This is going to be a shameless plug for the Vita-Mix machine. And I do mean shameless, because I do not have any reservations in recommending this awesome machine for anyone’s kitchen.
We purchased our Vita-Mix almost six years ago and have never had a moment’s trouble with it. The warranty is seven years.
Here’s what I am able to do with my Vita-Mix. I use it several times each day.
- Mill grains into flour (Grinding Gluten-Free Grains and Whole Wheat Bread Baking Tutorial)
- Crack grains (Cracked Grain Cereal Mix and GF Cracked Grain Cereal Mix)
- Blend chocolate syrup and chocolate glaze/frosting (Chocolate Syrup and Dark Chocolate Frosting)
- Whip up ice cream ingredients (Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream)
- Blend hummus and other bean dips (Hummus)
- Blend smoothies, including pulverizing the ice with no trouble at all (31 Healthy Smoothie Recipes)
- Blend/whip salad dressings (Tomato Dressing)
- Chop fruit into purees and sauces (Raw Applesauce)
- Grind nut butters (Natural Peanut Butter)
- Grind nuts and water to create smooth and creamy nut milks (Raw Nut Milk – Almond or Hazelnut)
- Puree frozen fruit to become frozen treats (Chocolate Banana Shake)
- Grind flax seeds into flax seed meal (Flax Seed Meal: Egg Substitute)
- Chop nuts, grind nut flours
- Grind coarse sea salt into fine sea salt, grind other seasoning mixes (Herb Seasoning Salt)
- Grind coarse date sugar into a fine sugar
- Puree garlic with water to make a sauce for spraying on pests in the garden
- Chop fresh herbs with olive oil, making a paste to freeze in ice cube trays for later use
What Can’t Be Beat?
Plenty — the handling of ice and harder foods in smoothies and raw food juices; the pulverization of nuts to create simple, raw nut milks; the making of sauces, spreads and purees; the cracking of grains; and the ease with which I can mill grains in a versatile appliance.
The current model of the Vita-Mix (the 5200) offers a BPA-free container. That is a really great feature. I would like to investigate whether my model’s container (the 5000) leaches BPA into the foods I prepare with it. If so, I also wonder whether I could purchase the newer container to fit on my older model’s base.
Hold On A Second!
Since I am giving my unbiased opinion, let me tell you what I don’t recommend as uses of the Vita-Mix. I don’t think it handles chopping vegetables as well as a food processor does. It doesn’t cut as evenly and I believe it doesn’t circulate the vegetables as well because the base of the container isn’t as wide as a food processor’s container. When making healthy slaws, the Vita-Mix tends to juice the veggies while it chops them (unevenly) and the resulting juice imparts a bitter flavor to the slaw. So if you’re wanting the Vita-Mix as a food processor, I say — get a food processor, such as the Cuisinart 14-cup food processor.
And while the Vita-Mix makes nut butters pretty well, I believe the food processor performs this function better also. Again, it has to do with the wider container base which better allows the nut butter to circulate. Fattier nuts such as peanuts do well in the Vita-Mix, but nuts with less oil don’t do well at all because there’s no oil to help them circulate in the narrow container.
If you are interested in the Vita-Mix just for grinding grains, I would probably recommend purchasing a stand-alone grain mill, such as a Mockmill. However, I’m not saying the Vita-Mix doesn’t do an excellent job with grinding grains. I learned very quickly that one should grind harder grains (such as wheat, rye, barley, kamut and rice) for 15 seconds longer than the manual recommends to ensure a smooth fine grind. In addition, resist the temptation to grind more than 2 cups of grains at a time because overloading it can also result in a less-than-fine grind. If you follow these two additional guidelines, your flours will be fine and light and perfect for many baking applications.
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Hi, Wardee:
My parents bought a Vita-Mix several years ago and have generously allowed me to use it to grind flours and make ice cream and purees (especially for homemade baby food the past few years). It is an amazing machine, and someday I am going to save up enough pennies to buy my own, as I consider it an indispensable kitchen gadget! I wanted to pass along that I was recently reading one of the recipe books that came with my parents’ machine, and it suggested something that I would not have thought of for chopping vegetables more evenly–especially for slaws–and that is to use a large quantity of water with, say, the cabbage that you’re chopping so that the contents of the container swirl around more during the processing. Then you can drain the water off by pouring it through a strainer. I haven’t tried this yet, but the next time my parents let me borrow their machine, I will! 🙂 I think it’s so cool that you are offering the Vita-Mix from your site.
Love,
Sonya
Sonya,
Thank you for mentioning that! I forgot to comment on that. I have tried that method more than a few times and I don’t prefer it. That’s not to say it doesn’t work and for the reason you stated — it does chop more evenly.
However, the drawbacks (in my opinion) are that 1) it is very easy to overchop and end up with minced vegetables and 2) I think nutrients are washed away in the water as evidenced by the water taking on so much color from the veggies. I have tried it with carrots, green peppers, and cabbage.
I hope that one day soon all your pennies will add so you’ll be able to add the Vita-Mix to your kitchen! It is nice that in the meantime you can borrow your parents, though!
Thanks again, Sonya! You’re always so helpful and I appreciate what you have to add here.
And I’m so glad, Wardee, that I can read things on your blog and learn about them without needing to go through the trial and error myself! 🙂 I am kind of bummed out, though, that I won’t be able to completely replace my food processor with the Vita-Mix. It would be nice to be able to clear a few things out of my kitchen to make room for it! 🙂
Love,
Sonya
Sonya, that is a little disappointing isn’t it? But I don’t want to leave you with the impression that the VM is a horrible food processor; it isn’t. It does pretty well and if that’s all you had, I think it could meet most food processing needs pretty well.
I just recently got a Vita Mix that is also the 5000. I love it! It’s been a lot of fun. I just found your website last night and have enjoyed reading it. I have been trying to switch over to a whole foods approach recently. Our food tastes so much better! And I’ve had fun experimenting in the kitchen.
Thank you for your blog!
Wardee,
What do you know about the older vitamix blenders? I saw one on Craig’s List with a stainless steel container. I checked ebay for similar and those said they could grind grain. I’m looking to replace a 2 year old kitchenaid blender because the plastic container is already cracking. :-/
Christie, I don’t know anything about the older ones, really. Although I was reading a blog once and that person had purposely chosen to buy an older one just because of the container. I thought that was wise and wished I’d been wiser about plastic when we purchased ours. Let me know what you decide and how it works, if you decide to buy it!
I’m waiting to here if the first person who responded to the Craig’s List ad will buy it. The seller said they’d consider me second in line. We’ll see. I’ve been checking CL for several months!
I hope you get it, Christie!
Wardee,
Brent got me a Vita Mixer for Mother’s Day. It is the best. We really need to eat natural here. I am excited to see your recipes. Tricia told me about your site. It is really good.
Tracy
Tracy, that is wonderful! I am very happy for you. Let me know about any questions you have!
I was curious how you ground the sea salt. I’m trying it right now and I’m having some issues.
Hi Wardee,
Can we grind lamb in Vitamix without burning the motor? I asked the question to Vitamix they referred me to RawBlend.com website. That was of little help.
Regards
Anand