Customer Reviews

KitchenAid KSB5 5-Speed Blender, Empire Red

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Let me start by saying that we have had a KitchenAid blender since 1998; it was good but not great. With this updated version of the KSB5, KitchenAid has made improvements galore!
1. the lid: completely different and much improved: there are no longer 2 add-in ingredients openings & caps with tiny little impossible-to-clean crevices and no more rubber sealer to clean (and tear or rot over time)
2. the buttons: easier to push - there is a definite click when you push them instead of having to mash and mash like on the old buttons; but it still features KitchenAid's easy clean touch pad
3. the pitcher: much nicer, let's just say different, with a different heft and weight to it, but especially with the added convenience of a pouring spout (missing from the previous incarnation)
4. color: we happen to have purchased the Empire Red on a whim (a departure from my all-white countertop appliance theme) and love it: the shade is not too orange and very vibrant
**but most importantly, the best for last**
5. the motor & blades: SUCH an improvement! the kind of motor you expect from KitchenAid. First, it is quieter than my last KSB5, we noticed that immediately. But even more importantly, it really does liquefy on the liquefy speed and boy does it accomplish that feat quickly: we love smoothies for breakfast made from frozen friuts. With the previous model, we would have to turn it on, wobble it around, go find something else to occupy a few minutes time while blending, come back, stir it up, blend some more & the thing STILL would leave large chunks of frozen fruit in the bottom of the blender. Not anymore! Not only do our smoothies come out smooth, but it takes only about 20 seconds! That's what I call a blender! This improvement not only comes from the motor but also from the redesigned blades. Before, two prongs pointed up and two pointed down, but now all four blades are set at different angles to ensure that every last bit is blended smoothly. NO MORE CHUNKS...

So to sum up, KitchenAid has finally designed a blender worthy of its name (we also have KitchenAid's hand mixer, stand mixer, and food processor, so we consider ourselves authorities on the subject)...

I received my blender and that very night made Banana Blueberry smoothies. I've tried to make smoothies with my Hamilton Beach Blender for over 2 years and each time I have lumps of ice or the protein powder doesn't fully blend and leaves a chalky taste. Well this blender is tops!!!! It crushed the ice very well and blended all of my ingrediants with ease. The smoothie lived up to it's name, it was smooth and free of any chunks of ice and or fruit. I did a lot of research on blenders this past 7 months and all the reviews on Kitchenaid seemed to boast of a high quality machine with few problems. It's a little extra money, but it's well worth it.

Received the blender mid-Feb, first used it mid-March to make hummus. No problem. Tried to make vichyssoise mid-April but the machine started to smoke -- creating a haze in my kitchen not to mention the fact that it smelled awful! -- when I simply tried to puree the cooked and cooled leek-potato mixture. I was dismayed, remembering the reviews I had read here of similar problems but counting on the mostly good comments, and recommendation of a friend. The first time I called Kitchen Aid's hotline to take advantage of the "no hassle full replacement warranty" I was on hold for about 20 minutes. When an operator did answer my call, she was snippy and wanted to imply that I had done something wrong thereby voiding the warranty. However, I had neglected to bring the serial # to work with me from where I was placing the call so she couldn't complete the transaction. When I called the next day, I was on hold for no more than five minutes and the operator asked no questions. My replacement model came within two days and so far, so good (it's been a little more than a month). However, I think I will be holding my breath whenever I use it. In addition, as other reviewers have noted, the machine seems incapable of absolutely grinding all the ice so I am left with ice pebbles in my smoothies and frozen drinks which is a disappointment. I regret having tossed my flea market-purchased circa '50's Osterizer during my spring cleaning when I replaced several small kitchen appliances. It was invincible but not as easy to clean or as sturdily grounded as this Kitchen Aid. For these reasons, and the nice customer service rep, I'm giving the Kitchen Aid a fourth star. Would have been five if the first unit hadn't conked out during a simple exercise, and only three if that first, nasty customer service rep had not honored the warranty.

It has taken three blenders to figure out a system that works (maybe). My first blender was returned with a terrible noise in the blade assembly. The second was quiet as a dream but gradually developed the grating noise as well. Warranty replacement was easy but took a long time to receive the new unit. Upon working with both the old unit and the new one, I determined that the noise varies with each assembly. Sometimes works like a dream, sometimes unearthly noise. It seems to be a design flaw in the jar base. Noise can vary by placement on the base. FRUSTRATION. When it works it's great but maybe not worth the hassle. Hard to believe three different blenders would have the same issue.

If you want an ice crusher - this is it. It can crush ice without any liquid at any speed. However, if you want a smooth texture, this will not do the job. I mainly use blenders for smoothies and to puree soup. Because of the blunt blade and wide bottom - it will not emulsify no matter how long you run it. When I made my smoothie, I ran it longer to see if it would become a creamy consistency (like I would get from my other blender) but it just made the ingredients warm. Another problem is that it doensn't handle single portions well. It splashes all over the jar making it impossible to add ingredients without getting it in your hair and making it necessary to scrape the sides. I returned it and bought a Hamilton Beach MasterBlender for $20 (Bed & Bath) and it's fantastic. No ice chunks, creamy smoothies and silk-like soups.

Same as you've already read, this blender leaves large food chunks at the bottom of the jar, very rarely truly blending anything. I called Kitchenaid's tech support, they advised me to start with a slow blend speed, and then progressively move up to the faster speeds. This works somewhat, but frozen strawberries & bananas never fully blend. The motor is stronger than cheapo blenders, but much slower. On the plus side, the exterior cleans well, and I've never experienced the bottom falling out as others have (was the base simply unscrewed from the jar?). Choose another brand or a cheapo.

I pretty much agree with ILikeAmazon's review below. This blender looks nice, sounds quiet and doesn't dance all over the kitchen when being used. The lid stays put and it's easy to clean. It also matches all my other small Kitchen Aid appliances. Like others though, I make a smoothie every morning and I've had to learn how to use this blender for that. First, it's helpful to let any frozen items sit for awhile in the blender (I load it as soon as I get water on for my coffee so it can sit until the last thing I do before leaving the house).

If pushed for time, then I've found that putting the blender on pulse and constantly pulsing until the contents agitate on their own helps. The problem is that either the funnel shaped bottom and/or the blades being turned in several directions pushes the frozen mush above the funnel shaped bottom of the blender. Air enters the funnel shaped bottom and the mush calmly just sits above the blades. At this point, the blender can be stopped and the mush gently pushed back down into the funnel before restarting the blender.

Kitchen Aid products (and their customer service) are superior. This blender is a nice addition to my kitchen. As ILikeAmazon said: "There are always tradeoffs." I do hope however that they improve on the smoothie making capabilities of this powerful, attractive blender. Then it will be a five star appliance.

By the way: I like Amazon too!

Oh yeah, I loved my Kitchenaid blender for it's ice crushing talent. Then one day (horrors!)I used regular sized cubes (not the dainty quarter sized ones), the rubber coupler jammed and broke 3 of its teeth.
So, customer service tells me, the closest place that fixes these delicate little thingies is 280 miles away.
I want a Waring! But apparently they malfunction with normal cubes too....

After years of using cheap, department store blenders, we opted for this one. The REAL reason is because Wife wants red appliances in the kitchen, and you can't eaisly get red blenders. Anyway, I find it to be satisfactory. It feels well built, runs quiet, and performs okay. You have to use it a few times to get the right "feel" for chopping up fruit and ice. Something I never had to think about with the cheap units. Oh well, it's not bad, but for the price, (even with the rebate) I'd shop around a tad more.

I bought this blender 3 years ago paying full price at a department store. I had gone through my share of Hamilton Beach, Sunbeam, etc. (poor products in short) and wanted a really sturdy blender for occasional heavy duty use. Breaks ice at any speed the blurb accompanying the blender at the store said, and I picked it up, was impressed with the weight and the all-metal body and promptly bought it. This is something I'm going to keep for the next 20 years I thought, like grandma's trusty old Osterizer. I have been using the blender mostly to blend soups, hummus (garbanzo+tahini) and rice batter (for an Indian dish). I have noticed that the motor heats up fairly fast and tends also to heat the contents of the jar. You had to stop every few minutes and let it cool before continuing. This despite the exhaust fan at the bottom of the motor. Well finally,it stopped working yesterday. I turn it on and the lights go berserk and the motor does not turn. I took it apart and it looks like it came out of the factory just yesterday - so clean looking. Did not see any obvious signs of burnt components on the circuit board. I probably have used the blender some 50 times and it has cost me 2 dollars and change per use! Kitchenaid warranty covers only the first year and I might have ended up with a bad one against high odds but seeing that there is no easy way to fix this thing I am swearing off Kitchenaid from now on.
I just got the Osterizer Classic and it is superior to this blender in every way (& cheaper).