Magic Bullet Express 17-Piece High-Speed Blender Mixing System
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Magic Bullet Express 17-Piece High-Speed Blender Mixing System
Customer Review: Bad rap
Summary: 5 Stars
I have the Magic Bullet and I read some less than good reviews on the unit. I would like to put those to rest if I may.
1. After using the magic bullet, could smell the motor burning up.
Having worked with motors in the past, I can put that bad rap to rest. There are two types of electrical motors commonly used in the market today. One is an induction motor. and the other is the brush and commentator motor. Although the induction motor is most commonly used, there are some brush types out there. The burning electrical smell you sensed is common, especially when first using the motor. When first used, the brushes are not worn slightly to perfectly fit against the commentator. Until that happens, the brushes will slightly arc and you will sense an electrical smell but it doesn't take long till they are perfectly fitted to the commentator. After that, the smell will no longer be there. This is normal and is not a problem. It is not a sign of overheating or any damage to the motor.
2. I found an excellent quick way to clean the Bullet. I first spray the blade and inside of the cup to remove larger particles, then I fill the cup about 1/3 full with water and just a drop of soap detergent. Screw the blade lid on firmly and pulse it a few times. Unscrew and rinse and you will have a sparkling clean unit. This will get into areas that otherwise you couldn't possibly reach especially in and around the blade area.
3. I have also found that removing the processed food from the cup is best done with a small rubber spatula as use of a metal object like a knife or fork etc will eventually scratch and mar the plastic.
4. My Magic Bullet came with several replacement rubber gaskets that are used inside the black blade screw on caps. When you have cleaned your unit and you are going to store with blade cap screwed onto the food cup, do not screw the blade cap tightly with the food cup as when it is stored even overnite, the rubber gasket will tend to flatten out and then need replacement.
I always leave mine about a turn loose and you will get a lot more use out the gaskets.
5. When I am making a sandwich spread or anything requiring mayo I wait until I have finished processing the food and then I mix the processed food and mayo in a separate bowl. If you add the mayo before processing, the mayo and the fool is going to stick to the sides and even tapping is not going to loosen it.
6. The instruction book says that you need to occasionally tap the blade/cup unit to free up food to get to the blade. I have personally found that a back and forth shaking motion does a much better job as all the food in usually at the bottom anyway and a few shakes will move it into the blades and wa-la, it works mucho bettro.
7. If you read the instructions and use accordingly, you will find the magic bullet works, (Maybe not excatly like on TV) but I am very pleased with mine. I have also fould that the shorter pulses seem to work best as they don't tend to sling the food out and away from the blade.
8. I tried processing some pecans, mixed a little soy milk and honey and created some great tasting health food.
If you are considering the Magic Bullet, I can just say that it is like anything else, when directions are followed, it will work fine. When I picked up the Base unit, the weight tells me that the motor is plenty big enough to get the job done. A light motor, light duty, a heavy motor, heavy duty. Enjoy
Thanks for your time,
Darryl K Springston
Customer Review: The not so magic bullet
Summary: 1 Stars
Most people my age remember Ronco products being sold on television, "It slices, it dices, it even makes julienne potatoes, all for low, low price of $19.99, but if you act now.... Blah blah blah". I remember my mother falling for the sales pitch and ordering the Dail-O-Matic from Ron "Ronco" Popeil. I also remember slicing and dicing my fingers on several occasions. I still have the scars on my thumb to prove it and yes, I did use the safety guard.
A few weeks ago, I received a call from my mother, (the more things change the more they stay the same). While watching television recently, she saw an infomercial about a new product that will replace almost every food preparation device on your kitchen counter, it is called, the "Magic Bullet". I should have known that considering that my mother was poster child for buying some of the lamest products on television. Like the AB Cruncher and a few others, that have ended up collecting dust or becoming a coat hanger after a few short months after purchase. We all buy these stupid things, some cheap and some expensive. I bought a juicer once and I think I must have used about six times, while the juice was great, the cleanup was impossible.
Well, after several reminder phone calls from the mother, I began my search for this MB device. I finally saw the Magic Bullet thingy on the television and if I "acted" now, I could get two "Magic Bullets" for the price of one at $99.99, and if I used my credit card to purchase "right now", they would throw in a bunch of extras at no additional cost. "Oh, goody"! I ordered two MB's, one for the mother and one for the we8there.com test kitchen now, lets see what this bad baby can do! After ordering online because I have no willpower for phone sales, if I had called, I would have bought the super duper cookbook, the extended warranty, and any other thing that I probably would never need. I just wanted to spend the $99.00 and no more.
When it arrived, I unpacked my Magic Bullet and forwarded the other box over to my mother in Camden, New Jersey. I personally tried to use the Magic Bullet for a week looking for things to mix, blend, and puree. The first thing I made was a strawberry daiquiri, using fresh strawberries and a name brand tequila. I had a hard time crushing the ice, it just sat in the Magic Bullet and spun around breaking off in little pieces from time to time, but not in the "one-two-three" trademark moves the ad implies, in fact I had to shake it to get the silly thing to work most of the time. Funny it was crushed to oblivion on the television commercial, they must have used stunt ice. However, my mother called and said she was having a great time with her Magic Bullet. I guess I got the stand-in version, it looks the same, it acts the same, but it has no real job to do.
Anyway, I made several other attempts at using the Magic Bullet to no avail, so I guess I will be adding it to my collection of useless items like the foldable treadmill under my bed that once acted as a clothes rack. In my opinion, the Magic Bullet is probably useful to some people, but not to me, it is one of those items that will end up on the next garage sale for $5.00 or collect dust in the back of the cabinet with me wondering why I listened to my mother, yet again! Thanks MOM!
Customer Review: Very useful, surprisingly good quality product + sharing my favorite recipe.
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first saw the TV infomercials (back when I still watched TV...) for the Magic Bullet, I was really tempted to get one. But, knowing how so many of the late-night infomercial products are of less than wondrous quality, I held off. Especially, since the price was still pretty high at the time too. Then, a few years ago, I saw that Costco was carrying this product and decided to go for it. Since you can always (!) take most things (except electronics) back to them if/when they no longer function, I figured it was time to indulge myself. I purchased this particular set and have been using it for years now. It works great and has never given me a moment's problem. I love the color coded mugs. I always wash the blade attachment immediately after use and let it air dry. I also store it on its own, not attached to anything. I have never had to replace the gasket yet although, just recently, I did decide to purchase the gasket set 4 Replacement Gaskets compatible with Original Magic Bullet to have on standby because I figure mine will eventually wear out. It seems like it should be about due to, even though it really does not show any inclination in that direction... At this rate, I'll be lucky to remember that I bought/have replacement gaskets by the time I get around to needing them.
I use my Magic Bullet daily to make my morning health smoothie. I have also used it to chop garlic and onions and also herbs and spices. It has worked great for everything. And it's so easy to clean up quickly.
All in all, this is a surprisingly good quality product and I am enjoying mine very much! I have bought several more of the newer models, with more attachments, as presents for friends and relatives. It's relatively inexpensive, yet very attractive, fun, useful and desirable. I just have to figure out each time if the person I want to buy one for has one yet or not. Easy to do, just by talking about what I use mine for.
I thought I would share with you the recipe for my morning health shake, as it seems to be getting rave reviews from all my friends who have tried it:
Morning Health Shake
1 cup of oat milk, or almond milk or fresh squeezed orange juice
1 small banana, sliced (or ½ large banana)
1 raw egg
½ cup of blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries (or two or more combined)
2 packets of Stevia (Now Foods Organic Stevia - which I have not yet found on Amazon)
2 Tablespoons of Raw Cocoa Powder Navitas Naturals Organic Raw Cacao Power, Mayan Superfood, 16-Ounce Pouches (Pack of 2)
Blend the above. I sometimes add more oat milk to top it off a bit and reblend.
If fresh berries are not available, I often use my own fresh frozen berries that I store when I pick them or when the price is low at the store.
Enjoy!
P.S.: All the ingredients I use are certified organic - always. Otherwise, why bother? If it's not organic, it's no longer a "Health Shake". More like a GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) and pesticides and additives shake, right?
Customer Review: When in doubt, read the manual
Summary: 5 Stars
For the most part, anything that is advertised on those infomercials over-promises or fails to deliver. I ordered a Magic Bullet anyway because it seemed to be just the sort of kitchen appliance that I needed...small, safe and useful. I crossed my fingers and ordered one. When the package arrived, it was packed nicely in a large case containing all the parts and accessories as advertised; mixing cups, drinking/mixing mugs, small blender attachment, juicer attachment, shaker cups, two receipe books, an instruction manual, blades and motor base. Basically, the Magic Bullet is a small compact blender that is turned on it's head. Instead of putting items from the top and blending/chopping them, you put the contents in a holding cup and twist on the cap/blade. This whole unit is then placed upside down on the base and you turn it on. After the contents are processed, you take the unit off the base and twist off the blade/cap. A great and ingenious idea. But the big question is, does it work as advertised? The surprising answer is yes.
I've had this unit for about a month and a half now and am thoroughly surprised at how nice it works. I have made smoothies that not only rival the local juice bars, but the product tastes better and is a snap to make. I have also made personal servings of soup and vegatable smoothies. Making a tuna-egg-mayo spread was blended very nicely and the whole family ate it up in a couple of days. To get this unit to work as it was intended has to do with reading the manual. It states very clearly that there are certain ways to load your mixing cup. In cases where things do not get blended or are stuck at the top of the cup, the instructions tell you to take the blending cup off and to tap it a few times to get all the contents to the bottom. There is no problem in overheating *if you read the manual*. About 90% of the jobs can be done in about 10 seconds or less by using the pulse method. If you continuously blend/chop and leave it on like a regular blender, it will overheat and possibly break the unit. Nothing needs to be processed for more than 30 seconds so this is a moot point. Clean-up is one of the best features of this appliance. Just run the mixing cups and blades under water with a little soap, and you are done. This unit is so easy to use that our family uses it on a daily basis.
As far as the cost is concerned, it may seem a little on the steep end, but the Magic Bullet pays for itself in no time at all. It has many useful features which allow you to use it as a coffee grinder, a chopper, a blender, a smoothie maker, a sandwich spread maker, soup mixer, etc. I have never used a small kitchen appliance as much as I have used the Magic Bullet. The big blender made by -------, which has been sitting on the shelf for many years is now officially retired.
A few minutes of your time in reading the manual will help you dodge any bullets in using the Magic Bullet.
Customer Review: Great Smoothies
Summary: 3 Stars
I was very intrigued with the infomercial I saw. Did not want to buy two units and pay $39.99 for shipping, so I purchased my one unit elseware with lower shipping. I have used the unit for smoothies and sorbet so far. Following the recipe for strawberry-banana smoothies, I found that there is no way the ingredients would fit into an individual party mug or the tall cup as they print in the recipe book. Once you insert a banana and a handful of strawberries as requested, there isn't any room for the ice. So this was not a problem since my package did come with the blender attachment. The ingredients fit fine in the blender, but this kind of went against the idea of making individual smoothies in the party mugs. If I lessened the ingredients to fit into the party mugs, it only produced about half a cup.
After using it a couple of times with the blender, I went back to using the tall cup and thought I'd play around with it. Don't give up on it the first time you use it. You will figure out what methods work best for you. If you are finding that it seems to be too thick and isn't quite grabbing some of the ice cubes, all you have to do is add a little more liquid. The amound of liquid is the key. What works best for me now on smoothies is.....Using the large cup, I put in a banana, a few ice cubes and some orange juice first. I blend all that up which turns everything into liquid form. Now you have lots of room to add additional fruit. When I first tried making sorbet with the frozen fruit and small amount of liquid, it got very thick and wouldn't complete grinding up all the fruit. As soon as I added a splash more of orange juice, it blended right up. I have gotten very good at whipping these up in the mornings or for snacks. It is very easy to clean. Just two pieces. Make sure you screw on the base tightly or it will leak. This unit chops up the ice with ease, better than my regular blender.
However, it does take more than the "10 seconds" advertised. I will let it blend for about 10 seconds and pause so the ingredients can settle back down and then blend again. It can take a minute to have it completely blended if using ice cubes or frozen fruit. It probably would blend much faster if using non-frozen fruit. But even making a chocolate milkshake takes longer than 10 seconds. I still like using it for smoothies the best. The only other thing I tried was chopping onions. I have read reviews how it hasn't worked for some people. So I watched the infomercial again and when I tried to chop my onions for the first time, I made sure I used the pulse method. Only chopping for a second each time. After about 3 pulses, I could see that half of my onion was still in large chunks and the rest had been completely pulverized into what looked like baby food. So I will stick with my other choppers for that type of thing.