 I love my Duet, hope it's reliable |
| Review Date: May 1, 2002 |
| Reviewer: , |
I have been shopping for a new blender to replace my 1985 Osterizer, which has been leaving big chunks of ice in frozen drinks. I saw a really interesting consumer-oriented cooking show on the local PBS station one Saturday afternoon - they taste test their recipes on the public and test kitchen equipment. They had a test segment on blenders and claimed the fiftydollar Osterizer unit was the best, had the strongest motor and did a better job than even the hundredplusdollar blenders. I went out and bought one (actually, I got the Oster version of the Duet, with the blender and a food processor attachment). I quickly returned the Oster unit because 1) It could not a crush ice in frozen drinks and was actually worse than my 17 year old, worn out blender - it's pretty hard to suck a 3/4" ice rock up a straw; 2) Did not circulate thick liquids well unless stirred with a spoon through the hole in the top cover; 3) It was loud as heck; and 4) the food processor attachment was nearly useless because it was very small, only had a chopping blade and had no feeder - you unlatch the processor, empty out the one cup or so of chopped food, put more food inside, re-latch the processor lid and put back on the blender base.
After reading some of the reviews here, I was pretty much set on the similarly priced (one c-note) Kitchen Aid so I went to my local department store to look around and a bright and bubbly teenage sales clerk came up and asked me if I needed help. I almost said no (I can read the box myself) but instead decided not to exercise age discrimination and asked if she had any recommendations for blenders. Surprisingly, she said "Yes, I tested a bunch of them for a Christmas present for my dad a few months ago and the Cuisinart was definitely the best. It does the best job of crushing ice, is easy to clean up and my dad loves his!" Given that it came with a small food processor attachment for the same price as the Kitchen Aid and I had a 30 day return policy if I didn't like it, I decided to give it a shot. Here's my observations:
1) It blends great. It has as much power as you would ever need and frozen drinks come out smooth and frosty, they way they should. No more small icebergs clogging up the straws. You can dump a tray full of ice cubes into the blender, hit the "Ice Crusher" button, and it will give you a pitcher of finely crushed ice in about 30 seconds. Thick liquids still circulate well in the wide pitcher body.
2) It's quiet. I would say this blender puts out only about half the volume of noise that my old Oster unit or the newer one I returned did. Maybe there is a quieter unit on the market, but for the other reviewers complaining about the noise, I have to ask what they expect when blending ice cubes. No doubt, it makes more noise turning ice cubes into a liquid form than, say, a pot on the stove, but it is easily quiet enough to make a smoothie or margarita after midnight in an apartment without waking the neighbors.
3) The food processor works great. Sure it is smaller, at a 3-4 cup capacity, than the big 11 cup processors, but otherwise, it works exactly like its bigger brothers that made Cuisinart famous for the past several decades. I think the reviewer complaining about the processor must have had a few too many dacquiris or margaritas from his/her machine when he/she criticized this accessory. The feeding tube is a complete necessity for chopping more than a cup of food or using the grating and slicing blades (which work extremely well). So what if it sticks out a few inches? I used the processor to make hash browns for eight people for Easter brunch, and it did a great job of chopping the onions and shredding the potatoes; I did have to empty the moderately sized processor container twice while shredding the potatoes, but it only took about two minutes to turn eight medium-large potatoes into uniformly shredded hash browns.
4) It's easy to clean. The base unit just wipes clean, with no protruding buttons or difficult channels to clean out. The pitcher is also easy to rinse clean.
A big caveat: the reliability. I did not read the reviews here about the easily breakable plastic motor locking ring on the blender base until after my 30 day return period ended. So far, so good (I'm giving it a ***** rating based on my own experiences and am not going to let other reviewers' experiences change my score) but I really hope, knock-on-wood-fingers-crossed, that Cuisinart cured that defect by the time it got around to manufacturing my unit. It does have a heavy, very steady base and feels like a well made unit.
I hope I get many years of happy use out of my Duet, but will report back if I suffer the same problem that others have experienced.
EDIT 3/07:
Eventually, my Duet's blender unit failed, perhaps somewhat differently than others have reported. After about six years of frequent use, the black plastic gear ring on the bottom of the blender container that meshes with the drive unit in the base locked up on me and would not turn on the bottom of the blender, meaning the blade inside the blender to which it is attached would not turn. I contacted Cuisinart and bought a new one for around $10 or $12 shipped, took the old one off, installed the new one and in a few minutes had it running again good as new. I still really like the unit and think it is terrific. Spending a dozen dollars on a simple replacement part for an item we use so frequently is not unreasonable and I'm not lowering my score as a result of that temporary problem. In 2007 there are now a lot more higher end blenders available than there were when I bought this Cuisinart in 2001 and I'm sure some of them have even stronger motors and are slightly more quiet. However, this is still a very good unit and the hundred bucks I spent on it was money very well spent. Nowadays, I've seen this blender-food processor combo available for as low as half what I paid on sale and as low as fortybucks refurbished, so I doubt that there's anything on the market that is even close to being as good of a value. |
An excellent purchase
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| Review Date: May 24, 2003 |
| Reviewer: Mr. Gadget, NY United States |
| I was looking for a food processor for a while now, my hubby came across this product and we decided to purchase it. Although, we read a few mixed reviews, I am happy with the product. It is powerful and it is not any louder than any other blenders I have used before (Osterizer 10 speed blender). The food processor is small and good for a couple. You can't beat it for this price! |
I don't know about what others have said here
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| Review Date: December 5, 2004 |
| Reviewer: Ny-er, NYC |
... but I really love this blender!
First off, it looks short in the photo on this site, but that's because its circumference is much larger than your standard blender. So you get a short squat blender that has ample room inside because it's so much bigger round-wise. Plus it's glass.
I've had many many blenders that were of the plastic variety, only to have them fall apart in a matter of months. Glass is the way to go.
I've never had any problems with it crushing ice, it does it quite efficiently -- and it's a fantastic machine to make smoothies -- just pop in your frozen fruit, add yogurt, milk and blend.
Now I'm not a professional cook, but I found the food processor part delightful. Plop in several big slices of green and red peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, whatever and it juliennes them to nice sliver sizes that add flavor to your meal. I'm not sure it would be ideal for heavier mixes like bread, but I haven't tried, and the machine does come with a bread mixer/blade.
It's also very stylish -- the chrome and black could compliment any kitchen.
The only negative about it is that it is quite loud, but eh, if you're crushing ice or anything hard, it's going to make noise. I can live with that.
All in all, I'd say this is a very useful device for any kitchen. |
Smart, Sexy Machine
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| Review Date: September 6, 2005 |
| Reviewer: indigo, THE PLAINS, USA |
I love this god among mortals of the blender world. I love the superior control it gives the chef, the versatility, and the sleek style. Cuisinart cannot be outdone in this department.
I refuse to clutter my kitchen with gadgets galore. This multitasker eliminates any need for a separate food processor. The detachable one it comes with can easily tackle the average chef's quantity/quality needs. (It meets the needs of my household of 4).
Some people may prefer to have a separate 10 lb. food processor, complete with menacing blades ready to slice up the unsuspecting un-loader of the dishwasher....Not I.
I highly recommend the SmartPower duet to anyone who wants to preserve counter/cupboard space (read: sanity). A wise investment on my part, absolutely NO regrets!
Oh, and it crushes ice like a champ, great for margaritas, slushees, whatever.
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Never A Problem With Mine!
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| Review Date: February 27, 2005 |
| Reviewer: G. Gupton, Georgia, United States |
I've had this Cusinart model for at least 3 years and have used it for a variety of purposes. Although I don't use the food processor on a regular or consistent basis, just knowing that it's there and accessible, if needed, makes this a worthwhile purchase.
My model is white, not chrome. It seems like every year has a new color to keep up with the decorator's choices for that year. But that shouldn't affect the operation because they're all the same.
Anyway, Cuisinart is a brand name that has a reputable past and I trust my blender to be working and with me for many years to come.
I love it and hope, if you buy one, you'll love yours just as much.
Gail Gupton, Author: The 31-Day Diet of Spiritual Enlightenment and Seekers of Truth. |
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