sophy26's Full Review: Vitamix 5000 Variable-Speed Blender
I've been the proud, proud owner of a Vita Mix 5000 for a year now, and it continues to be my most prized possession (even the digital piano, which cost about the same, hasn't edged it out!).

As I read through the other reviews, I could relate to many of the sentiments. Yes, I too, once walked through a restaurant supply store and gasped, "$400 for a blender??? WHY??? Why would somebody do that?" And yet, we know not where life may lead us, and mine led me to the Vita-Mix demonstration at Costco. In my 28 years, I had never seen a Vita-Mix infomercial or known anyone who had one. And you know how Costco is--they suck you in which their great deals and high-quality merchandise, at Costco, something that you never knew you wanted becomes an indispensable necessity. And plus, it was the holidays. My buying resistance was seasonably low. As I watched the demonstration, my hopes were buoyed by the potential of this machine--the homemade foods (goodbye cans! goodbye boxes!), the fruits and vegetables, the soups, the ice creams, the honey roasted peanut butter. If only I could do all that, my life would improve by leaps and bounds. I think I even got a crush on my Vita-Mix demonstrator!!!

It was a very big decision to lay out that kind of cash (er, well, credit) for a personal indulgence. But I was a huge smoothie fan, and had been previously disappointed by a parade of blenders (the Krupps was great until it flew off its base and chipped the sink, the Back to Basics smoothie maker was great until the spigot snapped off, the Oster just spun and spun the chunks of ice--requiring frequent stop-and-stirs). I was ready to make my final decision--my final purchase.

I got the Vita-Mix, in its appealing brown cardboard box with a colorful picture glued on, home and set it on my counter (next to my new FoodSaver--it was a splurgacious week) to marvel at it. I like to keep my new purchases in their pristine condition for a few days, to avoid the finality of the purchase and build up excitement. Finally, I took the machine out of the box, and it lit up the kitchen with its inner glow! Oh, the counter has never been so classy. It's true that the machine is so tall that you can't have the container on the base underneath a cabinet. But that's OK. My base sits there, with its cord neatly wrapped around it, the container by its side with the rubber lid sitting jauntily askew atop it, and the tamper rests between them. A pineapple to the side completes this fantasy kitchen scene. People who value form over function may say that the Vita Mix 5000 is not visually appealing, but I look at it, and it radiates power and simplicity and I say it is beautiful!!!

It is so easy to use, and the results are almost always delicious. I've read some reviews that say you have to follow the recipes--that you can't just throw in anything and make a good smoothie, but I disagree. Here's a tip--the secret weapon for indestructible smoothies is soy milk. I don't know what that stuff has in it, but just a little dash of it gives every smoothie an amazing texture--it becomes thick and creamy rather than icy and clear. Yum!

I have learned a few things over this year.

They say to go ahead and include the pith of the orange (the white stuff) when making orange drinks. But no! When I tried this it was a bitter disaster. I believe that the pith is healthy, I WANT to drink the pith. But yuck!

Don't expect to put in a whole fruit and get the same kind of juice that you get from a juicer. I, personally, would not call the Vita-Mix a juicer. The product that you get from processing whole fruits and vegetables is great in its own right, but it is not juice. It's thicker, and the texture just does not substitute if what you really want is juice. I tried the carrot-pineapple drink, and it was good, but I still prefer carrot juice.

I really wanted to make peanut butter, but the recipe book gave a warning that if you run the motor for too long, it will make a high pitching whining sound. When you hear this sound, you should stop the machine or it is in danger of damage. Well, I didn't know if I was hearing that sound or not! I became so jittery when blending the peanuts--I was thinking, "Oh no--is THAT the sound? Should I stop it??" I think I might have been too scared to get good results. Another possibility is that I didn't use enough nuts. Apparently, you have to fill the vita-mix with at least two cups of nuts to get the proper circulation. I used less, and the machine just flung most of the media to the sides of the container, while a small amount whirred alarmingly in the center. I haven't tried again, because, how much peanut butter can one person eat!

I like my smoothies really thick, and this has given me some problems with the dispensing of the product. It doesn't want to pour out, and if I insist on tipping the container, I'll get a huge clump of smoothie splashing out all over the counter. So I end up spooning and scraping and shoving the smoothie into the cups, and it's really a time consuming process to deliver the drink!

It is also easy to make WAY too much smoothie. The only solution is to CALM DOWN when you're adding ingredients. Think about it in terms of unblended ingredients--would you really eat a whole banana, a whole orange, a half apple, a cup of juice, and a cup of ice at one time? That's a lot of food, and of course it's going to make a lot of smoothie. Don't feel like you need to fill up the container to make it worth your while.

Here's another great smoothie tip--substitute some wine (cheap fruity wines are my fave) for the juice, and you've got a tangy adult smoothie!

Clean up is a snap, although my container now has water spots all over it. Maybe I shouldn't let it air dry. UPDATE: The demonstrator at Costco (I still love to watch them!) told me that if you add in a capful of bleach when you're cleaning the machine, it will remove the spots and keep it shiny new! He said he does it every night, but once a month or so should be enough for normal users. Also, I saw one other reviewer mention how difficult it can be to get the rubber lid off if you have weak or small (or both) hands. This is true! Oh, the struggles I had before I watched the video and saw that tip about using the handle of spoon to pop it open. Why they don't say that in the instruction manual is beyond me!

I agree with the people who say that the Vita-Mix's version of ice cream really is just an extra thick smoothie. I think some recipes recommend that you put the finished product in the freezer to harden to a more authentic ice-cream texture...but I want my ice cream NOW! I did try one recipe using heavy cream instead of milk, and that turned out more like ice cream, but so much for the health benefits!

I love the binder of recipes that comes with the Vita-Mix. It's so classy, just like everything about it. Unfortunately, the recipes I try out are usually limited by the materials I have on hand, so I haven't done as much as I could.

I've tried soups, and I think they are souper! One thing that you've got to expect, though, is that you won't end up with a chunky soup. I've used the Vita-Mix to make a great base with the vegetables, and then transferred the base to the stovetop where I added chopped vegetables. I suppose you could also add some veggies at the very end of your cooking cycle, but as another reviewer said, only a clown would stand around waiting for a blender to cook their soup. Last year I was on a raw-food frenzy, but this winter I'm committed to trying out more soup recipes with my Vita-Mix.

Are passionate Vita-Mix owners part of a cult?? Well, no, but I do think that owning a vita-Mix is a status symbol, just like a fancy car or stereo system. It shows people where our values lie. We Vita-Mixers value good health, and quality, and the ultimate supremacy of the Kitchen Gadget to end all KGs!!! I think that if the Vita-Mix demonstration comes back to Costco, I'll go hang out there all day, eating the samples and encouraging dubious customers to take the plunge. "You won't be sorry," I'll say, "this is the best machine you'll ever own!"

I think I might buy one of the vintage machines on ebay (ooh--they call it jade green, but I call it avocado!) so I can become a Vita-Mix Collector, a Vita-Mix Enthusiast, a Vita-Mix Connoisseur, a Vita-Mix Archivist, a Vita-Mix Specialist, a Vita-Mix Expert...right now I'm merely a Vita-Mix user and a Vita-Mix fan.

Here are the benefits of the Vita-Mix as I see them: It is a high, high quality machine. You can't beat the manufacturing and the sturdiness and the simplicity. There is simply no other blender that can beat it. Of course, it costs ten times more than the average blender. It's definitely better, but is it ten times better? I don't know, but I do know that the very fact that you've spent so much money on it is a good incentive to use it frequently. The guilt is enough to spur you to eat healthily! The next time you pass by your Vita-Mix sitting on the counter, on your way to the Ho-Ho's or the Pringles, you'll say to yourself, "Gosh darnit, I paid $400 for this thing, and I better well use it!" It's sort of like the difference between taking an exercise class and buying an exercise video. There's more motivation.

The 7-year warranty is fantastic. I really like it when a manufacturer stands by their product. I mean, 90 day warranties are standard now. If a product can't work for 90 days, then yikes!

I saw that on ebay you can buy an OOP 2-Hour Cookbook Video. Cool! I think I'll buy it.

I have a question--I've noticed people talking about making "Orange Julius's" with their Vita-Mix. Is that just what they call smoothies, or do they have the secret ingredient? What is it?? And can anyone recommend a good Vita-Mix message board or group?

Vita-Mixers of the world, unite!

UPDATE! This winter I went to Cancun for an all-inclusive vacation. The nature of the all-inclusive alcoholic beverages was that they were blended (maybe to dilute the resort's alcohol output?). This is fine; they were delicious and semi-potent! But can you imagine? Can you imagine the poolside vacationers clamoring for free blended drinks? The line at the bars was constant. And what applianced graced each bar, reliably blending drink after drink after drink, day after day after day? Yes, it was a Vita-Mix! These machines were running literally NONSTOP. They were blending icy drinks one after the other, without a break in between! I tell you, a machine that can stand up to that kind of usage has got to be some kind of engineering miracle!

UPDATE! Try this smoothie: I saw the recipe online somewhere (Frederic Patenaude's newsletter, I think), and I thought it sounded interesting. But, as the ingredients sat in my Vita-Mix, I felt certain that I had made a horrible mistake, and that this could NEVER work out. The ingredients: Kiwi, Banana, Celery. I looked at the foods, sitting in there, and thought rather hopelessly, "Soy milk isn't going to help this out." So I added a little water and started mixing. Believe it or not, the result was delicious and amazing. It was unlike anything I'd ever tasted. The kiwi seeds gave this incredibly satisfying texture, and I had to take little sips, because the smoothie sort of made my tongue tingle. It was the most unique smoothie I'd ever tasted. So if you're tired of strawberry smoothies (tip: don't remove the green tops!), try this green smoothie and you might be surprised!

Recommended:
Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 369

[www99.epinions.com]

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"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."
—Thomas Jefferson

Very entertaining. I own a K-TEC Champ HP3, myself. I've been using it alot lately.

How thoroughly I enjoyed reading that! Very frank and amusing; I especially love the part about creating a little Vita-Mix under-cabinet vignette with the base, carafe, lid and fruits in an array--it's not just me!

Thanks for posting!

That story was great and I too love seeing the Vita_mix demos at health expos here in the UK and trying all the samples as though it was for the first time! I know there are people who prefer Blendtec but for me, it's Vita-Mix everytime.

I think there are advantages to both Vitamix and Blendtec. As I see it, the advantages of the Vitamix over Blendtec are:

* quieter
* better warranty (7 year vs. 3 year)
* variable speed control (for those who prefer)
* including a tamper
* more secure lid

The advantages of a Blendtec over Vitamix include

* more powerful (3 HP vs. 2)
* easier to clean (esp 3 quart carafe)
* easier to store under counter
* automatic speed control - one touch operation (for those who prefer)
* less expensive (I bought a HP3A with a 3 quart carafe for $369 from 2life.com & couldn't find a new Vitamix for under $400. Note: some have suggested buying reconditioned Vitamixes for a lower price. That option doesn't look attractive).

Overall, I went with the Blendtec. But I can understand why someone would prefer a Vitamix. Both are outstanding blenders.

Paul

great review loved reading it

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist