Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome Blender. Replaced my Vista-Mix., June 22, 2008
I have had a Vita-Max for almost 7 years now. While the Vita-Mix can't be beat power wise it has some very important weaknesses. First it is very expensive. I paid almost $600 for mine. Second, if you use protein poweder in it you have to not only rinse it immediately, you have to blend water in it to clean the protein powder grit out of it so that it doesn't destroy the blade assembly. I have went through three blade assemblies in the last 7 years. This with following their directions for blending water in it after using it. Third, the plastic (polycarbonate) containers crack at the bracing points. I have went through 8 containers in 7 Years.
I bought the Oster Fusion because I wanted a simple blender for blended drinks and the like and I didn't want to have to worry about destroying the blade assembly. I have had the Oster Fusion for nearly 4 months now and I still love it. It is powerful, easy to use, great blender container and wonderful rubber seal lid. I have made not only blended coffee drinks, smoothies, milk shakes, slurpies, but have also made salsa, apple sauce, wheat berry pancakes and more in it and it works wonderfully. I am especially impressed with the blenders ability to chop things like salsa and applesauce in to consistent size peices. Not even my Vita-Mix could do that.
The only reason I am giving it 4 stars and not 5 is because you can't reverse the blender yourself, reversing is only done in the two pre-programmed modes. I would like to have a rocker switch that I could move back and forth to reverse and then forward the blades myself. The preprogrammed cycles work great for me. If you drop in a whole tomato or something that can't get down in to the blades of the semi-funnel shaped blender container then it isn't going to be able to blend it. I am for peices that are 1 to 1-1/2-inches in size and I have never had a problem.
As for blending drinks with ice, the instructions say to put the liquid in first and then the ice or ice like stuff (frozen fruit, etc.) I have no issues with this not working. In fact here are two recipes for you.
Ice-Cream Free Strawberry Milk Shake
2 Cups of Frozen Strawberries, thawed for 30 minutes
1-1/2 cups of Milk
1/2 Cup of Half and Half or Whole Milk
4 Packets of Equal
1 Tablespoon of Lime Juice
Place all of the liquids in to the blender container and then add the frozen berries. You want to thaw the frozen berries for about 30 minutes so that they aren't rock hard but still frozen. Use the pre-programmed Frozen Drinks and Shakes mode. As test to see if the berries are frozen but soft enough I use a meat mallet on them. If they can be smashed without a lot of hard heavy pounding they are ready. The frozen berries provides the freezing component to make the shake. It is also best to use really nice ripe berries. We buy berries each year when they are at their peak, prep and freeze them ourselves.
Salsa
2 whole fresh tomatoes (garden fresh are best, but use the best you can get)
1 Jalapeno, seeded and stem removed
1 Small/Medium Can Whole Green Chilies, Drained
1 Can of Diced Tomatoes with Chilies
3 Tablespoons Lime Juice
1/4 Cup Cilantro
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt (use 1/2 as much or to taste for table salt)
1/4 Medium Red Onion, cut in to chunks
2 Cloves Garlic
Core the tomatoes and cut them in to 1 to 1-1/2-inch pieces and place them in the blender container. Seed and stem the jalapeno and cut in to 1/4's. Add the can of whole green chilies after you drain them. Use the Food Chop mode and then empty the blender container in to a large bowl. Add the canned tomatoes, cilantro, salt, lime juice, garlic and onion in to the blender container and use the Food Chop mode. Add this to the bowl, mix well and then taste. Adjust salt as needed. You can also add some black pepper if you wish.
As for other reviews, people need to understand that nothing made by man or women is perfect. You will (more often now-a-days then in times past) get a lemon, this is the price we pay for being able to get technology at rock bottom prices. Even at $500 plus the Vita-Mix isn't perfect either. Sometimes I think people either don't follow directions or have very un-real expectations. I love my Oster Fusion and I am not sorry I bought it.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
pulverizes everything, but loud enough to wake the dead, May 26, 2008
I definitely recommend this blender. I use my Oster Fusion blender at least three or four times a week to make fruit yogurt smoothies, and it absolutely pulverizes frozen fruit and ice. On a handful of occasions I've had to run it twice based on the ingredients or whether they got stuck in the wrong spot, but this is the first blender I've ever had that didn't leave ANY chunks of ice.
I also love that, if you thoroughly rinse the jar and blade assembly right away after using it, you don't need to wash it (this assumes you're not blending something that's oily). The blades are VERY sharp and will slice you and your sponge if you're not careful, so this makes clean-up safer. I dump the whole thing in the dishwasher as well, but if you do, you need to get it out right away and get the water out of the bottom to prevent rust.
I also use it to turn cookies into fine crumbs for baking, and if you only put about 10 or so cookies in at a time, it does a great job on them, just a few chunks that go back in with the next batch (or get eaten ;-)). It does a better job crumbling cookies than my mini food processor.
The only drawback, and it's a mild one that's worth the trade-off, given its performance, is that this thing is truly loud enough to wake the dead. You can't hear the TV, the phone, anyone speaking, etc. when it's running (at least on the frozen drink mode). When I run it, though, the kids come running to watch my smoothies dance...it's so powerful, it literally flings the ingredients up the jar and makes for quite a show. I've had blenders where you can leave the lid off, but on this one, I make sure it's on properly!
I do not recommend, however, the "blend and go" blender cup that is sold separately. It takes several attempts to get everything to blend the ingredients because it's so much smaller and the ice gets stuck. The blender is so powerful you have to hold it down while using the travel cup, because the base starts moving without the weight holding it down! I just use the regular jar and pour the smoothie into a travel mug if I'm taking it with me.
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THANK GOD THEY REPLACED THE IN2ITIVE BLENDER FIASCO!, July 12, 2007
I had purchased an In2itive blender from Oster about 4 years ago and had to replace it within a few weeks. The second one I received from their customer service was an upgraded model with an LCD display. I used it regularly for 4 years and had difficulty with even the replacement one. The gasket on the blade assembly kept leaking and it was the noisiest blender ever! At the end of it's life, the LCD display was rather moody and didn't work half the time. Luckily, I had memorized which buttons to push or I would have been SOL.
I wasn't turned off to Oster products, however, due to their good natured help over the phone and sending me a replacement for my old blender - I decided to stay a loyal customer, if their new products were well rated. I did some research on-line and found the new Oster Fusion to have higher ratings than other higher priced competitors...sighting similar results at a fraction of the price. I had to drive several miles to get one, as several stores around my area were sold out. I have used it everyday since then to make frozen drinks and protein shakes and am very satisfied so far. I even got excited and purchased extra gaskets, which don't leak at all on this newer model and a pretty nifty Oster "milkshake" attachment blade that whips up a mean protein shake.
The controls are much easier to use on this Fusion model, and the carafe is much easier to clean made of real glass, not plastic which tends to get scratched and opaque. The noise level is still loud, but greatly improved over it's predacessor. So, my final recomendation is to try one out. Once you get used to the controls, it's a breeze, and produces consistantly good results.
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