Braun MultiQuick 7 3-in-1 Immersion Blender & Food Processor, 4 attachments

Why it's worth it

Braun's ACTIVEBlade shaft flexes so the blade moves up and down while it spins, which claims 250% more cutting surface. It's the pick for anyone who hates finding a chunk of strawberry in an otherwise smooth smoothie.

Nothing else here moves the blade vertically. America's Test Kitchen ran a standardized frozen-fruit benchmark against 11 fixed-blade models and Braun's oscillating blade produced completely chunk-free smoothies while the others didn't. If you've ever chased one stubborn piece of frozen mango around a cup, that's the problem this solves.

The SmartSpeed trigger has no preset speeds. You push gently for a coarse chop and harder for a fine puree, all in one motion, which sounds gimmicky and turns out to be the most intuitive control scheme in this group. There's no stopping mid-blend to click up a speed with a wet thumb.

From our review of 8 immersion blenders, by David Sinclair, Managing Editor

What we like

• +Nothing else here moves the blade vertically
• +The SmartSpeed trigger has no preset speeds
• +Braun also builds in SPLASHcontrol, and says the MQ7 has 25% less suction than its own MQ500
• +The EasyClick Plus system swaps attachments with a single push, and the set covers blending, chopping, whisking and mashing

What to know

• –The included beaker is plastic and feels cheap next to the motor unit
• –It's not the one for very hard ingredients