Waring MBB518 Professional Quality Food & Beverage Blender, Stainless Steel

Bandleader and inventor Fred Waring introduced the first blender in 1936; more than 60 years later the Waring blender remains the standard for the field. Tall and old-fashioned looking with a plated metallic finish on its base, this blender will crush ice and blend frozen fruit beautifully in a few seconds. This blender feels sturdy: the lid, with a cap that doubles as a 1-ounce measurer, fits securely, and the pitcher, made of thick, ridged glass, won't wobble. Many chefs prefer a blender rather than a food processor for soups and creamy sauces--the blades of a good blender whirl more quickly than those of a food processor and will refine a thin liquid such as cream of tomato soup to an incomparably silky texture. This blender is definitely up to that task. The fixed, self-cleaning stainless-steel blades on the base of the pitcher mean the lid is the only separate part to wash. --Maria Dolan

Customer Comments
I bought it based on other reviews, after our previous blender broke. We use it to make smoothies with frozen fruit. Our last blender was a Black & Decker from Target for $40. Both the B&D and the Waring have glass bowls and stainless steel bases. But the B&D has a larger capacity and a heavier, larger base. The Waring is 300 watts and the cheaper B&D is rated at 500 watts. The next surprise was reading the instructions for the Waring. There is no mention of putting the container bowl in a dishwasher; instead one is supposed to 1) brush out with soapy water, 2) run for 2 minutes with more soapy water, 3) rinse for another 2 minutes, and finally 4) dry with a towel. Next surprise: according to the instructions, the blender should never be operated without holding one's hand on the top. There's a reason for this: the blender tends to "walk" around the countertop (something the B&D, with its larger base, never did). Fortunately, with a full load the Waring stays in place. We decided to ignore the instructions and place the blender bowl in the dishwasher. But the metal fitting under the glass bowl (looks like aluminum) seems to be reacting to the dishwasher detergent by breaking out in white dots. We're hopeful that this metal fitting will be a lot stronger than the plastic screw-on fitting on the B&D, which cracked after 9 months' daily use. Bottom line: the B&D's weak point is its plastic, screw-off base for the impeller. If the Waring with its metal, non-removable impeller fitting stands the test of time it will have been worth the higher price. UPDATE ON APRIL 1, 2006: The Waring has worked flawlessly in daily use for over four months now. I would give it 4 stars now instead of 3 (but Amazon won't let me change the rating). FURTHER UPDATE ON JANUARY 2007: It keeps plugging along, making daily smoothies without complaint. The bowl has survived hundreds of cycles in the dishwasher without problem. I'd change my rating to 5 stars if Amazon provided a way to do it. SEVERAL MONTHS LATER: Now I know why they don't want you to use a dishwasher. Over time the dishwasher scrubs out the lubrication on the blade shaft. Ours starting binding. Fortunately I had the tools to remove the shaft and lubricate it. Now it's working fine again, but now we are careful just to rinse it with a brush and hot water and keep it out of the dishwasher. NOVEMBER 2008 Update: Three years of nearly daily use now, and no further problems. (Where does the time go?)