3D & Motion GraphicsBlenderCreating A Low Poly Ninja Game Character Using Blender: Part 1Envato Market has a range of items for sale to help get you started.The Vitamix has long been the kitchen appliance that serious home cooks have yearned for. It's what professional chefs have in their arsenal to quickly smooth out soups, make sauces, and juice produce. Sadly, not many of us can play with a Vitamix because of the steep price tag -- they normally run anywhere between $450-$750. And any other blender is pretty much a joke when compared with the power of the Vitamix. (Hamilton Beach doesn't stand a chance here, guys.) The Ninja, which came out in September of 2013, was advertised as the home cook's answer to the wonders of the Vitamix at a fraction of the price. This blender, starting at $199, depending on the model, claims to perform as well -- if not better -- than the Vitamix. We had our reservations and felt that it was time to put this claim to the test. We compared the Ninja Ultima and the Vitamix 5200.

Since juicing is huge these days, and one of the more difficult tasks for a blender to accomplish, we started out with a green juice recipe to get straight to these blenders' true capabilities. We didn't make the task easy. The juice had ginger (not grated), kale (which we know is almost impossible to juice), apples, cucumber and celery. The results were impressive: see for yourself. (We had a bit of a slow start with the Ninja, but that was our bad.) The Vitamix has an easy trigger, but the Ninja wants you to push the ON switch like you really mean it. Both blenders are tearing apart those ingredients. (Remember, the Vitamix got a head start.) The Ninja's claim to fame is its dual stage blending, which is essentially a second, detachable blade at a higher height in the blender. It helps to powerfully blend ingredients where other blenders get stuck. While it clearly does its job, this piece also makes it a bit of a challenge to add ingredients to the pitcher because it blocks ingredients from finding their way to the bottom.

It can also cause ingredients to momentarily get stuck in the top part of the pitcher as it blends (see above). And in fewer than 60 seconds, we got juice.Pug Puppies For Sale In Ms What we found was that both blenders were able to completely juice some serious produce. Cheap Used Tires In Ypsilanti MichiganWhile there was a good deal of pulp in the juice (which is to be expected), all ingredients were perfectly blended. Beagle Puppies Sale Austin TxThe Vitamix produced a much thinner juice than the Ninja -- even after they were both strained -- but that isn't something that a little water couldn't remedy. We're not going to lie, we were impressed. But you can't know the true worth of a blender until you know how well it makes a milkshake.

So after we drank an entire glass of kale, we got to making milkshakes. And not just any milkshake, but a Klondike Kandy Bar Chocolate Ice Cream Milk Shake. We added two Karamel and Peanuts Klondike Kandy bars, a pint of Ciao Bella's Caramel Bourbon Chocolate Ice Cream and milk. As soon as we turned the blenders on, we had milkshakes. It was almost a joke. While both blenders turned the ingredients into milkshake instantaneously, there was a difference in the texture of the milkshakes. The Vitamix produced a light and airy milkshake while the milkshake made by the Ninja was thick, rich and intense (but equally delicious). The Ninja and its dual stage blending seem to really pulverize the ingredients while the Vitamix creates a suction that cycles the ingredients to the core, which in turn aerates the milkshake. If you're really into milkshakes, this is an important distinction. With those two essential blender tasks complete, we came to our final assessment of the two brands. There were a few key differences:

Our conclusion: If you are a stickler for noise and ease (and have the bank roll), the Vitamix is better suited for you. If not, the Ninja will make you sufficiently happy. Want to read more from HuffPost Taste? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr.Add Your Own Review The Ninja Professional Blender looks cool, feels solid, isn’t too loud, and has a short but sweet range of speeds. It’s easy to clean, and you can toss the pitcher components in the dishwasher. The lid design makes using the Ninja a little clumsy, and the cord's too short. The Ninja does an adequate job with simple tasks like blending drinks. It looks cool, but for less cash you could get a basic blender that performs the same or better. The manufacturer, Massachusetts-based Euro-Pro, has made a specialty of marketing midrange housewares and small kitchen appliances under various names (Bravetti, Shark), positioned as gadgets with stepped-up design and performance. The Ninja has been marketed on TV, infomercial style, and the cool-looking packaging has the brash look and bold call-outs we'd expect.

Stainless-steel blades sprout from the bottom and near the top of the tall blade assembly tower, so instead of all the action happening at the bottom of the pitcher, puréeing and pulverizing can theoretically happen at dual shred points. There’s a large, 72-ounce pitcher made of BPA-free SAN plastic; it's not recommended for foods hotter than 180 degrees Fahrenheit. The cord is a short two feet, and there’s a stuff box in the base. The 1,000-watt motor is relatively powerful, with four options: a pulse setting and three speeds, labeled simply 1 through 3. The control pad is flat for easy cleanup. The pitcher locks into the base, and the rather complicated-looking square lid locks into the pitcher, with a handle that has to be secure before the motor turns on—understandable as a safety feature, considering the ferociousness of the multitier blade assembly. You don’t want to be able to stick your fingers into the machine. There’s a relatively small pour spout situated off-center, at one of the lid’s corners.

You can clean the pitcher, the lid, and the blade assembly in the dishwasher. The Ninja’s instruction manual comes with recipes covering a pretty wide range of tasks. We chose five for testing: chopping vegetables for pico de gallo salsa; and making a frozen pineapple daiquiri. Pico de gallo salsa: The instruction manual’s salsa recipe says to pulse large pieces of fruits and vegetables three to four times, and shows a picture of beautifully diced mango and tomatoes. For our pico de gallo, we dropped in half a quartered onion, four Roma tomatoes (each cut into eight pieces), two quartered serrano chiles, and a few cilantro sprigs, then pulsed six times. The results were uneven: some parts slushy and puréed, others still in big hunks. We scraped down the jar and gave it six more pulses. The results were foamy, pink, and slushy, more like soup than salsa. Crushed ice: The instruction manual says to use speed 2 for crushing ice. We dumped 6 cups of cubes into the pitcher, turned it on at speed 2, and let it run for 15 seconds.

The result: fluffy drifts of crushed ice. Chopped almonds: We dumped a cup of whole almonds into the jar and, following the instructions in the manual, turned it on at speed 2. After 10 seconds the nuts were a pretty even medium-fine chop—perfect for a crumble topping or to decorate the sides of an iced carrot cake. After another 30 seconds at speed 2, the almonds were a nice, fine meal, just right for a nut torte or to mix into muffin batter. Ground Parmesan: Our Parmesan started out as 2-inch hunks in the blender jar. We closed the lid and turned it on at speed 2. The Ninja seemed a bit unstable—we felt like we had to keep our hand on top of the lid to steady the machine so it wouldn’t wobble off the counter. After 20 seconds, we had a medium-coarse grind; after another 45, it was medium fine—good for topping gratins or melting into sauces, though perhaps too grainy to sprinkle over pasta at the table. Frozen daiquiris: The ultimate test of any blender—can it make a good frozen drink?