EUR188,16
Braun PowerBlend 9
1600 W
Smoothies, baby porridge, soup: Stiftung Warentest tests stand mixers
14/11/2024
Translation: machine translated
Smoothie maker, classic blender or high-performance blender - which should it be? Stiftung Warentest wanted to find out and put them all in the same pot. The results show that some small blenders don't have to hide behind the big ones.
For the big blender test, Stiftung Warentest didn't (just) compare apples and pears, but pureed them. Sixteen appliances had to show what they can do in this respect: five smoothie makers, eight classic blenders and three high-performance blenders.
In the Mix(er)
In the test, all blenders not only had to prepare fruit and vegetable smoothies, but also cold vegetable soup, a drink with frozen fruit and mayonnaise. The preparation of baby porridge was only tested with stand mixers and high-performance mixers. According to Stiftung Warentest, pieces of cooked vegetables or meat quickly became wedged in the narrow cups of the smoothie makers.
The durability of the appliances was tested in the endurance test. To do this, the experts ran the blenders up to 750 times to simulate operation over ten years. Other test criteria included handling, safety and volume.
Test winner
The high-performance blender from Braun is the best blender tested. It is durable and manages a two-litre blend in one go, according to Stiftung Warentest.
The best smoothie maker comes from Philips, with Tefal and WMF sharing the top spot in the classic stand mixer category. Like the overall winner from Braun, they receive the quality rating "Good".
The smoothie maker from WMF also finishes the test with a "good", as do the two other high-performance blenders from Vitamix and Bosch. [/dootTranslate
Trip hazard endurance test
The biggest differences in quality were found by Stiftung Warentest in the classic blenders. In addition to the two "good" test winners, there are also three appliances that scored a "poor". The blenders from Smeg, Rommelsbacher and Severin all performed well in the preparation tests, but failed in the endurance test.
The smoothie maker from Nutribullet also failed the endurance test. The fact that it still got away with the quality rating "sufficient" is thanks to the best test score of all blenders in the preparations.
Much ado about puree
The fact that a blender noise makes noise is in the nature of things. However, there are clear differences in volume. Stiftung Warentest has sent the appliances deemed loudest and quietest by the experts to the sound laboratory. Both the loud Bosch blender (overall rating "sufficient") and the comparatively quiet Russell Hobbs (overall rating "satisfactory") were found to be audibly louder than a cordless vacuum cleaner, which, according to the consumer advice centre, also usually roars at around 80 decibels. "So they can all be noisy," writes Stiftung Warentest. And: "Fortunately, they only run for a short time."
Hot soup for you?
The name says it all for the three high-performance blenders tested. This is not only evidenced by the fact that they all completed the test with an overall rating of "good". They even deliver hot soup. According to Stiftung Warentest, the three blenders whirl their ingredients with such force that they (slightly) heat them up. The models from Braun and Bosch even have their own soup programme and heat the mixture to 76 degrees Celsius.
Which should be your favourite blender?
The smoothie maker for a quick drink, the classic blender as a practical all-rounder, the high-performance blender for larger quantities. Which blender is right for you depends on many factors: how often you blend, for what purpose and for how many people.
Stiftung Warentest therefore does not make a general recommendation. It merely refers to a compact alternative for the household: blenders. And that's exactly what I'm going to use to make pumpkin soup.
What kind of blender do you have at home? Are you happy with it? Write it in the comments.
Header image: Shutterstock / Pixel-Shot
I'm a full-blooded dad and husband, part-time nerd and chicken farmer, cat tamer and animal lover. I would like to know everything and yet I know nothing. I know even less, but I learn something new every day. What I am good at is dealing with words, spoken and written. And I get to prove that here.