Moulinex 241 Glass Blender

When our previous blender died, nearly three years ago, we knew we wanted another. At the time I used my blender regularly for smoothies in the summer, and soups in the winter. We don’t have a huge selection of kitchen appliances available in Cyprus stores, but there were at least ten different blenders available in varying sizes, designs and prices.

We automatically rejected the most expensive. We also rejected the cheapest, which appeared to be somewhat flimsy. That left us with about three options, and we did rather swither between a sturdy-looking Bosch, and a couple of Moulinex blenders.

BUYING THE BLENDER

The one I liked best from the design point of view was the Moulinex 241, which had a glass jug rather than the usual plastic one, and a black base which I knew would look good in our kitchen. 

It was only 400 watts, not as powerful as the Bosch, and I was a bit concerned that it would be very heavy when full... but it was on special offer at about €50, so (perhaps irrationally) we felt that we were getting better value by choosing it.

Besides, we had used Moulinex blenders before and found them very good. So that's what we bought.

SETTING UP THE BLENDER

The instruction guide, in several languages, is minimal - a page of safety instructions, and a page explaining how to put the thing together, and what to do if it goes wrong. Setup is easy; the whole device was enclosed in moulded polystyrene, including the base with the usual three-pin plug attached to a cable.

The jug part has a removable base, for cleaning, although we didn’t really see the significance of that until later. There’s a black plastic lid which slots easily enough in place, and the jug has to be set in the correct position on the base, twisted slightly to lock into place, before the motor will work. A slight design fault, in my view, is that the lid does not have to be in place - however, we’re experienced enough with blenders that I would not attempt to use it without the lid on!

There’s a measuring guide on the side of the jug, showing that the capacity is 1.25 litres. It’s not something I’ve had to use - I tend to measure ingredients before adding them, if I need to - but was useful to know that it was there, if I needed it, embedded in the glass.

USING THE BLENDER

There are three settings on this blender: a medium and fast speed (1 and 2) and a pulse for finer control. There’s also a button for ice crushing, which we thought would be useful for smoothies. Operation is easy enough - items to be blended are put inside the jug, the lid put in place, and then the motor switched on for as long as necessary. The instruction guide told us that it should not be on for more than about 90 seconds at a time, but with my previous blenders, a minute - or less - had usually been sufficient for almost anything.

PROBLEMS WITH THE BLENDER

Unfortunately, despite its smart looks, this blender is nowhere near as good as my previous ones. 400 watts should be powerful enough, and the metal blades at the bottom look as strong as any other blender I’ve had. But somehow, despite lengthy blending, sometimes three or four minute-and-a-half sessions with breaks, I can never smoothies to be as smooth as I want them. The ice crushing works well; I usually start by using that on a few ice cubes before adding fruit, but I’m not sure that it’s any more effective than simply adding ice to the rest of the mixture and blending together.

Soft fruit such as bananas and grapes are no problem, but if I use peaches or pears, even quite ripe ones, there always seem to be chunks left in the smoothie. We solved the problem creatively by buying extra-wide straws, sometimes using long spoons to eat chunks of fruit; but it’s annoying that the blender seems unable to blend as thoroughly as it ought to. When I first had it, I used it to puree soups in the winter - or tried to. After several very lumpy soups, we decided to get a simple stick blender, which we found much more effective.

CLEANING THE BLENDER

The standard way to clean a blender is to rinse it out quickly as soon as it has been used, then put a dash of washing up liquid in it, with some hot water, replace the lid, and set it to blend for a few seconds. This is a good method of cleaning the sides, and we found that doing this - followed by rinsing in hot water - would leave the blender looking pretty clean. However, the fact that the base of the jug is removable means that, every so often, I could see little pieces of food stuck down the side. No amount of poking or whizzing would get rid of it, so we had to unscrew this part, and clean it separately.

LEAKING FROM THE BLENDER

After about six months of regular use, I realised that I was starting to see drips from the bottom of the jug when I used it. I tried twisting the removable base part, and realised that a small piece of plastic had somehow broken off. So it was no longer possible to lock the removable base fully in place.

Someone suggested that we might need a new rubber seal, so we found a UK site that sold new ones and bought a pack of two, quite inexpensively. Unfortunately, this made no difference at all.

REPAIRS TO THE BLENDER

Since we had a year’s warranty, we took it back to the shop where we had bought it. We got into quite an argument - the guy we spoke to at first tried to insist that the warranty only covered the motor, and that we had broken this plastic piece so it was not covered.

We insisted that it was a design problem, and eventually, after speaking to his superior, we were able to have it sent off for repairs. A couple of weeks later our blender returned with a new base part that fitted so well that I could not, at first, unscrew it at all.

FURTHER PROBLEMS WITH THE BLENDER

Since this base fitted so well, and since I was no longer using the blender for soups, I thought I’d stick with the method of whizzing to clean rather than trying to take it apart. I did this successfully for a year or so, only using the blender for smoothies, and giving it a whizz with clean water before each use if it smelled a bit musty.

Then I started making coconut milk with desiccated coconut in the blender. And I found that bits of coconut got stuck around the sides. I once tried cleaning-by-whizzing about five times and was still seeing little pieces of coconut - so I carefully unscrewed the base. There I found that the rubber seal had gone somewhat grossly black, apparently with the gunge of the past year.

Happily I still had the replacement rubber seals I had previously bought, so replaced the gungy one with a new one. Since then I’ve been careful to take it apart to clean it at least once a week. Which was fine until about a week ago... when I noticed a couple of drips from the bottom of the blender. When I checked, the plastic was still all there but the base was no longer locking as well as it should.

FUTURE OF THE BLENDER

At present, it still works well enough. The drips aren’t extensive, and smoothie season is coming to an end. I will continue to use it for coconut milk as long as I can, although I could probably make that in the food processor. The blender is now well out of warranty, so while I could probably get hold of a replacement base from the UK, for about £20, I’m not sure if it’s worth it. I could buy a new, and possibly more reliable blender for not much more.

CONCLUSIONS

I can no longer find this blender listed on Amazon, or indeed any other UK website. Amazon does have a listing for the DAE242, which appears to be identical, but it’s ‘not currently available’, and no price is given. Perhaps Moulinex had too many complaints and have withdrawn it.

In any case, despite the smart appearance of this particular blender, there are too many problems with it, in my view. I would not recommend it to anyone.

2022 UPDATE

This blender kept going, more-or-less, for another two or three years. I replaced the seals a couple of times more, but the drips were becoming increasingly annoying. And then it started making unpleasant sounds, so was clearly on its way out.

Rather than replacing with another blender, we then bought a Kenwood 'multipro' food processor which came with a blender attachment.

Moulinex Hand Mixer

I bought my Moulinex hand-mixer around five years ago, for about £10. Previously I had had larger mixers, the kind that come with a stand and a bowl. However I had found some distinct disadvantages with this type of mixer: for one thing, they either take up a great deal of space on the kitchen work surfaces, or get packed away in a cupboard and then it's a nuisance to get them out. 

Then there's the problem that only one bowl (that supplied with the mixer) will fit the base, so if I wanted to mix two or three things in separate bowls, I had to keep decanting what was already mixed, and cleaning the bowl out. And if the bowl breaks, the mixer becomes useless, unless you can find a replacement. 

With some mixers it's possible to remove the main mechanism from the stand, and use it as a hand-held one, but I never found that this worked very easily - and it occurred to me that it would be much simpler to have a simple hand-mixer that could live in a kitchen drawer, and be used in any bowl without hassle.

• The Moulinex Supermix •

When we needed a new mixer, we checked what was available, saw that hand-mixers were all around £8 - £15, and chose a brand we knew to be reasonably reliable. The Moulinex Supermix Compact 150 came in a simple cardboard box with minimal instructions, but then it's a fairly simple appliance. The main body containing the motor is white, weighing about 750g, with a comfortable grip. 

 There are two types of mixing tool attachment: ordinary beaters, and dough hooks. The tools are attached by slotting them into holes underneath the body of the mixer, and pushing gently until there's a little click which ensures they won't fall out. They can easily be removed for washing by pushing down a button at the front, on the top, which releases them.

• Using the mixer •

To operate the mixer, there's a pale green gently serrated disc near the top of the body, which can be set to 1 for slow mixing, 2 for medium speed, or 3 for fast beating. Setting to 0 switches it off. I find it well-designed, so that it's easy to hold the mixer in one hand, and use my index finger to adjust the speed, depending on what I'm mixing and how thick it needs to be. With something like cream, for instance, it's best to start on a slow speed until it begins to thicken, otherwise cream will splatter out of the bowl. 

 • Effectiveness •

 I find this mixer works just as well as the more expensive free-standing mixers that I've used previously. Evaporated milk will whip thickly in about a minute, and egg white even more quickly. Cream sometimes takes a little longer. On the highest speed, these things will whip to very thick consistencies, with the expected peaks, and trails left by the mixer. 

I rarely use the dough hooks; if I'm going to make bread or pastry, I tend to mix them by hand, since dough can easily get caught up in the hooks, and it tends to take me longer to keep pushing it off than it does to do it by hand. However I've found this with every mixer I've used, it's not unique to this one.

• Other advantages •

 I very much like being able to use the mixer in any sort of container, whether a pyrex jug or a mixing bowl of any size. I also like being able to move it around the bowl, rather than having the beaters only in one place for the whole time, since this seems to me to give a more even mix. I find it easy to use - I just take it out of the drawer, slot in the beaters, plug it in, and it's ready to go. 

 While all these advantages would probably apply to any hand mixer, this one is by far the most comfortable I've used. The balance is just right, the weight is not so much that my hand gets tired, but nor is it so light that it doesn't feel sturdy. The speed switch is extremely well placed for comfort. 

 • Cleaning • 

 Cleaning the beaters is very easy, since they can be removed after use and washed with general dishes. The body can only be wiped clean (when unplugged, of course!) and my one minor complaint is that it's very awkward to clean some little indentations on one side, which are probably air vents, and seem to get clogged up easily with minor splatters of food from the mixer. 

 • Life of the mixer • 

 After five years, it still works as well as it did when new. I don't use it every day, but once or twice a week, on average. That works out to £2 a year (so far) so I consider that it's been extremely good value, and when it finally dies I shall have no hesitation in replacing it with the same model (if I can find it) or something similar, preferably by the same company. 

 • Availability • 

Alas, I can't find any online shops where this particular mixer is still sold, which is a pity as it's such a good model. However it can no doubt be picked up second-hand at many places. I would recommend this (or something like it) to anyone - even if you already have a free-standing mixer, as it's so convenient.

2023 Update

This mixer lasted well until the summer of 2014, so it had an excellent life. I would have replaced it with another Moulinex hand mixer, but was given another model by a friend which still works well. However, I would certainly recommend the Moulinex hand mixer as a good, easy to use and inexpensive mixer that can be packed away when not in use. 

Moulinex Ovatio 3 Food Processor

 Years ago I had a food processor, but rarely used it. I didn't have room for it on my work surface, and there was no easy way of storing all the various attachments, other than to pack them away neatly in the box. Then it always seemed such a hassle to take out again. It was good for grating cheese or chopping onions, but took so much time and effort to put together (and then clean up and put away again) that I generally didn't bother.

About six months ago, I reconsidered, after watching a friend who uses her food processor almost daily.  After much thought - and being in the right place at the right time -  I managed to buy a Moulinex Ovatio 3 Duo food processor (model AAT7R4) second-hand for £25.  

What a wonderful buy it has turned out to be! 

OVERVIEW

There's a large bowl, meaning up to 1.5kg of ingredients can be processed, with a well-fitting lid with a chute for adding extra items while processing.  It has the standard food processing tools:  graters, slicers, a mixer and two chopping blades (metal and plastic), plus a central removable spindle which holds them.  It also has citrus juicing attachments, an egg-beater and a plastic spatula. 

It also has a small instruction booklet with detailed diagrams which - to my surprise - made sense to me as I worked out what each part would do.  There is also information given in nine languages about how to use the food processor.  I found them sufficient to get it working, albeit a little sparse. There were no recipes, which was slightly disappointing, but it's easy enough to find books of food processor recipes, or relevant web-sites.  

One of my favourite features is the design which allows most of the tools to fit inside the main bowl, packed neatly on a storage rack which has a handle in the middle, making it very quick to take out and put away again.  A few other tools live in a drawer nearby. I keep the food processor on my work surface, and like my friend, I find I do use it nearly every day.  

BLENDING
As a 'duo' machine, it also has a liquidiser (blender) which can be slotted in above the motor.  My sons use this regularly to make fruity milk shakes, and are pleased with the large capacity (a litre and a half - enough for the whole family) and the speed with which it works. They find it safer than our previous blender, since the lid locks in place when the motor is on. There's a removable centre to the lid through which other ingredients can be added while it's running, but this hole is much too small for a hand to be poked inside.  

Fine breadcrumbs can be made easily in a few seconds, and if I want to make hummus I can easily liquidise cooked chick-peas. In the winter it ensured smooth and creamy home-made soups. 

So we no longer need our old liquidiser. 

JUICING
There's a very effective juicer function. Not a full one; it's only intended for citrus fruits. Since we grow oranges and lemons, this is extremely useful, and it's a great deal more powerful than our previous citrus juicer.  There's a plastic strainer which fits neatly in the processor bowl, and a cone-shaped juicing tool which fits on top. The fruit must be halved, then pushed gently down on the juicing tool while the food processor is switched on until the juice is all extracted.  

Up to a litre can be squeezed before the bowl needs to be emptied - much better than the 250ml that other old juicer held. It does allow some of the smaller chunky bits of orange through, which is excellent for me as I love 'bitty' orange juice; it also means that the strainer part doesn't get clogged before the bowl is full.  One of my sons likes juice without any bits, but he simply pours his through a fine-mesh nylon sieve to get the consistency he wants.

So we no longer need our old juicer. 

GRATING
There's a large grater disc and a smaller one for finer grating.  These sit at the top of the bowl on top of the main spindle attachment, and anything to be grated has to be fed through the chute in the processor lid, pushed down with the pusher attachment. I suppose it would be possible to have an accident with long fingers, but the chute is quite tall so I doubt if a child would be in any danger.

I have only used the grater for cheese, so far.  I dislike grating cheese with an ordinary grater, so I love this part of the food processor.  Of course it's a bit of an overkill to use it for just a small piece of cheese; there's always a little ungrated chunk left at the end which whizzes around but does not go through the grating attachment.  So what I do now is to grate an entire half kilogram of cheese at the same time, and keep what I don't need in the fridge, in a plastic tub with a lid.  I use grated cheese perhaps two or three times per week, so this definitely saves time.

However I can't get rid of my manual grater, because I still have to use it for finely grating lemon zest.  

CHOPPING
We love coleslaw in our family, but what a pain it is cutting up cabbage and then grating carrot.  Messy, too.  So I didn't make it very often until I had my Ovatio.  

Now it takes about thirty seconds.  I don't use the grater attachment for the carrots, I simply throw them in the food processor with the metal chopping blade first (peeled, of course) and then when they're reasonably well-chopped I add some cabbage, roughly cut into portions that fit.  Ten seconds or so of processing and I have exactly what I need.  Just a tablespoon or two of mayonnaise, and a sprinkling of sultanas or sunflower seeds on top - and a perfect coleslaw.

As for onions - well, what a difference this makes!  I love onions, and use them almost every day, but chopping them by hand always gives me streaming eyes.  he chopping board constantly smelt of onions, too.  Again it's a bit of an overkill to use the food processor for just one onion - I don't think I'd bother, since it does lead to more washing up than a simple knife and chopping board.  

Instead I now buy a kilogram of onions at a time.  I top, tail and peel them all, then put them all in the food processor.  Twenty seconds or so of processing with the metal blade, and I have beautifully chopped onions for at least a week.  I divide them into freezer bags with about 200g in each, and then store them in a plastic box in the freezer.  Of course that all takes about ten minutes in all, by the time I've washed up the food processor afterwards.  But it certainly saves time in the long run, not to mention my eyes!  

KNEADING
I love baking, but I don't like messy parts such as rubbing fat into flour for pastry or some cakes.  I also find that the whole creaming-mixing-folding of most cakes is a bit long-winded and quite tiring, particularly in the summer.  A food processor takes all the hard work out of this.  Now I just throw the ingredients in my Moulinex machine, process with the plastic blade for about thirty seconds, and then use as necessary.   There's so much less mess, and overall I find it leads to less washing up, not more.

My biggest surprise was finding that I could use this to make bread.  I don't think you can beat the smell of fresh bread, but I find ten minutes of hand-kneading such hard work. So before I had my food processor, I simply didn't bake bread very often.  I tried an electric breadmaker.  Again it was second-hand, and we did have some quite good results from it.  But other times it produced half-risen heavy bread, and once or twice it gave us bricks that weren't edible at all.  There are limited possible shapes of loaf with a breadmaker, and the paddles always seem to end up in the bottom of the bread.  

My kitchen is chilly in the winter, and extremely hot in the summer.  And I like to vary my bread, depending on how I feel.  Now with my Ovatio, I can have perfect bread every day without any hassle.  

So I can even get rid of the ancient breadmaker (which I actually hadn't used for about two years anyway). 

If you want to make bread in a food processor, do make sure the bowl is big enough.  My 1.5kg size seems to be fine for a family-sized loaf of bread, but with a smaller one you might have problems.  

WHIPPING
There's a beater-type attachment that will whip cream or evaporated milk, or egg whites.  However I'm not getting rid of my little hand-mixer (also a Moulinex) because I prefer the control that a hand-mixer gives me.  The Ovatio beater doesn't quite reach to the bottom of the bowl, nor the edge, so it leaves little bits not quite beaten.  

WASHING-UP
A lot of people complain that the worst problem with a food processor is all the washing up.  I haven't found this to be a problem at all.  We don't have a dishwasher (most of the parts are dishwasher-safe) but I find that if I fill the bowl with water immediately after use, and then put any attachments inside it, it's quick and easy to wash up whenever is convenient.  Even bread or cake dough haven't caused problems.  It certainly doesn't make more washing up than using spoons and ordinary bowls, and when I make bread there's far less mess on the work surface since I don't have to do any sticky kneading.  


CONCLUSIONS
Having my food processor has saved space.  I've been able to get rid of three other appliances so there's plenty of room to have it on my counter-top.  It has also saved time and frustration with grating cheese and chopping onions, and given us far more coleslaw and other chopped raw vegetables than ever before.

In addition it has given us the option of fresh-baked bread every day, with ingredients of my choosing - no preservatives or other artificial additives, and no sugar (I use honey instead).  Over a year this is a considerable saving in money, too.  

I don't know how long it will last - it was in remarkably good condition for a second-hand appliance, but these things don't survive forever.  However just a few months' use has convinced me that if at any point this one breaks and cannot be repaired, I shall almost certainly buy the same model new as replacement.  Or something similar by Moulinex, who are a reputable and reliable manufacturer that I trust for kitchen appliances.  

Highly recommended.  

2022 UPDATE

The Ovatio Duo lasted us just two years; we have no idea how old it was when we bought it. While in our kitchen, it had fairly heavy usage almost every day. Perhaps the juicing wore the motor out.  Or maybe it was the bread dough, which is quite heavy. However we certainly had our money's worth. 

It was, sadly, impossible to find an exact replacement, but we did manage to find a smaller Moulinex Ovatio 2 food processor in the thrift store for a similar price. That lasted us nearly seven years, but as it didn't come with a juicer attachment and had a smaller bowl, we didn't use it for juicing or making bread.  So I had to buy another juicer, and we've had a series of breadmakers which have all worked rather better than the second-hand one which I discarded in 2005. 

We now have an even smaller Kenwood 'compact' food processor that has lasted seven years so far, and it's fine; but it doesn't feel as powerful as the Ovatio Duo did, and I wouldn't use it for even a small amount of bread dough. I don't know if I'll replace it when it eventually gives up; I might use a larger, more powerful one more often, but they tend to be very highly priced, and most functions can be done by other appliances.