Vita-Mix 1321 Professional Series, Ruby Review

I guess my husband got tired of me showing this to him and asking him to guess how much it costs because I got one for my birthday!I looked at this blender for over two years trying to justify buying it, after all it is just a blender, or so I thought.

This thing is phenomenal to say the least.I use it every day to make whole food vegetable drinks and fruit smoothies all in a minute or less.There is no struggling, no stray pieces of ice or fruit, and no fear that it's going to burn out like my other blenders did from the strain of trying to blend ice and frozen fruit over a period of time.I wouldn't have dreamed of putting cucumbers, carrots or broccoli in my old blender to make something drinkable but with this, everything is blended to a perfect consistency.You can even put whole ice cubes in it.

Want some hot tomato soup?Fine just put the ingredients and let it whir until the soup is piping hot!The blender is so powerful that the friction created actually heats the food.You can shorten the cooking time by preheating any liquids that are included in your recipe.

My Vita-Mix came with an extra container and blade that are used for grinding, a Whole Food Recipe cookbook (full of delicious recipes), a step by step Getting Started guide, a tamper, and a video. It does seem like a lot to spend for a blender but it's such a versatile product that it's well worth the money. You can use it to make dips and spreads, beverages, soups, sauces, fondues, salad dressings, batters, pureed foods, frozen desserts, and if you have the dry container and blade, you can grind your own grains.

If you are interested in including more fruits and vegetables into your diet, or want to get your kids to get more fruit and veggies, this is the way to go.Before I got this, I probably used my old blender to make smoothies once or twice a week.Now I use it daily so I leave it sitting on the counter, and it takes no time at all to make a quick breakfast drink before I go to work or a refreshing fruit smoothie drink when I come home. I'm not one to sit around nibbling on carrots and celery, but I will put them in the Vita-Mix for a refreshing low-calorie drink.There's a recipe in the cookbook using carrots that's truly delicious, Citrus Carrot Cocktail.I have never craved carrots but I do crave this drink and make it a lot!

Cleaning the container is easy.Just rinse it out with hot water or put a drop of dishwashing liquid in it along with a cup or so of water and run the machine on high for a few seconds and rinse it out. The container is made from polycarbonate material which apparently does not do well with the high Ph balance of automatic dishwasher soap so the manufacturer does not recommend washing the container in the dishwasher.

I looked at a couple of other high end blenders and found that some of them had a tendency to "walk" on the counter.This one has four thick rubber feet that keeps it in place when switching the blender to high.It's very loud but then it's very powerful.So powerful in fact, that it comes with a lid and lid plug that lock into place because once it's switched to high, the ingredients are moved with such force that it can knock a loose lid off of the container.The lid plug must always be used unless using the tamper in its place to make ice cream and nut butters.

To get the most out of this blender, make sure you read the instructions in the owner's manual and use the recipes in the cookbook until you get comfortable with using it.It's not complicated to use but it's extremly powerful and it's easy to over process your food items.For instance, if you're making a smoothie, the longer the machine runs, the hotter the ingredients will get and you could wind up with a lukewarm smoothie.

Consider adding the Tovolo ice pop molds as an accessory item to enjoy your favorite juice drink as an icy treat! Tovolo Green Shooting Star Pop Molds

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Product Description:
With its 2-plus peak horsepower motor that generates blade speeds of 240 MPH, this efficient countertop appliance works great for whipping up smoothies, mixing frozen drinks, blending pureed soups, stirring up salsas, and more. The blender features a laser-cut one-piece stainless-steel blade assembly, durable all-metal construction, a brushed aluminum faceplate with a ruby-colored finish, and soft-touch switches and dial. Its variable speed control includes high and low operation and 1 to 10 speeds. In addition, the blender's durable, oversized, 64-ounce polycarbonate jar includes a soft-touch handle for graceful serving. The blender comes with a "Let's Get Started" instructional DVD and a recipe book with over 300 recipes, including ones for Carrot Fruit Sorbet, California Salsa, and a Mocachino. Made in the USA, the blender measures 20-1/2 by 7-1/4 by 8-3/4 inches and carries a full seven-year warranty.

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Vita-Mix 1300 TurboBlend 4500 Review

I have owned the Vita-Mix Super 5000 since 1997, and I love it. I can grind flour, make juice, soup, ice cream (the fruit smoothies I make with this are to die for)--in short, every kind of food processing you can imagine. This baby is built to last and has a 7-year warranty.

In 2004, a couple weeks after the 7 years were up, I was very upset when it broke down. I thought, "Isn't that just the way these things tend to go with warranties?" I searched for Vita-Mix on the web (the URL is their name, and there is a link on this page, to them, too). I clicked on the button for service, got their 800 number, and called them at 6:00 p.m. Eastern time, and they were there. The service rep was friendly and knowledgeable. She asked me to describe in detail the symptoms of my ailing Vita-Mix. She then said, when I asked about it, that even though I was past the window period to do so, the company would still allow me to buy a three-year extended warranty for $120. I jumped at that, and found out that I could use it to cover the parts (and shipping) to fix the problem. She said I needed an "assembly piece" that sold for $75 without a warranty, a "drive socket" worth $12.00 and the shipping of $9.95 would be no charge to me. She said she was including a small wrench and instructions and I can fix it myself. So right off the bat I used most of the $120 to fix my first problem.

I've never seen anything like this kind of service. When our tabletop water distiller broke, we had to send it in for warrantied repair, which cost $50 shipping (we paid), and weeks to get back. I think shipping the Vita-Mix to the company might have cost nearly that much, so I was delighted to have this option of getting the parts in 10 days to fix it myself and have my beloved Vita-Mix back working within a week and a half.

If you are ever in the market for a food processor that is professional quality that works great with amazing customer service, this is it. The price is very competitive for what you get, and the product itself is fabulous. (Only one tiny little caveat--which is true for =any= blender--wear earplugs when you do the very high speeds or you could hurt your ears.)

Update March 23, 2009: I've owned the Vita-Mix 12 years now, and I still love it! See my comment to this review with today's date which contains information on my experiences with the sales personnel of the Vita-Mix company today.

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Product Description:
Vita-Mix TurboBlend 4500 is a heavy-duty, commercial-quality blender that delivers optimum performance and power.Superior engineering strengthens each part, ensuring a product that will last.

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Hamilton Beach 932 Commercial Citrus Juicer, Black Review

I bought this juicer after trying an orangex juicer that broke on the 4th orange I put through it.My Hamilton-Beach juicer has lasted through a whole bag now, so here's the scoop:

Good things:
1) Rack & pinion action effectively transfers the applied force to the squeezer.There's no off-axis force so you don't have to worry about the whole darn thing tipping over when you bear down.

2) Gratifyingly simple to disassemble and clean.

3) The metal grate's edges are machined smooth - - no worries about getting cut (one of the problems I had with the orangex product).

4)When you remove your juice glass, a drip cup swings into place to keep residual juice drippings off your countertop.That is a very user-friendly design element.

5)The mechanism does a good job of extracting all of the juice.

6)The resulting juice did not have any hint of strong citrus oil.

Other things:
For a product that bills itself as "professional grade", it seems like it could be easy to overpower & break something if you 'hang on the lever'.I would not be too overzealous about squeezing the last drops if dealing with a grapefruit or a really big orange, for fear of breaking something.But for lemons, limes, and standard size oranges it seems just fine.

While the unit doesn't weigh very much, it's pretty tall -- about 20" in its fully-down, storage position -- so storage may be an issue for some.

Overall:
I'm glad I got this one.

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Product Description:
Exerts uniform pressure to extract juice. Sturdy rack and pinion gearing allows for effortless use. Easy lever arm control yields maximum juice extraction. Collector cup is pivoted to swing out for easy, mess-free removal. Enamel finish, chrome and porcelain components are acid-resistant for easy cleaning. Strainer cone and funnel are also removable.

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