KitchenAid Pure Power with One Personal Jar review

The KitchenAid Pure Power KSB2079ER pairs the Empire Red base with the same large 68-ounce BPA-free plastic jar used by the other Pure Power configurations and one 16-ounce Personal Blender Jar. It is not a single-serve-only blender: the smaller vessel is an included second way to use the base, while the main jar remains available for larger batches. The package distinction is specific and easy to miss when shopping by family name: KSB2079ER brings one travel-ready personal jar; KSB2078DG supplies two.

A one-cup package rather than a personal-only machine

KitchenAid's exact page identifies KSB2079ER in Empire Red and lists three included accessories: a 68-ounce plastic blender jar, its lid, and one Personal Blender Jar with travel lid and blade assembly. The page gives the personal jar's capacity as 16 ounces (500 mL). This is the more restrained option if you want a small cold-blend vessel but do not need two of them. It keeps the full-size jar for ordinary larger batches, so the label “Personal Blending Jar” describes an included vessel, not the only available capacity.

The personal vessel can make portioning less awkward than using a large jar for a small cold drink, but KitchenAid does not say it eliminates every small-batch limitation or guarantees a result with any recipe. The actual fill amount depends on ingredients and instructions. If a second person regularly needs a separate cup, compare KSB2078DG before buying; the extra included jar is a real package difference. Neither option creates two independently powered blender stations, and extra accessories do not mean two batches can run at once.

Control is shared across the Pure Power base

The product page describes ten preset speed levels, a precision speed knob that can glide between settings, and Pulse. The named automatic controls are Smoothie, Ice Crushing and Clean Cycle. Those features mean the user has manual adjustment plus cycle buttons, rather than having to choose one or the other. They do not amount to ingredient sensing, heating or a promise that a particular cycle will produce a particular texture. The advertised 1,700-watt figure is peak power; the page does not make that number an independent measure of results.

If you care about moving the dial gradually, the manufacturer specifically describes smooth adjustment between the numbered settings. If you prefer one-touch help for familiar tasks, the three listed buttons provide named controls. The cycle set does not include a listed frozen-dessert or soup button, so do not read “Smoothie, Ice Crushing and Clean” as a broad menu of all recipe types. The main jar can support many kinds of household recipes, but your ingredient and safe-fill decisions remain yours.

Keep the 16-ounce jar cold-only

The exact owner manual is unusually clear about the Personal Blender Jar: do not blend hot liquids or hot ingredients in it, and do not use it for grinding. Pressure inside a small sealed vessel can create a burn hazard. For hot liquids in the large jar, keep its center cap in place and begin on the lowest speed before increasing gradually. KitchenAid also states in the product-page footnote that hot liquid should not exceed 40 ounces. Those directions are more useful than assuming that two containers sharing a base share the same permitted tasks.

As a practical choice, use the 16-ounce jar for a cold single serving and the larger jar for a larger household batch. If you need a large amount of soup, the 68-ounce jar is the vessel to consider, with the maker's hot-liquid limit and manual instructions observed. If you need only a small portable smoothie and do not expect hot blending or dry grinding in that small cup, the included jar matches that narrower job.

Cleaning is manageable, but involves an extra blade part

KitchenAid's manual says the personal jar, blade assembly, lids, blender jar and center cap are dishwasher-safe on the top rack. It describes a Clean Cycle routine for the full jar: fill it halfway with warm water, add one or two drops of dish soap, secure the lid, run Clean for 15 seconds, then empty and rinse with warm water. The base and cord are wiped with a warm damp cloth after unplugging; neither is to be immersed. Do not overlook the blade assembly that accompanies the personal cup: the blades are sharp and should be handled carefully. Turn the appliance off and unplug it before attaching or removing components.

This is a good reason to choose one personal jar only if one is truly enough. There is still a separate personal blade assembly to rinse or load, in addition to the large jar, but you avoid storing a second small cup. If you want two ready-to-carry cups, see the companion KSB2078DG assessment. If neither small jar is important and you would rather compare other container packages, KitchenAid's current directory separately lists a 62-ounce glass-jar Pure Power configuration.

Fit, limits and alternatives

The KSB2079ER fits a household that wants a red countertop base, manual speed adjustment and Pulse, named Smoothie/Ice Crushing/Clean buttons, a full-size jar, and one cold-only personal jar for portability. It is not the right pick if a pair of 16-ounce cups is part of the plan; KSB2078DG is the more exact package match. It also should not be selected to satisfy an essential minimum warranty term, because the specific product page and W11797080A safety/owner's manual do not state the duration in the material reviewed. Unknown warranty duration should not count as a match.

Finally, keep the capacity answers honest. A 68-ounce jar meets a nominal 64-ounce container-size floor, while the 16-ounce vessel remains a separate personal-jar setup. If your essential requirement is to run a 64-ounce batch in the small personal jar, no package here can satisfy both conditions in one operation. Pick a large-jar plan, pick a personal-jar plan, or reconsider that combination rather than letting the package contents blur two different uses.