Heavy-Duty Blenders

Multifunction and heavy-duty blenders

The blenders discussed above are meant for home and occasional, not daily, use. Some pricier blenders offer more power and durability, and some can multitask -- making baby food, nut butters and bread dough.

Breville is an Australian-based appliances manufacturer and their heavy-duty blender, the 750-watt ikon Hemisphere LCD BBL600XL (*Est. $200), outscores cheaper blenders when it comes to crushing ice. In Popular Mechanics' tests of heavy-duty blenders, where testers subjected the ikon Hemisphere and two other blenders to crushing ice in ten seconds, making margaritas, chewing up whole pieces of fruit (apple, banana and orange) and – just for fun – grinding up huge candy jawbreakers, the Breville was the clear winner, making a "bar-worthy margarita" and devouring most of the fruit. The glass jug has a 54-ounce capacity.

User reviews for the Breville blender are mainly good. Most say it's worth the price, but a few consistent complaints emerge. Although its removable blade assembly is touted as an advantage, theoretically making it easier to clean, several people said it takes a lot of muscle to screw and unscrew the blade assembly. A few people had trouble with leaks -- a complaint that follows all blenders, regardless of cost.

KitchenAid makes a brushed-stainless blender, the Pro Line Blenders (*Est. $220), whose looks recall the Machine Age. It has a capacity of 48 ounces and a two-year warranty. The blender performs well in both professional and user reviews. Testers at Cook's Illustrated call the Pro Line a "solid all-around performer" with intuitive controls. More than two dozen owners posting to Amazon.com give this blender near-perfect scores, saying it looks great and works beautifully. Complaints tend to be minor and center on color choice (there is none) and size. The Pro Line has a one-piece design and cord wrap. The Pro Line's blades aren't removable, so you should clean this type of blender with a sponge attached to a long stick or a long-handled brush, or by whizzing water and a drop of dish soap in it for 30 seconds, then rinsing.

At the same price level, Waring offers the MegaMix HPB300 (*Est. $200). Built for professional bars, commercial kitchens and smoothie shops, the MegaMix's 1-hp motor is designed to run faster than other blenders to cut processing time. It has a 48-ounce polycarbonate container. Professional reviewers at Cook's Illustrated and another source disagree over the Waring MegaMix HPB300's performance. Cook's gives it perfect scores for all tasks except ice-crushing, where it performed poorly. The editors also note that it is very loud. The other source notes that although the blender did an average job of crushing ice, it failed a durability test. We also found about a dozen owner-written reviews for the Waring MegaMix at Amazon.com, where a few owners comment that the plastic jug doesn't hold up.

Two additional Waring models deserve a mention here: the Waring Commercial 7011S/7011G 2-Speed Blender (*Est. $225) and Waring 700G Single-Speed Blender (*Est. $140). These two commercial models are the highest-rated blenders at Epinions, and aren't available on Amazon.com (but are sold by several online restaurant supply stores). More than ten consumer reviews at Epinions all praise the Waring Commercial 7011S as a sturdy workhorse blender with solid performance on difficult tasks, giving it a perfect rating. Eight reviews at Epinions give the Waring 700G a five-star rating, praising its simplicity and durability. We couldn't find any professional reviews for these blenders, but they might be worth a look if you need a truly commercial blender.

The high-powered Vita-Mix 5200 (*Est. $450) is a staple of coffeehouses and juice bars. If you're looking to make multiple smoothies every day, grind your own peanut butter, whip up soft-serve ice cream, blend bread dough or even make fondue, you may want to consider the Vita-Mix, which comes with a seven-year warranty. The new Vita-Mix 5200 replaces the 5000 (which is the model you'll see referenced in reviews). The Vita-Mix 5200 has a BPA-free jar, a soft-grip handle and a new cooler-running motor, but is basically the same machine as the Vita-Mix 5000.

The major difference between the Vita-Mix and the average blender is its 1380-watt motor (that's 2 hp). If you plan to make large quantities of food, the Vita-Mix is a good choice: it has a 64-ounce jar and a built-in stirrer. The Vita-Mix has two major drawbacks, say reviewers: its high price tag and noisy operation. Is it worth over $400? While the Vita-Mix 5000 scored excellent ratings at all tasks in recent testing, one review says the price is only worthwhile if you need a single "do-it-all device." Most owners -- many of whom are health-conscious consumers who want to blend up full-fiber juice drinks -- say the Vita-Mix is worth the price, although some say that it's overpowered for more mundane tasks. Owners say that Vita-Mix stands behind its products and will even buy back worn-out machines so that owners can upgrade.

A competitor to the Vita-Mix is the Blendtec Total Blender (*Est. $400), but in one comparison review, the Blendtec is louder. We found a couple of other brief professional reviews of this blender. At Food & Wine magazine's blog, the editors praise the Blendtec and choose it for their Test Kitchen, saying they've gone through a dozen Hamilton Beach home blenders due to the amount of wear and tear on them. Wired magazine tested the Blendtec and found it "absurdly powerful." They weren't fans of its design, saying it seems "willfully ugly" as well. One advantage of the Total Blender is size: It is more compact and lighter than the oversized Vita-Mix. Bloggers and owner reviewers have varying preferences between these two multifunction blenders, but most users seem pleased with their machines. One unique feature of the Blendtec has nothing to do with the blender itself: its marketing. "Will It Blend?" videos showing the Blendtec chewing up everything from tennis balls to an iPhone pepper YouTube.com. The blender's manufacturer makes and distributes the videos, which have become virally popular.