Guest guest Posted July 20, 2005 Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 Wow! Thank you, Roger, for such thorough advice! The blades in the vitamix aren't sharp (I thought all vitamixers had dull blades since the revolutions are so high?). I used half a bunch of kale, about 1 1/2 cups of water, juice of 1/2 a lemon, 1 pear and a couple handfuls of raspberries. I had the power up as high as it would go (to the point of heating up), and still the results were very undesirable - there would pretty good size pieces of kale - everything else blended up fine. I started to drink (chew) it, but just couldn't handle it - I ended up with a big wad of unchewable greens in my mouth - that's when I decided to strain it. I was using a $20 Hamilton Beach blender before to make my green smoothies and it did quite well - it produced a pretty smooth smoothie. I would have used it this morning, but it has stopped working I really expected the vitamix to make it even smoother than the cheapo blender! The motor on the old vitamix is certainly very powerful - I wonder what it could be... Thanks again, Roger! Roger Padvorac <roger wrote: Hi Sheree, I'm sorry to hear you had a discouraging morning. I don't work with fixed proportions when making smoothies, I just keep adding water until the mix is liquid enough to circulate in the blender. Unless it is something really juicy like very ripe peaches, I start with some water, and then add ingredients making sure it liquefies before adding more. This avoids the ingredients becoming a solid block of stuff choking the blender. The more solid the food is, like crisp apples, the smaller I chop it up and slower I add the pieces into the blender. I ended up trying several different blenders, and found out the ones with a narrow space around the blades were very difficult to make smoothies in. In these narrow necked blenders I had to make very runny smoothies or it would just choke on the ingredients. If the smoothie is too thick for the blender, it might be grinding up the material at the bottom of the jug, but not the top. Be sure them mix is liquid enough to be circulating all the material in the blender. The fuller the blender gets, the more likely there will be some chunks on top that aren't getting pulled down to the blades. On the other hand, if there isn't enough ingredients in the blender, then they tend to just bounce around or stick to the sides away from the blades. Each blender design has an optimum amount of ingredients that produces the smoothest smoothies. I watch all this through the clear sides and clear cap at the top. In a blender with opaque sides and top, it would be more challenging to learn how to do all this because you couldn't see what was happening while it was blending. After getting all my ingredients in and coarsely ground up, I check for taste. When I have a good flavor balance, I let the blender go for several minutes to get a smoother mixture. On hot days, to prevent the mix from overheating and cooking the food, I use some ice cubes for the original water content. Unless you work with soft food like peaches or bananas, you will have texture in your smoothie. How big were the pieces you were straining out? It is also easier to make smooth smoothies (and cut yourself when cleaning the blender) when using a blender with sharp blades. I'm sure if somebody ground a lot of hard material like wheat to make flour it would eventually dull the blades. How sharp are the blades in your blender? My current blender is a Kitchen Aid Ultra Power with a glass jug and clear cap. The are made with dull blades (for safety reasons) which made pretty coarse smoothies. I used a small flat file to sharpen the blades, but not the tips of the blades, and am fairly happy with it now. It makes pretty smooth smoothies, and the dull tips on the blades reduce the chances of cutting myself when cleaning the blender. Because its blades are removable it is easier to thoroughly clean, after blending sticky ingredients like flaxseeds, than the blenders without removable blades. I wore out my old Kitchen Aid blender, and the new style is much quicker to clean than the old one, and easier to clean than most of the other blenders I tried. If you are blending oily ingredients, the glass jugs are easier to clean than the plastic jugs. I hopes this helps you get going with the smoothies. Drinking smoothies with greens has been very helpful for improving my health. May your day be filled with clarity, grace, progress, and warm laughter, Roger - " Sheree " <goldenrae2001 " RAWSEATTLE " <RawSeattle > Tuesday, July 19, 2005 10:22 AM [RawSeattle] vitamix questions > I'm a little discouraged as I just purchased a used vitamixer from Craigslist that's not performing as well as I'd expected. I've only been successful once out of several attempts to liquefy in it - I don't know if it needs a new blade (it's the old-style Vitamix with the stainless steel pitcher), or if I'm just not doing something right. I had to strain my green smoothie in order to drink it this morning, which defeats the whole purpose of the smoothie. Is there an order I should be doing this in? Maybe I didn't use the correct ratio of greens, water and fruit?? > > Please help. > > > > Sheree > > Why do we treat our cars and clothes better than our precious bodies? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 20, 2005 Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 Sheree, It's possible that the motor is worn. If someone before you used it heavily without taking care of it. If it was in a food service business it may just have a lot of hours on it. The good news is that motors can usually be rebuilt inexpensively, and you should definitely check into having it done. Typically all that wears are the bearings and brushes. Look in the yellow pages under " electric motors, dealers and repairing " . Just as a point of reference, the motors used in electric passenger cars are warranteed for 600,000 miles. Then they rebuild them and send them out again with another new warranty. Hope this helps. Nick Hein Morgantown, WV - " Sheree " <goldenrae2001 <RawSeattle > Tuesday, July 19, 2005 7:33 PM Re: [RawSeattle] vitamix questions and making smoothies/Roger > Wow! Thank you, Roger, for such thorough advice! > > The blades in the vitamix aren't sharp (I thought all vitamixers had dull blades since the revolutions are so high?). > > I used half a bunch of kale, about 1 1/2 cups of water, juice of 1/2 a lemon, 1 pear and a couple handfuls of raspberries. I had the power up as high as it would go (to the point of heating up), and still the results were very undesirable - there would pretty good size pieces of kale - everything else blended up fine. I started to drink (chew) it, but just couldn't handle it - I ended up with a big wad of unchewable greens in my mouth - that's when I decided to strain it. > > I was using a $20 Hamilton Beach blender before to make my green smoothies and it did quite well - it produced a pretty smooth smoothie. I would have used it this morning, but it has stopped working I really expected the vitamix to make it even smoother than the cheapo blender! The motor on the old vitamix is certainly very powerful - I wonder what it could be... > > Thanks again, Roger! > > > > Roger Padvorac <roger wrote: > Hi Sheree, > I'm sorry to hear you had a discouraging morning. I don't work with fixed proportions when making smoothies, I just keep adding water until the mix is liquid enough to circulate in the blender. Unless it is something really juicy like very ripe peaches, I start with some water, and then add ingredients making sure it liquefies before adding more. This avoids the ingredients becoming a solid block of stuff choking the blender. > > The more solid the food is, like crisp apples, the smaller I chop it up and slower I add the pieces into the blender. > > I ended up trying several different blenders, and found out the ones with a narrow space around the blades were very difficult to make smoothies in. In these narrow necked blenders I had to make very runny smoothies or it would just choke on the ingredients. > > If the smoothie is too thick for the blender, it might be grinding up the material at the bottom of the jug, but not the top. Be sure them mix is liquid enough to be circulating all the material in the blender. The fuller the blender gets, the more likely there will be some chunks on top that aren't getting pulled down to the blades. On the other hand, if there isn't enough ingredients in the blender, then they tend to just bounce around or stick to the sides away from the blades. Each blender design has an optimum amount of ingredients that produces the smoothest smoothies. I watch all this through the clear sides and clear cap at the top. > > In a blender with opaque sides and top, it would be more challenging to learn how to do all this because you couldn't see what was happening while it was blending. > > After getting all my ingredients in and coarsely ground up, I check for taste. When I have a good flavor balance, I let the blender go for several minutes to get a smoother mixture. On hot days, to prevent the mix from overheating and cooking the food, I use some ice cubes for the original water content. > > Unless you work with soft food like peaches or bananas, you will have texture in your smoothie. How big were the pieces you were straining out? > > It is also easier to make smooth smoothies (and cut yourself when cleaning the blender) when using a blender with sharp blades. I'm sure if somebody ground a lot of hard material like wheat to make flour it would eventually dull the blades. How sharp are the blades in your blender? > > My current blender is a Kitchen Aid Ultra Power with a glass jug and clear cap. The are made with dull blades (for safety reasons) which made pretty coarse smoothies. I used a small flat file to sharpen the blades, but not the tips of the blades, and am fairly happy with it now. It makes pretty smooth smoothies, and the dull tips on the blades reduce the chances of cutting myself when cleaning the blender. Because its blades are removable it is easier to thoroughly clean, after blending sticky ingredients like flaxseeds, than the blenders without removable blades. > > I wore out my old Kitchen Aid blender, and the new style is much quicker to clean than the old one, and easier to clean than most of the other blenders I tried. > > If you are blending oily ingredients, the glass jugs are easier to clean than the plastic jugs. > > I hopes this helps you get going with the smoothies. Drinking smoothies with greens has been very helpful for improving my health. > > May your day be filled with clarity, grace, progress, and warm laughter, > Roger > > - > " Sheree " <goldenrae2001 > " RAWSEATTLE " <RawSeattle > > Tuesday, July 19, 2005 10:22 AM > [RawSeattle] vitamix questions > > > > I'm a little discouraged as I just purchased a used vitamixer from Craigslist that's not performing as well as I'd expected. I've only been successful once out of several attempts to liquefy in it - I don't know if it needs a new blade (it's the old-style Vitamix with the stainless steel pitcher), or if I'm just not doing something right. I had to strain my green smoothie in order to drink it this morning, which defeats the whole purpose of the smoothie. Is there an order I should be doing this in? Maybe I didn't use the correct ratio of greens, water and fruit?? > > > > Please help. > > > > > > > > Sheree > > > > Why do we treat our cars and clothes better than our precious bodies? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 20, 2005 Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 I agree, Great Post Roger, Thank you!! I too have one of those metal old vita-mix's and I don't get a really super smooth green smoothie. (it's a little chunky) I checked my blades and they don't seem like they were ever sharp. I have found that adding ice, or a frozen fruit, while I blend helps the mixture from getting too hot, that way I can blend longer and get a smoother consistancy. The other thing I don't find useful in this blender is that the container is rather narrow. Makes for difficulty scraping out the insides. And that you can't see inside is kind of a drag too. I think I'll be on the hunt for a newer blender. Anyone have any advice as to a good, inexpensive brand? Regards, Trish RawSeattle , Sheree <goldenrae2001> wrote: > Wow! Thank you, Roger, for such thorough advice! > > The blades in the vitamix aren't sharp (I thought all vitamixers had dull blades since the revolutions are so high?). > > I used half a bunch of kale, about 1 1/2 cups of water, juice of 1/2 a lemon, 1 pear and a couple handfuls of raspberries. I had the power up as high as it would go (to the point of heating up), and still the results were very undesirable - there would pretty good size pieces of kale - everything else blended up fine. I started to drink (chew) it, but just couldn't handle it - I ended up with a big wad of unchewable greens in my mouth - that's when I decided to strain it. > > I was using a $20 Hamilton Beach blender before to make my green smoothies and it did quite well - it produced a pretty smooth smoothie. I would have used it this morning, but it has stopped working I really expected the vitamix to make it even smoother than the cheapo blender! The motor on the old vitamix is certainly very powerful - I wonder what it could be... > > Thanks again, Roger! > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 20, 2005 Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 > > The other thing I don't find useful in this blender is that the > container is rather narrow. Makes for difficulty scraping out the > insides. That's one reason why I'm favoring a K-Tec. It's more squat, so it's easier to get into. > still the results were very undesirable - there would pretty good > size pieces of kale - everything else blended up fine. I started to > drink (chew) it, but just couldn't handle it - I ended up with a big > wad of unchewable greens in my mouth - Did you chop up the kale before adding it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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