Cuisinart CSB-76W SmartStick 200-Watt Immersion Hand Blender, White
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Cuisinart CSB-76W SmartStick 200-Watt Immersion Hand Blender, White
Customer Review: Sometimes simpler is better
Summary: 5 Stars
Just bought this blender a week ago, mainly as a means of making smoothies. I've been quite pleased with it so far. I was looking for a hand blender that was inexpensive, powerful, durable, and easy to use. So far this little Cuisinart has delivered on all of those criteria. It was going for about thirty bucks at the local big box bed and bath store -- I paid less than that with the 20% off store coupon I got in the mail.
The stainless steel shaft/hood/blades make cleanup simple: blend, rinse well under hot water, done. The base unit can be wiped down in a snap if you get splatter on it (I have the white plastic version, which may stain depending on what you're blending, like pomegranate- or curry-based mixtures). I don't usually bother with the included cup because I just blend right in the glass I'm going to be drinking out of, but it's nice to have it to help measure ingredients. And speaking of blending, this puppy motored right through frozen fruit without an issue -- no bogdown, no bent blades, no unreasonable noise levels, no problem. I especially like the touch-response that allows you to start/stop blending immediately when you press/release the button, as opposed to a dedicated switch you've got to try to finagle with one hand while holding the blender with the other.
Bottom line: If you're looking for a simple, functional hand blender, this Cuisinart will get the job done.
Customer Review: First one I've ever owned, and it's great!
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this item a few months ago, and it's worked great! It's powerful and cleans up in a flash.
The brushed chrome is a chrome-colored plastic, so don't be expecting the handle portion to be metal. It's attractive, though, and feels sturdy. I haven't had a lot of experience with these, but so far I love this one. I'd get another in a flash if I needed a good kitchen gift for someone.
As a warning if ordering this: I ordered it from CHEFS Catalog through Amazon and found they were sending the WRONG COLOR, so as a warning, make sure the Amazon email confirmation you get from Amazon has the correct color listed. I ordered the brushed chrome and they were sending white. It seemed to be what Amazon had told CHEFS to send me white, because the CHEFS customer service also had white as the color, when my account's order history clearly said chrome. I had to cancel my Amazon order and re-order it through the CHEFS customer service rep, since it seemed I didn't have the ability to cancel it myself on Amazon. Know this if you have to go through the same thing. It was an effort to get the CHEFS rep to understand what I was trying to do. :-\ Overall, CHEFS sent it quickly and it ended up all right.
Customer Review: Great Little Addition to the Kitchen
Summary: 4 Stars
This is my third or fourth hand blender, my second Cuisinart immersion blender. There is one big plus over my last Cuisinart, and there's a minus to it as well.
The big plus is that it is really powerful. What a whizzer! I make smoothies in the morning, using both Metamucil and protein powders with yogurt or kefir, soy milk and/or orange juice. Sometimes I throw in a few pieces of frozen fruit like raspberries or strawberries (sliced or pieces) or blueberries. The power of this SmartStick makes the grainy-ness of the Metamucil disappear (a great thing, in my book!), and the stick doesn't blink when it tackles the frozen fruit.
The minus is that there is only one speed to this SmartStick. My last Cuisinart had two speeds, fast and slow. The slow speed was good with pureeing really hot soups, so that you wouldn't risk blowing boiling liquid all over yourself and the kitchen. It was great when you didn't want to "froth" a liquid, when you just wanted to "stir." This SmartStick gives you froth and high speed all the time. I wish that another, slower speed would have come on the blender.
Customer Review: Super bad
Summary: 1 Stars
I've always thought Cuisinart was one of those wonder-brands in the kitchen -- but no more. This was given to us as a gift, and it broke within two months. We only used it perhaps six times ... but the plastic teeth on the inside of the mini-chopper attachment (the part that attaches to the power source) completely wore down -- meaning it would not function. So we thought, OK: We'll use the other attachments. But the same thing happened to those attachments within another month. So the whole thing, as of today, just went in the garbage. We were very careful when we used the attachments (I had read the reviews of this happening to other people, and shame on me, but I thought they were being too rough or not using it right) ... but it just didn't matter. Our much cheaper hand blender -- I want to say it was a West Bend or Black and Decker -- lasted for two years through multi-daily use for batches upon batches of homemade baby food, chopping onions, walnuts and more. So guess what we're going to do next time? Save your money!! Cuisinart -- never again!! -- don't EVEN get me started on their waffle maker ...
Customer Review: Works well until it falls apart
Summary: 2 Stars
At first this product seems fine. I used it to puree home cooked food into baby food for my son since he has a hard time eating solids. This was the best way to puree his food since it was quick and easy to clean. Since it splits in half, you can throw it in the dish washer and never worry. The problem is that it will not last very long. We have gone through 3 of these type of hand blenders (including this particular model) and most of the other manufacturers that use this split design will have the flaw of falling apart. The problem that occurs is that the gears that the two halves meet are made out of plastic. Any type of resistance caused by foods will eventually cause the plastic to wear and eventually fall apart. Each of my hand blenders lasted ~ 8 months. I did some research and found that Waring carried industrial hand blenders using a one piece design so I purchased one. So far I haven't had any problems. The only inconvenience is cleaning the unit since I can't put the entire unit in the dishwasher.