Customer Reviews

KitchenAid KHB300OB Hand Blender, Onyx Black

5 star:		(85)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I learned a long time ago, if you go KitchenAid, you go for life. They make the highest quality, longest life products I have ever seen. This hand mixer is the third of its kind I've owned. I've had two of the Braun models and they died out after about a year of average use. I finally got the KitchenAid and it has been going strong for a few years now. I really like having the ability to go down to the bottom of a large pot, a full 8". Even though it is of substantial weight, it fits your hand like a glove. I found it far superior to the Braun, as a matter of fact, it doesn't even compare.

The plastic cup with lid makes an excellent accessory since you can mix and store without wasting time. The chopper is the most efficient I have seen, does a better job that a food processor. I especially like the multi-speed dial. It goes from 1 to 9 so it has the power you need, when you need it. Egg white or whip cream doesn't even challenge it, the whipping attachment makes sure of that. This baby handles like a pro. There are times when you don't need the big mixer and the immersion blender really fills in nicely. You won't be disappointed with the quality, power or its sleek look.

If you want to make smoothies, stick with your old fashioned standing bar blender; this blender is designed for people who cook. I use my hand blender every day, usually the little food processor attachment to chop steak for our baby or chop herbs from my garden. I also like to use that attachment to puree vegetables like broccoli so I can sneak them into food I know the baby will eat. The whisk attachment makes making waffles in the morning effortless; I just whip the egg whites in the included mixing container without even really being awake. The actual blender attachment is great for making sauces out of pan drippings and aromatic veggies, mashed potatoes, and fruit purees.

My favorite appliance!

My 30 year old GE blender/food processor combo broke a blade on the blender part and I could not get the part so I had to toss the blender container, leaving it as a stand-alone food processor.After debating on buying another countertop appliance, which probably would not be as durable as something made 30 years ago, I decided to give this blender a try. I've always liked KitchenAid products, and this one is no acception.

I was surprised at the power of this blender! The best part for me is it's easy to clean and takes up so little kitchen real estate. Making soups and hummus was a breeze. Whisking up egg whites was so much less painful than dragging out the mixmaster...just give yourself a big enough bowl or they will be all over the kitchen. The small food processing container is just the right size for 1 or 2 people. The variable speed lets me control how coarse my chopping is too. I did find that turning the entire apparatus upside down and sideways or shaking it helped in chopping everything uniformly...but it only took a couple of seconds.

I would have given this blender a solid 5 stars, but making smoothies with ice was not perfect, although once I got the technique down (moving the blender up and down and and around a lot to "attack" the ice) it was ok. It took more than a few seconds. If you drink a lot of ice blended drinks or smoothies, this job is done more efficiently on a good conventional blender. If you only will use it occasionally for this purpose, the KitchenAid will do fine. Maybe KitchenAid could come up with a special blade or container/blade combo for ice blending, I'm sure a lot of people would buy it, I know I would.

All in all, I don't regret my purchase at all. It's a versatile and compact appliance that will be with me for years to come.

but this immersion blender is AWESOME! I love to cook, but I am a real skeptic when it comes to kitchen gadgets (c'mon, do you really need a garlic peeler cluttering up your drawers when a good whack with a knife gets the peel right off??). I've had this blender about three weeks & love it- smoothies, chopping onions, soups, salad dressings - things that I used to avoid doing because it was too much of a pain to clean the food Cuisinart are now a snap & clean up is much simpler.

I just got my blender and used it for the first time. I made a soup of pureed vegetables. Previously I would have to pour some of the cooked veggies and broth into the countertop blender, then put that blended batch in a separate container while I added more from the main pot on the stove and so on. Generally slopping things around as I did it. Tonight, I cooked the veggies in the broth, then put the immersion blender in and whirred it all up right there in the pot. Perfect. Rinse the easily removeable blender attachment and viola! done! It was everything I wanted and more. It's powerful and quiet and beautiful.

the entire problem with this item is that is the Plastic gears in the motor housing and the chopping/blending attchements.. If you aren't VERY careful to get it totally seated, the gears in the housing strip at the first use and the entire unit becomes unusable. Initial use can be difficult wih any unit even when reading the nstructions. It would be nice if they would include new gears so they could be replaced..or better yet, make them of metal. $89.00 down the tube.;-(

I trust Kitchenaid's products completely, and this immersion blender is not an exception. I use this for blending soups and am pleased with the quiet motor and efficient results every time. The various attachments are handy and just about everything can be stored in the included Kitchenaid canvas storage bag.

I owned this for 14 months and loved it. I used it to make all types of things and it was really handy to own. When I purchased it I skipped over the lesser models planning to own this for a long time. I should have saved my money. One day as I am pureeing some soup it just stopped working. Nothing. Of course I was a few months past the warranty so I was stuck. Now I am buying a less expensive model with the plan of replacing it every so often.

To it's credit I cook a lot and I use my equipment a lot. Reading the reviews of people that love this and call it tough, I imagine they do not do as much as I do. Because of that they might get five years if they are lucky. In my book that is not good enough for this price tag.

So if you are an occasional cook and color and brand name matter buy this. Otherwise save the money.

Got this during a "Friday Sale" at Amazon for $59.99--tremendous price that I couldn't pass up! Have only used it several times but am very impressed with it. Very versatile, compact, sturdy. Gets great reviews in Cooks Illustrated. My kitchen is quickly becoming a "KitchenAid kitchen."

Sadly, the blender attachment does not stand the test of time. We have used this blender on an average of 5-6 times a month over the course of the year as it was purchased in November 2008 and given as a Christmas gift. Now the blender blade will no longer turn when attached to the motor. The part on the motor handle that grips the end of the blade and should hold on to it so that it turns has degraded. The food processor still works for now. It should be able to handle making smoothies or pureeing veggie soups for longer than one year, it's not as if we tried to mix concrete with it. Needless to say, we are extremely disappointed in KitchenAids quality on this product and cannot recommend it to anyone who wants a small appliance to last longer than 1 year.