While many may crave a cold beverage to fight the heat, the key to making a good one at home is having a blending that's up to the challenge.
Consumer Reports decided to test out nearly 50 blenders to find out which ones delivered great results at a great price.
Testers crushed ice, grated cheese and puréed soup to see how well each blender performs.
To size up how well a blender makes iced drinks, Consumer Reports mixed up virgin piña coladas then evaluated the drinks for smoothness and texture.
Ice was also used to see how durable a blender is. Testers placed ice cubes without any liquid into a blender and ran it on high for one minute. They shut it off for seven minutes, then repeated the test. This was done 45 times.
When all the tests were completed, Consumer Reports recommended several blenders, including a 100-dollar KitchenAid blender that whipped up smooth, icy drinks and scored excellent for grating and puréeing.
Even better was the Ninja Master Prep. It not only grated, puréed, and served up smooth icy drinks, it acted also as a top-performing food chopper. At only 60 dollars, it's a Consumer Reports Best Buy.
If you like making soup, Consumer Reports recommends the 200-dollar Cuisinart Blender sold at Williams-Sonoma. It's as good as some food processors at puréeing and grating and it has a built-in heater that allows you to sauté vegetables to make soup all in one appliance.