All blenders are not created equal, and in my time, I’ve owned several different types, most of which left me uninspired. The Vitamix 750 Professional is an exception to that rule.
I’m not sure if I was aware of the Vitamix product line before my sister came to visit bringing her blender with her.
It is fair to say that people in my family are passionate about their own interests and not nearly as interested in whether or not others find them eccentric, but when Sparrow told me her blender made soup, I thought this was the limit in appliance-related delusional behavior and politely waited to see what she meant.
Pulling a very sturdy blender from a bag, she set it up on the counter and said she had been making raw soup, that her Butternut Squash soup was really good, and would I like to try some. I set my expectations very low and waited.
After chopping vegetables, adding water, and a stock cube, she turned the blender dial to an icon that looked like a tiny bowl of soup and we waited the few minutes as the machine whirred and blended.
When it was done, Sparrow gave me a small sample in case I hated it, but I had to admit it tasted amazing. Needless to say, three days later when I found myself at Williams-Sonoma buying myself an early Christmas gift, I was a firm believer in the power of Vitamix.
This is my Vitamix. It is a ruby red, 750 Professional Series. It stands in a place of honor in my kitchen.
To give you an idea of how easy it is to make soup with my blender, I gathered and sliced the following ingredients:
- 1/2 cup of sweet potato
- 1/2 cup of broccoli
- 1/3 cup cauliflower
- 1 stock cube
- 1 1/2 cups of water
Though it is not necessary to cook any of these ingredients as the blender will heat them and they are safe to eat raw, I like to cook mine for a few minutes to make sure they are well done and that the soup comes from the blender piping hot.
Once the vegetables were cooked, I added them to the blender with the stock cube.
Then, I set the blender on the soup setting. The Vitamix blends the ingredients a few different ways. One thing which is key to making a tasty soup using this appliance is that you do not need as much seasoning as you would normally use for soup. My sister had advised me to be careful about this, but I ignored her and found out the hard way. This machine is so powerful it draws all the flavor out of anything you use, so a clove of garlic tastes like five cloves and a stalk of celery is enough to spoil the entire batch of soup.
After several bad batches, I don’t add any additional seasonings to my soups and wait until they are heated before seasoning carefully after the blending is done.
Not all Vitamix blenders have the soup function. Make sure if you decide to buy one that the model you choose is capable of making raw soup. Besides the claims that raw is better, my Vitamix uses fewer dishes-in this case, just the blender and the bowl I used to cook the vegetables, which I also used for serving the soup.
The soup cycle blends for several minutes and you can feel the heat transfer from the drive shaft into the soup as it makes the carafe warm to the touch.
When it is finished, the soup is warm, creamy, and light, a result of all the air bubbles driven into it. I have tried adding cream for a cream soup, but it makes the soup taste too creamy and more like watery glue. For those who are lactose intolerant, it is wonderful to have a creamy soup without adding dairy.
After your soup is done, you can clean the blending carafe selecting the Vitamix’s washing feature. You fill the carafe part way up and add a drop of dish soap and then press start. The blender agitates the soapy water mix, cleaning the blade and the interior, too.
Next week on this topic: Flavored waters