Today I have a reader request for you guys (I love reader requests, so keep ‘em coming!).
Here is the scenario, which I have heard so often over the years: The Ninja commercial makes it appear as if you can turn fruits and vegetables into a smooth, drinkable juice in no time flat.
This, of course, depends on how you define juice. If you want a thick, whole food juice that retains the pulp, then yes, the Ninja can absolutely perform if you know how to make it do its thing.
However, if you want pulp free juice, you have to strain it, or, use a juicer.
That said, this week’s request has to do with carrot juice. Reader Dana saw a demo of a Vitamix recently where the person performing the demo turned baby carrots, lemon juice, and ice into a nice, drinkable whole food juice, and she hasn’t been able to get the same results with her Ninja Mega.
So, I set out to see if I could create this juice, and, for a little fun, I used both the Ninja Mega 72 ounce pitcher, and the Ninja Ultima 72 ounce pitcher.
Spoiler alert: The results were pretty much identical.
Spoiler alert #2: Though drinkable, the results were not quite what you would get with a Vitamix. They were not bad, per se, but, just slightly different.
Here’s what I did, for those interested in specifics:
1) Found some baby carrots (this is what Dana said the Vitamix demo guy used).
2). Put half the bag in the Ninja Ultima and half in the Ninja Mega blender 72 ounce jars and added an equal-ish amount of ice.
The deal with Ninja blenders is you have to add ice to whole fruits/veggies if you want a drinkable “juice.” Otherwise, you just get chopped pulp! I explain more about this here.
4) Pulsed 4-5 times, and then slowly increased blending speed until I was blending on high in both machines.
I determined I needed to add some water when all I had was basically a carrot snow cone, so I added about 1/4 cup of water to each, and resumed high speed blending.
5. Very soon after adding water and resuming blending, the concoction came together and I deemed it juice. Total blending time pre- and post-adding water was about 1 minute cumulative.
Though, as you can see, there is still the thickness of the pulp in there – there is just no way around having some pulp, since the blender does not extract it.
The results, place in front of their respective blending machines. Don’t be fooled by the one on the right being a little more puffed up – their textures are almost identical.
Ninja Ultima:
Ninja Mega:
I was able to drink both of these with minimal chewing (I always chew my juice and smoothies, though). Is it as good as a Vitamix? Probably not quite. But we’re talking margins. Just like the Ninja, the Vitamix is a blender, not juicer, so the pulp doesn’t just evaporate, but you can likely get a bit of a finer consistency due to the blade design.
Have a reader request? Let me know in the comments!
View Comments (6)
That looks like a delicious carrot smoothie! Good to know they both performed well, and equally.
I’ve been seeing a lot of ninja lately. At BJ’s I saw the new-ish re-packaging of the Ninja professional blender with the single cups. the informercial of the Mega kitchen system, and of course the new Ultima on QVC.
As you know, I wasn’t so happy with the Pulse when I had it back a year or two ago, and I returned it. I have to admit I have been thinking about one of the other models, perhaps the Ultima. But my ole Black and Decker with the glass container has been working fine, so I’m trying to stay put for now.
I wish I could find a glass or stainless container for the ninja or vitamix…yes, I know the glass is dangerous with the super hi speed blenders, but I’m so cautious of plastic.
Can you answer a burning question. I have seen reports online about the Vitamix container getting very scratched up, how are the Ninjas doing? I know you have a couple of older ones. Are they getting “rough” inside the containers?
You know, I wouldn’t just drink a carrot smoothie in my normal life, but it was okay!
I agree that I initially really, really, really didn’t want a plastic jar blender. I even called that out in my original review for the Pro. But, considering the whole reason I got a Ninja in the first place was a broke my glass jar blender into a million pieces, I have been happy with the plastic jars. Mine are not scratched or scuffed up in any noticeable way, but I take good care of them. You can see the Ninja jar pretty well in this photo, and that is after a year and a half of pretty heavy use. However, you have to be careful inserting or removing the blade, or I could see the blade causing damage very easily (to the jar and flesh).
Hope that helps!
Angela
Haha, When I zoomed in on your side by side photo, I saw the word “professional” on the motor piece and got excited for a minute, thinking that you were using the older model. Haha
Tell me, do you even use the older professional anymore? Is it even comparable to the newer more powerful Ultima and Mega?
Hi Debbie,
I don’t use the older Professional model anymore, but it’s not for the reason you might think! It is still in a box somewhere in storage because we don’t have a kitchen yet in our remodel. (I know). We have started working on the kitch, though, so it’s all good.
In terms of power, the Professional does have slightly less than the Mega and Ultima, but it is amply powerful and I would still recommend it to someone looking for an affordable high-speed blender. I do have to say, I am really loving the Ultima, simply from the super smooth green smoothie perspective. Otherwise, I don’t find it much different from the Mega or Pro, but that’s just me. (HA, pun not intended!)
Haha. That’s just me too!
Anyway, thank you the replies and it does make me feel better that your plastic containers are holding up well.
It scared me when I watched a review and the woman was rubbing inside her vitamix container and the bottom section was very scratched compared to the top. I don’t think you can remove the blades so I assume it comes from ice and food hitting the sides. I don’t know how old her container was but it made me think.
Thanks for the info on the PRO too.
Debbie, I just had a revelation. I bet hers is scratched up because the Vitamix has this plunger type device that goes down the middle of the jar that you use to move food around. $100 says that is the reason for her scratches!!