Value for money

This week Value for moneylooks at Hand Blenders

Philips Hand Blender HR1361
€27.99

Highs:At 600 watts this has a lot more oomph that the competition and costs a lot less than the priciest of the blenders reviewed. It made light work of our ice cubes and had the cream whipped into a thick gloopy mess in less than 10 seconds, making it almost three times faster than its closest rival at that particular challenge. It has a "double action turbo button" which - we think - is a fancy way of saying it is a two-speed model. The handle is ergonomic and non-slip and the splash-guard is effective.

Lows:It has no bells or whistles and seemed to struggle when it came to pureeing vegetables - most of them ending up stuck under the larger-than-you'd-expect blades - although to be fair, cleaning it was pretty simple.

Verdict:No frills but powerful

Star rating:****

Cookworks Hand Blender
€8.99

Highs:This blender, available from Argos, is very cheap and very plain and purees soft vegetables quite well.

Lows:Introduce it to liquids or ice at your peril. We thought some of the brands' boasts about splash guards were just silly marketing claims until we tried this, which has no splash guard. First, we were covered in shards of ice as it made its way slowly through a single ice cube. We then had to abandon our cream-whisking test after just five seconds after being covered in a light and creamy mist. Even the box struggles to sound convinced about its merits when all it can boast about is the blender's steel blade and a detachable mixing leg.

Verdict:Cheap but pretty useless

Star rating: **

Braun Multiquick Advantage
€47

Highs:This was the dearest of the blenders tried, more than five times more expensive than the cheapest option out there. It's also nearly five times better. It purees vegetable quickly and without fuss and crushed our ice cubes in a heart beat. It also comes with a whisk and a mini food processor, both of which were quite natty. It is lightweight and easy to manoeuvre and the rubber handle means it's easy to maintain a steady grip.

Lows:It comes with a lot of plastic packaging and while the whisk and food processor are quite natty, you'd have to wonder about their long-term usefulness. We would have concerns that they'd just take up full-time residency in that cupboard already filled with rusting kitchen utensils whose principal function has been long since forgotten.

Verdict:Pricey but multi-functional

Star rating: ****

Morphy Richards GoBlendit Cordless Hand Blender
€36.99

Highs:Clearly, its cordless nature is its unique selling point and for some people, it may be a big advantage. It took to ice- crushing and cream-whipping with alacrity and while it seemed to lack the power of other models when it came to vegetable pureeing, that may have been because we did not leave it charging for long enough.

Lows:What is the value of a cordless blender, really? It's hardly like you'd be wandering about the house casually blending stuff and it has one big disadvantage in that it needs 12 hours recharging when it comes out of the box or after it has been left idle for some time. Alternatively, it can be left plugged in on your counter top recharging all the time, which doesn't seem particularly eco-friendly to us.

Verdict:Good value and handy for some

Star rating: ***

Tesco Value Hand Blender
€9.99

Highs:This is another cheap blender that is grand, albeit with limitations. Its two parts click together with ease and it is very easy to clean. It also has two speeds.

Lows:Unfortunately, the speeds are slow and slower. While it is grand for less challenging blending, it lacks power, something which became clear at the ice-crushing stage. It sent a few shards of ice in the direction of Pricewatch's face and then struggled a little to make an impact - although to be fair, it did eventually make its way through a whole cube. Like the Cookworks model, it lacks a splashguard, but we were prepared, so used a deep bowl. Over a minute later it had yet to make an appreciable difference to the cream. Eventually it made an impact, but we reckon we'd have been faster with a fork.

Verdict:Cheap but not so handy

Star rating: **