GH Institute

All Freestanding blenders

• 
  Review of Philips Robust HR2181 blender

  Features

  850W. Capacity: 1500ml maximum, 300ml minimum. Dishwasher safe glass goblet. Variable speed plus pulse function and automatic. Pouring lip. Wrap around cord storage. Non slip feet. Measuring cup. Double blade feature.

  Comments

  Good Points: Excellent results for all tests including blending soup, making mayonnaise, chopping breadcrumbs and nuts, blending milkshake and batter and crushing ice. Twin bladed design makes it very quick and efficient, foods are less likely to get trapped under the blades. Instructions are clear and concise. Glass goblet can be stored in the fridge door.

  Drawbacks: Noisy on full power. Hard to scrape food from under the blades when emptying the goblet.

  Rating: 90/100

  Price: £250

  Stockist: 0845 601 0354 - http://www.philips.co.uk

  GHI Test Report - September 2010

• 
  Review of Villaware freestanding blender

  Features

  Variable power plus pulse. 2 litre glass goblet. Pouring lip. Non slip feet. Dishwasher safe goblet. Blades unscrew for cleaning.

  Comments

  Good points: A well built, sturdy blender which performed well on all tests. Fast and efficient at blending soup, milkshake, and mayonnaise. Nuts chopped quickly using the pulse setting. It worked quickly to chop bread into breadcrumbs and crush ice evenly.  Dial control and press pulse control are very easy to use. The glass jug is solid and sturdy and removes easily from the base unit. 

  Drawbacks: It failed to produce a smooth batter, dry ingredients getting caught on the side of the goblet. Some nuts left powdered. It is difficult to scrape out food from under the blades. Noisy on full power. The instructions could be more comprehensive.

  Rating: 81/100

  Price: £149.99

  Stockist: http://www.villaware.co.uk

  GHI Test Report - June 2010

• 
  Review of Kenwood kMix BLX52 blender

  Features

  4 speed settings plus pulse. 1600ml glass goblet. Cord storage. Pouring lip. Non-slip feet. Dishwasher safe goblet. Blades unscrew from goblet for cleaning.

  Comments

  Good points: It pureed soup effortlessly and chopped and crushed nuts and ice evenly and quickly. Solid build and heavy jug makes it sturdy in use and free from vibration.

  Drawbacks: Instructions are rather brief and could include recommended times for basic functions and troubleshooting advice. The blade is quite awkward to screw on. Controls could be a little clearer.

  Rating: 91/100

  Price: £99.95

  Stockist: 02392 392333 - http://www.kenwood.co.uk

  GHI Test Report - November 2008

  
  

• 
  Review of KitchenAid Ultra Power blender

  Features

  5 pre-set speeds plus pulse. 1250ml glass goblet. Cord storage. Pouring lip. Non-slip feet. Dishwasher safe goblet, blade and collar. Blades partly unscrew from goblet for cleaning.

  Comments

  Good points: Full marks for blending soup and mayonnaise quickly and evenly. Nuts were chopped roughly rather than reduced to powder. Ice is best chopped using the pulse function. No stirring is needed when making breadcrumbs and it copes very well with two slices of bread at once. Instructions include a useful guide to which setting to use. Goblet lifts off easily and can be replaced in any position on the base.

  Drawbacks: Ice was too powdered on ice crush control. Some flour caught under blades when making batter.

  Rating: 85/100

  Price Range: £119 - 169

  Stockist: 0800 988 1266 - http://www.kitchenaid.co.uk

  GHI Test Report - November 2008

• 
  Review of Philips HR2094 Aluminium blender

  Features

  Multiple settings plus pulse, ice and turbo options. 1500ml glass goblet. Cord storage. Pouring lip. Non-slip feet. Fruit filter accessory. Dishwasher safe goblet, lid and stopper. Blades unscrew from goblet for cleaning.

  Comments

  GH GOOD DEAL. Good points: Good blending of soup, some powder when chopping nuts. Ice is crushed very finely using ice crush control. The control lights up when turned, brighter as the power increases. The goblet can fit to the base either on left or right. The highest setting is quite slow but as a result is less splashy.

  Drawbacks: Some powder when chopping nuts. Stirring is needed to push bread down when making breadcrumbs and some lumps remain at the bottom when blending milkshake.

  Rating: 81/100

  Price: £81

  Stockist: 0845 601 0354 - http://www.philips.co.uk

  GHI Test Report - November 2008

• 
  Review of Krups Series 7000 KB720 blender

  Features

  5 speed settings plus pulse and ice options. 1750ml glass goblet. Cord storage. Pouring lip. Non slip feet. Dishwasher safe goblet, lid and stopper. Blades unscrew from goblet for cleaning.

  Comments

  Good points: Nuts chopped well with only a little powder. It copes well with chunks of ice, leaving a good even, but still coarse, result. Speed starts slowly and increases for a less splashy start. The lift off goblet can be placed to left or right.  

  Drawbacks: Some powder gets trapped under the blades when chopping nuts. bread needs stirring to push it down to the blades. Unmixed flour caught at the bottom when blending batter. It is hard to tell when the ice crush and pulse controls are selected. Speed is quite slow on maximum setting.

  Rating: 80/100

  Price: £99.99

  Stockist: 0845 602 1454 - http://www.krups.co.uk

  GHI Test Report - November 2008

• 
  Review of Cuisinart Power blender

  Features

  2 speed settings plus pulse and ice options. 1500ml glass goblet. Pouring lip. Non-slip feet. Dishwasher safe goblet and collar. Blades unscrew from goblet for cleaning. Digital timer.

  Comments

  Good points:  Ice crush control works really well to produce an even but still course result. The display clearly counts up operating time.

  Drawbacks: Wide goblet means the blades take longer to find lumps when blending soup and milkshakes. Nuts are chopped to part powder which catches in the deep recess under the blades. Breadcrumbs get trapped under the blades and the bread has to be stirred to push it down to the blades.

  Rating: 80/100

  Price: £99

  Stockist: 0870 240 6902 - http://www.cuisinart.co.uk

  GHI Test Report - November 2008

• 
  Review of Morphy Richards Food Fusion blender

  Features

  4 speed settings plus pulse. 1500ml glass goblet. Pouring lip. Non-slip feet.

  Comments

  Good points:  Ice cubes are evenly chopped and still coarse. It is quick and efficient at making crumbs, no stirring needed and hardly any trapped under blades. The goblet can be placed in any position on base.

  Drawbacks: The slowest setting is too fast and ingredients splash out of the feed hole when making mayonnaise. Nuts are reduced to powder even on the pulse setting. Very noisy on maximum speed. Blades do not remove from goblet making it hard to clean under them.

  Rating: 73/100

  Price: £69.99

  Stockist: 0870 060 2614 - http://www.morphyrichards.co.uk

  GHI Test Report - November 2008

• 
  Review of Dualit DBL3 blender

  Features

  5 speed settings plus pulse. 1250ml glass goblet. Pouring lip. Non-slip feet. Dishwasher safe goblet, lid and stopper. Blades unscrew from goblet for cleaning

  Comments

  Good points: This model blends soup efficiently and mayonnaise blended well. Nuts chopped quickly on low pulse setting. It copes well with chopping two slices of bread.  Milkshake very smooth and light.

  Drawbacks: Splashy when blending mayonnaise. Chopped nuts are quite powdery. ice is left powdery with some lumps on top. Some stirring is needed when making breadcrumbs from sliced bread. The lid connects the power by slotting into a stand behind the goblet, this is time consuming to fit back on if you need to stir something halfway through.

  Rating: 74/100

  Price: £89.92

  Stockist: 01293 652500 - http://www.dualit.com

  GHI Test Report - November 2008

• 
  Review of Waring Waterfall blender

  Features

  2 speed settings. 1000ml glass goblet. Pouring lip. Non-slip feet

  Comments

  Good points: Quick and efficient at blending soup. It copes best with just one slice of bread when making breadcrumbs. Although the blades do not detach from the goblet, the flat base inside is easy to clean and nothing gets trapped.

  Drawbacks: The lower of the two speeds is still quite fast and as a result nuts are reduced to powder and ice is too fine and uneven in places. Bread gets trapped and needs stirring so the blades reach it. Flour gets trapped when making batter and the goblet needs scraping.

  Rating: 64/100

  Price: £149

  Stockist: 0870 060 4260 - http://www.waringproducts.com

  GHI Test Report - November 2008

• 
  Review of Russell Hobbs Marco Pierre White blender

  Features

  12 speed settings plus pulse. 1250ml glass goblet. Pouring lip. Non-slip feet. Blades unscrew from goblet for cleaning.

  Comments

  Good points: Quick to blend soup. Ice crush function reduced ice to powder. The goblet locks onto the base in one direction only. The blades unscrew from the goblet but we were unable to remove them from our sample.

  Drawbacks: The lid lifts slightly on maximum power if not held down. The lowest setting is too powerful for chopping so nuts become powder. Ice crush function reduces ice to powder. Bread needs stirring to push it down to the blades. There is little difference between the higher settings and the slow setting. The slow setting is still fast, making it splashy when making mayonnaise.

  Rating: 64/100

  Price: £49.99

  Stockist: 0845 658 9700 - http://www.russellhobbs.co.uk

  GHI Test Report - November 2008

• 
  Review of Russell Hobbs You are What You Eat 13598 blender

  Features

  600W. Capacity: 1.7 litre maximum. Glass goblet. 2 speeds plus pulse. Pouring lip. Cord storage. Tap. Stirrer.

  Comments

  The only model tested with a glass jug. Coped well on both hard and soft fruits. Crushed ice into small, even particles, but it was a little watery.

  Rating: 80/100

  Price: £44.99

  Stockist: 0845 658 9700 - http://www.saltoneurope.com

  GHI Test Report - January 2008