I was sent this rather beautiful kMix blender to test from the lovely people at Kenwood, and as you can see it looked like it had always meant to be in my kitchen. Did they mean to send me it in red to match my mixer or was that a coincidence? Anyway how did we get on…
Looks: Full marks on this front – a happy harmony of vintage style with modern functionality. It comes in loads of different eye popping colours so you can match it to the rest of your kitchen. The glass jug sends you straight back to the 1950s.
Performance: It’s not just a work surface dolly, this machine is far more powerful than the plastic one I had been using. I use a blender a lot in my kitchen for soups and smoothies as well as a quick way to blitz up breadcrumbs.
My previous cheapo blender struggled to get things really smooth and the plastic soon started to snap and break leading to annoying leakage. The kMix has a sturdy and generous 1.6 litre glass jug with a supertight sealed lid that doesn’t let anything escape.
Once you’ve set it in motion, you quickly see why you pay for what you get. The 800W motor roars into life and rapidly makes light work of the jug’s contents.
Settings: It helpfully has three different settings – drinks, ice and dips reflecting what you’ll be using it for. You can also choose to pulse or keep it on continually.
Controls: Easy to use, nice big buttons and a tiny light to indicate it’s on.
Maintenance: It comes apart easily so is a cinch to wash up.
Cost: £119.99. It’s an investment but also worth the money as you’re not only getting something that looks amazing, but it’s got the performance to boot. Its direct competitor would be the vintage looking KitchenAid blender which comes in at a pricier £159.99, yet its motor is only packing 550W.
Overall verdict: Great if you want a blender to sit out and look smokin’ hot on your work surface but need the performance under the hood to match.
Recipe
Our family’s favourite things to make in blenders are shakes and smoothies. It’s a great way to get fruit and a kick of energy into the boys on a saturday morning after a long week at school. It’s also brilliant for Matthew when he’s come home after a busy night shift in need of a quick refuel before hitting the hay. I add a shot of espresso into mine, mother’s little helper and all that…
Banana and nutella breakfast shake
makes 2
1 ripe banana
1 tbsp nutella
pinch cinammon
2 glasses milk
optional extras
shot of espresso (grown ups only)
tbsp smooth peanut butter (for a super energy boost)
Load all the ingredients into the blender and blitz for a couple of minutes for an ultra smooth and bubbly drink.
Thanks to Kenwood for lending me the kMix Blender to test for this review. You can find out more about the range by visiting www.kenwood.com
I have a very old fashioned looking blender and I wish I had it out on the counter because I would use it more often for shakes like these. I like the look of this K Mix. Would match my Red Handheld K Mix and Red KitchenAid. But a toaster is first on the list!
Hi Urvashi – yes it’s a looker alright! I totally agree that having kitchen gadgets on display means you use them more. Probably not the case with exercise equipment funnily enough 😉