
The first thing I saw when I opened my present was the “As seen on T.V.” logo. I rolled my eyes a little. A Magic Bullet. Seriously, who buys the kind of stuff advertised after midnight and before 6 a.m.? Apparently my mother.
The Magic Bullet is a countertop, coffee mug-sized blender. It is designed to chop, grate, mince and blend without the hassle of multiple larger appliances, according to the official Magic Bullet Web site. The blender has a High-Torque power base, which contains the blades for the blender and also acts as a stand. It also come with multiple party cups, which function as the container for the blender, and can serve food and drinks once blending is finished.
Its “bullet” design, blade shape and high-powered base create circulation in the blender, forcing food towards the blades, processing it more quickly. The Web site, and box, claims any job can be done in 10 seconds or less.
The Magic Bullet also comes with a little recipe book with food ideas from drinks to whole meals, all which can be made in less than a minute.
My mom was so excited because she thought it would be the perfect gift for someone who likes to cook but doesn’t have much time or storage space. I was skeptical at best because I already have an immersion blender, which essentially does the same thing only without the cup attachment. I just didn’t know how to tell my mom. So I kept it.
After a month of looking at the unopened box in my closet, I finally whipped out the Bullet and put it to the test. As someone who likes to cook, I’m always a little hesitant to create whole meals in less than 10 seconds in the microwave, but I flipped open the recipe booklet and turned to the sauces. Following the recipe I put in tomatoes, onion, and garlic and turned it on. After 10 seconds, the sauce was definitely not at the consistency that I wanted, but after another 10, it wasn’t too bad. I removed the cup from the base, topped it off with a lid, and threw it in the microwave. Pasta sauce. It was pretty good, too. It didn’t take 10 seconds, but I really couldn’t argue with the three minutes that it did take – yes, I timed it. And the best part, at least for me, is that I hardly had to clean anything. I didn’t eat all the sauce I made, so I put on a different lid and the cup was suddenly Tupperware.
So the sauce worked, but I wanted to try some of the smoothies or other beverages in the recipe book such as the blended coffee drinks and cocktails. Each time I blended a drink I found I overloaded the cup and the ice didn’t blend as well as I wanted. The ice wasn’t even blending.
But after some trial and error, and learning how to measure, I made some coffee smoothie drinks that rivaled Starbucks. OK, so they weren’t that good, but they were significantly cheaper and the 15 to 20 seconds they took to make wasn’t too shabby, either. I’ve actually made a few this week.
One advantage to the Magic Bullet is that it makes single portions. The party cups only hold enough for one, maybe two portions, so they are great for when I want to make something for myself or a few people. But the small portioning can also be a disadvantage – making anything for a crowed would get tedious.
So, the Magic Bullet isn’t quite as magical as I was expecting because it doesn’t blend things quite as fast as advertised, but I was surprised how easy it was to use and clean. I like my immersion blender, and both blenders did an almost equal job blending, but the immersion blender requires pots and pans and ultimately makes more of a mess. In the end, the Magic Bullet’s best trick is making extra dishes disappear.
Schneider is a junior English and Spanish major and managing editor of The Spectator.