Customer Reviews

KitchenAid KPCB348PNP Pro Line Chef's Blender with Polycarbonate Jar, Nickel Pearl

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have learned my lesson. KitchenAid products from now on. First, I tossed my old mixer for the KitchenAid Classic mixer, and immediately was sorry I had not spent the money years earlier. The difference in performance is astonishing.

I finally gave in and purchased the KitchenAid Pro Line Chef's Blender. Again, remorse over not spending the extra money years ago. Whereas my old blender (some 500 watts) would struggle to crush/chop ice and frozen bananas, etc., the Kitchenaid, with it very, very powerful motor, would do the chore in under a minute, with no hint of struggle. No need to stop the blender and 'push down' with my spatula to get the ingredients to the bottom. The KitchenAid simply gets the job done the first time.

The main reason I made the purchase: to make Frozen Bananan 'ice cream'. This is a dish introduced to me by a Raw Food person (they do not eat regular ice cream). Since I am a diabetic and always dieting, I was intrigued by this healthy alternative. The recipe:

slice up a couple of bananas, and freeze overnight.
Place frozen banana's in your blender or food processor.
Add a tablespoon or two of Raw Agave syrup (get at health food store or buy from Amazon).
Add teaspoon or two of vanilla extract.
Dash of salt, if desired (I do not, my wife does).

Blend until consistency of ice cream (in the KitchenAid, takes about 30 seconds). Enjoy. We actually tossed our 'fat-free sugar-free ice cream' after tasting this.

Add more Agave if you wish (it has a very low glycemic value).
I also like to add a couple of frozen strawberries to the bananas, or peaches, etc. My wife even made pure peach ice cream, using peaches instead of bananas in the recipe.

I do recommend the KitchenAid Pro Line Chef Blender.

UPDATED May 13, 2009: Over a year later, this KitchenAid blender is still going strong. I use it virtually every day. Not a hint of weakening of the motor.

My wife and I recently started using protein shakes as a breakfast meal replacement. We own a Bullet blender. To commit to our weight loss program, we've taken the Bullet blender from home to work.

For awhile we carried the blender with us, but I decided we just needed a seperate blender. Our cheap $30 blender did not blend the ice very well and made our drinks a bit frothy.

The professional blenders that seem to be used are the Vitamix blenders, but they come with a lofty price tag. I researched some models and found a lot of good reviews on this Kitchenaid.

I love this blender!! I actually find the one piece jar a bonus. We have kids so I use the bottle cleaner on this jar and it works great. It chops ice cubes like nothing and only takes a few seconds to blend our drinks.

The only negative I will say is, when using a chunky peanut butter, it doesn't quite blend down all the chunks. The Bullet blender does this better when using the small cup containers. The vortex action works quite nicely to blend small chunks. When using the Bullet blender with the regular jar container, it doesn't blend the peanut chunks any better.

The quality build of this blender makes me think it might last a lifetime.

Kitchenaid Pro Line Chef's Blender is the bomb! Powerful motor and vortex action make very short work of ice and frozen fruit-- without residual chunks. I have also added fresh whole fruits-- peeled mangoes and sectioned peeled oranges with excellent results. The thickest, smoothest smoothies in seconds. Clean up is super easy. This blender is a huge step up from my old blender-- it's more like the commercial Vita-mix I used to use when I worked at Starbucks, except those would sometimes leave ice chunks. Excellent product.

I will preface this review by saying that this is our second try at getting a new blender. The first blender we purchased from Amazon was the Waring PBB2 Professional Bar Blender. Do yourself a favor and avoid that blender; this one is far superior. Now, onto the review.

FUNCTIONAL DESIGN:

Every part of the functional design of this blender is excellent. The base is heavy duty, easy to use, easy to clean, and appears to be excellent quality.

The carafe and blade design is also excellent. The one-piece carafe design is well thought out. It provides for a powerful vortex when blending and is exceptionally easy to clean. Because the base of the carafe has a shield that sits down onto the base/motor of the unit. If you do happen to spill (which hasn't happened yet), the mess won't get into the motor. Pure genius!


POWER:

The power of this blender exceeded my expectations. The Waring Pro we had wouldn't crush/blend commercial ice (for example, in a single-serving margarita). This blender turns it into snow in short order. I haven't run into anything that this blender can't blend. Smoothies turn out exceptionally smooth. I can use whole flax seeds in my smoothies and they still turn out smooth, without any gritty texture.


DURABILITY:

I've only had this blender for a couple of weeks, but I can see this blender lasting as long as our other KitchenAid appliances (they're all still working perfectly after many years of use).


EASE OF CLEANING:

This blender is VERY easy to clean. The sealed one-piece carafe is simple to clean. I just blend some dish soap and hot water, give it a few wipes, and then rinse clean with hot water. If anything gets on the base, it wipes right off.


VALUE:

Value is relative, and this blender is relatively expensive, but I still believe it's a good value. It works so well that I don't mind paying $220 for it. I haven't found another blender with a design and performance this good for less. To me, that makes it a good value.


SUMMARY:

Overall, I can't rate this blender any less than five stars. It works perfectly and has intelligent design features that many other blender don't. If it lasts like our other KitchenAid appliances (which I expect it will), then I'll be happy with this blender for many years to come.

I bought this blender for a friend for his birthday. He raves about the performance and basically loves it. I was worried it would be too cumbersome in size, but it's really not. The cleanup is great, you fill it halfway with warm water and a drop of soap and blend it.

Over the past forty years, I've had several good household blenders (Osterizer, Waring, KitchenAid). These days I need a countertop blender for smoothies and occasional large batches of salad dressings; I use an immersion blender for soups. I've made a lot of smoothies over the years, particularly since my youngest child needed more than the usual amount of orthodonture and a couple of jaw surgeries. She is an athlete and I was always having to figure out how to get 4000 calories a day into her through a straw. This is an excellent blender and well worth the price (which is still several hundred dollars shy of a true restaurant blender). It is very easy to clean and comparatively quiet. It has three speeds and can reduce raw kale, with the addition of some liquid, to a smooth puree. I've had it for several months and can recommend it without reservation.

I have been trying to find a mixer that I can make smoothies with for years and now I finally found one. I make all types of smoothies and they turn out great. It cleans easily, works great, and is large enough for any recipe.
Every kitchen should have this mixer.

Much better than any I've tried - pulverizes ice, blends to perfection. Had the Magic Bullet and a good Oster, but NOTHING has compared to this. You will love the results.

We had originally bought one of the plastic smoothie makers but after a month, it stopped working. Instead of getting stuck again, we purchased the KitchenAid ProLine. I can see why KitchenAid is considered so highly. This blender is very, very powerful. The only time I seen it have any issue is when the ingredients are too cold and form a "ice mold" around the blades and nothing is pulled into the blades. If you have your liquids in first, then the heavy motor has no trouble blending any smoothie drink. Its only drawback is the noise, which I suppose goes hand in hand with the power. I have only seen blenders costing 2 to 3 times as much that do a better job. I highly recommend the KitchenAid if you are serious about your smoothies bt still do not want to have to spend an arm and a leg.

Around five months ago, I had to think twice before dropping this much money for "just a blender". I went ahead with the purchase, and I decided to test this device thoroughly before writing a review. After five months of fairly regular use (I prepare smoothies for almost every breakfast), I am happy to say that this workhorse of a blender is simply superb.

Granted, it is a bit loud, but this is a minor nuisance (if that). I love it: the craftsmanship is solid and there isn't a single leak/crack (unlike my previous blenders which will remain unnamed!)

This is a one-time purchase: you won't NEED to get another one!