KitchenAid KSB5 5-Speed Blender, Cobalt Blue

I just purchased this blender, after becoming fed up with my old $20 blender. I do not regret this purchase at all! I bought it primarily for the ice crushing capability, and it didn't disappoint. I tossed all the fixings for a milkshake - including whole ice cubes - and within seconds, it was finished. It only left two tiny pebbles of ice that probably would have been taken care of had I not been antsy for my shake. I've also been pleased with other features; thick ingredients don't get trapped under the blades, the motor hasn't bogged down under cups of ingredients, the wide jar is convenient, it's quiet by blender standards, and the best feature is that it's *solid*. I'd have to have one hand on the lid and one hand on the base of my other blender when mixing, and it was so liberating to hit the "liquefy" button and let go. The touchpad is a breeze to clean, and the unit comes apart for washing very easily. The lid has to be the best I've ever seen on a blender -...Read more

Although I've owned three of these KitchenAid blenders in the past few years, I persist in thinking they are a good machine. The first one was a gift, and when the motor burned out after five months, I made one quick phone call and KitchenAid mailed me a new one, absolutely free, and included a postpaid box to return the defective one. The motor on the replacement unit burned out last month, after a couple years' use, but I think that may be my fault: we put a container of fruit smoothies in the freezer, then tried to blend it while it was still too frozen. The third one is still going strong. I love the pulse feature, and it blends ice cubes into a smooth slurry IF the container (a gigantic 50 oz.) is completely full. This is great for a pitcher of daquiris, but when I'm making a 16-oz. smoothie in the morning, the ice and/or frozen fruit doesn't get completely blended. By the way, my third blender came when I called and wanted a replacement container. Since they had redesigned the...Read more

My old Waring went kablooey, and despite the negative reviews here, I decided to trust the KitchenAid name (I've had and loved their mixer for several years).

I was pleasantly surprised to make a smooth batch of hummus in a matter of minutes. I simply dumped all the ingredients in. I didn't even have to scrape the sides down!

It blends smoothies quickly and quietly. In go some ice cubes, some frozen fruit, some fresh fruit, some yogurt, a bit of honey, a minute or two of blending and pulsing at 'Chop', half a minute at 'Puree' , and DONE! No problems with chunks of fruit or ice.

I also dumped a tray of ice in mine. Working the blender from 'Chop' to 'Mix', pulsing to finish off a few lingering chunks, a fine ice perfect for frozen drinks was created.

The blender has performed flawlessly in over a month's worth of regular use and has easily tackled every job I've put in. I think many people having problems may not be pulsing the blender to get rid of any chunks.