One minute review
Zwilling JA Henckels is a German kitchen brand that was founded almost 300 years ago. Originally the brand was known for its kitchen knives, but over the years the range has expanded considerably through both innovation and acquisition of other brands. It has only recently become involved in the kitchen appliance market with the launch of its Enfinigy range of countertop appliances in 2020.
It now has three blenders on offer, two full-size and one personal blender – although only one full-size blender is currently available in the US. The Zwilling Enfingy Power Blender is the best blender (opens in new tab) of the bunch, the most expensive and versatile blender you can buy from the brand.
It comes with a 64 oz/1.8 liter Tritan jug and, as you would expect from a knife manufacturer, a high quality stainless steel serrated blade, with what they call piranha teeth. There are four automatic programs, as well as a pulse and an automatic cleaning program. In addition, you can choose from 12 manual speed levels and everything is controlled via one central control knob, making it easy to use and giving a streamlined look.
Our test results were somewhat mixed, the ice crush program produced chopped ice cream that was more crumbly than we expected, but the smoothie program did a great job crushing a bunch of ingredients into a lump-free drink. We successfully made a thick glossy mayo, but only on the second try. That said, it’s a fast, powerful blender that can handle most mixing tasks. It’s expensive, though, so it’s best for those with a lot of disposable income who want a nice blender to complement a modern, streamlined kitchen.
Zwilling Enfingy Power Blender: price and availability
- List Price: $400 / £349 / AU$576
The Zwilling Enfinigy Power Blender is available directly from Zwilling in the UK and US as well as through other major retailers such as Amazon. In Australia it is known as the Zwilling Enfinigy High Performance Stand Mixer and can be purchased through Amazon AU (opens in new tab).
It is an expensive blender and the top model from Zwilling. The brand also offers the more budget-friendly Zwilling Enfinigy Table Blender in the UK and Australia for £199 / AU$365 – although it’s called the Zwilling Enfinigy Universal Blender in Australia and it’s not available in the US.
- Price and availability score: 3.5/5
Design
- Available in black or silver
- Easy Settings
- Non-slip feet
With an uncomplicated and contemporary look, this blender is ideal for modern kitchens. While the blender is off, none of the settings are visible, giving it a very sleek and streamlined appearance. But once turned on, with the jug in place, the backlit display illuminates all available settings around the watch face. You can choose from 12 manual speeds, pulse, smoothie, cocktails, ice (for ice), crushing ice cubes and there is also an automatic cleaning program. Handy, because the lid and the pusher are the only parts that can be washed in the dishwasher.
In terms of size, it’s about average for a blender, measuring 16.65 x 7.6 x 7.6 inches / 39.9 x 16.5 x 16.5 cm. The jug is not glass, it is made of Tritan, a hard plastic that is BPA free and cold resistant, and the advantage of not being glass is that it is lightweight, weighing only 1.3 kg including lid. The blender will not start unless the lid is in place, a handy safety feature that means it will stop blending even if the lid is removed during use.
The jug simply has to be placed on top of the base, there is no tricky turning and locking maneuver to take to position it. Although we were slightly disappointed that it can only be placed on the base with the handle to the right, making it easier to use for right-handers, but a bit clumsy if you’re left-handed.
The lid pushes on easily and provides a good seal, but it’s not hard to remove like some others. It has a removable central cup that allows you to place the tamper to stir your mixture or pour additional ingredients while mixing. The cup doubles as a small measuring cup, with handy markings on 1oz/2oz/20ml/40ml/60ml.
Performance
- Blades don’t reach low enough for small amounts
- Crushed ice was thick?
- Auto clean program works well
We started with a simple test, but one that most blenders can do difficult, namely chopping hazelnuts. It took seven pushes of the pulse button to make all the larger chunks disappear, but at this point most of the nuts were too coarsely chopped with a fine, ground texture. When we tossed the nuts onto a plate, it was clear that there were still some larger chunks in between the fine powder, so the overall texture was quite uneven. But like we said, this is a tricky test and if it’s any ground nuts you’re after, this blender is up to the task.
Then we tried the ice program with only six ice cubes. The program lasts 35 seconds and at the end we were served ice cubes with some larger chunks in them. It was far from the fine, snowy crushed ice we’ve come to expect from other blenders. If you just want to chop your ice cream and don’t mind it being a little uneven, you won’t be disappointed, but if you’re looking for a nice crush, that’s not what you’ll get.
After crushing ice, we filled it to the max line with water and turned the dial to the highest speed. This allows us to check for leaks, but we were pleased to see that the lid seals well despite the very high mixing speed.
To try out the automatic smoothie program, we filled the pitcher with yogurt, apple juice, spinach, pineapple and banana. The program lasted just 36 seconds and produced a delicious, smooth, lump-free drink that was slightly aerated. Virtually all ingredients were completely pulverized with only a few tiny specks of spinach still visible, a great result in less than a minute.
Our first attempt at making mayonnaise didn’t go so well; the blades don’t reach low enough to mix very small amounts and our recipe only contains two egg yolks. We persevered, but the mixture did not emulsify. So we tried again, this time doubling the recipe. This did the trick and after two minutes of gradually pouring in the oil on the lowest speed setting, the ingredients were emulsified into a thick, glossy mayonnaise. We removed the center insert of the cup to pour the oil in which meant some splashing out of the hole during the early stages of mixing, although this is quite common.
Figuring out how to clean a blender (opens in new tab)especially after making an oily mayonnaise mixture will always be a chore, so now was a good time to try out the auto-cleaning program. We followed the instructions in the manual and added 500 ml of water along with a dash of washing-up liquid and started the program. It only took 42 seconds and indeed removed all the mayonnaise residue. After emptying, the jug and lid had to be quickly wiped down to make sure they were thoroughly clean. It was much faster and easier than trying to wash it by hand.
All blenders are noisy and this one is no different, reaching a maximum of 87dB on our noise meter when crushing ice. But it was a more pleasant 64dB when we mixed up mayo on the lowest speed setting.
| attributes | Comments: | To score |
|---|---|---|
| Price and availability | It is widely available, but its high price tag makes it unattainable for many. | 3.5/ 5 |
| Design | Slim and streamlined design that looks great on the counter, but also includes safety features and ease of use. | 4.5/5 |
| Performance | The performance was mixed, it didn’t crush ice as well as we’d like, but made a good smoothie and thick, shiny mayo and it’s a powerful blender for sure. | 4/5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if..
- First rated: July 2022
