Appliance Reviews

Shopping for a blender can get aggravating because of so many things to compare, and you may end up convincing yourself that you have to spend $150 or more to get something lasting. This blender will prove that philosophy wrong. Take advantage of the fact that this is a new company offering this incredible machine at such a low price...I guarantee that won't last long. I had to wait more than three months to get mine from Amazon (who were nice enough to upgrade my shipping to 2nd FedEx free of charge to compensate for the long wait).

To start, this is the quietest blender I have used so far. Then, the way the glass jug fits over the base is different and gives an added feeling of security. If you look closely at the picture, you will see two of the three metal, wide "prongs" that stick up from the base and kind of cradle the jug. It just FEELS good. Also, the six-blades have a unique design (in fact, I thought they were defective and bent in wierd directions), but you realize that they were especially made to crush ice. I have never been able to crush ice this easily. No more of those chunks that end up below the blades, because one arm of the blades actually aims DOWNWARDS. Even the top of the jug is nice; it is heavy and fits snugly. Believe it or not, even the electric plug is designed better than all else; it has a loop at the end that allows you to safely unplug it with wet hands.

To top it all off, the design and material makes this look like an expensive designer blender. The simple elegance of the switch is just the right touch.

In all, I love this blender. It has actually inspired me and I now want to blend everything, including my AM cereal.

This one's turned entertaining at my house from Budweiser and Chardonnay to Stawberry Daquiris and Margueritas. I've used glass and plastic blenders before that I used to hide under the kitchen counter but the sleek and stylish stainless steel design of this blender have made it a proud showpiece on my bar. It crushes berries and even ice with ease and the pitcher also makes a good cocktail shaker for more liquid drinks. The pitcher is made of thick stainless steel that looks like it's made to last. Looks great, works well - 5 stars!

The first thing I noticed about this is just how good it looks. It really is a showpiece in my kitchen. The smooth, rounded shape and the shiny chrome finish really make it look fabulous and I leave it out on the counter all the time. Apart from that, it seems pretty much a normal toaster. The extra-lift feature makes getting small bagels out very easy, and the electronic buttons are handy too. I like the way it can take four big pieces of bread or bagels without taking up too much room in the kitchen. 5 stars!

This Wok has some serious heat. As a professional chef with Asian style recipes on the menu I've used many a stove top wok. Until now I'd never found an electric wok that could generate enough heat to sear in the flavors of meats and vegetables. Not only does the Breville Electric Wok deliver as much heat as a top of the range stove top wok, its surface is non-stick so I can use less oil for healthier results. Every thing about the wok is clever, from the detachable base, to the dishwasher safe parts, to the cook and look glass lid. Whoever designed this is in to wok cooking in a big way. Very clever, very stylish, very hot.

After two years of hitting all the health food stores in NYC, I happened to see a review of the Breville Juicer on line at Chowhound.com from a very happy owner. He was joined by a few more as the day wore on. I wanted a sturdy juicer, not some plastic tinker toy, but I did not want to spend a small fortune on it. I came to amazon.com and saw the reviews (all glowing) and the price was certainly right. I bought it last weekend and the juicer arrived at my office yesterday afternoon. (Tuesday). When I saw the box I thought; How am I gonna get this home on the Subway? But I did with no problems. I took all the pieces out of the box, put them all together (after reading the instruction booklet) and was stunned. It looked like a piece of modern scupture. Rather large but very pretty.

And yes, it does sound like liftoff from Cape Canaveral when you turn it on. But does it juice! I brought home some apples and carrots yesterday and juiced them. Today I brought home a different variety of apples, parsley, ginger and carrots. I know I won't be pulverizing everything in the fridge forever and the thrill will hopefully wear off in a month or two. At least I hope so. Just finished my second glass of carrot-apple-ginger-parsley and have energy to spare. Usually at this hour (9:30 PM) I am totally exhausted. NYC does that to you. But I feel fabulous. I know it's the juice. I would highly recommend this Breville juicer to anyone who really wants a great deal and a sturdy juicer. The ability to make your own fresh juice in seconds is priceless. Just a bit of advice: buy your fruit and veggies in bulk.

I used to have an ACME juicer (you know, the big round "anchor" that took a month to clean?). I wanted a new one so, being a victim of infomercial hypnosis, I looked into the Juiceman. Thanks to the reviews in this forum, we decided against JM and looked at the Breville. WOW! Great juice, quick cleanup, easy to use. As far as noise? Who cares? It's not that noisy. I read a couple of reviews saying that it made alot of noise...ever heard a wood chipper? It makes light work of beets, carrots...anything hard. Comes apart easily, can go into the dishwasher if you're too lazy to rinse the parts off one by one. In short..it's a GREAT machine at a competitive price. The 2nd most used appliance in our kitchen. Next to the coffeemaker (I'm the Juan Valdez retirement account!)

I bought the LaLanne Juicer and hauled it home in my little old lady shopping cart. When I got home I dutifully read the instruction manual and carefully washed and assembled my new toy. The first problem was that the on/off switch was in the permenant on possition. I had to pull the plug to turn it off. I also noticed that the power was much lower than the Breville which I had looked at before I decided to go with a juicer backed by such a famous health nut. To make a long story short I hauled the thing back and bought the Breville. It is awsome. I juiced up some red cabbage and carrot and apple juice that tasted fantastic. It was easy to clean but I will definately put a wet paper towel around the pulp catcher next time as there was a little problem with some fine pulp escaping. All in all it is a great machine and I highly recommend it.

I tried one of the recipes in the enclosed cookbook, as well as muffin mix from the supermarket. I used self-rising flour as instructed. In both cases, the muffins would not rise.
I was very disappointed.

I love the Muffin Magic (MM)--muffins turn out great every time, even using whole wheat flour and bran. When I cook muffins like that in the oven, they tend to rise into a nice shape, but fall as they cool. Not so with the MM! I make up muffin mix ahead of time (you can use boxed muffin mix, your favorite muffin recipe, or recipes from the owner's manual), and in the process found out something really great--muffins made in the MM from refrigerated batter are lighter and rounder than those made with fresh batter! When making muffins, it takes about 6 minutes for the MM to heat and 11 minutes to cook the muffins. The MM wipes clean with a damp paper towel. It is small enough to store easily in a kitchen cabinet. It saves energy and prevents the kitchen from overheating in the summer from the oven. It makes a great gift.

I did have one problem with my purchase: The box containing my MM did not include an owner's manual. Amazon did not have one to spare and suggested contacting the manufacturer, Breville. Unfortunately, the e-mail for them Amazon had did not work, there was no contact information on the MM box, and I had to track their website using Google. After all that, Breville never answered my e-mails. Ultimately, Amazon sent me another MM, I extracted the manual and sent the excess MM back. To prevent that happening to anyone else, here is all you need to know to use the MM:
--Wipe it out with a damp paper towel before using it the first time.
--Put something under it (I use a wooden cutting board) to protect kitchen surfaces.
--There is no on/off switch, so *never* leave it plugged in unless you are using it.
--When you are ready to use it, plug it in. When the green light comes on, it is hot enough to bake the muffins.
--Fill the three muffin cups to the top with muffin batter. This is about 1/4 cup, and a standard ice-cream dipper works well for putting the right amount of batter in. Be careful because the MM's surfaces are hot!
--Set a kitchen timer for 11 minutes. When it goes off, open up the MM and insert a toothpick into one of the muffins to make sure they are done enough to suit you. (You will know after the first usage exactly how long it takes to cook the muffins to suit you.)
--Unplug the MM and wait a few minutes before taking the muffins out to lessen the chance of burning yourself. If you are cooking more than one batch at a time, removing the muffins is a bit tricky because they are very, very hot--I recommend for extra safety doing one batch at a time. When you are removing the muffins, if you have let them cool completely, you can just turn the machine over and dump them out. Otherwise, if you want to eat them while still pretty hot, take a butter knife and gently ease it between the muffin and the side of the MM cup to raise up the muffin so you can get hold of it to lift it out--be very careful to not scratch the Teflon surface.
--Let the unplugged MM cool completely before wiping it out with a damp paper towel.

I LOVE THIS MACHINE! My husband and I can each have a fresh hot muffin for breakfast and then one to go! I tried the low-fat Blueberry Orange recipe..scrumptious! I've used Jiffy cornbread mix and Krusteaz with perfect results. Great compact design and storage options...neat cord! I just ordered another one as a gift. Keep up the good work!

I think I may be missing something here...after reading all the good reviews, I tried this blender and was disappointed. It looks good, great actually. Blender container is a great size. BUT...I found speed level one to be too weak and speed level two to be too strong! I was merely pureeing cottage cheese and an egg together and it splattered all over the container and lid, rather than emusifying in the bottom of the container. (You lose a lot of your mixture when you're trying to scrape it out of the sides and lid of the container.) I tried two different methods and the results were the same. I think I will keep on walking and try some others.

We use this blender just about daily--I make protein shakes; my wife blends various spreads and dips. It works wonderfully both at grinding ice and for blending. The unique six blade system crushes ice in no time flat. The vortex system of the jar allows for excellent blending from top to bottom. A knowledgable chef had told me to look for a blender with a vortex jar, and this was one of the few that I found. This blender works much better than the KitchenAid that it replaces both for blending and ice grinding. I also prefer the three speeds to the two speeds offered by the Oster and Waring blenders. Seemingly well-built and durable. This Breville is highly recommend.

Took a chance on this Breville blender. Never heard of the brand before but liked the simple design, no fancy electronic keypad, big pitcher size. What I like best about this blender is it is relatively quiet--the noise it makes is a lower pitched noise than that of Oster, Waring, Hamilton and you don't have to leave the room to operate it in order to save your hearing. Sturdy and stable, easy to operate, easy to clean, quality product. We've tried SEVERAL blenders and this one is a good one especially at this price.

Okay, it looks good at first glance. But take a second look, the handle is crooked. It's even crooked on the box. And it gets way too hot, it took the lining off underneath my cabinet that it was sitting under. I have never had a toaster do that!! If you are looking for an excellent retro looking toaster, buy a Russell Hobbs. I love mine!!!

This toaster looks even better in real life than it does in the picture. The finish is perfect and the shape is Retro looking but sophisticated at the same time. I really like the easy slide out crumb tray for easy, no mess cleaning. Best of all it has a special plug with a finger hole built into it. Not only does it look much nicer than a normal plug but it is so safe and easy to remove.