The Cuisinart SmartPower Blender Cranks out Smooth Smoothies with 500 Powerful Blending Watts
Written: Nov 09 '04 (Updated Nov 10 '04)
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Pros: Powerfull 500 watts, glass pitcher, durable, sleek, great price, easy to clean
Cons: Lots of use can result in a slight burning odor
The Bottom Line: I'm sick of weak blenders with square, plastic pitchers. This Cuisinart is a refreshing change and it makes blending a breeze.
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| Javelina's Full Review: Cuisinart CB-18 SmartPower Basics 18-Speed Blender |
My fiance and I both owned old blenders that were on their last legs. After some research for something powerful and durable, we came up with the Cuisinart SmartPower blender. It is listed on the Cuisinart website for $60.00, but it is available for cheaper elsewhere (such as Amazon.com for $40, where it also qualifies for free shipping since it is over $25). I believe we bought ours at Linens N Things or Bed Bath & Beyond with a 20% off coupon.
The Cuisinart SmartPower Basics 18-Speed Electronic Blender
This is a powerful blending, coming in at 500 watts. There are 18 speeds on an adjustable dial, as well as a power, pulse, and ice crush choice of buttons.
You have a choice of black or white. The round pitcher holds 48 oz (with measurements), and is made of glass. The spout is designed to be dripless, and the stainless steel blades disassemble for cleaning. The lid is plastic, with a detachable clear plastic piece in the center.
The base has four small feet, with rubber non-slip pieces on the bottom. The blender measures 8-5/8 x 7-5/8 x 16-1/5”.
My Thoughts & Experiences
I have not owned a glass blender before, and I like it. The glass is thick and durable, and I feel that it cleans up easily. IT also looks great, and does not get scratched up. I am glad it is round in shape – who ever came up with square blenders? Obviously, the glass pitcher can also go right into the dishwasher for easy cleanup. The only downside of the glass is that it certainly is heavy.
The design is sleek and attractive, with not too fussy of a design, not too busy or cluttered. It makes for easy cleanup, and the base is sturdy on the countertop. I don’t worry about tipping this over, because of the weight of the base and the rubberized feet.
The Cuisinart SmartPower blender definitely has power. We’re really picky about making good quality things in the blender, such as smoothies. There’s nothing worse than a smoothie with ice chunks in it, or even small bits of ice. This blender excels at blending ice down to a fine consistency. I read somewhere on the web that the average household blender is 350 watts! (Can you believe there are blenders out there that go up to 1500 watts?) I like the 500 watts, which is a nice boost from the blenders that I have had in the past.
One of our favorite “treats” is an orange smoothie. You can buy smoothie packets at the grocery store. We mix them with orange juice and ice, and occasionally a dash of cream. The Cuisinart SmartPower blender crushes the ice finely, and mixes the various ingredients together well. We make these smoothies very thick, and they still always come out great.
As for the variety of speeds, I don’t really differentiate too much. I put it on high or hit the “ice crush” button for powerful blending, and I just turn it down if I want to get a rotating action in whatever is in the blender (where the food turns and mixes). I don’t really get too technical with the various speeds, and just rotate the dial and experiment with whatever substance is in the blender! I like the dial design in that it rotates, where I can just spin it from low to high and back and forth.
This is a loud blender, although I can’t say I have ever owned a quiet one! It isn’t unbearable, but it is pretty loud. My thought is, it’s a blender, it is going to be loud, all I care is that it is actually blending the food/ice/etc.
The only downside or concern that I have is that at times, I have detected a little bit of a burnt smell when the blender is used for extended periods of time (i.e. lots of consecutive smoothies). Honestly, I don’t think I have ever used a blender that didn’t give off a burning smell! I don’t anticipate that the blender will burn up or burn out, but hopefully it doesn’t shorten the life of the motor.
Overall
This blender can be pricey at some stores, but I think it is really worth it for the wattage you get, and we got it for a cheap price. Generally, it seems like the prices of blenders go up with watts, and this is right where I want to be in a spending range. This is a great price blender, powerful and durable, just like we wanted. I also like the Cuisinart brand, even with my recent fallout with the MiniMate chopper (read below). I would recommend this to my fellow friends who are getting married to add this to their registries.
Cuisinart: http://www.cuisinart.com
My other kitchen electrics reviews:
Cuisinart Mini-Mate Plus Food Processor
Bonjour Turbo Whisk Handheld Blender
Waring DF200 Professional Deepfryer
Hamilton Beach Bagel Smart 2-Slice Toaster
Breville JE900 Juice Fountain Juicer
Avanti Spacemaker Refridgerator
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 30.00
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