This Entry-Level Vitamix Blender Gives You Best-in-Class Power (at a Fraction of the Price)
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The Good
- Makes quick work of anything you throw at it
- Sleek, compact design
- Easy to clean
- Quiet at low speeds
The Bad- Slight learning curve
- No preset functions
Table of Contents
Vitamix blenders have a reputation for being best in class. While I was blown away by the company's almost freakishly snazzy new Ascent X5, that’s to be expected, no? The real test of a brand is to check out its simplest offerings. The “cheap” stuff (or cheaper, in this case). I wanted to see how Vitamix's more affordable models perform, so I went straight to the company's introductory blender series and tested the Vitamix Explorian E310. Not only did it impress me, but it’s actually a great value, considering what it can do.
Vitamix versus the competition
Personally, I've never been a huge blender user. That's primarily because most blenders I've used (let's be honest, they're the brands that run under $100) don't do anything my immersion blender can't do. But after testing some Vitamix models, I can actually see myself becoming a blender person. Vitamix's machines are actually the standard for what we all wish blenders could do: mixing velvety soups and sauces, or smashing fibrous fruits, veggies, and ice into drinkable consistencies, all with extremely fast processing.
While there is no truly budget Vitamix blender yet for sale, if you are already frequently making smoothies, sauces, purées, or nut butters, then you owe it to yourself to level up with one of these if you can swing it. I know, even at a sale price of $300, that's a big "if," but it might work for you.
The Vitamix E310 is one of the more affordable Vitamix machines, if not the most, and that can be the access point you've been looking for. You still get a powerful motor—the E310 has two horsepower versus the Ascent X line's 2.2 HP, but you sacrifice on presets and digital timers, and it comes with a shorter warranty (five years instead of seven or 10 with more expensive lines).
About the Explorian E310
The E310 has a more traditional look—knobs and switches versus digital tough screens—and it’s a very reasonable size once assembled (9 x 8 x 18 inches), which is a blessing if you ask me. I’m biased towards apartment-friendly sizing, and I regard any appliance that requires its own permanent real estate in my kitchen as selfish and rude. Vitamix blenders, so far, have not drawn my ire, and the E310 continues that pattern.
But even with this compact sizing, the E310’s engine is extremely powerful. This model comes with a 48-ounce, no-frills container with a flexible rubber lid and a central removable cap so you can add ingredients, or use the included plastic tamper to press ingredients down into the blades.
Using the E310
As stated above, there are no presets on the E310. So it’s a little more like driving a manual car versus an automatic. Some folks love appliances with presets, since machines with them know how to ramp up the speed and slow it down without any intervention. They do the work for you, and sometimes you add another 15 seconds or stop them early to get the consistency you like.
But on the other hand, The E310 will win everyone else over precisely because it’s not like that. You are in charge of the blade speed and how long you run the machine. You can push its limits once you learn how the machine acts—when it’s taking down the ingredients, and when it’s displeased, which gives you finer control and stops you from being mislead by poorly programmed presets.
The control panel
The E310's dashboard comes with two switches and a rotating speed knob in the center. The left switch is a springy pulse button for when you want to chop ingredients into a rougher texture. The righthand switch is an on-off switch for when you want to blend and purée. The central speed dial is to increase and decrease the speed of the blade.
From my usage experience, and from most of the brand’s recipes and instructions, you’ll always want to start on a low speed, click On, then ramp up the speed to what you need. Get in the habit of checking the speed before you begin. It can be alarming for the machine to blast off to speed 8 right away.
The E310 comes with a five year warranty automatically, and is the most affordable model from Vitamix, retailing for $380 (although it's marked down right now). While this is by no means cheap, it's an incredible value for what it can do in your kitchen. Allow me to explain.
The tests I ran
I like to challenge blenders with difficult ingredients. Keep that in mind when you consider what you’ll probably be doing with your Vitamix. But also, let the weirdness broaden your expectations, because the tests I ran actually turned out quite successfully in this case.
Nut butter
Almond, peanut, cashew, or walnut, nut butters are notoriously difficult to make in the run of the mill blender. The oils are known to stick to the walls and blades, gumming up the average blender's mechanisms. Even if you do get the nuts consistently ground, it can take some appliances up to 20 minutes to create a smooth paste.
My experience with the E310 was nothing like that. I set out to make honey roasted peanut butter in it. I first dumped 16 ounces of honey roasted peanuts (because they taste great without any additions) into the blender. Then, I made sure the dial was on the low end of its speed range and flipped the righthand switch to On. The machine chopped the lower portion of nuts easily, and then I knew it was time to tamp. I removed the lid’s central access point and used the plastic tamper that came with the machine to mash the rest of the nuts down into the blades.
While it’s tempting to leave the machine running on a lower speed because it’s quieter and less aggressive, I quickly realized that if I wanted smooth nut butter, I’d have to increase the speed. Once I did that (I put it up to level 7 or so), I saw the bottom start to change in consistency and color. More mashing followed until I finally had my smooth honey roasted peanut butter. This entire process took less than two minutes, my blender survived without issue, and the end result turned out great.
Smoothie
One must always make a smoothie when they get a blender. (Even if you don’t like them.) It’s tough for many blenders to create a smooth consistency, especially if the ingredients you have on hand aren’t already soft. I’ve used $80 to $100 blenders and an immersion blender to make smoothies in the past and, thinking things couldn’t be improved, I accepted the gritty results. Good news: you don’t have to settle for subpar textures with the E310.
I threw a banana, almond milk, peanut butter, and six Ghirardelli dark chocolate squares into the container. Dessert smoothies count, okay? The machine took down the ingredients with relative ease, however I will say that the solid chocolate squares took some maneuvering.
Upon high-speed blending, everything seemed to be going well. It was only when I lowered the speed that I heard and felt the whole chunks of chocolate tap against the blades. This told me that at really high speeds, it’s possible for different ingredients to float up and avoid getting sucked down into the blades. So I had to listen and lower the speed to find a good spot where the chocolate pieces came down until I eventually heard them diminish. I added a cupful of ice at the end to cool it down and the same rule applied for the ice. You have to listen and feel for the right speed where the cubes would get blended.
Hot soup
I admit, I think cooking soup in a blender is incredible. I hope I never get over it. The friction of the blades running at high speed for about seven minutes raises the temperature enough to cook and heat ingredients. When you turn off the machine and open the lid, you’re met with billowing steam and delicious aromas.
I decided to do something a bit challenging with the E310. I’ve made blender soup with cooked ingredients before, primarily testing its blending and heating ability, but I’d never tried a soup that started with only raw ingredients. I made potato cheddar soup. That’s right, with a raw russet potato. I added water and a spoonful of Better than Bouillon, a peeled and roughly chopped potato, along with a half-ounce of cheddar cheese and some savory seasonings.
According to best practices, I started the machine on low speed, and within a minute, I ramped it up to its highest speed: Speed 10. Many of the recipes listed on the Vitamix website instruct you to run the machine at its highest speed, regardless of the model you have, and keep it there for six to seven minutes. This is generally how long and fast the blades have to run to get the liquid up to a cooking temperature of about 180°F to 200°F. Considering that fruits, vegetables, eggs, and meats cook in the range of 135°F to 165°F, you can trust that the food will be safely “poached,” but if you're nervous, you can keep a food thermometer around to test them once you're done.
I encourage you to pay close attention to your soup in the last two minutes of blending. Judge me if you will, but I think it’s fascinating to see the moment that blender soup becomes cooked. There is usually a visible color difference where you can see the consistency change, and you can even hear the blender motor react to the texture change. Potato soup is an unphenomenal white color, and that doesn’t change too much, but after six and a half minutes, I could tell that the starches had gelatinized and the soup became thick, more opaque, and creamy.
Sure enough, after topping it with more cheese and stirring in some chives, I taste tested it and am happy to say it was the most delightfully silky potato cheddar soup. No raw potato flavor lurking in the corners, either. As if having dinner ready in seven minutes isn’t wonderful enough, the pour spout on the container makes serving up four bowls of soup extremely easy.
What I like about the E310
Cleaning the Vitamix E310 is decidedly not a pain in the ass—even with sticky stuff like peanut butter. Since the blade and bottom cap is not removable, your main goal is to get that area under the blades clear. The self-cleaning function does this beautifully. Simply run the machine with warm soapy water for about 30 seconds on medium to high speed. The blades will be sparkling clean of even the stickiest substance. Any sticky smudges of peanut butter that remain on the container's upper walls are easy to sponge off without getting your hand close to the blades.
I’ve already told you that I’m obsessed with making hot soup in this machine, and so far I have not seen a function that the Vitamix can’t accomplish well. Granted, the company claims that the machine can do a few more things (like dry grinds and frozen desserts) and I’m eager to try those to see how it goes. I’ll be sure to let you know the juicy details once I've given them a shot, but for now, I'm happy with what I've seen.
Vitamix also offers different containers that can fit on the Explorian base, from 64-ounce to 32-ounce containers to an Aer Disc container, so if you're not fully satisfied by what comes in the box, you can also get some accessories to truly turn this machine into a versatile recipe helper.
The challenges
For all the good here, it's worth remembering that because the E310 has no preset functions for your recipes, you have to decide how to blend the food you’re making. The machine is set up with a dashboard of really just two functions: speed control and On, so you have to take the wheel for controlling this extremely powerful machine. It's not necessarily a problem, but you can expect a learning curve. The more you use the E310, the more you will know what to look for and what to listen for.
Let's also talk about noise for a spell. This appliance has a very quiet and chill low speed, which I was excited about—for a city girl, I do love quiet—but as soon as you hit the medium speed level, the machine gets noisy. Once you get to the higher end, fugghetaboudit—it is loud. To be fair, I've never met a blender that doesn't get noisy at higher speeds, so this might just be one of those blender things we all have to come to terms with. Luckily, it's a fast worker, so you don't have to stay at high speed for more than a few seconds.
Is this the right blender for you?
Although the Vitamix E310 is regarded by the company as its introductory blender, I think it’s better for a more seasoned cook. It’s not a set-it-and-forget-it machine at all. You have to tap into your blending intuition to use this machine well. While it’s not hard to do by any means, you have to be open to learning. If you’re happy to do that, then you can snag this machine to land Vitamix power at the cheaper Explorian price point.
But if you’re easily put off by screwing up a recipe, or you don’t have the patience to figure out if you need to speed up the engine or not, you’ll be happier with one of the models that’s loaded up with presets. Keep in mind that you’ll pay more for these features, but you’ll likely get more use out of the appliance. Check out my review of the Vitamix Ascent X5 if that sounds like a trade you're willing to make.
