The KitchenAid 5 Speed Ultra Power Blender (Model No. KSB5GR4) moved into our kitchen a year ago, replacing an ancient Oster blender. After a year of use, the KitchenAid 5 Speed Ultra Power Blender has established itself as a valuable household appliance. It does everything I need a blender to do and does it well.
(Note to vacuum cleaner: take a hint from this blender, would you?)
One feature that is especially desirable in the KitchenAid 5 Speed Ultra Power Blender is its streamlined design. With the old blender, cleaning was a nightmare. Nooks and crannies around the blender jar and between the push buttons required q-tip navigation. The KitchenAid 5 Speed Ultra Power Blender, by contrast, has no nooks and crannies. Electronic touch pad on, off, and speed selectors are flat, enabling one quick swipe style cleaning. Just my speed.
One feature that initially gave us pause with the KitchenAid 5 Speed Ultra Power Blender was the number of speeds. Our old blender had a gazillion. Okay, maybe it was more like 18, but however many it was, I was never sure what to do with them all and usually used the same 3 or 4. The idea of living with a blender with only 5 speeds, however, prompted sudden worries about whether the five speeds would be enough. Would they be the ones we really needed?
Stir, Chop, Mix, Puree, Liquefy. Those are the five speeds KitchenAid 5 Speed Ultra Power Blender offers. There is also a pulse feature that can be activated at any of the speeds. I have used this blender to chop pignoli nuts, garlic cloves, and hard cheese to make a pesto, to grind ice cubes for frozen magaritas, and to transform fresh fruit into smoothies. I have also pureed homemade soups in the KitchenAid 5 Speed Ultra Power Blender. Never have I wished for another speed. Five seems to accomplish everything I need to accomplish.
The KitchenAid 5 Speed Ultra Power Blender glass jar is effectively designed. It is sturdy and has minimal ridges, which makes it easy to clean. It is wide at the top and has a rounded pour spout. The manufacturer advertises this pour spout as providing drip free pouring. And it performs as advertised! The rubber cover to the blender jar fits securely inside the top of the jar. The two ounce ingredient cap twists into place in the cover. It can be removed during blending to add additional ingredients.
The 4 blending blades of the KitchenAid 5 Speed Ultra Power Blender are on four different planes for optimal blending. No engineer here to tell you why this works, but it does.
The KitchenAid 5 Speed Ultra Power Blender bears a one year full warranty. It also comes with an instruction manual filled with blending tips and recipes. The basic blender comes in a variety of colors and base materials. The most expensive is the stainless steel metallic finish at $179. The other color choices retail for $99-$129.
Recommended? Unreservedly. The KitchenAid 5 Speed Ultra Power Blender is a great blender.
