A Smooth Smoothie Maker (Russell Hobbs 12620 Smoothie Maker)

Member Name: Surfbabe13

Product:	Russell Hobbs 12620 Smoothie Maker
Date:	28/07/09 (48 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use and looks good

Disadvantages: Tap can result in spillages

We have had this smoothie maker since Christmas and use it several times a week.

It has a smart silver base with black buttons so looks good on the work top. The jug holds 1.8litres, although I've never filled it this full. It has three buttons, off, whizz and super whizz, so couldn't be simplier really as well as an ice button on the opposite side. The tap doesn't stick out too far so doesn't intrude on the worktop space, although it does make it harder to store in a cupboard! The jug locks into place by lining up the black and silver arrowhead and it won't work unless they are alined properly. There are two parts to the lid; a black one that must be clicked into place and then either a small clear plastic one that clicks in the middle or else the long stirrer can be fitted which helps if you are making a thick drink as it is already in place to stir the mixture if starts to clog up.

We mainly use it for making milkshakes rather than smoothies so don;t tend to have thicker mixtures to deal with, but the few times we have used for a smoothy it has worked reasonably well.

It is quite simple to make a simple drink using this machine. You basically add milk, ice and/or ice-cream and flavouring of your choice and zap it!. All sorts of combinations can be used of yogurt, ice, ice-cream, milk and fruit. I haven't used it for vegetables so don't know how it would cope with ones such as carrots, but it deals well with all sorts of fruit. It is worth reading the instruction booklet that comes with it as it does contain useful tips and hints as well as recipes.

You only have to zap it for 10 seconds on whizz and 5 seconds on super whizz to have a ready to go drink. As to loading the jug - this is where you have to go carefully. The tap is the one feature on this machine that is not foolproof. We have taken to holding another glass underneath the tap when pouring stuff in as the valve does not always shut tight after cleaning and needs several wiggles in either direction before you can before sure it won;t let liquid out!

I tend to load the jug in what ever order I feel like and it doesn't seem to make much difference to how it turns out!.

Cleaning the machine can be a bit of a pain as the whilst the jug detaches from the main base it is attached to the sub base which houses the connector for the motor - therefore you cannot immerse it in water to clean it !. I've found the best way to clean it is to squirt a little washing up liquid into it and then add hot water (making sure the tap is closed !) then give it a good brush with a washing up brush so you can get between the blades, open the tap and let the water out and then rinse in the same way with plenty of clean hot water. At this point I usually run some more water through and test the tap until it stops the water and then up end it to get rid of the remining water. Dry with a clean cloth and reassemble the unit ready for next time.

I like this machine but I wouldn't have bought one myself - my Kenwood liquidiser does the same job equally as well, but it was a worthwhile present and it does get used quite often which means that we all drink more healthily!

Summary: A useful machine if kept out of the cupboard