| Product: |
Kenwood New York Smoothie Maker |
| Date: |
30/09/04 (4495 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Easy to use, Easy to keep clean, Makes wonderful smoothies
Disadvantages: None
The few months before Christmas are always a nightmare with advertisements on the television for gift ideas. Last year was a bit different though. I saw an advertisement not once, but about twenty times for the new Kenwood Smoothie maker. It really caught my eye because it looked good with it’s silver and black colour and also as a family we are quite partial to the odd smoothie or too. Yes, before you say it, I know that these things are sometimes a con, but I really wanted one and dropped numerous hints. Christmas Day arrived and no smoothie maker so I dropped heavier hints and on my birthday I was presented with a huge box from the children in which was my coveted prize – a smoothie maker! The smoothie makers are widely available from both high street and online stores but the cheapest deal I’ve found is from Amazon where they retail at just under £30.00.
The smoothie maker consists of a silver coloured base with black rubber feet and a plastic blending compartment similar to a liquidiser that fits onto the base. A black dispensing tap sits at the bottom of the compartment from which the smoothies can be poured into the glass of your choice once they are ready. A bit like having a beer keg in the house really! I was a little disappointed that the gadget was all plastic as I had expected the base to be made of metal but as it still looked good it wasn’t much of an issue.
A smoothie maker is really a glorified liquidiser and as I already have two of those, on my food processor as well as my Kenwood Chef you might ask why on earth I wanted another. I’m a bit of a kitchen gadget fanatic and I don’t allow the children to use the large glass liquidiser I have as they are so clumsy so the smoothie maker is ideal for them to use on their own.
A full set of instructions and a recipe leaflet is provided with the smoothie maker but really you won’t need to refer to them much. It’s basic common sense as to how the machine operates and my children who are aged 13 and 9 can both operate it unsupervised.
The first thing to decide is what ingredients you want to have in your smoothie and make sure the dispensing tap is in the off position otherwise the liquid will leak all over the kitchen worktop. In the mornings we go for a mixture of yogurt and fresh fruit and these can be added together to the liquidiser first. We then add a few ice cubes and away we go. The liquidiser does have measurements on it but I normally allow half a glass of liquid per person and then as much fruit and other bits as we like. The children always go back for seconds anyway so we never have any waste.
Once the ingredients are in the compartment the lid needs to be put on. A stirrer is attached to the lid and I normally give the ingredients a quick flick round to distribute them evenly before turning the machine on using the on/off switch. The mix button then needs to be pressed and the time it needs really depends on the type of fruit you’re using. I normally press mine and leave it for twenty to thirty seconds then I press the smooth button which makes the mixture smooth and silky and gets rid of any lumpy bits of pulp.
Now it’s time to sample! A glass needs to be put under the mixing tap to dispense the smoothie. We’ve got some long tumblers which fit snugly underneath and whilst opening the tap the mix button needs to be pressed to dispense the liquid. If you don’t press the button the liquid sometimes only emerges in a trickle so it is advisable to use the button to agitate it whilst pouring if you have a thick smoothie.
A pulse button is also provided on the unit but I don’t tend to use this one much. The idea is that it operates the smoothie maker is a stop/start motion so that the thickness of the drink can be managed easier, but I find the normal method works well for us.
Obviously there are a few important aspects regarding usage. Dry ingredients such as nuts and spices should never be placed into the liquidiser compartment, and food that has stuck together in the freezer, eg frozen fruit, should be broken apart before placing in the machine. There is also a warning not to use the machine continuously for more than 60 seconds but a normal smoothie will take between thirty and forty seconds and there is space for up to four servings in the liquidiser so that should never be an issue.
The machine is easy to clean as the liquidiser compartment can be washed in normal washing detergent and the base wiped over with a damp cloth after usage. It’s not dishwasher safe so for those people who are lazy this could be an important purchase issue.
Of course recipes can be adapted to suit your needs and we have experimented with our smoothie maker a great deal since February. Depending on the occasion we make morning smoothies that consist of fruit and yogurt or decadent ones that consist of scoops of ice cream with whatever ingredients we fancy. We’ve never had so many weird and wonderful but gorgeously moreish drinks in the house since we bought it.
Overall I’m thrilled with my smoothie maker. It may not be much different to my liquidiser but it’s easier to operate, much easier to keep clean and it looks good sitting on the kitchen worktop. The children can operate it safely and we have developed some wonderful concoctions for ourselves and friends when they visit. If you’re stuck for a novel present, the Kenwood Smoothie Maker makes an ideal gift and providing the recipient enjoys smoothies, I can guarantee they will be thrilled with one.
MY RECIPES
All serve four
Toffee Titillation
2 cartons of toffee yogurt (we normally use Muller)
½ pint milk
Four scoops of Tesco Toffee Ripple Ice Cream (or similar)
Handful of ice cubes
A couple of bananas can be added to this to make a Banoffee Shake which tastes absolutely fabulpus.
If you want to make an alcoholic version of this we add a little Dooleys Toffee Liquer or a good old dollop of Baileys
Choco Mint Surprise
½ pint milk
Four scoops of mint choc chip ice cream
A few spoonfuls of melted chocolate
We sometimes add a bit of Angel Delight to this as well which gives it a nice thick taste
A handful of ice
For an alcoholic version I add a hefty portion of Crème de Menthe and a bit of cream
Peach and Raspberry Delight
I large container of peach melba yogurt
3 sliced peaches
A handful of fresh or frozen raspberries
½ pint of milk
A handful of ice
You can add some ice cream to this but we prefer it without
I have tried this with raspberry vodka for an extra kick and it’s out of this world. The same goes if you mix Peach Schnapps with it.
Coconut
1 tin coconut milk
A handful of ice
That simple, and it tastes divine, although for an alcoholic version I shove in a measure of pina colada or Malibu.
Mixed Fruit Wake me Up
Blueberries
Raspberries
Blackberries
Blackcurr ants
2 cartons of any yogurt with the above flavourings
½ pint milk
Handful of ice
This is the smoothie that I adore and quite often start the morning with a glass. Any mixture of fruit can be used and out of season most of the supermarkets sell bags of frozen fruit either on its own or mixed.
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