KitchenAid Variable Speed K400 Series

The best ever – Hubby and I bought this blender to make some healthier options for ourselves as well as softer foods for our elderly dogs. We bought it in June 2024 and got it directly from the maker- KitchenAid Aust. We got the pink because its my favourite colour. The pros: - This thing can munch up anything with ease! It has absolutely no problem with anything we've tried thus far, including cashew butter once we added more oil and used the stick thing you get with it.

- Its built to last! This machine will outlast me I'm sure. Its a very solid steel base and internal components and the blades are good solid ones too. Absolutely nothing cheap or flimsy about this blender. The rubber seals on the lid of the jug are also very thick good quality and create a great seal.

-The bottle/jug part is very good quality thick plastic that is bpa free!

- The jug is a very good size and allows us to make even the biggest of juices or dips or in our case- batches of dog foods.

- I absolutely love that you can get it engraved and get a choice of colour too. Its my first pink addition to the kitchen but it definitely won't be my last. Its such a joy to look at every day. I really underestimated how much joy a little pop of colour in an otherwise white and grey/steel/black kitchen would bring.

- It blends things really quickly and effectively. It gives a very uniform blend and the time it takes to actually blend everything is seconds. Esp super liquidy things

-It has multiple settings allowing us to use the best speed and setting (eg ice) for the specific thing we're preparing.

- There are no smells, stains or residues on the jug after use even when food has been sitting in it for a little while.

- The jug is very ergonimcally designed. Yes, its basic shaped but I appreciate the handle is big and thick enough to be easily and comfortably grabbed without hurting my weak wrist. Even when its full.

- The self cleaning feature is absolutely top notch!! I seriously cannot stress this enough. The machine is a breeze to clean and is done, again- in seconds! If all the food isn't off after the 1st run through of the cleaning I simply tip that water out of the jug, add new water and a tiny amount of dishsoap and re-do its self cleaning. I have not had anything sticking anywhere in the machine since I got it doing these 2 steps, including nut butters and meats that we blend. Its just that good!

-The self cleaning is very quick too. Means we can change the flavours and ingredients and make batch after batch in half the time it would take to use and clean a food processor and all it's fiddly little attachments.

- The dial is easy to turn and understand. Its just basic and has no unneccesary lights or beeps etc.

- It comes quite quickly, neatly packed and having bought from KitchenAid themselves, they filled out the warranty parts for us! That's saving me 'registering my product' which would need to be done online after creating an account with them if we'd bought it from a retailer.

- Excellent warranty time should we need it. 5 Years.

- They- KitchenAid pricematch and have an array of colours. This makes me more likely to shop with them.

- There are delicious recipes on their website that go perfectly with their appliances, its good for new ideas and things to try.

The cons: - The cord could be longer. We are very limited on space and length to power cords in our kitchen so a longer cord would be awesome. - Sometimes it tends to rattle (the jug inside the housing/base) when chopping chunky things like ice etc. Its nothing substantial or worrysome but I just thought I should mention it incase someone buys one and it does it to them as well.

Excellent appliance with a range of settings – A great appliance, works for blending a whole range of ingredients into sauces and soups. A large removable jug with a good fitting vented lid so no splatters. Variable 5 speeds so you can change the texture to suit your dish including a pulse setting so you can slowly adjust the foods to the consistency you require. Easy to clean, we hand wash the jug and lid. Our first machine the pulse setting stopped working, KitchenAid were excellent, we sent them a video of the issue and they sent us a new machine straight away. Customer service at it is best.