Vitaminx e310
Lifestyle

Just Buy the Vitamix Already

It’s worth every penny.

I start most mornings with a smoothie chock full of frozen-solid fruit and a fistful of greens; if my eating habits take a nosedive after breakfast, I can at least feel good about where I began. And while I thoroughly enjoy the taste and the mainline of nutrients to my bloodstream, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the whole process of physically blending the ingredients.

Like many, my first foray into the smoothie game was by way of a small countertop blender—the Ninja Personal Blender. But its diminutive size also means it lacks the power to grind through ice and leafy stalks, so my sweet morning sips were often marred by small fruit chunks or thin strands of vegetable fiber. Then I bit the bullet and bought myself the holy grail of all blenders: the Vitamix E310 ($300).

This Vitamix isn’t sleek and it’s pretty basic as far as high-end blender functionality goes—you’ll only find a power switch, a pulse function, a dial with 10 speeds, and no digital display in sight. There are other models with a lot more bells and whistles (like the Vitamix A3500), but this version blends like a champion and keeps my morning routine on track with minimal fuss.

I’m not the only one singing its praises: 85 percent of Amazon reviewers give it a full 5 star rating and score it 4.5 to 4.8 out of 5 for durability, blending power, ease of use, and ease of cleaning. The only thing it doesn’t get top marks for is the noise level, which scores 3.9 out of 5 stars.

Here’s my review of the Vitamix E310.

The Vitamix E310 at a Glance

Pros

  • Powerful motor
  • Simple design
  • Easy to clean
  • Reasonable price

Cons

  • Loud
  • Heavy
  • Limited functionality

 

The Vitamix E310 Is Easy to Use

Perhaps my favorite feature of the basic Vitamix model is its no-frills functionality. All I really need my blender to do is, well, blend. With the E310, I just dump in my ingredients, turn the dial to medium, flip the on switch, and let it do its thing. Within about 60 seconds, I’ve got a creamy smoothie at the perfect consistency, every single time.

The Vitamix E310 is powerful enough to handle everything from chopping raw veggies to pureeing soup to making nut milk and nut butter. The 48-ounce container makes the aforementioned functions even easier, thanks to its ability to fit a plethora of ingredients while still blending to creamy perfection. And for those times when you need a little extra oomph, there’s a tamper that fits through a cutout in the lid to help process thick, stubborn blends.

Related: Is Cold-Press Juice Better for You?

It’s Powerful Enough to Heat Soup

The heavy-duty motor is Vitamix’s calling card. On the highest setting, the E310’s dull- and bend-resistant blades rotate fast enough to create friction heat, bringing cold ingredients to steaming hot in about six minutes. That means you can blend soup until it’s hot, instead of pouring it into a pan and heating it on the stove.

Though the motor is responsible for most of its power, the patented ridged design of its container helps fold ingredients back towards the blades (creating the telltale Vitamix vortex) for faster blending.

It’s Easy to Clean

Although I can’t pop the Vitamix’s container in my dishwasher like I could with the Ninja blender cup, the pitcher is simple to clean. Just fill the jug with warm water and a drop of dish soap and blend on high speed to clean it in 60 seconds. You don’t even have to take the container off the base—a huge win given how heavy and cumbersome the blender is.

It’s Reasonably Priced

Vitamixes are built to last. Spend $300 once, and have this blender for life. I’ve put mine through about three years of consistent use, and the power hasn’t waned in the slightest. And considering the sleeker, fancier Vitamix models clock in at around $650, the Vitamix E310 is an economical option with staying power.

Related: This All-Meat Eating Plan Sounds Too Good To Be True, Because It Is.

The Cons

Tech-savvy folks may not be wowed by the basic model, which lacks program settings and touch-screen control that higher-priced Vitamixes sport. The E310 is also pretty heavy (11.5 pounds), not exactly attractive, and the power cord is just four-feet long, so you have to keep it within arm’s distance of a counter outlet. . I also find that it doesn’t blend small portions extremely well—my single-serve smoothies are fine, but if you’re blending say, a mini batch of nut milk, it struggles to find smaller particles floating around in a lot of liquid.

And lastly, it’s the type of loud that makes you hold your ears and wince. It’s not something I’d want to fire up around a sleeping spouse or baby, which makes it cringey to blend a morning smoothie before the rest of the house is awake.

The Bottom Line

If you’re a smoothie drinker or spend any time in the kitchen, the Vitamix E310 is a reasonably priced option that blends most foods and will last for years.

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