Not just your regular everyday Immersion Blender!
Simple, straightforward, versatile and intuitive. Great for serious cooks, even more for those of us who are not that serious. I did not have to consult the instructions to put it together...out of the box, you can easily tell how to attach the whisk, frother and blender. The fact that it has the blending jar and not just a blending cup, allows for infinitely more uses than an immersion blender alone. You get a 2-fer: mini and immersion blender in one. As you can see in the pic, all the attachments fit in the plastic cup, along with the cleaning brush, while the motor unit fits on top of the blending jar. This makes keeping everything together a snap. It is solid, had weight to it, and feels comfortable in my hand. I used it July 25th for the first time to make banana and strawberry ice cream smoothies. I know bananas are not that difficult to blend. That said, here is what I looked for Simplicity-drop banana in tall plastic cup, attach blender, add milk, immerse blender...worked like a charm. Added ice cream, the vortex created by the blender sucked it to the bottom, it churned beautifully and mixed thoroughly with the now banana milk. I ended up with the blending cup half-full. I made a second smoothie. This time I doubled up all the ingredients. After mixing the banana and milk, I dropped in the ice cream. It floated on top, until I pressed the on-button. Since the cup was a little over 3/4s full, it took a little longer for the ice cream to make it to the bottom and get blended in...but only seconds longer. Unlike jar blenders, the ingredients are not thrown out and upward, so you do not have to worry about making a mess-everything is sucked to the bottom. Clean-up is a cinch. You simply, detach, slosh attachment in some soapy water, rinse, dry off and store. I cannot speak to the longevity, as I only used it once. I can see myself incorporating more fruit and veggies, and plan on making berry smoothies tomorrow. It also lends itself to pureeing my lobster bisque, and a variety of other things on the fly. That said, if you are making smoothies for 30, use a traditional jar blender. The same thing goes if you are making tons of stuff, or will need to blend something for a long time...but for single, or several servings, this does the trick without you having to go through the ritual of digging out your kitchen machine and trying to remember where you put all the attachments. The price point is also very attractive compared to other like immersion blenders. Customer service is prompt and responsive. I had a few question after unpacking it after it was delivered mid-morning. That night, the customer service rep had answered my questions. Update July 26th: Made raspberry peach smoothies. The blending jar worked perfectly. It made short shrift of the ice cubes, blended the raspberries and peach in seconds. I added a pinch of Lipton peach iced tea granules for an added a touch of sweetness and to kick the peach taste up several notches. My husband asked for another, but I was put of raspberries. I stopped at Aldi's that evening and stocked up on peaches, rasp & blackberries, nectarines and honeycrisp apples. Update Jul 28th: My husband and I start and end our days with fruit smoothies...yesterday I even made a third for myself. He has consumed more fruit in 3 days, than the past 3 years combined. I have dug out and added my flax seeds. I already ordered several pounds of blueberries and plan on adding kale & celery hearts in the future...some kiwi will work...I keep thinking of more combinations...I also add Arizona Mucho Mango to help crush the ice. It also helps the other fruit flavors to pop. Ok, last update...today, Fri Jul 30th, 2021 will make day six of daily use and I do not see this changing. Yes, I know that there is sugar in the fruit, Lipton peach ice tea mix and AZ Mucho Mango, buuuut it is a lot less than the candy or other junk food that I was consuming when I get those cravings. I have also upped my intake of fiber, phytonutrients, and all the other good stuff when you consume the whole fruit/veggie. I will order this set for friends and family as gifts...finally something everyone can actually use that won't break the bank. Nov 2022: no, I could not keep up eating all that fruit...it was also great making Whiskey Sour slushies and all manner of other stuff. Tip: to crush regular ice cubes, use the jar. For small bullet style ice cubes, or crushed ice, it is ok to use the blending jar and wand. Everyone loved their Christmas gift blender last year. Read more
