I’ve been thinking of replacing my Waring blender of several years because it’s not doing a great job of preparing my morning smoothies. I’d seen ads for a Vita-Mix blender in magazines from time to time but I never sought one in earnest. Yesterday, I received an unsolicited brochure in the mail for a Vita-Mix that would pulverize whole fruits and vegetables, grind meats and whole grains, all at Mach1. It comes with quite a few attachments but the total price is around $515.00!. Huh? I looked up the Vita-Mix on Epinions and the general consensus is that the Vita-Mix does what it says it will do. I live in a condo with a small kitchen, so I’d love to replace my blender, juicer, breadmaker, etc. with one heavy duty quality machine. But I’d like it even more if anyone here could recommend a more reasonably priced alternative that does what the Vita-Mix will do. Any takers?
Well, you could always get a used one via E-bay or something. But frankly, the customer service has been phenomenal with my Vita-Mix, and while it’s a great machine, there have been a couple of ahem owner errors that caused it to need attention. Every time, they’ve been gracious, quick and FREE.
It does do everything it says. Note that it does not, anywhere, say that it will do mashed potatoes. My bad. Replacement of motor ensued. Took less than a week. And it was free, even though we were all clear that I was a dumbass.
When they say to make sure the rubber cover is in place before you push the pusher in to push food closer to the blades? They really mean it. My friend Megan thought she could do it without it when she was borrowing my machine. Oops number 2. Apparently, the suction’s pretty intense and it grabbed it right out of her hand and chewed on it for a bit. They replaced the cracked pusher thing in about 2 days with only a little laughter on the other end of the phone. They didn’t charge for that replacement, either.
I really love it. Smoothies are wonderful, but hardly where the machine shines. Face it, any $20 Black and Decker blender can do a [assabl smoothie. The nice thing about Vita-Mix smoothies is you don’t have to peel or even seed most things, unless you want to. But can your blender do a white sauce? A cheese sauce? Including making the roux, mixing and *heating *to piping hot? Instant fresh veggie soup? Soft serve ice cream? Grind grains for bread, or more often for this herbalist, roots and seeds for tincturing? Yum-ay Cream of Avacado or Potato Dill soup in 5 minutes? Fresh peanut or cashew butter? Heck, when we’re camping, if we’re near electricity, I use the thing to boil water for instant coffee or tea. It’s faster than the campstove or fire.
And the clean-up is just as easy as they promise. It’s its own dishwasher! Fill the container 1/2 way with warm water and add 2 drops of dish soap. Cover and run it on high for 30 seconds or so. Rinse. Zip done.
I don’t have one, but my parents have one, and my brother has one. And yes, they pretty much pulverize anything that you want to put in there. Don’t know about comparable alternatives, sorry.
My family uses them to make smoothies, and my Dad sometimes uses it to make margaritas, muslides, and other frozen drinks. They both seem to like theirs. I’ve not gotten the impulse to spring that much money for one, though…
I have a Vita-Mix 4000.
I bought it used from a friend about five years ago. I think I paid at least a hundred bucks too. It was enough money that it was a strain, anyways.
The Vita-Mix is a massive, heavily-constructed device. The base that contains the motor squats on my counter and doesn’t move. The mixing container is solidly-built, and has a tap in the side to drain off liquid. The cover parts are made of transparent plastic.
For a long time my Vita-Mix sat under the counder; recently I hauled it out and cleaned it up. Its cover parts are slightly-yellowed with age; their spring clamps also seem to have weakend somewhat, and the rubber sealing ring that goes around the bottom of the cover is discoloured. Also, unfortunately, the wooden pusher rod with its crosspiece went missing in my last move.
The book that came with the mixer has recipes for all kinds of other things, including ice cream, bread, and soup. The great power of the device apparently allows it to do a lot more things than the usual mixer. The book speaks of grinding the grain to make flour before you mix the flour into bread dough, for example.
I’ve only used it to make smoothies so far. I fill the container with banana and apple slices, blueberries, spinach leaves, flax oil, organic honey, water, and more spinach. The Vita-Mix has absolutely no problem grinding these to a smooth consistency that is like liquid food.
In operation, it is loud, and a breeze comes from the opening below the mixer container. I don’t even have to take it off the Low speed setting, although I tried it on Medium once. It withstands switching between Forward and Reverse while in operation without problem. This is often mentioned as a grinding technique in the recipe book.
The video that came with it had a demonstration of it grinding a wood block.
I’m a little afraid to put it on High.
Vita-Mix: It’s not an appliance… it’s a power tool!
After a little search, here’s the website: http://www.vita-mix.com/
Looks like you can buy all kinds of spare parts and tools!
Hey, everyone!
I was on a business trip for a week and got back a few days ago when I thought I’d check on this thread. I love all the responses and I guess I’ll just save up and get the Vita-Mix. Thanks for your responses!
Is this the same VitaMix blender i bought in the seventies for $100 and sold five years later for $100? I remember it could reduce the pulp of pineapples to mush and make soap. :dubious:
One of the jobs I had back in college was as a demonstrator and sales rep for houshold and home improvement products.
The first product I demonstrated and sold was the Vita-Mix. This was way back when they cost $225.00. They do many things, and they’re built like a tank.
But after a few months I started demoing a Hamilton Beach food processor. Basically a Quisinart knock off. And dollar for dollar, pound for pound, it was a better product than the Vita-Mix
I’m not much of a cook, but if I had to buy a product like a Vita-Mix or food processor, I’d pick the food processor without a second thought. They’re less expensive, and are just as versitile.
$550.00 for a Vita-Mix. No way.
My parents have had one for a number of years (15 to 20?), and they still have it and use it! Perhaps the old adage, “you get what you pay for” is true when it comes to the high-quality construction of the Vita-Mix.
IUchem
I just checked out the Vita-Mix website, and I must say - - my parent’s Vita-Mix is so old it has a stainless steel pitcher, and it only marginally resembles the current Vita-Mix products. That said, if the internal parts are still as good as the old units, $500 may be a good buy. I can remember from my restaraunt days having to replace multiple bases and pitchers on “industrial” blending units that could not stand up to the simple task of blending ice for margaritas. If a home blending unit is important to you, then paying more upfront for high quality may significantly outweigh the replacement costs.
-IUchem