Smeg products are among the most covetable kitchen appliances and accessories. And the company's new hand blender is no exception. But is its performance as impressive as its design? We give it a whirl.
Should I Buy The Smeg hand blender?
Our Verdict
Price When Reviewed
- $129.95
Smeg’s hand blender has a 700W motor, with variable speed settings. This is a pretty powerful motor for a hand blender. I've got an older Braun model that's 300W and I've recently been testing the Russell Hobbs Horizon 3-in-1 hand blender, which is 500W. Both of these get the job done. Still, the newer, multi-function blenders from Bosch and Braun are 750W and 1000W respectively, and also have a choice of speed settings, so the Smeg is not singular in this respect.
However, it also features a turbo button for extra oomph. This kind of power is not really needed with the blender function, unless you wanted to make a smoothie out of a bucket of rocks. As it is, it made a smooth, creamy batter from our ingredients in seconds. It was equally effective in making soup.
The blender head is detachable for cleaning and can be swapped out for other accessories, but they don’t come with the standard item so we didn't get the opportunity to test them. However, our guess is that if you were moving from an older model to the Smeg, and used some of the other attachments, your problem would likely be pureeing everything to the consistency of baby food before you knew what you'd done.
Its blending wand is stainless steel, with scratch-resistant blades. Smeg credits its blending power to its FlowBlend system: the dome and shape of the blades apparently create a super-smooth consistency in food. However, if you’ve ever seen a blender blade, this one will look extremely familiar and we think that the motor is more likely to be responsible.
The blender comes in four recognisable Smeg colours: black, cream, red and pastel blue. If colour is important to you – and we imagine it would be, with such a design-led item – have a good look around online to find the best price on the colour you want.
Does a hand blender need to be a thing of beauty? Obviously not. Its design should incorporate a decent grip, its parts should be easily fitted together. The whole should function well. Those are the necessities.
But – this blender is gorgeous as well. It’s weighty without being heavy, solid and comfortable to hold. It also looks like a retro sci-fi rocket. It’s impossible not to want one.
A word on the packaging: there is something a little bit over the top about it. The blender comes in a huge presentation box, the kind of thing you'd expect to contain a very good bottle of wine. But, unless you're buying it as a present, it's going to be disposed of right away. Are you really going to store your hand blender in it forever, reverently removing it from its perfectly shaped foam bed in order to blend some veg? Seems unlikely. Companies, take note: less wasteful packaging please.
Features
The extra accessories comprise a whisk, a 1.4 litre jug, a chopper in a sealed container and a potato masher. We can’t comment on the quality of these as we’ve only tested the blender.
Price & Availability
The hand blender itself (HBF01) has an RRP of £99.95, although it's currently being sold for £59-£79. It only comes with the standard blending head (as pictured above and below).
The best price we can currently find is on Amazon in the UK for £59.99 for the blender (without accessories). It's in stock in four colours. AO.com is selling it for £79 in pastel blue.
You can also buy it with a full accessory set (HBF02). This has an RRP of £129.95. The best current price is on eCookshop, which is selling it in cream for £116.95.
It's worth shopping around if you want the full accessory package as it might be cheaper to purchase separately, although it can be quite difficult to find online stockists that are selling the accessories without the blender. AO.com currently has the accessories in cream for £50.
Verdict
This is a very good hand blender. But at £129.95, the Smeg hand blender with the full accessory set is more than three times the price of the very similar Russell Hobbs Desire 3-in-1 blender set, which is currently on sale for £39.99. This contains all the same accessories that the Smeg set has, apart from the masher. It only has two speed settings and is just 500W but it's a decent quality set at a great price point. You can read our review to find out more.
A closer equivalent (that we haven't tested), the Braun Multiquick, which is 700W, has variable speed settings and a variety of accessories. It's in stock at AO.com for £99.
However, the competitors' designs are just not as aesthetically appealing as the Smeg. So, it’s up to you to decide what value you place on form. A hand blender is not really a countertop item the way that a kettle, toaster or kitchen mixer is.
With a cord that’s just as untidy as any appliance's – and a bunch of accessories, if you get those – your hand blender is probably going to spend most of its time in the clutter of the cupboard. But it would be very attractive clutter, we guess.
If you're interested in other Smeg countertop appliances, check out our reviews of the Smeg espresso coffee maker, Smeg coffee grinder and Smeg jug blender.
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