Cuisinart CBT-1000 PowerEdge 1000-Watt Die-Cast Blender

User Rating: List Price: $365.00 Sale Price: $179.95

A great blender offering good value for money, the Cuisinart PowerEdge CBT-1000 Blender is powered by a 1000-Watt motor and so is able to handle everything you put in it including frozen fruits for smoothies.

It is simple to use, relatively quiet and comes with pre-programmed Smoothie, Ice Crush and Pulse functions to blend smoothies, frozen drinks or crush ice flawlessly and ensure a smooth blend. Solidly built with a die cast case, yet relatively light in weight, its blender jar is made from safe (BPA free), clear and durable materials while the blender’s removable blades make cleaning fairly easy.

Features:

Base Unit and Power

High-powered blenders are subjected to lots of stress due to the level of vibration and spin from their rotating blades. In many blenders, the base unit (housing the motor) is built from parts bolted or riveted together so their durability is limited.

The Cuisinart CBT-1000’s base is made from cast-metal alloy, which means it is durable, temperature resistant, and much stronger than plastics, yet lighter than other metal base units.

It is designed to have a low centre of gravity so is stable even when the jar above it is full and will not shift or creep about on your table top during use (it is also equipped with slip free feet).

In terms of power, because smoothie makers need to be able to do heavy duty chopping they tend to have more than the 350-watt power of basic blenders – up to about 600-watts. This particular one is equipped with a 1000-watt motor – Cuisinart’s most powerful blender motor to date; so it can easily cope with any foods it has to blend.

6oz. Blender Jar

What should you be looking for in a blender jar container for your smoothie production? Safety? Easy cleaning? Durability? Clarity? Capacity? – All of these, and more.

Blender jars tend to be made from either plastic or glass. Glass jars are clear, durable and don’t scratch but are more likely to break. Plastic ones can be durable but tend to scratch, and absorb from their contents over time. In addition, many plastics are made in a process that involves the use of a chemical called Bisphenol A (BPA) as a softener. It has been found that when using such plastics BPA can seep into the food or your body with unknown, possibly toxic effects.

The Cuisinart’s Jar is made from a hard clear plastic co-polymer that is completely free of BPA, related softeners and their effects.

It is sturdy and feels and looks quite solid with an easy to pour design and a solid grip handle as you can see in the picture.

With a capacity of 64oz., you can prepare up to 8 glasses of smoothie in just one go.

If you need to follow a recipe, there is the added advantage of clearly marked measuring units on its side. In addition, it comes with a leak proof cover with a tight fitting seal to resist leakage and a measured pour lid so you can add ingredients without having to remove the cover.

Power 6 Turbo Edge Blade

At the heart of its smoothie making mechanism is Cuisinart’s patented Power 6 Turbo-Edge stainless steel blade. This has been specially designed and shaped to create a vortex (turbulence) that helps to crush ice or the puree and mix with maximum efficacy while still being capable of chopping delicate herbs.

The blade is designed for easy cleaning. Since it is built into a High quality blade assembly that sits in between the jar and the base unit; you just need to take it out to clean and you can easily reach every part of the unit.

Control Panel and Functions

The CBT-1000 has a simple to use control panel with just 6 buttons: on/off switch, high and low speeds, and 3 pre-programmed buttons – smoothie, pulse and ice crush.

All these buttons are backlit so you can easily see which function is in use.

While many blenders can operate at multiple speeds (up to 24) smoothie makers do not require more than 2 or 3 – especially if they have a pulse setting.

Smoothie setting: this is optimised to create a perfect smoothie blend for you in just 30 seconds.

Pulse setting: lets you blend your contents in 2 second pulsed bursts to the exact consistency you want or crush ice to the dimension you want.

Ice Crush setting: basically crushes ice to a predetermined consistency.

The control panel also has a backlit LCD timer so you can easily operate the blender for the exact times specified in your recipe.

But how do I use my smoothie maker?

The Cuisinart CBT-1000 is supplied with a comprehensive, yet simple manual which includes features, set-up guide and maintenance tips a well as helpful operational reminders and a speed selection guide that shows you which function you should use for which foods, and what results to expect.

It also comes with tips on how to blend particular foods as well as more than 20 different complete smoothie and blending recipies.

What if the smoothie maker breaks down?

This smoothie maker comes with a 3 year warranty so should get years of use out of it without worrying about breakdowns.

Real user comments:
"...I love this blender! It has handled everything I hoped it would."

"....It is very quiet for a blender"

"...A very powerful blender but it takes a bit of learning to get the results you want."

"...This is a great blender for the dollar"

"...having to toggle it on and off ... seems a bit quirky."

• 1000-watt 2-speed blender with rugged die-cast metal base
• Preprogrammed Smoothie, Ice Crush, and Pulse functions
• Simple control panel with backlit buttons; count-up timer; stand-by mode
• 64-ounce co-polymer lidded jar with measuring marks included
• Measures 8-2/5 by 10-2/5 by 14-3/5 inches