What is the difference between a blender and a juice extractor attachment?

Homemade smoothies and fresh juices are an easy and convenient way to get more fruit and veg into your diet, and with the right tools, they’re easy to prepare, too.

Both the blender and juice extractor attachments enable you to use your stand mixer to turn your favourite fruit and veg into delicious, health-boosting drinks. But they work in different ways to produce different end results.

What can the two attachments be used for?

Both these attachments are designed to make it easier for you to increase your daily fruit and veg intake as you experiment with different flavour combinations to create delicious, nutrient-packed drinks in mere seconds. Where they mainly differ is how they process the fruit and veg. As its name suggests, the juice extractor attachment extracts all the juice from fruit and vegetables, leaving any pulp, skin and seeds behind. In contrast, the blender attachment blends all parts of the ingredients together, including any pulp, to create thicker, creamier drinks like smoothies.

Juice extractor attachment

Fancy starting each day with a glass of freshly made juice? Your stand mixer’s juice extractor attachment captures all the goodness from your fruit and veg to make all-natural, unsweetened juices that are bursting with flavour and goodness. Using the juice extractor attachment couldn’t be simpler. With no need to peel, core or deseed most ingredients before juicing there’s minimal prep involved, while the extra wide feed tube means you don’t even need to cut them into smaller pieces- it's big enough to fit a whole apple. All the juice is collected in a generous 1L jug ready to serve, with the foam filter ensuring there’s no froth collected at the top of your juice. When it comes to flavour combinations, the possibilities are endless. Apples, pears, kiwis and citrus fruits are all good for juicing and can be paired with lots of other flavours. Carrots are naturally sweet and full of vitamin C, while cucumber, celery and melon all have a high-water content so they’re great to help keep you hydrated. Try adding some dark leafy greens like kale or spinach for an extra superfood hit.

Blender attachment

Working from your stand mixer’s high-speed outlet, the multi-purpose blender attachment can be used to blitz up your choice of fruit and veg to make nourishing smoothies and fruit-based drinks like mango lassi that will keep you feeling energised and count towards your 5-a-day. Add your fruit and veg to the generous 1.6L jug, along with a liquid base and any thickeners, like unsweetened yoghurt, oats or nut butter, and blend together to create a deliciously smooth and creamy consistency in no time. You can use fresh or frozen fruit and even add ice to create a refreshingly cold smoothie without worrying about clouding or shattering the temperature-resistant glass jug, while the unique Blend X Multizone blades ensure all your ingredients are thoroughly blended. A stir stick is also included to use with thicker mixtures to make sure no ingredients get left behind. Smoothies make a great on-the-go breakfast or snack, and you can really have fun with your creations. Mixed berries are a winning combination that kids will love, or you can experiment with tropical fruits like pineapple or mango. Banana works as a great thickener, while a green smoothie, made with spinach, kale, avocado or broccoli, is guaranteed to set you up for the day.