Coordination is, indeed, a big part of the fun. Scattered notes on loose-leaf paper, post-it notes stuck to cookbook pages, and the perfect establishment. These plans tell a tale of painstaking calculations and tantalizing anticipation, and browsing through past meal preps is like looking at old photos, reveling in the memories behind the squiggles. These memories lately tell a different story, one of increased ease marked by a particular turning point in my journey as a home cook: the introduction of the Vitamix A3500 Power Blender. (opens in a new tab) in my range.
I’ll start with this: I’ve always been a little averse to appliances in the kitchen. It’s a habit I picked up from my mother, which is faster and more accurate than almost any gadget could be. She’s also a staunch traditionalist with far more years of trial and error under her belt than I have – a realization that eventually led me to indulge in some devices that only a novice would appreciate.
For example, I’ve always had a blender of some variety on my counter. More recently, it was a half-broken, unlabeled single smoothie blender that I took from my dad when he replaced his. At the time, I never really considered that not all mixers were created equal.
A friend of mine invited me to dinner one evening and presented me with a wonderfully creamy and smooth soup, which he first described not by its contents but by the device behind it. his creation: a Vitamix blender. In the age of griddle dinners, slow cookers and viral TikTok pastas, it shouldn’t have been so surprising that an entire meal could be prepared by a single device. But there I was, thinking about my scribbles on flip charts and elaborated establishment wondering why I hadn’t considered this option earlier.
It’s no news that the Vitamix is great. There’s a cult following behind it, from home cooks to professional chefs. Reviews are more like love letters than product ratings. One reviewer called the mixer “a workhorse and a show pony”, which I found particularly poetic.
Vitamix offers a variety of blenders, which range from $250 for their classic model (opens in a new tab) at $730 for their best A3500 mixer, with all the bells and whistles. They are surely an investment, but I can definitely say they are worth every penny. And, backed by Vitamix’s 10-year warranty (opens in a new tab) and endless resources to get the most out of your machine, the company is top of the line for a reason.
The latest update to the A3500 blender, a 48-ounce stainless steel container, was a particularly joyous occasion for the Vitamix hive, as it even promises After durability, odor and stain resistance and better insulation for hot and cold mixes. It’s also pretty to look at and fully dishwasher safe.
The real appeal of the A3500 mixer, part of their premium Ascent series, is in the world of possibilities it offers. With this blender, you can make smoothies, hot soups, dips, frozen desserts, nut milks, batter, baby food, and more. There’s a minimum of guesswork involved in creating any of these, thanks to the mixer’s five program settings, which involve some sort of high-level technology that I won’t even attempt to understand, but it’s is the point. It’s designed with wireless connectivity, which means that as the technology behind the mixer evolves, your device will automatically update. Want even more presets? There’s literally an app for that (opens in a new tab). We also have the touchscreen controls, which are not only totally cool (listen, that’s a plus!), but also easy to toggle and simple to navigate. You will have all the childish joy of playing with a new toy, while feeling “adult”.
Four delicious meals made possible by my Vitamix A3500 blender. From top left, clockwise: Bean dip, pesto, baked eggplant dip, tofu pudding.
(Image credit: Lucia Tonelli)
There is a difference between a good soup and a good soup. There’s a reason your $15 smoothie from the store under the Equinox tastes so much better than the one you make at home. But you must not resign yourself to the idea that you will never reach this level of greatness, because you will, I promise you! Once you’ve whipped out the smoothest ice cream or sipped the smoothest soup, you’ll remember ‘texture’ and ‘consistency’, two terms that are often lost on the world’s home cooks. , in the high pressure. the pursuit of good taste. I hope you, like me, have this epiphany. In fact, with the Vitamix A3500 blender, I know you will.