Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2021
I have to say that my feelings about this set are somewhat mixed, but, having tried upwards of a dozen blenders this year, to include some very expensive ones which do nothing but smoothies, and theirs can not hold a candle to what the Ninja does. In fact, I di not think there was all that much difference in terms of what they produced, once you've got a machine with enough power, but Ninja proved me wrong. The smoothies I have made with this machine are so much better than any of the others that I have got to call it a five star product.
Where my mixed emotions come in is that it is quite large and requires a fair bit of storage space, which would be fine *IF* I could replace other things with it, and I am not even 100% sure that I can replace my blender (but, I very well may be able to do that)....but will need to talk to the folks at Ninja because I do not want to ruin it using it in a way it shouldn't be. I do not mean to be mysterious here. Having tried a number of high power belnders what I use them for, as often as anything else, is to grind grains. Many can not be used without liquids, and so I do need to inquire before I risk ruining it, because as a blender for things with liquids, it is one of the very best, and absolutely the best in this price range.
The large pitcher, which uses the extractor blade, also has limited utility beyond smoothies and purees, It does reduce even frozen fruit to the smoothest puree you have ever seen in seconds, as did the personal blender size. In fact I used a very basic recipe which was in the recipe booklet for another blender that actually choked on one of their demo recipes (and that too is a very popular and expensive blender.... costing double what this one does) but the Ninja did a much much better job of it.
Where I have an issue is that while it can chop and puree (fruits and vegetables) it can not slice, dice etc. It will not replace my Cuisinart food processor (which actually worried me, given what I have spent on specialty blades). In truth I use my Cuisinart as much for making cole slaw as I do for anything else, but I can not do that in the Ninja. I am sure I can use it for cranberry sauce, but not for slicing potato chips, or even shredding cheese... so the Cuisinart is staying.
The Ninja Kitchen center also has a dough blade, but I thought, there are other things I use my stand mixer for which it can't do, like whipped cream or merangue. I tried the dough blade today, just making a preferment, and I am actually not all that impressed with the dough blade, or it's ability to make dough. For one thing, the pitcher which uses the dough blade is too small to make a reasonable amount of dough. I had to deviate from my preferred recipe because I could not even mix up the right quantity of pre-ferment (which is less than half the bulk of the dough). It just would not fit. So, I made it with a cup of starter and a cup of flour, half a cup of water, just to check it out, and even with that small amount, It did not mix thoroughly, even when I added a bit more flour to get a better consistency, which meant running the dough program a second time. It still left flour at the bottom, and this was a loose, wet dough. It never balled up. I needed to scrap down the sides. Ultimately it was more work than doing it by hand, and my mixer would have made very fast work of it. (I do not, however, know which takes longer to clean). It also ran at a very high speed (much higher than I use in my stand mixer) and came out the consistency of hummus. That said, the stand mixer is staying too.
The Kitchen center uses different blades in different pitchers, each lighting up the programs it will run. There are 3 programs: smoothie, frozen and dough. It can also be used without the programs by pressing start or pulse, and the programs can be stopped by pressing the active light if you like the consistency at that stage. What I do not like about the way it operates is that you can not control the speed, like I can with both my mixer and most other high power blenders... However, it does do an excellent job of mixing/ blending, making purees, chopping, and i5t may well be that I can use it for grains. The extractor blade looks like it could demolish a brick, and it does turn frozen ingredients into a smooth puree in seconds. (The smoothies I made on program took 14 seconds).
All that said, for basic blender functions it does a better job than almost anything I have used and for a substantially lower cost than other blenders with anywhere near as much power. It has a 1200 watt motor, which is one of the most powerful, and they use it well. I do wish there was a blade holder though. Their blades are fiercer than most, and unlike most high power blenders, they are removable. When removed though, they are dangerous, more so than most because of the number of blades and angles. Ninja has a lot of safety features though, and there is something like a handle so they can be removed from the pitcher easily. The only safe way to store them is in the pitcher, with the dough blade (which is not actually a blade) out.
If you mostly use your blend3er for smoothies or margheritas, this is the one to get. It does the best job of any I have tried (and, no, I have not tried the iconic restaurant blender which costs like a small car ;)
In sum, this will be better for some people than others, depending on your needs. It is versatile, but is not a replacement for a stand mixer, or a food processor, or mixer attachments, or a mandoline. It requires a lot of counter or cabinet space without replacing other machines. What it does, it does very very well, and it does do more than most blenders.
Pros:
Very powerful
Lots of safety features
Very reasonably priced for such a powerful (1200 watt) and capable machine
Blades can easily be replaced if damaged or worn out, and the replacements are very reasonably priced.
Excellent build quality and materials.
Light up digital read, and 3 programs to take the guesswork out of it, as well as the ability to start and stop it manually (or use pulse).
Cons:
Not a replacement for either a stand mixer or food processor (can not whip or slice).
Requires a lot of counter and/ or cabinet space (see the first point. If it could replace one or both of those, this would be less of an issue).
I wish it had variable speeds, ideally with a dial
No self-cleaning function (but is top rack dishwasher safe)
Does not necessarily do some of the things other high power blenders do (grind grains into flour, cook soup with the heat of the motor). It may, in fact, do those things but they were not specifically mentioned and so I will call to ask, and then update my review when I know..
I do consider this a 5 star product. It makes better, smoother smoothies than any of a dozen other blenders I have tried, and it does so in seconds. It blows my very expensive Cuisinart out of the water, and at less than half the price.
I try to write honest, objective reviews, and do not give everything five stars. I rated the Ninja Kitchen center 5 stars because I believe it is not only the best in it's price range but also the safest and most efficient. There may be some things it can not do as well as other appliances, but neither can the other blenders. Most don't even try. When I took it out of the box I told my husband that all that was missing was a robotic lawnmower which charged on the motor base. With this kind of power, it could easily take care of my lawn ;)
