This Blender's Just Grate!

It’s hard to believe now that I went for over a year without a blender. I crushed, ground, and liquefied with my last blender until it died a sad, burning-rubber death shortly before a move, and somehow never got around to replacing it. First it was winter, and not exactly margarita season, and then I kept procrastinating and waiting for a better sale, and so on and so forth. Finally, one Margarita Monday, I realized that this was just silliness, and it was better to have a blender, any blender, than none at all. Enter the bargain-priced Oster 6640.

Interestingly, Oster doesn’t include this blender on its website, so I wonder if that means it’s being phased out. But anyway, here are some features: it has a 450-watt motor, 10-speed selections, PowerBlend stainless steel blades that remove for easy cleaning, and a 6-cup, break-resistant plastic jar. It measures 7 x 11 x 13 inches and comes with a rubber lid and filler cap which doubles as a measuring cup. Oh, and it includes a 1-year limited warranty, though I would imagine getting the company to honor a warranty for a $20 blender would be extremely difficult.

Anyway, I got mine on sale for $20 at a certain large discount chain. It’s one of the lower-end Oster blenders, and they certainly get much fancier, with removable food-processor jars and go-cups that screw right into the base and sleek metal cases. But for $20, you get a clear plastic jar with a white rubber lid and a feeder cap to poke chunks of things into as it blends (honestly, I had no idea the cap was also a cup), a white plastic base with a no-frills row of buttons, and… that’s it. You can buy replacement accessories on the Oster website, or you could if they supported this model, but I didn’t see any that were specifically for the 6640 (maybe some of the generic things like the metal blades or lids are universal).

Still, for not being fancy, this blender works just fine. There are all the usual settings like Chop, Blend, Grate, Liquefy, Crush, and so on, plus a Self-Cleaning setting where you pour a little water and a drop of soap in, and it whirls the water around like a tiny dishwasher to clean the jar. The Hi-Lo button modifies the power of each setting, and you can Pulse things like ice chunks to give the blades a break. The buttons are all clearly marked and easy to use, and they operate with a light push and haven’t gotten stuck yet. You do have to hold the lid on while it’s blending (and to keep the feeder cap on), but I would do that with any blender anyway, just to be safe.

Because I mostly make smoothies with my blender, I don’t wash it every single time I use it – sometimes I just rinse it out thoroughly and let it air-dry (shh!). I’ve blended frozen fruit (basically like an ice cube), fresh fruit, juice, yogurt, and protein powder in there, and it all blends together smoothly and evenly without any chunks or clumps. I haven’t experimented with blended drinks yet, but if the weather ever improves, that will be next on my list. I almost fell for the food-processor-jar trap and upgraded to a pricier one, but then realized that any blender can perform food processing tasks, just without the schmancy special cup. When you do wash it, unscrew the black plastic ring from the base, and then lift the grey rubber ring and metal blade out, being careful not to cut yourself. Wash each part individually and then reassemble before using again. The white plastic base can be wiped clean if it gets stuff on it, and is pretty easy-care.

This isn’t the cutest blender I’ve ever seen, but it’s not hideous, either – it’s just your basic, standard-issue blender, probably exactly what you visualize when someone says “blender.” For the price, I don’t expect it to last forever – maybe a couple of seasons of daquiris and protein smoothies – and honestly, that will be just fine. Economical, practical, and basic, this blender gets me right up to speed on margarita season!