Blender with glass jug, 1.5 l

One jar, enough for everyone

When you are only making a drink for yourself, the size of the jar really does not matter. It starts to matter when three or four of you are waiting for it: the fruit drink for the children, your protein shake, and still a glass left for the fridge. This machine comes with a 1.5 litre glass jar, so one round covers the whole lot and you do not have to wash up in between.

Why this one and not a smaller machine

Texture comes down to the motor. A weaker machine slows on frozen fruit or ice, spins the mixture above the blade, and leaves lumps behind. This one is rated at 1000 watts, and it is built for three jobs: blending, smoothies and ice crushing. The third is the telling one, because only a machine with real power breaks ice down.

Measure the space before it arrives, because it has to stand on the worktop. It stands 35 cm tall and 13.5 cm across the base, and the cord is 80 cm. If it is going under a wall cupboard, that 35 cm is the number to check with a tape.

Glass, not plastic

The jar is heat-resistant glass: it stays easy to keep clean and it goes in the dishwasher. Cleaning is therefore no argument for plastic.

Four leaves, in 18/10 steel

The blade has four leaves, made of 18/10 stainless steel. The four leaves draw the ingredients towards the blade at the bottom of the jar.

Two speeds and a pulse position

The large dial gives two speeds and a pulse position. You start on the first while the liquid pulls the ingredients down to the blade, smooth it out on the second, and work in short bursts with pulse. Three positions, and you can remember all three, unlike a ten-step scale where you never know where you are.

Pulse position

Runs the blade in short bursts instead of spinning it continuously. It is the position for a chunky sauce, a salsa or ice, because you can see step by step what is happening in the jar and stop in time.

Ice has a button of its own

ICE CRUSH is not just a word on the box: it has a button of its own, so you are not left guessing which speed to use and for how long. For iced coffee, frozen lemonade or a summer cocktail base, this is the function that saves you buying an ice crusher later.

Auto-cleaning

Washing a blender jar usually fails at the same point: you cannot reach under the blade. This machine has an auto-cleaning function: the water circulating in the jar washes the blade through, leaving you only the rinse. That step decides whether the blender stays on the worktop or goes back on top of the cupboard.

A measuring cup in the lid

The centre of the lid lifts out and doubles as a measuring cup. You can top up liquid while the machine is running instead of stopping and taking the whole lid off. A small thing, but it is what you come to like in the second week.

Materials and safety

The appliance is made of plastic and glass: the body and base in plastic, the jar in glass. The base is anti-slip, so the machine does not walk across the worktop at higher speeds while the ice is rattling in the jar.

Overheating protection

The motor has built-in protection: under a sustained excessive load it shuts down by itself. It is not a fault light but the reason a thick, barely pourable mixture will not finish the machine off.

An ordinary weekday

You put the sliced banana in the fridge the night before, drop it onto the frozen berries in the morning, top it with yoghurt, and the whole batch is ready by the time the coffee has brewed. Nobody has to scoop anything out of the tall jar: you pour it straight into the glass.

The weekend asks for something else. A creamy sauce from cooled roasted vegetables, a batch of pesto beside it, and an iced drink for the terrace in the evening. All three in the same jar, with the auto-clean between them.

Care

• Unplug the appliance before cleaning it.
• Run the auto-clean while the jar is still wet; dried-on fruit pulp is harder to shift afterwards.
• The jar goes in the dishwasher.
• Wipe the motor housing with a damp cloth and never immerse it in water.
• Handle the blade carefully when washing it by hand, because the edges are sharp.
• Dry the jar before storing it and set the lid on upside down so it can air.

It looks right on the worktop

There is no lettering across the front of the machine, only the large control dial, and above it the straight wall of the glass jar with its markings. On the worktop it does not read as a piece of equipment but lines up with the rest of the range. It carries the design language of the Fashion by Berlinger Haus kitchen line.

Who it suits

It also works as a gift, because it arrives in a presentation box and matches the other kitchen machines in the range. The machine is made in more than one finish, so you can match it to what your kitchen already has.

Frequently asked questions

Specifications