I was contacted a while ago by Franchise Fit Out Services asking if I was interested in reviewing the Blendtec HP3A Homeblender.  When I heard the name Blendtec I thought it sounded familiar and then recalled hilariously clever “Will It Blend” videos I had seen on You Tube.  This clever marketing campaign showed the power of the Blendtec blenders by blending unusual objects, such as whole cans of Coca Cola, iPads, rakes and Justin Beiber merchandise.  While these Don’t Try This At Home experiments are hilarious, they are an amazingly clever way to show the power of the blenders, so when I was approached to review one, as soon as I confirmed that they were available for public purchase, I said yes as I couldn’t wait to try one myself.

So, I decided to conduct a few of my own “Will It Blend” experiments at home.  No, I didn’t conduct unusual experiments by blending iPads or CD’s, however I thought I would test the blender by putting it through it’s paces, as you would at home. The tests covered making dips, peanut butter, almond meal and cocktails.

Will It Blend Test 1 – Blueberry Gin & Tonic Cocktail

As far as I’m concerned, the big test of any blender is how it deals with ice.  Try blending ice in a cheap blender and it’s a sure fire way to bend the blades. I know, I’ve done it in the past. So I was quite interested to see how the Blendtec would cope with ice.  Well, all I can say is WOW.  After loading the ingredients into the jug and hitting blend I had a deliciously blended Blueberry & Gin Tonic cocktail in 15 seconds.  Yes, you read that right, 15 seconds!!  The ice was crushed and the blueberries chopped making a yummy cocktail in no time at all.  If you want the ice chopped finer simply let the blender run longer until you reach the consistency you desire.  See below for the recipe.

Will It Blend Test 2 – Peanut Butter

When I received the Blendtec blender I spent some time looking through the cookbook that came with it.  The cookbook is extensive and covers everything from smoothies, cocktails, juices, dips, breakfast foods, cake recipes and more.  One of the chapters on spreads caught my eye so I decided to use the Peanut Butter recipe that came with the book.

The recipe in the book mentions adding oil is optional, but I found I had to add a little oil because once the peanuts were blended to a powder I found it became difficult to get the powder to form into peanut butter as it floated around the blender.  Once I added a little oil to the ground peanuts the mixture quickly formed into a smooth peanut butter.

Will It Blend Test 3 – Almond Meal

After making peanut butter I decided to test the blender by making Almond Meal.  This is where I found that the Blendtec differs from most blenders in that it offers a functions menu where you can select different cycles to perform different tasks, such as a Grind cycle, which is what I used to make Almond Meal.  The great thing about the special cycles is that they are programmed to deal with particular ingredients, so when I made the Almond Meal using the Grind Cycle the cycle started off by grinding the nuts and then had a slight pause so that the ingredients could settle in the bottom of the jug before starting again.  This gave an even grind and meant I didn’t need to keep stopping the blender to stir.  In 30 seconds I had Almond Meal.

Will It Blend Test 4 – Moroccan Roasted Carrot Dip

For this test I made a dip using roasted carrots and garlic.  Given the ingredients were already quite soft I know this wasn’t much of a test for the blender, but I wanted to try out the Dips and Sauces Cycle on the blender. The Blendtec quickly combined all of the ingredients together into a delicious dip.  See below for the recipe.

Pros:

So what are the pros of this blender?

1. Weight – the Blendtec is incredibly lightweight for such a powerful blender.  So light in fact that when my Blender first arrived at my door I thought the box was empty!  Being so lightweight it makes it easy to lift in and out of cupboards.
2. Bench space – the blender is compact and takes up a small amount of bench space, which is handy if, like me, your bench space is at a premium.
3. It’s multipurpose – the fact that the Blendtec offers different cycles enables it to be used as a combined blender and food processor.  If you don’t have room for both a blender and food processor this is a great alternative.
4. Speed – the Blendtec worked very quickly. 20 seconds for a cocktail and 30 seconds for almond meal.
5. Cleaning – the blender jug is dishwasher safe to make for easy cleaning, however it is suggested in the manual the jug only be placed on the top shelf of the dishwasher.

Cons:

Conclusion

If you are considering purchasing a food processor and a blender, the Blendtec is a great option to consider, depending on your budget, but keep in mind while it performs the functions of a blender and most food processor functions it won’t provide the grating and shredding functions that high end food processors provide.  If countertop space is at a premium again it’s definitely worth considering.

The Blendtec HP3A Homeblender can be purchased from the Franchise Fit Out website by logging into the store using the username and password of blendtec or you can call 1300 556 117.

WIN a Blendtec HP3A Homeblender valued at $824!!

The Franchise Fit Out team are kindly offering a Delicieux reader the chance to win  a Blendtec HP3A Homeblender package with the Wildside jug . If you would like to win this fantastic prize, valued at $824, simply follow the instructions below.

1. You will receive one entry for each task you complete below.  For example if you leave a comment below you receive 1 entry. If you leave a comment and Like Delicieux on Facebook you will receive 2 entries.  If you leave a comment, Like Delicieux and Subscribe to Delicieux by email you will receive 3 entries.
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3. Most importantly, as you complete each task don’t forget to click “I Did This” on the entry form to record your entry!

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4.9 from 26 reviews

Moroccan Roasted Carrot Dip

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Ingredients

• 800g of carrots, peeled and roughly chopped into chunks
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tsp of cumin
• 1 tsp of smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon of ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius (355 Fahrenheit).
2. Combine the carrots in 2 tsp of olive oil and place on a baking tray in a single layer. Add the garlic and place into the oven and roast until the carrots are tender.
3. Squeeze the garlic from the skin. Add the ingredients to the Blendtec, adding the garlic and carrots last before securing the lid. Select the Sauces/Dips cycle and when the cycle has finished check the consistency of the dip. If you would like the dip smoother run the cycle again.

2.1.7

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4.9 from 26 reviews

Blueberry Gin & Tonic

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

0 mins

Total time

5 mins

 

Ingredients

• 1 heaped teaspoon of brown sugar
• juice of half a lemon
• 30mls of Gin
• 2 tablespoons of blueberries
• ½ cup of ice cubes
• tonic water

Instructions

1. Add the ingredients to the Blendtec in the order listed, leaving out the tonic water.
2. Press and hold down the Speed Up button until the blender reaches speed 6. Allow the cycle to run for 15 seconds and when the timer reads 15 seconds press the Stop button.
3. Pour into a glass and top with tonic water.

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