A good blender should make a great soup meal or smoothie. It shouldn't leave coagulated lumps or unblended bits in the mixture after a fair bit of blitzing - your food and drink will have a consistent texture and it'll be velvety smooth. Staying on top of cleaning your blender is vital if you want it to last as long as possible and if you want to avoid any nasty odors building up. You can place many blending jugs inside the dishwasher, but you can also clean them by adding warm water and dish soap to the blending jug, putting the lid on, and blending up the soapy solution. The most common sign it’s time to replace your blender is that it stops working. You may also notice that your blender is slowing down, taking longer to blend or food is not coming out with as smoothly as they used to. If you bring it in for a repair and are quoted a price that’s more than 50% of the cost of a new unit, you’re better off buying a replacement. The Magic Bullet Blender MBR-1101 is a great option if you're looking for a small, inexpensive blender. It's lighter and more compact than the Ninja Fit, so it's worth considering if you don't have much space in your kitchen. Despite the lower price, it makes smooth blends with fibrous ingredients, so it can make fantastic smoothies and shakes with ingredients like kale. It takes about the same amount of time as the Fit, and you don't need to hold the jar to blend, so making a smoothie is a more convenient process overall. Personal/Smoothie blenders are perfect for fruit smoothies, milkshakes and powdered drinks. The mixing container doubles as a travel jar, so they're excellent for athletes and commuters alike. They're also smaller (and less expensive) than conventional and premium blenders.

As with similar smoothie-maker style blenders, it's not suited to making condiments like mayonnaise, as there's no way to add ingredients while the blades are spinning to ensure they emulsify together. It was also one of the noisiest blenders we've tested too. Functions: How many speed settings? On top of blending, are there any other functions, such as pulse, crushing ice etc? Any pre-set functions to make things such as soups and smoothies? Auto-clean? Whether you opt for a personal blender or a traditional jug blender, you shouldn't need to compromise on quality of blending, as long as you choose a good model. Below, we explain the pros and cons of each type to help you to decide which is best for you. Mini blenders For all the pros and cons of these appliances, head to our full feature on Blenders vs. juicers: what’s the difference? How do I clean a blender? Warranties on blenders range anywhere from one to 10 years, and the most expensive machines cover at least five years. When you buy a new blender, pass on an extended warranty, it's unlikely it will cost less than the expense of any lifetime repairs. On average they’ll last about seven years.

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If you don’t want to overspend when shopping for a blender, consider what you need, rather than want, before you start browsing. Premium features, such as smart connectivity and LED displays are certainly impressive, but might not be necessary. It helps if you have a budget in mind as well. In doing this, you can avoid overspending. Is a high end blender worth it? If you're tight on space on your kitchen countertop, this smoothie maker and food processor in one is a great buy. Compact, and simple to use, the Nutribullet Magic Bullet Kitchen Express comes with two 0.5-quart / 0.47-liter single-serve cups for blending smoothies and a 0.9-quart / 830ml food processor bowl so that you can grate, chop, and slice food too, as long as it's in small quantities. However, there’s no way to add liquid during blending, so you can’t use it to emulsify ingredients, such as when making mayonnaise. In this case, we recommend the Breville the Super Q, as it comes with a pitcher so you can add liquid during blending. It’s also powerful enough to crush ice and pulverize nuts and come with a travel cup for smoothies - although you will need to decant the drink from the jug into the cup. Blenders vs juicers It depends on what you want a blender for. Deciding on what type of blender you need is a good place to start—we have a guide for that purpose here. Some important considerations include whether you usually blend single or multiple servings, if you make a variety of recipes or mostly blend smoothies and other drinks, and whether or not you want to blend hot ingredients. It should crush ice if it's been designed to do so. If it's ice-crushing compatible, it'll turn cubes into a fine snow.

All blenders make some noise, but the roar of a super loud blender can make it much less appealing to use. The Wolf Gourmet Pro-Performance is quieter than the quietest Vitamix blender we've tested (the Vitamix A3500), so it's a great option if the noise level is a priority. It's not as well-built and produces worse results when crushing ice or making nut butter. Still, overall, it offers a versatile performance. It's fantastic at processing fibrous ingredients like kale, broccoli, and fruit for recipes like smoothies, soups, and sauces. Insulated containers Some models come with insulated drinks containers designed to keep soups warm - and smoothies cool - on the go. A handy extra, but they are usually found on more expensive models only. If you want professional-style smoothies, Breville the Super Q is the option for you (also known as Sage the Super Q in the UK). This powerhouse blender wouldn't look out of place in a professional kitchen. It's also got a personal blending cup with a travel lid to make smoothies for when you're on the go. These have a larger blending jug with a handle and removable lid, although some allow you to unscrew the base for easier cleaning. They are larger than personal blenders - usually around 1.7l capacity compared to around 600ml - so are a better choice if you want to blend large batches of smoothies and soups to feed a family. They tend to take up more worktop space, but often have dedicated blending programs for different tasks such as pureeing, ice-crushing, and smoothie-making.Speed settings Typically, the more speed settings your blender has, the more flexibility you'll get over what you can make. If you want to make a range of purées, ranging from nut butters and mayonnaise to sauces and soups, look for one with a higher number of speed settings.

Speeds: The more speed settings available, the more user control a blender offers. Premium blenders may also offer preprogrammed options for tasks like smoothies, crushing ice, and pureeing that take the guesswork out of blending. Make sure you take advantage of these settings, otherwise you're making one of the 7 blender mistakes to avoid at all costs. Dishwasher-safe parts Washing up can be laborious, so look for a blender where the parts are dishwasher-safe. It's handy if the blade is removable, so it can be separated from the jug and thoroughly cleaned.

The verdict: Hand blenders

Of course, if you’re only planning to blend easier ingredients, such as soft fruit smoothies, you won’t need as powerful or as sizable a blender — a personal blender may be more appropriate — but, if you want to crush ice or pulverize seeds, you’re going to need something more substantial.