Review of Villaware freestanding blender

GH Institute

Freestanding blenders

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

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Other products in Freestanding blenders

Review of Kenwood BL680 Series Blender

Features

2 speed settings plus pulse. 1.2 litre glass goblet. Pouring lip. Non-slip feet. Dishwasher safe goblet. Blades unscrew from goblet for cleaning.

Good points: Good blending of mayonnaise and soups. Very simple to use.

Drawbacks: Banana and bread became lodged under the blade so wasn’t processed. Some flour caught under blades when making batter.

Rating: 80/100

Price Range: £32.99

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

GHI Test Report - June 2012
Review of Dualit The Blender DB44

Features

4 speed settings plus pulse and auto. 2 litre 1600ml plastic goblet. Pouring lip. Non-slip feet. Pre-set ice crushing setting. Dishwasher safe goblet. Blades unscrew from goblet for cleaning.

Good points: Purees soup effortlessly, chops bread and crushes nuts and ice evenly and quickly. Controls are large and clear and auto pulse option is useful. Goblet is lightweight.

Drawbacks: Comprehensive instructions. Blades are quite high so food can fall beneath, so wasn’t processed.

Rating: 82/100

Price Range: £149

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

GHI Test Report - June 2012
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