40 out of 41 people found this review helpful.
Looks great...but is it worth it?
Date of Review: Mar 3, 2005
The Bottom Line: -
I had a bad run of luck with blenders last year. Inexplicably, my old blender died and then the new one I replaced it with died within a month. I was out twenty five bucks seeing as how I m one of those people who throw receipts away after plugging it in and hearing it work. I really oughta stop doing that. I headed out to Linens-n-Things and decided that more expensive must mean higher quality yet another thing I really oughta stop doing. For the past six or seven month I ve been the proud owner of a Cuisinart CBT-500 Blender.
On the counter
The Cuisinart is a heavy machine. Additionally it s got good, grippy feet that keep it from walking while being used. The base has a brushed aluminum look which is simple and modern. Six soft buttons are on the face of it. On, Off, Low, High, Pulse and Ice Crush. A small digital display starts counting up when you start the machine and stops and automatically resets when you turn the machine off. The heavy glass blender-jar holds 50 ounces (six cups) and the rubber lid has a removable plastic one ounce measuring cup in the center of it. A large and flamboyantly plastic gray handle is secured to the jar with two thin metal straps which wrap around the jar. The base that the jar sits in is constructed of the same gray plastic.
Functions
The operation of the Cuisinart is a little different from most other blenders. First you press the On button, which lights up a little red indicator telling you that the machine is ready for use. Next you either choose Low or High . Either setting will start the timer. The Pulse gives you a momentary burst as does the Ice Crush button, but the latter is a more powerful burst. The 600 watts of power has not been hindered by anything I ve thrown at it. When you re done with your job you must remember to hit the Off button to power the machine down. This is merely a safety feature. It adds one more step to the process to make an accident that much less likely. The jar assembly breaks down easily. The blade (two connected blades) assembly unscrews and is easy to wash. The plastic base also unscrews to make washing easier. Being that the giant plastic handle is permanently attached, I do not wash it in the dishwasher. I would advise anyone with this blender to wash it by hand also.
Observations
The Cuisinart is a great looking machine. It looks great on my kitchen counter. I have to admit that I was apprehensive about giving up all the buttons though. Every other blender I ve ever owned had something like fifteen speed settings as opposed to the Cuisinart s lowly two. But I never was able to distinguish between whip , puree and annihilate so these two speeds actually serve me just fine. The timer is useless. I know that some recipes call for specific amounts of time being pureed but this display isn t even an inch long, it s small black numbers on a dismal gray background and it isn t even backlit. Nobody would use this counter when you could just look at your wristwatch without having to work at seeing it.
Final analysis
I think that there are four categories to consider with any blender. As far as construction goes, I d rate this as average. It looks like a solid hunk of metal, but it isn t. Even the brushed-aluminum-looking base is just cast junk. The gear teeth that spin the blade are hard plastic on the base unit and hard rubber on the bottom of the jar. It looks like it s made stronger than the competition but it s just window dressing. I don t believe it to be any more durable than its overtly plastic competition. Only the blenders with plastic jars are below this one. Aesthetics is where the Cuisinart shines. Like I said before, it looks damn good on my counter. I think most buyers are people like me who need a blender and see this one on the shelf and buy it based on looks. It was easily the sexiest blender in the store. Performance is on par with all the other blenders I ve owned. 600 watts probably makes this the most powerful blender I ve owned but I ve never choked any of the lesser blenders in my days. The ease of use and cleaning and overall performance is on par with every blender I ve ever used. Lastly we come to pricepoint. Blenders usually start at twenty or thirty bucks. Until now that was always the range I bought in. All the comparisons I m making with the Cuisinart are to blenders in that bottom-of-the-barrel price range. The Cuisinart set me back ninety nine bucks plus tax. If I look at this as a purely functional piece of kitchen equipment I would have to say I made a bad choice. But to me this is also something that decorates my kitchen. I m not the type of person who hides all small appliances and only takes them out as needed. I leave em all out there all the time. Having nice looking appliances makes me happy. Makes my wife happy too. So I ll end here by recommending this appliance with the caveat that if all you re looking for is function, save the money and get a thirty dollar blender. If spending the few extra bucks for a really sleek looking appliance appeals to you then you ll definitely be happy with the Cuisinart.
www.cuisinart.com
