Cuisinart SB-5600 Supreme Super 600 60-Ounce 6-Speed Stainless Steel Blender with Glass Jar
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Cuisinart SB-5600 Supreme Super 600 60-Ounce 6-Speed Stainless Steel Blender with Glass Jar
Customer Review: DISAPPOINTING: Power/Noise/Performance
Summary: 2 Stars
I am looking for a reasonably priced blender that is strong enough to make a fairly large amount of pet food and vegetable purees with only enough liquids to achieve a consistency of a thick pudding. I bought this one because of its vaunted power rating, large jar, and promising performance. I paid a total of $50 (with incentives). If I were interested in making ready-to-drink items (like smoothies) with mainly liquid ingredients, this machine would probably (I have not actually made such drinks with it) get the job done up to its capacity of 60 oz. For thicker purees, however, the over-sized jar is useless. At about half full the unit fails to re-circulate the top part of the puree. The unit does a fine job of mincing this reduced load to a smooothe consistency. Unacceptable in any event is the NOISE this unit makes. Earplugs are a necessity even if the machine is used occasionally. I happened to pick up a vintage Craft Master (Fingerhut) blender at a thrift store and tested it with the same ingredients as I used in this Cuisinart. The 60's Craft Master performed better (but not by much) and quieter (no need for earplugs) than the newer Cuisinart. I come away from my search for a blender with two unanswered questions:
1) Is there a well made, well mannered, well performing blender out there for under $50?
2) Is it really necessary to spend $200 or more to get these qualities and a little extra volume handling?
Even Consumer Reports has had trouble finding one. It's top-rated Braun MX2050 has continued to receive poor user ratings even after Consumer Reports declared its problems fixed. I am not happy with my classic Oster Beehive blender but, at least, it does not burn out as cheaper ones (say, under $30) tend to do. This Cuisinart did not emit electrical burning odors but I have only used it three times. I would not recommend the Cuisinart SB-5600 Supreme Super 600 even at a discounted price of $50. There are others that cost less and do as much (& quieter) as this Cuisinart. Eventually some manufacturer will figure out (again?) how to make a quality blender at a reasonable price.
Customer Review: Three Strikes
Summary: 1 Stars
This Cuisinart blender disappointed us from the start. We were initially dismayed by how loud it was. I know it's got a powerful motor, but it's almost painful to hear it going - I can hardly wait to stop blending whenever I turn it on. Then, shortly after purchasing it, we had to send it for a repair when the rotating part that moves the blades burned out during a routine blend (it literally smoked). That seemed strange...we weren't chopping ice or anything. It was still covered under warranty, and Cuisinart repaired it at no charge (although we did have to pay for shipping!), but it was very inconvenient since we use the blender almost every day, and sometimes twice a day. At the time, I thought that I should just pick up an inexpensive back up blender at a discount retailer, the type that had served us well for many years until I accidentally broke the glass blender jar, but I never got around to it. Now I wish I had. Two weeks ago, we blended some frozen fruit with juice for a sauce. Somehow, the blender managed to cut up the entire rubber gasket, which was distributed throughout the sauce. Of cause, we only realized this after pouring the sauce all over homemade blueberry pancakes. For some odd reason, the absence of the rubber gasket didn't cause the sauce to leak out of the blender. Three strikes as they say. Interestingly, upon reflection (and some blender shopping) I thought I was being too harsh when I decided to get rid of it and dutifully ordered a replacement gasket. When I told my husband the part was on its way, he told me to get he's never liked this blender and would prefer that I buy a different one, so I'm not the only one who was displeased with this purchase.Customer Review: More power but disappointed
Summary: 3 Stars
This blender replaced a Hamilton Beach blender I bought almost 30 years ago. That blender never gave me any problems but I thought the motor was beginning to struggle a little and it seemed like a good time to get one with more power. The Cuisinart SB-5600 has that. Unfortunately, in the short time I have owned it I am close to spending as much in replacement parts as I did for the blender. The glass jar broke first. The Hamilton Beach had a glass jar...the same glass jar for almost 30 years. This one seems sturdy enough, and I know things happen, but another glass object barely touched it. Next, a average size frozen strawberry got wedged in somewhere, somehow, bent a blade on the cutter and stripped the threads on the piece that engages the drive clutch. Still waiting for that part to arrive in the mail. I expect the flimzy black part that the glass jar screws into to go next. Buying two of these may be a good idea. You could use one for parts.
The blender does have good power. It also has good noise, but so did the Hamilton Beach. It seems like a lower speed or a smaller container is needed. If its not full or if you are mixing something like a smoothy it seems to cavitate very easily, even on the lowest speed, which eliminates all cyclonic action. The high speed is all but unuseable unless your making a large smoothy for more than one or the contents is thin. Once you figure out what it likes it works great...unless its broke.
Customer Review: So far, excellent
Summary: 4 Stars
Only 4 stars because it is brand new and time will tell if it deserves the 5th star. Many people have complained about blenders being noisy. Well.....DUH.....yes they are!
This one was more expensive than what I had in mind, but I wanted a really good machine with a large capacity so decided to pay the extra money. I've only used this new super SB-5600 blender once but so far it is excellent. Yes, it is heavy, as others have stated, but that is due to it being glass and having such a large capacity.
We don't eat tomatoes and I make a double batch of "untomato" sauce from time to time. This means over 8 cups of carrots, beets, onions, garlic, etc. that need to be cooked and then blended with spices, salt and lemon juice into a beautiful, delicious "tomato" sauce. Previously I used an immersion blender and always wound up with a few small chunks. This morning I did the double batch and was careful to follow the manufacturer's instructions, putting only about 1 1/2 cups in the blender at one time, blending that, and then adding more until the container was getting almost full.
The results? The most beautiful, smooth batch of "tomato" sauce ever! The results were worth the extra time involved all the way around.
And -- I really like the suggestion to let the blender clean itself by adding water and a drop of soap. Terrific!
Hopefully this new blender and I will have a long and happy life together.
Customer Review: Powerful cyclonic blending action??????
Summary: 2 Stars
Disappointed. We have only just bought this blender and thought it would be great for our large family making pancakes because of the 60oz jug. Well, we did manage to make our BFL oatmeal pancakes in it but with our second use, potato soup, we almost did the blender in. The potatoes were cooked and 2 cups of milk were added however the blender couldn't handle it and started smoking. Now the blender stinks and constantly emits a burnt smell.
The blender has a large jug with a very wide base. This aids stability when placing the jug on the counter but is counterproductive to blending. I now believe a funnel shape at the base of the jug would be best to aid the food being drawn into the blades. The jug is just too wide at the base when the blades are just the same ordinary blades you find in almost every blender you look at. For a larger capacity jug, I think it also needs to have more power than the 600watts.
In all, pretty disappointed that this blender couldn't handle soup, if it really was a powerful blender, I think it should have held up better than it did.