A quality blender needs to stand up to a serious amount of pressure and force. With spinning blades and food being thrown all over the inside of the container, a blender with a pitcher that can stand up to a heavy beating is a crucial consideration when researching your options. For a long time, glass pitchers were considered the gold standard for blending, but as technology advanced the majority of blender brands moved to a plastic model. While the majority of quality blenders with plastic pitchers can still get the job done, some people prefer the glass product.
As we mentioned above, most manufacturers have headed to plastic, so options for quality glass blenders are a little limited. We’ve done some research, however, and compiled a list of some of the top glass blenders currently available on the market. By the end of this article, you should have a good sense of the kinds of blenders with glass pitchers that are out there and be well equipped to make a solid choice.
So let’s get started!
Why Go For a Glass Pitcher Instead of a Plastic Pitcher?
Before we get into a detailed review of some top glass pitcher blenders, we figured we’d first go into some detail on why you might want to choose a glass pitcher over a plastic.
You may be wondering, “Why go for glass when every manufacturer is using plastic? Doesn’t that mean that plastic is better?”
Well, it’s important to keep in mind that manufacturing decisions – especially for those companies making small appliance – are not always made with improving quality in mind. Mass producing plastic pitchers saves a lot of money when compared to using a quality glass construction, and plastic generally has more drawbacks than glass.
When you buy a glass pitcher, you’re getting the following benefits:
– Scratch Resistant. With blades rotating at very fast speeds, it can be easy to scratch a plastic pitcher. While it might not happen right away, over time you’re definitely going to notice some scratch damage. It’ll be easy to tell that the pitcher is used and it will no longer be the shiny blender you first bought. Glass is scratch resistant, meaning that under normal circumstances your pitcher will look the same and hold up for years to come.
– Clear View. While this benefit might not be as crucial to many people as perks like scratch resistance, the fact that glass pitchers are completely clear will appeal to many homeowners. Oftentimes when cooking, there’s a certain consistency or texture you’re trying to achieve with your blender. Cloudy plastic can make it difficult to see just how far along your food is in the blending process. It’s very easy to overblend, so being able to see right when you should stop is a definite benefit.
– No Absorption of Food Odors. Simply put, your glass pitcher isn’t going to take on the odor of the variety of foods you put through it over the course of the appliance’s life. Plastic pitchers will absorb smells over time, and even a heavy cleaning will do little to fix this issue. You may very well end up with a smelly pitcher after years of use, which gives another point to the glass pitcher team.
– BPA Free. BPA is a chemical present in many plastic pitchers, and while the FDA has assured users that the chemical is safe to be included in plastic, some users might be concerned about the health effects. There’s previously been a decent amount of controversy regarding the long term effects of being exposed to BPA, and in response a lot of high-end plastic blender companies have moved to plastics that don’t contain the substance. Still, if you’re worried and you aren’t careful you can end up with a product that contains it. Glass is BPA free, so any glass blender you buy won’t give you cause for concern.
Glass Pitchers: Important Features
Now that we’ve gone over why exactly you might want a glass blender instead of one made of plastic, let’s go into some more detail on what exactly you should look for in a blender in the event that you decide to go with a glass pitcher blender.
– Pricing. Like any purchase, you’re going to want to take price into consideration when buying your new blender. Make sure you spend enough to get good quality, but there’s no need to break the bank. An important point to note in this section is the importance of finding a blender manufactured by a good company. While all of the blenders on this list would be a good buy, if you decide to look elsewhere it’s important to do some research on the manufacturers. Less expensive products with glass pitchers are certainly available, but for an appliance that deals with such power and abrasion it’s important to make sure the quality is sufficient. Read reviews and you’ll make a great decision!
– Features. There’s honestly not a ton of need to go with a blender that has a ton of different settings, as realistically this only adjusts the speed. There’s only so many speeds that are necessary, so don’t get dragged in by a blender with 16 buttons just because it has a lot of modes. With that said, think of what you’re going to be using your blender for and pick a model with great durability and the features to suit your needs.
– Amount of Power. The amount of power that your blender uses is an important consideration. The majority of blenders use a lower amount of power due to the fact that glass pitchers, while durable, aren’t completely shatterproof. If your main task for a blender is pureeing hard vegetables or making a paste out of nuts, for example, you’ll need a higher power and may actually have to go with a plastic blender. Outside of niche uses, however, a quality blender with a glass pitcher should suit you just fine.
Oster Pro 1200 Blender – Our Top Pick of 2017!
One of the most important aspects of this blender that we’d like to address is the huge amount of positive reviews. We’ve done a lot of research on how well these blenders perform, but there’s nothing like a sea of happy customers to give you greater confidence in the quality of the Oster Pro 1200 blender. Users praise this blender’s ability to blend most any ingredient, and this is an important plus considering the issue with glass blenders’ power that we discussed above.
If user reviews aren’t enough, put your trust in the Consumer Reports review that gave it a “very good” in overall performance.
This blender features a 6 cup glass jar that is both temperature and scratch resistant. We discussed a bit above about how scratch resistance comes standard with most glass pitchers, but the fact that it’s also temperature resistant is a good feature too. Being able to pour hot food directly from the pan into the oven can cut out a lot of time spent waiting for your liquids to cool. A good blender should add convenience, and the Oster Pro 1200 Blender definitely accomplishes that.
In addition to a 6 cup jar, there’s also a 24 oz smoothie jar included for making quick drinks.
Another feature of the blender is the 7 modes that it includes. Unlike some blenders, these modes are not extraneous or unnecessary, and there’s settings for low, medium, and high speeds as well as mode optimized for pulsing, smoothies, chopping, and milkshakes. The chopping feature is especially nice, as it allows you to save some time with knifework.
Conveniently, the Oster Pro 1200 Blender features reverse blade action that automatically turns and adjusts ingredients. No longer will you have to open the top and move your food around – this blender does that for you!
Positives
A solid glass constructions, multiple speeds, and reverse blade action make this blender an excellent buy. There’s a good suite of features available for a reasonable price, and it’s backed by a good warranty.
Negatives
Although users praise the ability of this blender to process most any ingredient, it still suffers from the drawbacks of lower power when it comes to processes like milling flour or making nut butter. It can do a passable job, but if you do that frequently even the best glass pitcher blender might not be able to help you.
Overall Opinion
There’s a reason we named the Oster Pro 1200 as our top pick of 2017, and that’s because the positives far outweigh the negatives. There’s very little wrong with the blender to begin with, and the durability, quality, and host of features make it our top buy.
Check the product out on Amazon today
Hamilton Beach Power Elite 58148A
The Hamilton Beach Power Elite 58148A is a quality blender that is available for an amazing price.
The Oster Pro 1200 that we discussed above is already relatively inexpensive, but if you’re on a tight budget and you still want quality, this offering from Hamilton Beach is worth a second look.
This blender is still ranked at number 2 on our list and is an excellent buy, it just missed out on the top spot due to slightly lower power.
Like the Oster Pro 1200, the Hamilton Beach Power Elite features a shock and temperature resistant glass container. It’s nice to see that even on budget models that you can get a pitcher that will stand up to heat and take a beating without breaking.
This blender doesn’t have as many modes as the Oster Pro 1200, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t get the job done. It operates using Hamilton Beach’s unique “Wave Action” system. This system is designed to continually force food down towards the blades, making a sort of wave shape with the ebb and flow of the ingredients. It doesn’t have the reverse action blades, but it still accomplishes basically the same thing due to how it’s designed.
Like many glass pitcher blenders, it’s ill suited for pulverising hard ingredients, but it’s perfect for tasks like crushing ice, making smoothies, and less strenuous blending tasks.
Despite the budget price, Hamilton Beach stands by their product, offering an amazing 3 year warranty. If you had any concerns about going this inexpensive for a blender, you should rest assured knowing that you can get it fixed or replaced if anything unusual should happen.
Positives
As we mentioned in the review, the Hamilton Beach Power Elite 58148A comes with a large amount of features at an incredible price point. If you’re looking for a blender that can stand up to most regular tasks at a budget price point, you won’t do much better than this model. User reviews online are also almost universally positive, so it’s not just us singing the praises of this budget blender!
Negatives
Like any glass pitcher, the Hamilton Beach Power Elite has some drawbacks. The main one, as to be expected, is that it’s not a great choice for blending tasks that require a high amount of power.
The vast majority of people, however, use their blender relatively rarely and for basic tasks like blending a smoothie or crushing ice. If you’re not going to use your blender on a daily basis, however, why should you invest a huge amount of money? For those who are okay leaving more extreme blending to a food processor, this model is still worth a look.
Overall Opinion
The main reason that this blender didn’t reach the top of our list, as we discussed above, was the lower power. If you’re just using the blender for day to day tasks and aren’t a serious home chef, however, it will accomplish pretty much everything that the Oster 1200 Pro accomplishes but at a lower price point.
Overall, a very good buy!
Oster Reverse Crusher Counterforms Blender
The pitcher is made of Boroclass heat and stress resistant glass with a capacity of 6 cups. Boroclass is a glass specifically included in Oster blenders, and is designed with maximum durability and shatter proofing in mind.
This blender will hold up to a decent amount of power, but it would be dishonest to say that it can handle everything a plastic blender can. It’s slightly less powerful than the Oster 1200 Pro with 1000 watts of power vs 1200, and if the Oster Pro can’t process super hard ingredients it would make sense that the Reverse Crusher Counterforms model can’t either.
With that said, there are still a lot of good reasons to go with this blender. It’s not our top pick and it’s not the cheapest, but it’s been around since 2007 and still enjoys a good amount of popularity to this day. With a collection of positive reviews spanning 10 years since release, there’s no denying that this blender will get the job done.
One of the best features that really impresses a lot of users is the Smart Setting Programming. This allows you to blend pretty much any button with ease with just the touch of a single button. No more fiddling around with trying to figure out what setting to use for a specific food, just let the Oster Reverse Crusher Counterforms Blender do the work!
The Smart Setting Programming feature is one of the main draws of this model, and combined with high quality construction is the main reason why this blender continues to see a healthy purchase rate even 10 years after release.
They say if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and it seems like Oster really hit the nail on the head with this blender back in 2007.
Positives
As you can glean from the review, the main benefit this blender has over other glass pitcher blenders is the smart setting program. Combine that with a beautiful and durable stainless steel construction, and you have a recipe for a blender that gets the job done right and looks good while doing it!
Negatives
At the risk of sounding redundant, the main negative of this model is the fact that it can’t handle tasks that require a super high power. If you haven’t already gathered from the reviews thus far, glass pitchers aren’t the best choice when you need a huge amount of power behind the blade. They definitely have their benefits, but this is one area in which they fall short.
Overall Opinion
Like all the blenders on this list, the Oster Reverse Crusher Counterforms blender is a buy we wholeheartedly recommend. While it’s not the most powerful or cheapest blender on our list, it has unique features that make it a quality buy.
BLACK+DECKER BL1110RG FusionBlade
The main attraction of this blender is its compact size. Though we may not have mentioned it in some of our earlier reviews, the more powerful blenders tend to be a little on the heavy side. They’re still decently portable, but they’re not lightweight like this model is.
If counter space is at a premium or you don’t have a place to store a heavier blender, this BLACK+DECKER offers a good compromise between power and portability.
Despite the lightweight construction, the FusionBlade still features a durable glass pitcher that fits the same amount of volume as the bigger and more expensive models.
We mentioned a compromise, and one of the main drawbacks of this model is the much lower power when compared to higher-end brands. In going for a smaller blender, you’re getting a smaller motor as well. This model only blends at 550 Watts of power, which is less than half the power of the top blender on our list.
Despite the lower power, this blender can still tackle most basic blending tasks. If you want to make a smoothie or crush some ice, the FusionBlade will get the job done. If you need to chop up hard ingredients or pulverize anything completely smooth, you may have to sacrifice the portability and go with a more powerful blender.
Positives
If you’re concerned with counter space or you have very little storage, this blender may be the way to go. With a compact design that can still handle a lot of tasks, you’ll receive a good quality blender that will meet your needs for years to come.
Negatives
Unfortunately, the last on the list of the best is still last place for a reason. Glass powers always sacrifice power in exchange for a better quality pitcher, but the FusionBlade takes this to the extreme. The fact that it aims to save counter space in addition to the already lower capabilities of a glass blender means that it will really fall short for serious blending needs.
We don’t want to give the impression that this is a bad blender, because it’s really not, but for a similar price you can get the Hamilton Beach model which performs a lot better in exchange for a larger footprint on your counter.
Overall Opinion
There’s no doubt that there are many good things to say about the BLACK+DECKER BL1110RG FusionBlade, but one model on the list of the best has to be last. It’s a good option for those who are extremely limited with space, but if you can handle a little larger blender it’s almost always advisable to go with the Hamilton Beach.
Add the Best Blender To Your Home Today
We hope you’ve found this review informative and educational. We did our best to do a large amount of research and provide you with honest reviews of the best blenders with a glass pitcher in 2017.
There are both benefits and drawbacks to choosing glass as the material for your blender pitcher, but the technology has come a long way since the initial glass constructions. It’s true that many companies almost exclusively manufacture plastic pitchers, but as we discussed above, that doesn’t necessarily make them better.
There are various reasons why you’d want to choose a glass pitcher, but for whatever reason it may be, choosing any one of these top blenders will be sure to leave you satisfied. Buying a blender is an investment, and while there’s a wide range of prices available out there, it’s important to choose a model that offers durability and quality while meeting all of your needs.
Whether you go with a cheap model or one that’s more expensive, have confidence that these best blenders of 2017 will keep on blending for years to come.
To see more blender reviews, read this.