Plastic parts in the locking mechanism can break off
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Having read a book by The Juice Master, self-styled raw food guru Jason Vale, I decided to splash out on a blender. The recipes for fruit smoothies in the book sounded deliciously sweet and yummy whilst still being healthy, and anything that can help get five portions of fruit and veg a day into our diet seemed like a good idea.
I was doing my normal food shopping in Sainsburys and noticed the Bush HB005 blender at just £19.99 in the kitchen appliance section. With its squat, rounded chrome-effect base and tall clear glass jug it looked stylish in a retro sort of way and with its powerful 400 watt motor and a glass jug rather than a plastic one, I thought it was great value so it went into my trolley.
Although there were much cheaper blenders (including one for just £11.99), there were much more expensive ones too, and the Bush was the only one in the under £20 price range with a glass jug.
A glass jug is particularly useful because of its strength and durability. If you are using the blender for smoothies, or for any recipe involving crushing ice (and just to be clear, this model has blades that CAN crush ice), a glass jug is a much better option, as it won't scratch or crack like plastic might. And whilst a scratched plastic blender jug does look unsightly, it also makes cleaning more difficult and provides lots of little nooks and crannies for harmful bacteria to lurk in.
Another benefit of a glass jug is that you can blend hot ingredients easily, such as just cooked soups.
***Setting Up***
Having got the blender home, unpacked it and washed all the components as instructed, I found one or two initial problems, though they were just minor niggles really with the lack of clarity of the instruction booklet. Firstly, I spent ages searching through the packaging for a rubber seal indicated on the parts list and pictured in the assembly instructions, only to find the section had already been assembled in the factory. Secondly, the jug seats onto the base unit and has to be locked into place before the power to the unit is live and the blender will work. It took ages to figure out that it locks in a clockwise motion and unlocks counter-clockwise, which felt strange until I got used to it. A simple arrow on the picture would have saved a lot of time and annoyance. Also, the sprockets into which the jug clicks are made of plastic and you have to be very careful with them, especially as the jug part is very heavy. One of these plastic pieces broke off of my blender whilst I was struggling to figure out how the jug went on, though luckily it still works with the other three in place. If any more of them break off, I don't think the jug will lock and so the blender will be useless.
The other small disappointment was that the base unit was actually made of metallic looking plastic rather than chrome, though I really don't know what I was expecting for £20! In several months of use though, the base is not scratched or damaged and I have found it easily cleaned, it just needs a wipe over with a damp cloth.
***Ease of Use***
I have found the blender really easy to use, once I figured out and practiced the jug locking mechanism. This is a really heavy unit, and the base has four rubber feet, making it really steady on the counter top.
The lid is made of thick black rubbery plastic which seats easily inside the glass jug and creates a good seal so there are no leaks during blending, even when the jug is really full. It does take a little effort (and some fingernails!) to remove. There is a small clear plastic inner lid which can be removed easily to allow small pieces of food or liquids to be added to the jug during processing. This is particularly useful for making things like Mayonnaise and salad dressings, or for adding final flavourings to milkshakes or smoothies.
The jug itself is very robust and has an integral glass handle which makes it easy to grasp. It also has a pouring lip so getting liquids (even quite thick gloopy ones) out of the jug is easy enough. It is a very heavy gauge of glass, which makes it heavy but strong. I did actually drop it once because my hands were wet, and luckily it did not smash or crack. It is also graduated in American cups, fluid ounces, pints and millilitres, which makes measuring easy.
The blender is easy to operate, having just one turning knob which is made of solid plastic and easy to grasp even if your fingers are wet. The knob has the "off" position, marked 0, and twists clockwise for speeds one and two. It can be turned counter-clockwise for the "pulse/self clean" function (more about that later!)
The blender is a bit noisy when it is in operation, but this is only to be expected really. The actual blending doesn't take very long so the noise isn't too difficult to bear.
***Features***
As I said, the glass jug is a major feature not normally found in blenders at this price point. The varying speeds available are also extremely useful. The first speed on this blender is ideal for soft items such as berries, bananas and cooked vegetables, whilst the second speed is ideal for harder items like meats and ice. It's also good for recipes which need lots of air added, like mayonnaise and cake mix.
One of the best features on this machine is the "pulse/self clean" mechanism. You can control the length of the pulse by simply holding the button across. The pulse allows you to have controlled bursts of power for pureeing particularly hard items or crushing ice. It also helps to distribute food items around the jug for even processing. And once you have finished blending, if you add a little hot water and some detergent to the jug and use the pulse, it acts as a self clean feature so you don't have to put your hands near to the metal chopping blades in order to clean them. Brilliant!
***Safety***
As I've said, the blender will not work unless the glass jug is seated properly and locked into place, so little fingers aren't going to get into the mechanism. Also the self clean feature means that you don't have to get your fingers near to the blade to clean it.
***Why have a blender?***
I use my blender for so many things, I wouldn't be without it now. One of the most important things though is that I never put it away. If you have to put something away in a cupboard or get it out to use it, it's likely you'll never remember or be bothered. My juicer and blender have pride of place on my worktop and I use them every day.
As well as making wonderful, tasty, healthful smoothies, I also make ice creams, soups, mayonnaise and other salad dressings, cake mixtures, milkshakes, cocktails, crushed ice, baby food and all manner of other recipes in my blender. It takes up very little room on the counter and is a very versatile piece of kit.
I would recommend this particular blender to anyone. It is very robust and has a lot of features for the money. All in all, I think it's a bit of a bargain.
***Some recipes***
I thought I'd leave you with some recipes I use my blender for, to whet the appetite a bit.
Smoothies - fruit smoothies are fabulous! You can stick any kind of fruit you have to hand into the blender, along with a handful of ice, and you have a wonderful, healthy, refreshing drink with no additives or chemicals. They are wonderful for children and make a perfect breakfast if you are like me and can't face food in the mornings. Unlike juices, they give you all the fibre of fruit as well as all the vitamins and minerals too. Always drink them immediately though, because the vitamins in the fruit will start to degrade immediately after they are processed. That's why store bought smoothies and juices aren't much use - most of the good stuff is already gone by the time it gets to us.
Another tip is that although it seems strange with a drink, you have to "chew" the smoothie (wash it around your mouth a bit as you drink it), to mix it with saliva and help with the digestive process. You can add a teaspoon or so of runny honey if you need to sweeten the smoothie (although if your fruit is ripe it should be sweet enough) and you can also add organic live bio goat's milk yoghurt to make it creamier (and put some good bacteria in your tummy). You can also use frozen fruit when fresh fruit is out of season or expensive, as the freezing process only destroys about 5 per cent of the vitamins.
Here are one or two of my favourite recipes. And for those people who think this kind of diet is expensive, Lidl's fruit and veg is all at half price at the moment!
Tropical - Peel one banana and add to the blender with the unpeeled but stoned flesh of one mango, two peaches and four apricots, four or five chunks of ice and two dessertspoons of organic goat's milk yoghurt. Blend until smooth and drink immediately. Makes two big glasses.
English - Add a handful of strawberries and a handful of frozen red summer fruits to the ice, banana and yoghurt.
These smoothies are a lot like a thickshake when they come out of the blender, and they make great ice creams if you pop them into a plastic container and stick them in the freezer for a while. You can omit the yoghurt too if you have kids who are dairy intolerant or you are on a diet.
Roast tomato and pepper soup - This is one of my sister's favourite recipes. Pop some vine and cherry tomatoes and red and yellow peppers onto a baking tray. Season with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, sprinkle with chopped rosemary or basil and and drizzle with good olive oil. Roast in a hot oven until slightly charred and tender. Remove and chop roughly and add to a saucepan with some boiling water, a little Marigold Swiss Vegetable stock powder and a splash of white wine vinegar. Allow to simmer for a few minutes then pop it all into the blender and blend until smooth. Top with shavings of parmesan cheese and serve with hunks of fresh bread.
Banana Sip Sop - Watch out with this one, it's potent! Add a handful of ice, two peeled bananas, a can of coconut milk and some condensed milk to the blender, splosh in as much rum as you can handle, blend until smooth, drink.
