Our favorite blender since 2013

52 Things We Love: Vitamix 5200 Michael Hession The Vitamix 5200 is still the best for blending everything from velvety frozen margaritas to silky soup. by Lesley Stockton The [Vitamix 5200]( is the best blender I’ve ever used in my 20-plus years cooking in restaurants, test kitchens, catering, and at home. And since it’s my job to [review blenders for Wirecutter]( I can attest that this classic Vitamix blender has outperformed every other model I’ve tested since 2013. No matter how thick the mixture or the size of the batch, the Vitamix 5200 turns most smoothie and daiquiri recipes into velvety concoctions with little effort. That’s because it has a powerful motor, a tapered jar that helps draw ingredients down into the blades, and a tamper for bursting the occasional air bubble, to keep things moving. The Vitamix 5200 has outperformed every blender I’ve tested since 2013. I first used the Vitamix 5200 as a young cook in New York City. My daily prep included making a garnish that involved blending a handful of blanched lovage with a scant amount of oil. This small and dense mixture can be kryptonite for most blenders, but Vitamix’s low-set, wide-span blades pulverized the fibrous greens and produced a vibrant green oil. One of the things I love the most about the Vitamix 5200 is how it balances power with restraint. Other performance blenders create a violent cyclone in the jar, whipping food up the sides and into the lid. That’s not a good thing, especially if you’re blending hot soup. Vitamix’s speeds range from a calm stir all the way to ice-crushing force. As long as you start the blender on low before gradually dialing up the speed, your soup will stay in the jar. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. [Learn more]( → How it started Vitamix is a fourth-generation business that still manufactures its blenders in Ohio, and the company will celebrate its 100th birthday next year. In 1921, William Grover Barnard started the Natural Food Institute, which would eventually become the Vitamix Corporation. The company produced the first Vitamix blender in 1937. There’s even an [infomercial]( from 1949 starring Barnard and an early Vitamix blender. (There’s a lot of dated gender language in the video. Viewer discretion advised.) When to buy The best time to pick up this blender is around the deals holidays, like Black Friday and Prime Day. We’ve also seen a couple of decent sales in early spring. The numbers $450 Average street price $260 Best price we’ve ever seen Make it last A [Vitamix]( will last years if you treat it well. Even though it’s a durable blender with a powerful motor, it’s not indestructible. Thick and gooey mixtures, like a big batch of almond butter, can tax the motor. You’ll know because you’ll hear the motor strain, and the base will start warming up. If this happens, just stop the motor and let it rest for an hour or so. And if you suspect you have too much food in the jar, split it up into two batches. The biggest complaint I hear about blenders is that they’re difficult to clean—but that doesn’t have to be the case. The same motor and blades that pulverize foods into silky purees also help clean the jar. Simply run hot tap water and a bit of dish soap on high speed for 30 seconds to dislodge food stuck around and under the blades. Then give it a rinse. If there’s still some debris in the jar, scrub it away using a [bottle brush]( and a little hot, soapy water. Copyright © 2020 Wirecutter, Inc., all rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up for Wirecutter's newsletter. [Forward this email to a friend](. [View this email in your browser](. Getting too many emails from us? [Get only our Sunday newsletter](. To stop receiving all our emails, [unsubscribe here](. Our mailing address is: Wirecutter, Inc. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018‌ [Privacy Policy]( | [California Notices]( | [Terms of Service]( | [Contact Us](