Can you recommend a blender for turning oats/dried fruit into powder?

November 2, 2017 10:25 PM

I'm looking for a low/mid-range blender that I can use to turn steel cut oats and freeze-dried fruit into powder form so I can easily mix into a drink in the future.

Hi all, I don't feel Vitamix or Blendtec is worth the money for what I need a blender for. I would like to make all this stuff into powder-form so I can easily reconstitute with water at work for a quick meal when I don't have time for a full lunch.

In the past I used a cheap Oster which ground down oats easily. I was looking at the Ninja BL660/BL610 but I noticed that their primary "stacked blades" wouldn't touch the amount of food I'd put in there. Do you have any other recommendations?

At this point, I'm not sure how much volume I would prep each time, but I think a typical blade at the bottom is what I'm looking for. I used to only make enough for one drink, but with my current meal situation I may be making several servings and aliquoting and storing them. Should I just pick up a $50-ish Oster blender from a Walmart/Target? Thank you.

posted by eliluong to Food & Drink (12 answers total)

Best answer: A small food processor would be better for this.
posted by third word on a random page at 12:46 AM on November 3, 2017 [5 favorites]

For cut oats and quinoa I use a Starbucks coffee grinder, takes it to dust, really works fine. I've had the thing maybe 20 years, it's tough as an old boot, maybe cost 15 or 20 bucks. I'm guessing it would take that dried fruit to dust also, so long as it's totally dried.

I grind up enough to hold out for a while, put it into a sealed tupperware container, the lid on one contains is "O" and the lid on the other is "Q" with a magic marker.

Probably not terribly elegant but it sure does the job, and has done the job for years.
posted by dancestoblue at 2:12 AM on November 3, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I dissed them until my niece was given one a year or so ago. A Nutribullet will almost certainly pulverise anything you put in it. It's a handy device for powdering spices, making fine sauces, smoothies, etc. I was a sceptic, but it's an effective tool in a kitchen.
posted by michswiss at 3:24 AM on November 3, 2017 [4 favorites]

Just to add, I don't buy into the "nutrient extraction" or other ostensible health benefits they spout. That part is nonsense. But it's a strong machine with solid blades that works better than a blender or food processor for creating fine powders and purees.
posted by michswiss at 3:30 AM on November 3, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Second the NutriBullet. Mine powers through stuff like oats; been using it almost daily for a year now.
posted by Salamander at 4:49 AM on November 3, 2017

Thirding the Nutribullet
posted by Fig at 5:34 AM on November 3, 2017

I have a Vitamix but I would still use my food processor for this. In general, I find them better for pulverizing dried goods evenly (and being able to get them out more easily after!). My food processor (a pretty normal Cuisinart) also has an insert and extra blade for processing smaller amounts.
posted by beyond_pink at 7:10 AM on November 3, 2017 [2 favorites]

A coffee grinder or tiny food processor would be best for this if you don't want the multipurpose ridiculousness that is a Blendtec. It is worth every penny, but is overkill for this particular purpose, though it would happily do what you are asking, but so will anything with a chopping blade. You don't need something capable of pulverizing rocks, no matter how awesome that is.
posted by wierdo at 7:15 AM on November 3, 2017

I used to make homemade instant oatmeal for my then-bf and I used my kitchen aid food processor and I’ve also used it to grind oatmeal down to a fine powder for facial stuff. For small amounts I’d get a mini food processor. You can find excellent versions for well under $50.
posted by Room 641-A at 8:21 AM on November 3, 2017

We have a Mira wet-dry spice grinder. The grinding thing removes from the motor and goes in the dishwasher. It’s highly satisfactory.

It looks like it’s no longer sold by Amazon, but that there might be something similar.
posted by leahwrenn at 9:24 AM on November 3, 2017

Response by poster: Thanks all. I'll look at the Nutribullet versus the food processor to see which one would serve me best.

There are multiple Nutribullet options, I'm not sure how much wattage I would require for my use, in particular breaking down freeze-dried food.
posted by eliluong at 10:47 PM on November 3, 2017

If you have a little more time than money, Craigslist is likely to have a Nutribullet or mini food processor for cheap.
posted by metasarah at 9:52 AM on November 9, 2017