Vitamix Cook-along

[Anonymous No.12714060]

So I've had a Vitamix for almost 2 years now and use it pretty often, but have never actually tried a "Vitamix™" recipe. I somehow ended up watching a couple hours of Vitamix promo videos on youtube this morning (they're all the same, but honestly made me want to buy one again) and decided to try the tortilla soup they make.

[Anonymous No.12714066]

interested...

[Anonymous No.12714071]

>>12714060
High-powered blenders like Vitamix, Blentec and Ninja are great for tortilla soup. The friction created by the high speed of the blades can actually heat up the soup, so all you need to do in theory is break up the ingredients by hand and plop them in. I'm curious how the official test kitchen of Vitamix says to make tortilla soup.

[Anonymous No.12714082]

>>12714060
The real appeal is that you don't have to do virtually any prep work, and can just throw everything in the blender. I'm pretty sure the green parts of tomatoes are toxic, but I had no problem throwing in garlic cloves with the skin still on.
>>12714071
>I'm curious how the official test kitchen of Vitamix says to make tortilla soup
That was the test. I had "better than bullion™" instead of bullion cubes, and used kale instead of spinach, but otherwise began with pretty much with the same recipe they use in their demos.

[Anonymous No.12714089]

>>12714082
I don't understand it, but the exact same thing that makes smoothies and ice cream also gets hot enough to make hot soup.

[Anonymous No.12714090]

>>12714082
>"better than bullion™" instead of bullion cubes
Shouldn't be a problem
>kale instead of spinach
Kale doesn't liquefy in a blender like spinach does. You have to freeze it first. Otherwise, you are just going to have small kale chunks floating in your mixture. Botanically, spinach and kale are the same species, but in culinary applications, their textures are far too different to be treated the same. Very interested to see how this turns out.

[Anonymous No.12714112]

>>12714089
Once the soup is soup, throw in your kale, corn (yes, I bought a 99 cent can of corn when it's literally 5 for a dollar right now for fresh corn cobs), and a handful of tortilla chips, then pulse on 3-4 to add some texture.
>>12714090
>Kale doesn't liquefy in a blender like spinach does
It's a fucking vitamix, dude. I could liquefy fresh kale in 30 seconds if I wanted to.
>Very interested to see how this turns out
The spinach in the demo recipe is supposed to add a little color and texture, and isn't supposed to be liquefied. I went to Sprouts and somehow kale was cheaper than spinach, so that's what I went with, even though I don't even like kale.

[Anonymous No.12714144]

>>12714112
My discrepancy is due to the fact that I've made many kale smoothies in a Ninja and they come out chunky unless I freeze them first. It's a direct competitor to other blenders of that price range like Vitamix and Blendtec because of the comparable motor. Any test kitchen recipe by a manufacturer is guaranteed kino, even for something as shitty as Hamilton Beach. Any substitutions places you into uncharted territory. Still watching this thread closely.

[Anonymous No.12714147]

>>12714090
>Botanically, spinach and kale are the same species

[Anonymous No.12714156]

>>12714147
Oh shit you're right. Spinach isn't even a calciferous vegetable. It's from a different family altogether.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruciferous_vegetables
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinach

[Anonymous No.12714158]

>>12714112
I picked up a little 4 tier olive bar sampler which fell over on the drive home, getting olive oil, olives, and cheese all over the floor of my car and my tote bag, leaving everything that was left combined in two compartments. The girl at the checkout was like, "wow, this tote bag fits so much!"
>>12714144
>I've made many kale smoothies in a Ninja and they come out chunky
The ninja is garbage compared to the vitamix or blendtec; nobody considers that a direct competitor.

[Anonymous No.12714162]

>>12714156
It's an honest mistake. After all, half the fucking plants we eat turn out to be brassica.

[Anonymous No.12714168]

>>12714158
The vitamix comes with this BB-Buttplug, and I've literally never had an opportunity to use it.

[Anonymous No.12714178]

>>12714168
I definitely added more kale than the original recipe used spinach (because I bought kale and sure as fuck wasn't going to use it for anything else), so it was definitely on the green side, but it still ended up a bit too watery and a tad on the bland side. I bought 30 cents worth of bulk "Mexican seasoning" instead of the "taco seasoning" in the recipe, but the ingredients are pretty much the same.

[Anonymous No.12714181]

>>12714178
Even with some Gringo Bandito and extra crumbled up tortilla chips is was pretty meh... But I had a bunch more soup so had the opportunity to fix it.

[Anonymous No.12714193]

>>12714181
As a fix I added another whole tomato, a couple more garlic cloves, and another stalk of celery. Once that was all blended and the soup was heated back up, I added a couple more kale leaves, a couple glugs of secret aardvark, and a beefy fritos burrito, which I nuked for a minute and a half at power level 7. Pulse until everything is combined but not 100% smooth.

[Anonymous No.12714197]

>>12714178
It's definitely more green than it should be. Maybe you should have added more tomato or a teaspoon of tomato paste. It should be more red than green. Also, the recipes I've seen for blender tortilla soup use corn tortillas rather than chips. For the wateriness and blandness, you can still transfer it to a saucepan, season and reduce. My biggest question is how well did it liquefy the kale?

Sometimes the test kitchen isn't always right. Big-name products like Vitamix and Instant Pot have huge online communities behind them that have made recipes better than the manufacturer's test kitchen. Search around some more for a better tortilla soup recipe. It should be very easy to make good tortilla soup with nothing but your hands and a good blender.

[Anonymous No.12714209]

>>12714193
Good plating.
>I added another whole tomato, a couple more garlic cloves, and another stalk of celery
Good. The celery seems a little unnecessary to me though, especially if wateriness was a big concern to you.
>secret aardvark
Fuck yeah
>beefy fritos burrito
Now you've gone full experimental in the kitchen. If you've fucked up, it's entirely your fault.

[Anonymous No.12714227]

Here's Pati's tortilla soup if you want a comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx8cBXAouf4

[Anonymous No.12714281]

>>12714193
The fritos burrito and secret aardvark took it to a whole new level. I honestly want to sneak a couple frito burritos into work and throw them in a soup just to see how people react.
>>12714197
>how well did it liquefy the kale?
It's completely liquefied, and other than the color is hardly noticeable. That's kind of the whole point of getting a high powered blender and doing "green" smoothies; you get all your yucky super vegetables but you literally can't taste them and the texture completely dissolves into the mix.>>12714197
>Big-name products like Vitamix and Instant Pot
Please don't compare Instant Pot to Vitamix; Instant Pot is more Magic Bullet tier. The Vitamix could fit in just fine in a professional kitchen.
>>12714209
>you've gone full experimental in the kitchen. If you've fucked up, it's entirely your fault
It was actually much better than the original recipe. I can't wait to cook this for someone and not tell them that one of the main ingredients was a $1 Taco Bell burrito.
>>12714227
The idea was to a 5 minute meal with minimal prep. I know how to actually cook, but I'm a lazy drunk.

[Anonymous No.12714313]

>>12714281
>but I'm a lazy drunk.
Dude, same. Beauty in simplicity is the essence of good cookery.
>It's completely liquefied [kale]
Nice. That's a good blender you got there.
>The fritos burrito and secret aardvark took it to a whole new level.
That was a huge gamble. I'm going to take note that it worked out.
>Please don't compare Instant Pot to Vitamix; Instant Pot is more Magic Bullet tier. The Vitamix could fit in just fine in a professional kitchen.
I was referring more to the online communities that have bolstered behind the products rather than the products themselves. Go online and see how serious consumers are about their purchases. People love their Instant Pots and Vitamixes and they have created large communities that have made recipes better than the manufacturer test kitchens.

If what you made is above edible in less than 5 minutes, you kicked ass. Good job.

[Anonymous No.12714328]

>>12714313
>was referring more to the online communities that have bolstered behind the products rather than the products themselves
Fair enough. I just think the Instant Pot is really overrated (my mom and an ex both had one and I honestly think they're a flavor of the month fad with poor quality and a short life-span). I wasn't too worried about adding a fritos burrito to the soup when I was already adding tortilla chips to thicken it up, when those aren't much different than masa meal to begin with, with just some added ground beef and cheese.

[Anonymous No.12714700]

>>12714156
Spinach tastes good and has a plethora of uses. Kale is a garbage weed that people actively try to mask the flavor of and only eat because it's a "superfood".