It seems like the infomercial for the Magic Bullet Food Processor is on television every night. Advertised as the last food processor you will ever need, it is designed to accomplish any job in less than 10 seconds. Well with the thought that it could really make life in the kitchen easier, The Magic Bullet was given to us as a gift and I can honestly say that it has been a pleasure to play with.

The Magic Bullet is a hi-speed blender/mixer system that does the job of a blender, but in a much quicker and cleaner methodology. The 17-piece system comes with a base that has the motors, and connects to the electrical power source. Inside this high-torque power base, there are several sensors that when depressed, kick the motor into action. That motor rotates, and spins the blade assembly that is placed on top of the base when ready for use. To set it up for use, you take one of the blades, attach it to one of the cups that sits as a cover to the blade, and attach it to the base. This doesn't start the motor right away, but when you press down on the cup (shaped like a bullet), it starts up the motor and the rotating blade.

There are two types of blades that come with the set, and those are a stainless steel flat blade, and a stainless steel cross blade. The flat blade is used best for grinding or whipping ingredients, and the cross blade is best for things like chopping, grating or blending. They can of course double in use for each of the tasks, but they best perform under their recommended guidelines. The flat blade has two blades that go North and South, while the cross blade has four blades if that presents a better picture of the two options. Each of the blades is impacted in a small plastic holder that makes it easy (and safe) to attach them to the base. On the top of the plastic part are rims that let the two mixing cups screw easily on top. Those cups are what the foods are placed in, and you then screw the blade on to it before turning it over and placing it on the base.

There are two sizes to the cups that you can use, both a short cup and a tall cup. This is to give you a little variety when it comes to mixing, where some ingredients don't need that much space to be blended. Depending on what you are working with will determine which one of these cups you end up deciding to use. With the set, you also get 4 party mugs that work the same way that the cups do. The difference is that when you use a mug you are normally mixing ingredients you will just drink straight from it. When using the cups, you are normally going to mix something (food) that will be placed on a plate or with something else to consume. The four mugs screw right on to the blade assemblies the same way, and are as easy to use as the cups.

When you are done blending or mixing something, you just disengage the blade from the base, and flip it over. Unscrewing the blade part, you can rinse it off under the faucet and set it aside so that you can use your freshly created food. To help apply the foods, you also get a shaker top (much like the top of a salt/pepper shaker would look) and a steamer top (smaller holes to let steam come out). There are also two re-sealable lids that fit right on to the bullet cups or the party mugs to store the leftovers and keep it fresh for an extended period of time. One other thing of note, is that you get 4 colored lips (or rims) that screw on to the mugs so that you can drink straight from them when you have blended up the ingredients. There is one each of yellow, blue, red, and green. It adds a little "flavor" to the set, and makes it even more user friendly in my opinion.

Along with everything in the 17-piece set, you get a 100 page book of 10-second Magic Bullet Recipes. In it you can find out how to make things like chicken salad using pre-cooked or left over chicken breast, rich Alfredo sauce, and even a nice pesto sauce. Really the book is designed to show you all of the extra benefits and cool things that you can do with the blender. The thing to keep in mind though, is that this blender set is even more versatile than that, because its use is only limited by your own imagination. They make the recipes easy to follow, but you can go off on your own and throw in random ingredients, or simply come up with something completely original if you so wish. I think that the ideas are limitless, and the set makes it very easy to be creative. Not only that, but all of the pieces are microwave safe, so if you decide you want to heat up or melt some of your ingredients you have that option at your disposable.

With the microwavable option you can make some really nice nacho cheese to pour over your chips, and throw in any types of spices you want to use. Some of the uses that this one has been used for include making a nice and tasty basil cheese sauce to place over freshly cooked pasta, and a nice fruit spread using fresh berries that was used to cover some breakfast foods. My favorite one so far has actually been a quite easy one, where we put some fresh fat-free milk into the mugs, and then added some Hershey's chocolate syrup. Using the Magic Bullet the blades made quick work of the milk and syrup, and presented a very tasty chocolate milk. It tasted great straight out of the mugs, and was presented with a nice froth at the top that just added to the experience. I note this use primarily because it shows just how easy it is to use the Magic Bullet for nearly any blending task, even a simple one like making great chocolate milk.

The Magic Bullet is very easy to use, and it is a snap to come up with many innovative uses when playing with a device like this. It is very easy to clean when you are done putting it to work, and just as easy to wash it using the dishwasher. Most uses take less than 10 seconds to blend up the ingredients, and it works really well with the sensors coming into contact with the blade assembly. They do issue warnings not to work the blades for a constant minute because it can overwork the motor and ruin the entire assembly. So, if you use it correctly, you aren't going to come across any problems with the motor. The blades are still holding up strong after a lot of use, and I don't foresee them having any problems soon since most of the ingredients we have been using are loose or soft based. They do give a nice pamphlet on how to re-order blades if they wear down over time.

This Magic Bullet set with 17-pieces was given to us as a gift, but I have seen it sell for between $59.99 and $99.99 depending on how many pieces or parts you get with that system. You can use this system to make foods, blend ingredients, create frozen cocktails or smoothies, whip up a nice chocolate mousse, or even grind coffee beans and frozen gourmet coffee drinks. If you put your mind to it, you could come up with many additional uses, and the included recipe book is a great place to start for ideas. With easy use, a great assembly of parts and pieces, and a snap when it comes to cleaning up, I really feel that the Magic Bullet system is a great tool to have in any kitchen. In works splendidly, it gets the job done quickly, and it is all-around fun to just play around with in regards to ingredient combinations. For all those reasons and more, I give the Magic Bullet a very high recommendation as a great kitchen appliance.






Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): gift