nut milks and dessert preparation. Our blender finds itself in use an average of 3 times per day.
There are probably 3 major factors when considering a blender purchase, as with most mechanical things:
- The first is functionality, how well does it do what we need from it.
- The second is durability/robustness, how long can it be expected to last.
- Finally comes the cost/price.
An assessment of all these three factors combined bring us to the best blender
value.
There are basically three levels of blender function:
The first and most common is for more casual use, for the occasional smoothie or dressing/sauce.
Functionality - Use at this level happens perhaps once or twice a week up to a maximum of maybe once daily. A basic blender with motor size ranging up to 600 watts (higher is better BTW) is usually sufficient for SAD and vegetarian diets. The emulsification food consistency here is adequate but nothing to write home about.
Durability - As long as use frequency remains within this range, these blenders will last for a few to many years, depending on the motor size and quality. The warranties are rarely for more than 1 year.
Price - At this level blenders usually cost from $25 to $150
The second level of blender function is for more regular and generally heavier use. This is usually found within the vegan and raw lifestyle worlds.
Functionality - Use at this level happens from almost daily to perhaps an average of 3 times/day. Blenders with motor size ranging from 800 to 1200 watts are recommended. The upper number ones are often referred to as 3 HP blenders. It is our experience that if one attempts to use the smaller motor blenders their life expectancy falls to under 1 year. The emulsification food consistency here, especially at the 3 HP level, is excellent which is achieved by the increased motor power and high blade RPM.
Durability - These blenders will last for a few to many years, depending on the motor size and quality and frequency/type of use. The warranties usually range from 1 to 7 years on the base/motor and 1 year on the carafe and blade assembly.
Price - This level of blender usually costs from $150 to $250 for the 800 - 900 watt motor models and $350 to $550 for the 3 HP blenders.
The third level is for commercial use. We will not be discussing this type here. Suffice to say that the motor power is in the 3 - 5 HP range and price from $550 and up.
A Closer Look at 3 HP Blenders
We would like to now focus on the 3 HP level of blender. The reason: this is where
the best VALUE resides as far as we are concerned, and these blenders are used mainly for the diet types we are interested in, namely the vegan and raw lifestyles.
There are only 3 blender manufacturers that we will review in this section, 2 of them being to date the most popular, with the third; a relatively new kid on the block.
Vitamix
This is the major player here. Known for high quality, durability, performance, warranty and customer service. You pay for it though. Prices in this range are $450 - $550. Strengths as noted above. Weaknesses: loud (around 100 db), narrow carafe makes getting out the thicker food difficult, and they are expensive for purchase and parts.
Blendtec
Another well known company at this level. A bit on the quirky side perhaps, with the complex computerized electronics settings, unusual two pronged crushing blade rather than the more common 4 pronged cutting type as found on the Vitamix models, and shorter square type carafe. Slightly less expensive than the comparable Vitamix models ($380+), but of somewhat lower quality as well. Does a good job once the electronics are figured out. Close to the 100 db loudness level.
JTC Omniblend V
Last but by far not least, this is the newcomer to the 3 HP blender arena. Electronic like the Blendtec but much simpler to use. Substantially quieter at 85 db. Somewhat slower RPM means thorough emulsification requires a bit more time than the competition, and for that the motor should experience less stress/longer life. Has a six blade system. Comes standard with the 64 fl oz square container. Clearly Omniblend V is the substantial Value King as it is about equal to the competition in functionality and expected durability (3 year warranty on base/motor) for a much lower cost. ($250 + $25 S&H)
For detailed comparisons of the various blender options on the market, we recommend visiting
3blenders.com
Lastly and on a different note...
How To Bring The Sunny Raw Kitchen Into Your Home
Thomas took me completely by surprise when he suggested in the video that you invite us! *blushing* He's such a sweet heart!
In case you don't already know, Don and I are presently in the US. We're now in Utah and are planning to travel through Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington within the next 3 months.
If you live somewhere along the way and would like to host us, connect or even help put together an event, please send me an email at:
sunnyrawkitchen(at)gmail(dot)com
To learn more about us and our travels
read this post.
To find out about our Delightfully Raw Itinerary
click here.
To read about last year's Sunny Raw Kitchen Tour,
read these posts.
