Which to get if I can only get one? I don’t slice or shred with a food processor. I am willing to give up making dough in my food processor. My primary issue with food processors is cleaning takes a while.
Is cleaning a Vitamix easy for things like peanut butter, hummous, pesto, mayo? Can you even make mayo in a Vitamix?
(My food processor died because I was making too many nut butters and almond paste.)
Vitamix is sooooo easy to clean. Rinse, add water, squirt of soap, turn to clean, flip on, rinse. I use my vitamix much more than the food processor.
Yea, you can make mayo. It’s incredibly versatile.
Exactly what I was hoping to hear. Is it easy to clean after tough jobs like peanut butter, too? Which model do you have?
Yup, I’ve never had an issue cleaning anything. I have the pro 750. I never used a blender before I bought it, and use the vitamix all the time.
Last question… for today. I currently have 2 blenders, so my smoothies don’t smell like garlic. Do you have any taste/odor issues with the vitamix jar?
I can’t say I’ve noticed any lingering odors
I use both but given your conditions I would go with the Vitamix. Mine came with two blender jars (one large, one small), so if you buy a package like that you could reserve one or the other for stinky stuff, though I haven’t noticed any issues with lingering flavors. Cleaning is easy, as fldhky mentioned. It’s a great machine!
If you have a blender or two, then you know how loud they can be. And they tend to over process things like nut butters, which can over heat , lose nutritional value and require you to add water. I also think they are much harder to remove the food from, after all, the food processor blade comes right out.
In any case you can clean a fp just like a blender, just add water and a drop or two of detergent and turn it back on. Some lids can be harder to clean, that’s true. Personally, I think you should try making a pesto in one of your blenders and see what you think.
I’m somewhat curious as to what food processor you were using, as their watt power varies quite a bit.
I’d look at Blendtec too. There are myriad Vitamix vs. Blendtec youtube videos and they are fairly comparable, depending who you’re talking to and if they have a horse in the race (AKA: manufacturer’s kickbacks). They both are excellent machines. I bought a new Blendtec Total Blender with the Wild Side Jar last year at this time for under $200.00. Look around and be patient. They do go on sale. What’s a new full powered Vitamix cost? $500.00 or more? If it was me and I had $500.00 to spend, I’d buy the Blendtec AND a $200.00 Cuisinart 14 cup food processor because a blender can’t do everything (well) that a food processor can do and vice versa.
I self-administered a virtual dope-slap when I saw Jacques Pepin simplify the cleaning of a food processor. Pour out the contents, then put the blade and lid back on and run it for a second. Centrifugal force cleans off the blade and the remaining food can be easily removed with a rubber scraper.
Vitamix sells authorized refurbished machines as well that have a five year warranty at a significant savings. I don’t own one myself but my good friend does and she’s fanatical about it. I was over and we used it for smoothies- it is really crazy loud!! it’s awesome and easily obliterated frozen fruit and some cashews and kale into a smooper smooth mixture very quickly but yeah, just loud.
Good to know this. Not that I need instantly a mixer, but the existing one starts to show age and I should be prepared. My husband has offered me a refurbished Kitchen Aid Stand mixer from Amazon as Christmas gift many years ago and I’m quite happy with the price and the performance, although I need to use a voltage converter for Europe usage.
Yes! I use that little trick all the time. I love Jacques 
My food processor, electric beater, and both blenders are/were clearance specials. Either from Macy’s or Ollie’s Bargain Outlet. They were purchased 12 years ago. The last two years I have started to make everything at home and now all are dead or on the way out. The blenders require more liquid than I would like or I have to stop and mix a whole lot. The electric beater smells like the motor will burn out any day. Can’t wait to purchase a Kitchen Aid stand mixer and live in luxury. I figured I’ve paid my dues.
As for cleaning, the Oster blenders don’t clean properly at all running them with soap and warm water. I have to pretty much disassemble the bottom blade/seal/cover and clean everything. A few times I have cut myself cleaning the blades. The biggest cleaning issue I had with my food processor wasn’t with the blade, it was that gunk always found its way into the hole in the middle of the plastic cone thing that the blades are connected to. It was very hard to clean. And cleaning the lid was occasionally a pain, too.
I can’t say what’s best for you . It could possibly be that an improvement in either the blender or food processor may be better for you. I am more of a food processor person, so that’s me.
The 14 cup Cuisinart processors are quite good and I believe they make two models in that size. Maybe it would help if you watched some YouTube videos of someone making nut butter or pesto in their Vitamix blender.
My feeling is one doesn’t replace the other.
We ended up ordering a Vitamix. They have unbelievable deals on reconditioned models right now. We investigated this far more than necessary, but that’s half the fun, right? I’ll provide all the details below in case it might help someone. I found two very helpful guides at Joy of Blending and Life Is NOYOKE.
Short Story
You can get either a tall jar or wide jar reconditioned model for about $260, shipping included. Go to the Vitamix shop and choose either Certified Reconditioned Standard Programs or Certified Reconditioned 5300. The latter lacks the pre-programmed settings of the prior, but from everything I read, those “programs” aren’t very useful anyway. Otherwise, the two are the same except for the jar.
Use coupon code champannej for 10% off and free shipping. Here is a sample screenshot of what your shopping cart will look like.
Long Story
If the coupon code doesn’t work, just call them and ask for another one. Alternatively, you can support the various Vitamix blogs by using their coupon codes. You won’t get 10% off, but you still get free shipping. For example, you can find the promotion code for Joy of Blending here.
In that screenshot above, you’ll see a tamper listed under “You might also be interested in…”, but don’t worry, a tamper is included with the unit. It confused me at first.
Reconditioned jars are always brand new, however the actual blade itself may have been reused after undergoing sterilization. The reconditioned units have only a 5 year warranty instead of a 7 year warranty.
You have 30 days to return the unit and Vitamix will pay return shipping. Additionally, shipping is covered both ways for any warranty repairs.
I got the tall jar because it requires less ingredients to blend and that fits my use better. From reports I read, it seems like the wider jar is better for working with dough and a little better for thicker blends like hummous.
If you scroll to the bottom of the Joy of Blending guide, the author of that blog recommends a silicone spatula off Amazon over the ones that Vitamix sells. I purchased one of those, too.
Once I settled on Vitamix, I eliminated the Personal (S-series) and newer Ascentia series from my search. That left C- and G-series models, otherwise known as Legacy. There are still a ton of models to choose from so it gets confusing. However, it seems the motor for all of these models is actually the same. So, ignoring “programs”, there are three primary differences between the Legacy models: the shell, the speed control, and the jar (tall/narrow vs short/wide). The G-series has an updated shell that allows for better airflow and sound dampening. The G-series also has a feedback speed control. You can read here that some C-series also have the feedback speed control. The older speed control does have an advantage in that it gives a lower minimum speed, which some owners prefer. Vitamix says not to use the wide jars on C-series models, but you can read about that here. Also, confusing matters more, is that some C-series models are sold with the wide jars, like the reconditioned one Vitamix is selling right now. (Most of these details were learned through discussion with the author of Joy of Blending.)
In summary, just pick the one with the jar that suits your needs and don’t worry about the other stuff.
I have a Vitamix 5200 and a Blendtec. The Vitamix is a beast which I push to the limit with frozen bananas when making smoothies. The tamper is perfect
Congrats, I hope you enjoy it. I never use the presets so definitely not a must feature.
How does the Vitamix compare with the Blendtec?
