There are a lot of cool things out there that make us wonder — do they really work? In our I Tried It series, we set out to use them in the real world and have determined that, in fact, they really do.
The Product on Trial
The Vitamix Explorian E310 10-Speed Blender
The Tester
Melanie Yates, who can’t walk down the produce aisle anymore without asking herself, “Will it blend?”
The Brief
Much like those people who always order the second-most expensive drink on the menu, I am one to always stop short of getting the priciest *thing* for myself. Sometimes this has meant shortchanging myself gigabytes of storage, exciting new features, or the hyped-up style of the moment. But most of the time, it pays to be a little thrifty.
I had my heart set on getting a Vitamix blender, having been wowed by watching June Xie use hers on Delish's Budget Eats series. After much deliberation, I took the plunge during a holiday weekend sale and bought the Vitamix Explorian E310 10-Speed Blender over one of the cushier models in their Legacy Series. With a retail value of $350, the Explorian E310 is slightly less expensive than other Vitamix models (which range from around $400 to $620), but it's by no means cheap.
As a solo dweller and daily smoothie sipper, I feel that the Explorian E310 fits my needs. It is the ideal model for those who want the reliable, top-notch performance of a Vitamix blender. Just know that a smaller size is the main concession for the lower price tag.
A Rundown of the Specs
The Vitamix Explorian E310 10-Speed Blender comes with a 48-ounce container that's notched with measurements for cups, ounces, liters, and milliliters along the corners, a rubbery lid with a plastic dome that comes off, a mini tamper that slides right into the undomed top to stir the ingredients while the blender is operating, and a hefty base that houses a 2-horsepower motor.
As the name suggests, the blender has 10 speeds that are accessible via dial, as well as a separate pulse function. I love the precision of the dial, as I can make the tiniest adjustments to speed, instead of just toggling between low, medium, and high like on other blenders. On its lowest setting, the blade whirs at around 70 dBs (the same volume as a hair dryer, according to the Hearing Health Foundation) to 95 dBs on its highest setting (akin to a subway platform or car traffic). So, make no mistake — this blender is loud, even if it's used just for 30-second bursts. And yes, I have been known to sometimes wear earplugs when I use it.
There are no complicated parts of this blender to disassemble, and you can even wash the container simply by filling it with hot water and dish soap, and letting it run until it gets thoroughly sudsy. And in the event that anything goes wonky, this particular Vitamix model includes a 5-year warranty, which covers parts, performance, labor, and shipping both ways.
What I’ve Made With It
My Vitamix's main job is being a personal smoothie machine, and it doesn't disappoint. Most mornings, I make a breakfast smoothie with frozen bananas, spinach or blueberries, chia seeds, raw cacao, walnuts, Greek yogurt, and cold water. Because there are a lot of frozen, thick ingredients in this smoothie, I will almost always need to use the tamper to encourage everything to blend evenly.
Using the tamper puts more stress on the motor, so I try to use it sparingly. Once the ingredients are sufficiently broken up, everything blends smoothly, and I let it spin for just under a minute until I reach my desired smoothie consistency — somewhere between liquified and slightly chewy.
In early January, one of my group chats exploded with two viral internet sensations: Wordle and the Green Goddess Dressing from TikTok. Needless to say, I gave them both a whirl — the dressing made for a delicious new addition to my blender recipe repertoire. After adding all of the recipe's ingredients to the Explorian E310's container, I start blending and keep adding water until the consistency is right. This dressing results in a thicker consistency for me (more like a dip than a dressing), but for my pesto-like applications, it works.
Making oat flour with the Vitamix Explorian E310 takes hardly any time at all. To quickly sub in this gluten-free ingredient for all-purpose flour, just measure out the proper amount of oats you need into the blender and pulse or blend until they are a fine texture. Whenever I've tried this, there are never any leftover, whole bits of oat — the granules are consistent throughout.
Drawbacks and Quirks
Depending on what you're making, the Explorian E310 blender may require some control-dial finessing or assistance from the tamper. Certainly, the thicker the ingredients you're using, the more air the blade will create when spinning ... and the more frequently you'll have to pause your blending. However, I don't consider this to be a design flaw of the blender (and it may not be specific to this model, either). It's just a matter of getting your ingredient/liquid ratios just right and being a little patient.
However, there's one recipe category that I haven't found much success with just yet: soup. Several of my colleagues suggested that I try making butternut squash soup in the Explorian E310, and I happily obliged. However, this is the moment when I came to understand the difference between the Explorian E310's small 48-ounce container and the Legacy 7500's sizable 64-ounce container.
After roasting my root veg, I attempted to add them, piece by (hot, messy) piece — along with the soup's other ingredients — to the blender. Because of the size constraints, I ended up having to do this in multiple batches. It was way more work than the set-it-and-forget-it style of soup-making that I'm used to.
Instead of making a hot soup (especially if you want more than one serving of something), chilled soups like gazpacho or puréed sauces would be much better suited for the E310's capacity. But get ready to pay attention to your recipe measurements, and be prepared to work in batches.
The Closing Argument
When choosing the best blender for your kitchen, it's worth remembering that you actually do get what you pay for. These appliances are major timesavers, especially for those of us trying to get our daily dose of fruits and veg in one big gulp.
I recommend the Vitamix Explorian E310 because it's powerful, simple to use, and highly effective. Despite the shortcomings of its smaller container size, it neatly pulverizes anything I put into it, and I'm not left with a messy countertop or piles of parts to clean up afterward. In my book, that's worth a lot.
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