Looking to buy a blender? Maybe it's your first, or maybe you're a pro in the kitchen who just needs to replace your old blender. Either way, if you've started looking, you've probably seen the Breville Fresh and Furious come up in your blender Google searches.
The Fresh and Furious blender is a decently priced blender, costing a little less than $200, that's good for beginners and pros alike. In this article, we'll give you the full breakdown so you can decide if its the blender you need to complete your perfect kitchen.
>>>In a rush? Click here to see today's price for a Breville Fresh and Furious Blender at Amazon.
What’s So Good about the Breville Fresh and Furious Blender?
Probably the main appeal of the Fresh and Furious is that it's incredibly easy and intuitive to use, even if you've never touched a blender before in your life. The main reason it's so accessible is that it has 5 different speed settings, which are clearly labeled from 1 to 5 and are based on what you'd use them for. For example, the fourth speed level is labeled "puree" and the fastest speed setting is labeled "liquify." Instead of giving you some arbitrary speed measurement that doesn't really mean anything to you, this blender gives you a clear function for each speed.
Another reason this Breville blender is so easy to use is the LCD screen. A small circle on the bottom right-hand side of the blender, the Fresh and Furious' LCD screen gives you a timer that counts down on the blender's premade settings (more on these below), and counts up when using the standard speeds. It also has a warning light that flashes to warn you if you've overstuffed the blender.
Important Feature #1: Different Speeds
The fact that this blender has five different speeds means that you can use it to make anything from smoothies to juices to cocktails to sauces. As we mentioned above, the speeds are clearly labeled by their purpose, so you won't have to be a pro or actually know how fast you want the blades to spin depending on what you're making - just pick the appropriate speed. The five speeds from slowest to fastest are "mix," "chop," "blend," "puree," and "juice." Each setting will run for two minutes at most, after which time the blender will stop automatically.
"Mix" refers to mixing different liquids, so this is the option you'll use if you're trying to make a new sauce. (The blender even comes with instructions for a barbeque sauce recipe.) The chop feature is for slightly thicker dips like salsa and certain salad dressings. Eventually you reach the juice setting, which is, of course, for completely juicing fruits and vegetables. You also have the option of switching speeds in the middle of a cycle if you so desire, which may be useful for more complicated recipes, or if you simply changed your mind about what you wanted to do.
Important Feature #2: LCD Screen
This LCD screen - in tandem with the blender's automatic cleaning - is a huge part of why the Fresh and Furious is so user-friendly. As mentioned before, the LCD has a counter which counts down for the preset options and counts up for the different speed settings. For the preset options, this means that you won't have to worry about leaving your blender on for too long and ruining your smoothie or cocktail. It'll stop on its own exactly when it needs to.
As for the speed settings, while you will still have to watch over your drink, sauce, or dressing somewhat, keeping track of the time is just one less thing you'll need to worry about. It'll still stop on its own after 120 seconds, so it's pretty unlikely that you'll completely ruin your recipe, even if you do space out for a bit (which happens to the best of us).
Important Feature #3: Preset Options
We might have saved the best for last here, as the preset options on this blender are what make it really appealing, especially if you're a beginner or really only plan on using the Fresh and Furious for your morning smoothie. The three preset options are "green smoothie," "auto pulse ice crush," and "smoothie."
The green smoothie preset is used for - of course - green smoothies. Specifically, you'll want to use this option for the green smoothie recipe that comes packaged with the blender. You can be sure to have the perfect veggie smoothie every morning with minimal effort, so all of the sudden eating healthy and getting all your nutrients doesn't seem so daunting or stressful.
The auto pulse ice crush feature is slightly less self-explanatory than the first setting we went over, but it's still pretty easy to figure out - it crushes ice. This is mainly going to be used for homemade icy cocktails like a pina colada, but you can also use it for things like snow cones and slushies, or maybe you have some other reason for wanting to crush up ice. No matter what you're using it for, the pulse mechanism does a great job of crushing ice into a smooth and slushy consistency.
The last preset option is the smoothie option, which may feel redundant after the "green smoothie" option, but it's a little more versatile. It can be used to make different fruit and vegetable smoothies other than just green smoothies. So, if kale and spinach isn't really your thing, you still have an easy go-to preset option for making your favorite pineapple and mango smoothie or strawberry and banana smoothie.
In addition to these three preset options, the Fresh and Furious blender also comes with an amazingly convenient auto-clean function. The blender comes with instructions on how much soap and water to use with this feature. You then simply press the "auto-clean" button and wait! The cleaning mechanism is specifically designed to make sure the soap and water hit every part of the blender, so there's not much work left for you to do except wipe it down and maybe rinse a missed spot on the bottom of the lid.
Pros and Cons
We're not here to pretend that the Fresh and Furious is the perfect blender, which is why we have this pros and cons section to help leave the decision up to you. You might find the cons too much, or that the pros are worth any compromise, or you might fall anywhere in between.
Pros
- Preset options and clear labeling make the blender incredibly easy to use
- Is a decent size that's good for single-serving use and bigger recipes
- The LCD display is convenient for keeping track of time and flashes a warning light when over-stuffed
Cons
- Customer reviews have said that it gets a little loud
- Will move around a bit when on the fastest speeds or the auto pulse ice crusher setting
How Is the Blender Built?
We've told you everything you need to know about the features of this blender, so now we'll tell you about the actual blender itself, and how it's built. The Fresh and Furious comes in a medium size of 17 inches tall, 8.55 inches wide, and 7 inches deep. The cord is about 40 inches long, so you won't need to worry about finding the perfectly placed outlet, and it has a ring design which is convenient for unplugging the blender. The cord can also be wrapped around the storage ring on the underside of the blender's base.
The blender has a die-cast metal base and an 1100 watt motor, which is weaker than some bigger blenders, and this makes it even more upsetting that the blender gets pretty loud at the higher settings. That being said, the actual container of the blender is shatter-proof and dishwasher safe as well as BPA-free. There are also has clear measure lines on the container which come in liters on one side and cups on the other side, so you won't need to buy any measuring cups after you've spent money on your new blender.
The base also has two suction cups on the bottom, which stops it from moving while it blends, though reviews have shown they don't really get the job done at the highest speeds. If you're blending at top speeds, it might be a good idea to hold your hand on the base.
The lid comes with a ring that makes it easy to remove and has a middle section that comes off so you can add ingredients to your recipe while you blend, which is necessary for certain sauces and dips. The blender's blades are made of stainless steel and can't be removed by hand, but do come off with a special wrench if you have a reason for wanting to remove them.
With everything being said and done, the Fresh and Furious is overall a solidly built blender that keeps ease of use in mind, while being durable and also easy to clean. It's not as strong as some more industrial blenders, but it gets the job done and won't take up all the room in your kitchen.
What Do the Reviews Say?
This Breville blender has received praise from different online reviewers and is also a fan favorite from the customers. After being reviewed heavily, the vast majority of the customer ranked it at 5 stars. This is a higher total score than for many other blenders around this price point. Both customers and professional reviewers point to the accessibility of the Fresh and Furious as the main reason it earned a high ranking.
How Does It Compare?
You now know everything there is to know about Breville's Fresh and Furious blender, but what if you still haven't made up your mind? Maybe there's another blender that has caught your eye. Or maybe you just want to make sure you've done your due diligence before you make your purchase. It's good to see the competition, and that's why we've compared the Fresh and Furious blender to the other leading brands so you know what's what.
Vs Breville Hemisphere Control
In short: Don't do it. The Hemisphere Control is an older model without presets and it's more expensive. The Fresh & Furious, seen here on Amazon, is what you want.
vs Vitamix E310
Breville makes a pretty good case for their Fresh and Furious blender against the Vitamix blender just by showing you the price tag. Compared to the suggested retail $200 price of the Fresh and Furious, the Vitamix costs about $350, as listed on the Vitamix website.
The two blenders are the same size, though the Vitamix E310 does pack more of a punch with its 1380-watt motor. This means that it will give you a cleaner blend, and it also has tough stainless-steel blades. The Vitamix also has twice as many speeds as the Fresh and Furious, which you could view as a positive, but for some people, 10 speeds might just feel excessive and overwhelming.
The biggest win for the Fresh and Furious is once again its presets, labeled speeds, and LCD display. Really the only reason to pay so much more for the Vitamix is if you absolutely need the extra wattage.
vs KitchenAid Diamond Blender
Breville loses the price battle this time around, though the difference isn't quite as large as the price difference between Breville and Vitamix. The KitchenAid Diamond Blender has a price in the very affordable range (as per the KitchenAid website), and at 1.875 quarts, is also a little bigger than the Fresh and Furious, which is 1.5 quarts.
The KitchenAid blender has the same neatly labeled speeds as Breville's blender and has a setting to crush ice and to pulse, but is lacking the auto-clean function and the LCD display. The pitcher is also BPA-free, just like the Fresh and Furious.
The big loss with the Kitchenaid is that its motor puts out 670 watts, which is close to half the power of the Breville product. This matchup is much more of a fair fight than Breville vs the Vitamix and comes down to preference more than anything. If you don't care about the wattage, and want to save a bit of money, then the KitchenAid is the choice for you., But even if you don't care about the difference in motor strength, you might want the preset options of the Fresh and Furious, or you might need that auto-clean option that the KitchenAid is missing. You'll have to make a compromise when you choose between these two blenders, but you're getting a great product no matter what.
vs Ninja Chef Blender CT810
While this Ninja blender isn't as expensive as the Vitamix, at a significantly higher cost, it is starting to get a little pricey. It has 10 speeds like the Vitamix, but they're labeled in a similar style to the Fresh and Furious, so you shouldn't find it as overwhelming as the Vitamix, which just lists its speeds in 1 through 10.
It's also much bigger than the Fresh and Furious and has a pitcher that is 2.25 quarts. This is mostly a good thing, but could just take up extra space if you don't feel you need the bigger pitcher.
Like the Fresh and Furious, the Ninja Chef Blender has an auto-clean function, and it might be one of the only blenders that's more clearly labeled and easier to use. In addition to measuring lines on the pitcher, the Ninja has a line for how much soap to put in when cleaning, a line to measure the most amount of hot liquid you should put in, and the highest you should fill it up with any liquid.
It's stronger than the Fresh and Furious, and even the Vitamix, putting out 1500 watts. This of course comes with the downside that it's loud.
Just like with the KitchenAid, you're making a compromise between the two blenders, but the choice is much clearer depending on what you want. There are no two ways about it: The Ninja is the better product. You basically just have to decide if you want to spend more for it or save a little and stick with the Fresh and Furious.
Vs Calphalon Blenders
This one looks close on the surface because the jar sizes and motor speeds (around 1000 watts) are almost identical on both brands.
The big difference between Calphalon blenders and Breville are the pre-set functions. Breville has them and Calphalon doesn't. If you want that "in a rush" kind of blend where you buzz about the kitchen while your smoothie's getting made to the same consistency every day, you'll like Breville. On the other hand, people who like to tinker prefer the total control of manual dials, and features like Calphalon's "thickness" setting instead.
If I could make this decision for you I would, but at least now you know which factors you're deciding between.
Verdict
The Breville Fresh and Furious Blender is one of the best blenders out there, especially for its price. And if you've never bought any blenders before or are new to making your own sauces and smoothies, it's a great choice. I definitely recommend it over the Vitamix, but things get a little more complicated if you're comparing with the KitchenAid or the Ninja.
With the KitchenAid, you're basically deciding if you mind a slightly weaker but cheaper machine, or if you really need the automatic cleaning mode. With the Ninja, it's a simpler decision of "best product" vs "good and cheap product."
No matter which of these blenders you decide to buy, we hope that our article helped make your decision a little easier and that your future is filled with delicious smoothies.
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