I blend fish fillet with the Magimix blender to make the Danish fish cakes called "fiskefrikadeller" and it works well.
as well as 50 ml of milk.
This is the finished product of minced fish batter ready to be formed into fish cakes and fried on the pan or bake in the oven
The Magimix blender is very versatile and can be used to make the pancake batter - just make sure you put in the eggs last and don't overbeat them, or should I say, blend it. Otherwise, the pancakes will be very hard.
Consists of 1 cup of Edamame, 1 cup of green peas, 2 cloves of garlic, the juice from half a lemon, 3 tablespoons of tahini, 1/2 spoon of salt.
Blend no high...
An add-on mill attachment can be purchased with the Magimix blender. You can say that this is similar to the dry container of the Vitamix. I like that the Magimix mill container is also made of glass. I have used it to grind whole millet into millet flour, and I am very pleased with the result. I prefer to grind my flour in small portion the day before using it, thus the small size of the Magimix mill attachment is just perfect for me.
The only shortcoming is that since the parts are all removable, when you remove the lid, you have to be careful to remove the blade, as otherwise, the flour will easily fall out and onto the counter surface.
The mill attachment can also be used to make baby food, grind coffee and spices, make sauces and dips with herbs. The blade is detachable from the glass container.
17. Chopping Vegetables
I use the mill attachment to chop two small onions and two garlic cloves with 3 pulses without adding water and it performed to my satisfaction:
I have also tried chopping other vegetables such as carrots using the "water method" and pulsing 5-6 times. A large piece of carrot got stuck under the blade, otherwise it chopped fine:
I blend cooked red beans with dates to make red bead paste Anko and it worked beautifully. I use the dessert progam and the spatula to scrape down the side. You can get the recipe
here.
Now it's done, red bean paste :-)
Red bean paste on bread
Red bean paste with oat groats, wheat germ and milk for breakfast
19. Sweet Milk
I use it simply to blend fresh milk and dates to make sweet milk as a natural sweetener to our oatmeal breakfast. Instead of using the unhealthy condensed milk as sweetener, I use sweet milk as a substitute for many Chinese desserts such as black glutinous rice dessert, adzuki bean dessert, mung bean dessert, etc., instead of using the unhealthy condensed milk.
You can find the recipe
here.
20. Self-Cleaning Program
The Magimix blender has a self-clean program, which I find very useful. It is very powerful and it does a very decent job cleaning the blending container. It runs for 30 seconds and stops by itself. Of course, for sticky recipes such as nut butter, the self-cleaning program will not be effective for any blender, even Vitamix. Thus, manual cleaning by hand would be needed.
21. Electricity Bill
The higher watts the blender uses, the higher will be the electricity usage of course, and thus lead to a higher electricity bill. The Vitamix has a higher horsepower - 2000 to 2200 w, compared with Magimix 1300 w, which means that it consumes more electricity, each time it is run. Thus, besides paying a much higher price for a Vitamix blender, it will also cost more to maintain in the long run, compared to a Magimix blender.
22. Blending Containers
Similar to the Vitamix, the Magimix blender comes with a variety of containers. You can purchase a mill attachment mentioned earlier that is also made of glass with a blade attachment made for dry ingredients. You can also purchase the To-go containers, where you can blend and bring it to school in the same container, without having to pour your smoothie into another container. You can wait for sales promotions where Magimix bundle the To-go containers for free along with the blender, which was what we got. I have heard that in the UK and Australia, there are also sales promotions that bundle all the containers for free with the Magimix blender.
23. Design
Look and design-wise, Mr. FECS and I actually prefer the Magimix blender to the Vitamix blenders. It is sleek and clean line, especially the design of its glass blending jug. And it is also compactly designed and doesn't take up so much space.
Thus, I can squeeze it into the slot next to our Hurom juicer (that we simply love) without our kitchen counter looking cluttered. It should also fit easily under most kitchen cabinets, although we don't have the upper kitchen cabinet to worry about:
Similar to the Vitamix, the cap in the middle double up as a measuring cup. It also comes with a spatula that acts like a tamper which is long enough, but doesn't touch the blades, to stir and push down the contents of the jug.
The motor unit is well-protected and designed with a drainage so that any accidental liquids won't be able to enter the motor, but run down the drainage instead.
The rubber suction foot it stands on prevents it from vibrating from the counter and helps to dampen the resonance. And you can roll your cord neatly underneath, making it very easy and compact to store, when it stands on your kitchen counter-top:
The five pre-set programs for crushing ice, making a smoothie, pureeing soups and pulverizing ice-cream are very convenient to create anything I want without fuss. And I like that besides having the symbols to represent the different pre-set programs, the Magimix blender has them written in words too:
The parts of its glass blending jug are fully detachable for ease of cleaning the difficult to reach manner.
Since the blade attachment is detachable, scrapping all the good stuff, especially ice-cream, from under the blades is easy, and resulting in less or almost no wastage:
However, you must remember to screw it back properly and tight after cleaning of course. If the bottom isn't screwed on sufficiently tight after cleaning, you will end up having smoothie all over your countertop.
The Magimix blender is really well-made. Many people have commented about how heavy the glass blending jug is. However, to me, this means only quality, and I actually don't find it too heavy or cumbersome to handle.
Furthermore, the older version of the Magimix blender 11619SK is the test winner 2014 of the Danish consumer association, which is known in Denmark for being trustworthy and impartial. Our Maimix power blender is the updated version 11626SK. The differences between this updated version of Magimix blender (model no. 11626SK - 11630SK depending on the color) is the horsepower and the pre-set programs. The newer version wasn't included in the 2018 test.
I think for the quality of the blender and materials, it is very good value for money.
25. Soup
Some high-speed blenders such as Vitamix can make hot and creamy soup from scratch. The Magimix blender has a soup function, but it is not in the same league as Vitamix, as it only purees the soup after it has been cooked in a separate pot on the stove. This means that you need to cook your soup in a pot on the stovetop first, before transferring to the Magimix to blend it into a creamy soup. This is a disadvantage of Magimix blender compared to high-end blenders such as Vitamix.
However, I don't intend to use my blender to make soup. So this disadvantage will not affect me. I have the Philips HR2200 / 80 Viva Collection Soup Maker and absolutely love it. It cooks the ingredients into the soup before blending, and as a Chinese, I like my soup boiling and piping hot when served, something that no blenders can do, not even Vitamix. Even though the soup made by high-end blenders such as Vitamix is hot, it is not hot enough for me. And even if it is really possible to make a piping hot soup in a Vitamix blender, I don't feel comfortable to have a piping hot soup done in a plastic blending container, BPA-free or not.
Sorry for side-tracking a little, but the Philips soup maker is so amazing at making cream soup that I've got to tell about it. When I use my Philips soup maker, I basically chop up vegetables into chunks and add them to the stainless steel soup maker along with water and salt. I choose the program for creamy soup, press start and it will bring to boil the ingredients and thereafter simmer it and blend it, all within the same vessel, so no transfer is required. When it is done, I just need to pour the creamy soup into a soup bowl and enjoy it. It makes 6-8 portions each time and takes 23 minutes from the moment you place all your ingredients into the soup maker to when it is done. The soup that comes out each time is unbelievably smooth and creamy:
https://www.familyfecs.com/2014/12/tasty-quick-easy-tomato-soup-made-with.html
Thus, although Magimix can puree hot soup (as long as it is not above 60 degrees celsius), I won't be using this function. Of course, for the raw vegans, using the blender to make soup would be much sought after, since no cooking is done. But I don't like raw cold soup. Thus, it depends on your needs, preferences and requirements. Nevertheless, there are some reviewers who are very happy with the Magimix soup program:
http://amsterdamflavours.com/pea-mint-soup/
https://jennyeatwellsrhubarbginger.blogspot.com/2014/02/pulverisation-fun-with-magimixs-le.html
Here is a soup recipe from Magimix the manufacturer themselves:
https://www.magimix.co.uk/recipes/Vegetable-soup_b
26. To-Go Containers
The To-Go containers are a joke - they don't work at all! Don't waste your money to buy them as an add-ons. When the blender is turned on, the lid will loosen and the liquid flowed out. I think there is a fundamental manufacturing design fault. I have tried a few times, and given up plus the mess with cleaning up.
The To-Go containers are a joke, they don't work with the blender at all, so don't get them.
However, the 1.4 L glass blending jug that comes with the blender is a saving grace as it is able to blend a very small portion of serving, that the To-Go containers supposed to do. I have made smoothies with only 3 strawberries and 1/2 cup (125 ml) of milk and it came out beautifully. Thus, just use the versatile glass blending jug that comes with the blender and forget about the To-Go containers.
3 strawberries, 1 cashew nut, 1 walnut, 1 almond and 1/2 cup of milk
Press start using the smoothie program
It yields 1 cup of strawberry milk :-) the 1.4 L glass jug is able to make small portion of smoothie like this, no problem at all :-)
27. Recipes
The Magimix comes with a recipe book, but there isn't a picture for each recipe. It's fine with me, as I would rather keep it this way, than if they raise the price of the blender to cover the cost of a glossier recipe book.
The on-line recipes are rather limited compared to Vitamix. This is one disadvantage of Magimix.
28. Warranty
The Magimix blender only comes with 3-year warranty compared to 7-10 years for Vitamix. But I think it is fair enough that the warranty is only 3 years, considering that the price is 20% that of a similar Vitamix blender.
29. Life Span
I don't know about the life span of the Magimix blender yet, only time will tell. There are some reviews that said the Magimix's blender lasts only between 1.5 to 5 years. I reckon that at this price, it is performing very well. I don't expect that it can last as long as a Vitamix.
When my Magimix blender stops working, I hope that by then Vitamix would have developed a blender that uses glass container and of a smaller 1.4 L volume rather than 2.6-litre volume (my family of 4 aren't able to consume that amount of smoothies and even if we could, we will be consuming too many calories in that kind of size and will struggle with weight gain. Thus, 1.4 L or less works best for us.) If so, I may consider buying a Vitamix blender for its proven long-lasting quality that many users talk about.
30. Other Brands
The reason why I didn't choose KitchenAid Pro Line with thermo jar (known in Denmark as KitchenAid Power Plus 5KSB8270) is that the blender jug not made of glass and it also doesn't come with a variety of blending containers that you can buy as add-ons. You have only the 2.6-litre blending jug that comes with it. This means that I cannot make food in smaller batches such as dips and sauces and even make a smoothie in a to-go cup.
After seeing the few reviews of Braun JB3060 blender on the internet, I have also ruled it out. It seems that in the category of blender with glass container, Magimix is the best, and its performance comes closest to Vitamix, at least in Europe.
31. Unboxing
Here are some pictures of the Magimix blender packaging before our unboxing :-):
32. Specifications
Below are the technical specifications of the Magmix Power Blender 11626SK
- Model code: 11626SK
- Wattage: 1300 watts
- Speeds: 8 speeds and auto programs
- Capacity: 1.8L glass jug
- Working capacity: 300g crushed ice, 1.8litre smoothie, 1.8litre soup, 300g frozen fruit and 4 scoops of ice-cream
- Goblet type: Glass
- Auto programs: 5
- Dishwasher safe all parts except base
- Removable blades: Yes
- Ice crushing function: Yes
- Cord storage: Yes
- Non-slip feet: Yes
- Finish: Cream
- Dimensions: 40.5 x 16.5 x 16.5cm
- Weight: 4750g
- Motor guarantee: 3 years
- Safety information: As per instruction manual
- Additional accessories included in the box: Watertight lid with measuring cup, spatula, inspirational recipe book and free Magimix app
33. Summary: Pros and Cons of Magimix Blender
In closing, if you find this review too long to read, here is the to-the-point summary:
Pros:
1. Its blender jug is made of thick high quality and durable glass.
2. Its 1.4-liter glass blending jug is very versatile and could easily make a personal portion of smoothie without the need for a "To-Go" container. In fact, I think it is not necessary to buy the "To-Go" containers as they are not really needed, unless they come with it free like mine did.
3. It is able to crush ice really effortlessly and perfectly within a minute.
4. It is able to make hazelnut butter and peanut butter effortlessly within 1.5 minutes, but need to stop and scrape in-between the 1.5 minutes run.
5. It is able to blend dates very well, when dates are included in smoothies.
6. It is able to chop and dice garlic, onions and carrots using the wet-method.
7. It has an effective self-cleaning function that allows "walk-away" cleaning.
8. It comes with an add-on such as a small size mill attachment with mill blade attachment to grind flour and smaller portions of dips and sauces as well as baby food.
9. The mill attachment is great at grinding whole grains into flour and I love it.
10. It comes with an add-on such as the "To-go cups" that uses the main blade attachment, without having to purchase another blade, unlike Vitamix.
11. It comes with a good size 1.4-liter blending jug that could easily make personal portion of smoothie without using a "To-Go" container. In fact, I think it is not necessary to buy the "To-Go" containers as they are not really needed, unless they come with it free like mine did.
12. Its blade can be completely disassembled from the blending containers and assembled easily, enabling ease of cleaning in otherwise hard to reach areas.
13. Because of its detachable blades, wastage is minimized as one can easily scrap the good stuff off from below the blade with a silicon spatula.
14. It comes with four pre-set program that allows "walk away" blending, that I have found useful.
15. It is a well known French brand trusted for its reliable food processors.
16. It is a lot cheaper than other high-speed blenders like Vitamix and considering all the things it can do with a much lower price point, I think it is very good value-for-money.
17. It is in my opinion a very sleek, clean line, compact and ascetically design that comes with a choice of colors.
18. At 1300 watts, it uses less electricity compared to other high-end blenders, but is more than powerful enough to make smoothies smooth, crush ice to perfection and make nut butter effortlessly.
19. Relatively quieter in comparison with other high-speed blenders such as Vitamix or KitchenAid.
20. It is able to make hummus.
21. It is able to make energy balls.
Cons:
1. It can't make soup from scratch using Magimix, unlike Vitamix, as its soup program is made only to puree hot soup.
2. It can make cashew nut butter and sunflower seeds butter, but if oil is added. If oil isn't added to the cashew nuts, it will be very laborious and needs to stop for 10-15 minutes after each run to avoid over-heating. The Vitamix's recipe also calls for oil to be added as well.
3. It doesn't pulverize strawberry seeds and raspberry seeds well, and is unable to pulverize blackberry seeds at all. But blackberry seeds are also the hardest berry seeds to blend, and reviews on Vitamix are mixed on whether a Vitamix blender can actually pulverize it reasonably. Some reviews may even be biased, thus unless I try it out for myself, I don't completely believe in those reviews. And all high-speed blenders will leave some raspberry seeds behind no matter what.
4. Although it comes with the "To-go" cups, it is not working at all. The lid of the to-to containers loosens, when the blender is turned on, even if you press on it as instructed by the manual, leaving lots of liquid mess. When it does work occasionally, it gets messy when removing the blades after blending, due to the fact that the blade is completely detachable, which is a plus, but also a minus. Your hands will come into contact with the metal round plate with the blades and the mixture. You will thus need to wash your hands, before putting on the lid for the "To-go" container. I find it easier to use the blending jug to make smoothie first and then transfer it to the "To-go" container, but this defeats the purpose of having a "To-go" container, as you will have to wash two separate containers :-(
5. It comes with 3 years warranty, compared with 7-10 years for Vitamix and Kitchen Aid.
6. Its life span is relatively unknown and unproven, compared to the Vitamix, although its shorter warranty of 3 years may hint that it is not made to last a decade, but only time will tell.
7. Its 1300 watts are lower than other high-speed blenders which vary between 2200 watts horsepower (Vitamix) to 3500 watts horsepower (KitchenAid), but it is highly effective and definitely powerful enough to blend well, not to mention that it helps me save a bit of electricity.
8. It has fewer recipes on its website, compared to Vitamix.
9. It has 8 variable speeds, unlike 11 for Vitamix, but that is not an issue for me.
10. When crushing ice, the ice program and pulse function can't be used with its plastic "To-Go" blending cups, but only with the main 1.8-liter glass blending jug.
11. Some owners reported that if the blade attachment is screwed on too tightly, the plastic surrounding the blade attachment may break, but I haven't encountered this.
12. It doesn't seem to have any trade-in possibility, unlike Vitamix, but this is not an issue for me.
32. Conclusion
After personally trying it and weighing the pros and cons, I still think Magimix is an excellent blender. There is no perfect blender, and I am sure that if I try out other high-speed blenders such as the Vitamix blender personally, I will also find things that I like and things that I don't like.
The Magimix blender is the test winner 2014 of the Danish Consumer Association (det danske forbrugerråd Tænk) and the Swedish Consumer Association (det svenske forbrugerorganisation Råd & Rön). It comes with many functions and meets the majority of my requirements of having a blending jug made of glass, making hazelnut butter, blending dates, pulverizing strawberry and raspberry seeds and making frozen dessert.
The Magimix blender is similar to Vitamix, but without the price tag of a Vitamix. It can do many of the things that a Vitamix blender can do, except making soup from scratch and pulverizing raspberry seeds or blackberry seeds. But I am not 100% sure if a Vitamix can handle hard seeds like blackberry seeds as well, as the reviews I have found are mixed in this regard. The Magimix blender does not come with as that many recipes as the Vitamix, and may not have the proven long life span as Vitamix, but I can accept that as a trade-off for the much lower price - at only approx. 20% cost of a Vitamix blender.
However, I would like to have a blender that lasts. Thus, if my Magimix blender burned out in less than five years (which I hope not), assuming that Vitamix has come up with a blender that uses a glass blending jug that is of a smaller size - 1.4 litre, I will consider buying a Vitamix blender.
The Magimix blender does not seem to be retailed in the US. If you live in the UK, you can buy it from Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magimix-11610-Blender-Black-Finish/dp/B005VBTZNQ/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=magimix+blender&ie=UTF8&qid=1551334386&sr=8-2&ref_=nav_ya_signin&_encoding=UTF8&
Update 14 May 2020:
It's been more than a year now, and my Magimix blender is still going strong. I use it to blend dates and bananas to make Banana bread too. You can find the recipe
here:
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