Smoothie Maker/Blender Combo by Hamilton Beach
Written: Nov 29 '05
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
| Ease of Cleaning: |
|
|
| Style: |
|
|
|
Pros: Easy to assemble/use; makes perfect smoothies.
Cons: Difficult to pour; no spigot.
The Bottom Line: The Hamilton Beach Smoothies & More makes great tasting smoothies, but can be difficult to pour.
|
|
|
| Staceys1's Full Review: Hamilton Beach Smoothies & More 50252 10-Speed Ble... |
When I recently broke the smoothie maker that we had used for more than a year, I was set to get another of the same brand since I forced the plastic spigot and cracked it, and it was not a problem with the item itself. However, while out shopping for a replacement, I came across this Hamilton Beach Smoothies & More product for less money and thought I'd give it a shot.
While our previous appliance was only a smoothie maker, this one has ten speeds and it works as a blender as well. The operating mode choices are:
- Grate
- Ice Breaker
- Beat
- Blend
- Smoothie
- Stir
- Aerate
- Puree
- Crumb
- Chop
When using the "ice breaker" mode, you must keep your finger on the button for the machine to work, but for the other options, you can just push the button and it will operate until you press the "off" button.
Before putting your liquids into the 48 ounce glass jar, first make sure that it is assembled properly. The blade portion must be placed in the plastic "safety base" and a the rubber gasket must lie flat around the blades. All of this is then screwed onto the glass jar. A silver arrow on the safety base must be lined up with the picture of an open padlock on the blender base and then the pitcher must be turned so that the arrow points to the locked padlock. Complete assembly is very simple, and the locks appear on both sides of the safety base so that you can have the handle on the pitcher available for either a right or left handed person.
When items such as smoothies are being prepared, the plastic filler cap can be removed from the rubber lid and the stir stick can be inserted to help move the liquid around inside. This will only assist you if the jar is filled more than three quarters of the way to the top since it is not very long, so if you are making a one-person eight-ounce smoothie, this is useless. This stir stick does serve a second purpose and the doubles as a two-ounce measuring scoop.
The only thing I find inconvenient is that after your beverage is perfectly blended into smoothie consistency, it can be tricky to get it into your glass. Our prior smoothie maker had a spigot with a lever which would release the contents into your glass. The Hamilton Beach Smoothies & More has no spigot, but it does have a handle on the side of the glass jar for easy pouring. There is a small spout on the rim, but the plastic cover must be removed to allow the liquid out, so that you chance dripping the liquid on the counter when removing it for pouring. Additionally, since it is made of glass, when it is full, it can be heavy to hold when pouring.
The fact that this is glass makes this more desirable than our last smoothie maker since that one was plastic. The glass keeps the temperature of the contents cooler, so when making a shake or smoothie, it stays at the proper temperature and consistency for a longer period of time.
The instruction booklet gives a number of hints and tips for using this Hamilton Beach Smoothies & More appliance. To crush ice, first fill the jar half full with ice and add two cups of ice before pressing the Ice Breaker button until the desired consistency is attained. The water can then be drained off. When making a pitcher of drinks, we simply place the syrups, juices and/or alcohol into the jar before adding the ice and crushing it. Make sure that you do have some type of liquid in the jar before crushing ice or damage to the machinery or yourself could result.
As I already have a separate blender, which has not been used in months, I have not yet had a reason to use this appliance for anything other than making smoothies, shakes or other beverages. "Blending Techniques" for making such items as your own cookie or bread crumbs, chopping nuts, chopping vegetables, grinding coffee beans, grating cheese and making pancake or waffle batter.
It should be noted that this appliance will not make whipped cream, but a spoonable topping can be made. Also, you should not use this to mash potatoes, mix stiff dough, whip egg whites, grind raw meat or extract fruits or vegetables with this appliance as it is not made to perform those tasks.
If you are in the mood for a smoothie, but do not know what you need to make one, there are a number of smoothie recipes (even some alcoholic ones) listed in the instruction booklet, along with recipes for making an omelet, hummus and chocolate cream mousse. Additional recipes can be found at www.hamiltonbeach.com.
The instructions indicate that the blades, safety base, gasket and lid should not be washed in a dishwasher, but I have done so on numerous occasions and they do not appear to have been harmed. The pieces still screw together tightly and the lid fits on as it always has. The glass jar can and has been placed in the dishwasher as well with no problems.
Overall, I am satisfied with the Hamilton Beach Smoothies & More blender, though my husband is not quite as happy as I am with it. I like the ice-crushing ability and the consistency of the smoothies that it can make, while my husband would still like to get a smoothie maker with a spigot since we often use this type of appliance at parties and he is concerned that the glass jar will break with different people picking it up. If you are short on space and want a combination smoothie maker and blender, then this is the product for you. If you are in the market for a basic smoothie maker, then you should probably look elsewhere.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 42.99
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2010 Shopping.com, Inc.