Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Hello there fellow cooks,
After five good years the KitchenAid food processor is ready to retire.
I'm thinking of replacing it with either a Blendtec or a Vitamix and wanted to get some feedback on which is better.

I'll be using this to:
1) Juicing. (A mini sort of reboot)
2) Blending. (Duh...)
3) Grinding.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences and choices.

I'm very interested in the response! I am also in the market for a high-power kitchen tool. Perhaps to make bananas easier to blend into ice cream??

I think you will find that they both are excellent quality and similarly priced. I ended up going with the Vitamix, which I use daily for smoothies and blending sauces. The only annoying thing is that it doesn't fit below normal cabinets. Not a big deal for me, but I know a lot of people complain about it

is it terribly loud, invictus? i can't even use my blender because i'm afraid it disturbs my neighbors/is causing me permanent hearing loss.

i wish i were exaggerating.

Mine is really loud, so I try to not use it before 7:00 am or after 9:00 pm. The one positive is that (because it's so powerful) you only have it on for a few seconds.

I've heard that people have lessened the noise by putting a mouse pad underneath. I have a Vitamix and I'm really happy with it.

I did the same thing - looking into the Blendtec/Vitamix thing for weeeeeeks, In the end, it seemed the differences/quality was really just a matter of personal preference. Vitamix is all manual controls, whereas Blendtec is all pre-programmed buttons. And the Vitamix has a separate dry jug you need to grind things (most people say you don't need it, however), but the Blendtec is all done in the one jug. I eventually decided a Vitamix was more to my taste.

it's pretty loud, but apparently the blendtec is louder. (dsharp88 recorded an episode for veganreview if you were curious.) veganreview.wordpress.com

I haven't used a Vitamix, but we use a Blendtec at work and I can share the downsides.
-can't run it unattended or the lid will get kicked off and splatter the wall.
-so loud you can't hear customers over the racket.
-the blade is getting noticeably dull over 6 months with only a few uses a day.

It has blended everything we've thrown in it including fibrous cilantro & dry flax seeds, but it has to be run for more cycles as time goes on.

I went through 4 or 5 blenders in a matter of months before we decided to invest in the VitaMix. I've had it now for 4 years and it still works brilliantly.

I know DSharp posted a review of both (maybe on the old forums?) and felt that the VitaMix was better.

Like the person above it depends if you're someone who likes to do things manually with switches and knobs or if you like it done automatically and have presets and buttons. I'm the former so I got a Vitamix and I love it! That said, it's no substitute for a food processor. I have one of those too as they're really for separate types of things.

I have a Waring Nublend that I use at least once a day every day for a few years. Here is a link to the manufacturer's website http://www.waringcommercialproducts.com/catalog.php?pcID=84_96&products_id=285

Its around 70 dollars (us) and its really nice because you can order replacement parts. It has the square vessel so it blends really nicely and quick and it comes apart to clean. The only negatives I can think of is that is loud and the container is plastic. But I'm not sure any blender is really quiet. LOL I grind almonds for milk and they pass right though a metal sieve.

I've had a Blenctec for about a year and I couldn't be happier with it. I use it anywhere from 2-4 times per day. It is noisy, but that doesn't bother me too much. I compared the two when I bought mine and I think they are both excellent blenders. I agree that it is probably a matter of personal preference. I like the preset buttons because I don't really want to stand there turning a knob to different speeds. Of course, you can turn it on and manually adjust the speed if you want to. It's just that for the most common types of things people blend, there are preset buttons. I also like that you can use one container for wet or dry blending, whereas you have a separate container (which costs extra) for the dry blending with the Vitamix. The Blendtec also seems to be more compact. It does fit under my cabinets. I bought mine at Costco and got a 7 year warranty which is the same as the Vitamix warranty. Otherwise I think it is only a 3 year warranty.

Slightly hijacking this thread, can anyone tell me if all the Vitamixes have plastic pitchers? The one I saw at Bed Bath & Beyond was plastic and I was kind of disappointed since glass is so much easier to clean. And are Blendtecs plastic or glass?

My vitamix pitcher is plastic, though I have no trouble cleaning it

I am on team Blendtec. I use mine every day, and they make killer smoothies loaded with kale, nice and creamy! I have no problems with my Blendtec and I have used it at least 1,000 cycles (I've turned it on 1,000 times, essentially. sexy) It makes wonderful cashew-based everything and no need to soak. I prefer it over the Vitamix because you don't need separate carafes to blend things, no need to poke and prod things - it blends on its own, it's got a good mill for grains and seeds, I've made killer ice cream in there before, it's cheaper, efficient pre-programmed settings or you can run it on things based on power. The recipe book sucks and I hear the Vitamix's is better. I know I'm the minority on this topic, but I am all about Blendtecs.

I have both and prefer to use the Blendtec. Just seems easier to me. I use it constantly and have had no problems. Unfortunately it is plastic and I would prefer glass. The vitamix I have is very old and is the stainless steel one. They are probably much better now days. I think because of the expense I might try other methods next time. Not sure I would buy either one.

we use a vitamix at work, and it gets a LOT of use. it's great. it is quite loud but we have the sound-reducing cover, which really really helps, surprisingly. i'm not sure how much extra it costs but i think it's a great idea if you're going all the way and getting one of these super blenders.

How good are these machines at processing food? For example, making hummus or a salad dressing or something. That's mostly what I use my food processor for and it's on its last legs so I was wondering if I should just get either a Vitamix or a Blendtec to replace both my crappy blender and my dying food processor.

Good for salad dressing, not for hummus

Thanks! Sounds like I will still need a food processor.

I always use my food processor for hummus instead of the blendtec.

I use my Vitamix for hummus all the time and it works great. I just use the tamper to get it moving and it makes super smooth hummus. My vote is for the Vitamix!

I think it is much easier to get the hummus out of the food processor. But yes the vitamix or blendtec would work.

Yeah, it's just easier for me, especially making smaller batches.