Jug blenders: FAQs
Should I buy a jug blender or a smoothie maker?
Smoothie maker taps can be hard to clean
These two machines are very similar; in terms of style, smoothie makers can be shinier and sleeker, and may appeal to younger buyers. They might also encourage children to enjoy making their own healthier drinks.
However it it's the unique features of the smoothie maker that are swaying your preference, such as the tap dispenser, then it might be best to steer clear - we found the taps were slow to pour from and meant that the whole appliance took longer to wash up. Also, the stirring stick smoothie makers tend to come with appears to have little bearing on the quality of the finished drink - we got great results without using them.
Overall, basic jug blenders are more versatile and generally performed better in our tests. However they don't typically have the push button controls of the smoothie maker, which could be the only downside depending on your personal preference.
Can I save money by making my own smoothies?
With an average high-street cost of between £1.75 and £1.99 for a 250ml bottle of Innocent fruit smoothie, you may well be wondering if this is a price worth paying…
We certainly were, so set ourselves the goal of recreating two of Innocent's most popular recipes, handily printed on the back of the bottles, as cheaply as possible.
| Comparison of home-made and Innocent smoothies | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ingredients | Cost | Strawberry and Banana Smoothie | Yoghurt , Oats, Raspberries & Blueberries Breakfast Thickie |
| Oranges | £0.20 each | £0.10 | |
| White grapes | £1.99 per kg | £0.40 | |
| Bananas | £0.77 per kg | £0.10 | £0.05 |
| Blueberries | £1.99 for 225g | £0.36 | |
| Raspberries | £1.99 for 225g | £0.29 | |
| Strawberries | £1.00 for 400g | £0.53 | |
| Apples (Cox) | £1.59 per kg | £0.12 | |
| Lemon | £0.29 each | £0.05 | |
| Yoghurt (Bio natural) | £0.39 for a 500g tub | £0.11 | |
| Oats | £0.69 per kg | £0.02 | |
| Honey | £0.99 for 340g | £0.02 | |
| Cost of home-made | £1.17 | £0.97 | |
| Cost of Innocent | £1.79 | £1.79 | |
| Cost Saving | 34% | 46% | |
Table notes
We carried out this cost comparison in January 2008, and as fruit costs are seasonal, the results might vary. Prices are based on 250ml bottle of innocent smoothies/thickies, and the large 1 litre cartons will work out cheaper.
Smoothies and thickies
Blueberry and raspberry thickies - one bottled, the other freshly-made in a blender
The fruit smoothie (banana and strawberry plus grape, orange and lemon juices) worked out 34% cheaper, but had a different taste and texture. The strawberries alone made up half of the £1.17 cost, and that was when we bought them from the market where they were half the price of supermarket.
We saved even more by making a thickie (dairy smoothie) ourselves - 46% when we blended yoghurt, blueberries, banana, oats and apple juice. This was delicious too, but we only managed to make it so cheaply by using the cheapest bio yoghurt we could find.
So overall, if you shop around to take advantage of fruit stalls and supermarket seasonal special offers then you can make great savings, but if we'd tried to make some more exotic recipes with passion fruits, pomegranates or boysenberries, we'd have struggled to beat Innocent for value.
For both recipes, we needed a juicer as well as a blender, although if you can juice oranges by hand, and perhaps use ready-made apple juice, you could manage by just buying a smoothie maker.
Pros
Fun to make, freshly-made smoothies are the healthiest. Shop-bought drinks are often gently pasteurised in order to extend their shelf life, which means some of the goodness is lost.
You can devise your own recipes and save money - see the table below to compare the cost of shop-bought and homemade smoothies.
Cons
Have you got time to blend them and wash-up? Fruit availability can be seasonal, and supermarkets can be expensive. You’ll need to buy in bulk to get the biggest savings.