Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I got this chopper a couple of months ago. What I intended to buy the Ninja for has been great, so I will rate it on that. I will also review the issues I have with it.
I bought the Ninja to replace my small chopper. I absolutely love the double blade system, because it chops things very consistently; which was the reason I replaced my old chopper. I did not buy this to replace a blender OR a food processor, the `blender' was just an added bonus.
When chopping small things, it has been fabulous! My old chopper, like Ninja's spokesperson claims, turned the bottom food to mush, while the top food is still unchopped. With the Ninja, as long as I `pulse' as the instructions recommend, it works great. I've noticed, though, if I push down the power and leave it down, (usually when I'm in a hurry) I end up with the same results as my old chopper, so the key really is to `pulse'.
When it comes to ease of use, the Ninja is not:
-The motor on top is too big and bulky: My old chopper was a hand held immersion blender/chopper, so the handheld motor was interchangeable with the wand and the chopper bowl. If I needed to add other ingredients or push the contents down with a spoon, I could grab the motor (attached to the lid) with one hand and have the spoon or contents in my other hand to add. With the Ninja, I have to pull the motor off with both hands (because it is so bulky) then pry the lid off with both hands (because of the suction) then I can add the stuff. But then I have to realign the motor back onto the lid, sometimes it goes on easily, sometimes it doesn't (if you get easily frustrated with things, this isn't the system for you).
-The blade shaft goes directly into the motor, instead of the motor attaching to a lid: This `seems' like it would work fine, until you fill the bowl and the contents get on the shaft of the blades; which will inevitably happen because the blades have to be in place before you can add the contents. With my old chopper, I added the blade, then the lid had a gear that fit with the blade shaft, and the motor was geared with the lid. So, if I got yogurt or any sort of slop on the blade shaft, it would be on the lid, which could be thrown into the dishwasher. With the Ninja, the blade goes directly into the motor. So, after you fill the bowl with food, you need to make sure you wipe the shaft of the blade off, before it goes into the motor, because you can't put the motor in the dishwasher, and unless you wrap the end of something very slender with a wet rag, you won't get the slop out of the motor...especially in the little cracks.
-The blades take up all the room: Once you have your blades set in the bowl, the stuff you add has to be small enough to fall in around the blades. So, you have to pre-chop before putting it in the chopper, which sort of defeats the purpose of the chopper in the first place (unless you're a really slow chopper like me, then it's perfect)!
As far as the `blender' feature, I wasn't all that impressed. Since it is winter time, I haven't had a need for blended or shaved ice (I can get that in the yard), so I can't rate how well it blends ice. I did, however, try to blend a pot of soup into bisque, and it didn't turn out very smooth at all. I ended up using my immersion blender to finish it. I noticed another reviewer mentioned that you have to keep moving the ice around, to get the smooth shaved ice. That's what I had to do with my soup. I thought with three blades, it would move the contents around enough to blend it up, but it didn't, even when pulsing. I ran into the same problem when trying to make faux mashed potatoes out of cauliflower (gotta try everything with picky eaters). The cauliflower was cut into bite sized pieces and steamed before it was put into the blender. When I was blending it, it was just `stirring' it all together, instead of `blending' it. I had to keep taking off the lid and pushing the cauliflower down with a spoon to get it to `blend'. It finally did `blend' but with much poking and prodding, I will probably just use the immersion blender next time, less hassle.
I also need to point out, when I first got my Ninja, I was getting ready to use it and my father in law pulled out the blades to look at them. I didn't notice how they were put back in the bowl, but they fit in and looked right, and it was the first time I used it. It made a god-awful racket, and it wasn't chopping anything. I took the motor off, and saw plastic shavings on the top of the lid. My husband came and flipped the second blade over and it worked fine. Since the blade and the motor gears were stripped, we took it back to the store, and I decided to get another one. The new one has worked fine (as long as the blades are in correctly) but I'm a little weary as to how long they will last this time.
In conclusion, if you are looking for a blender or food processor, I would look somewhere else. It is a very good chopper, but for the price, I think next time, I'll stick with the immersion blender/chopper. I think Shark missed their demographic...it isn't powerful enough or versatile enough to replace the food processor or blender, yet it's too bulky and meaty for a regular chopper.
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