First Austria FA-5273-5 immersion blender review

Appliances of the Austrian brand First Austria in our reviews have not been in our reviews before. We will begin our acquaintance with the brand with the cute device First Austria FA-5273-5. This is an immersion blender, equipped with turbo-mode function, smooth speed regulation and three attachments: for mixing, chopping and whipping various products.

Features

* Contrary to popular misconception, this is not a deadline after which the device will necessarily break down. However, after this period, the manufacturer ceases to bear any responsibility for its performance and has the right to refuse to repair it, even for a fee.

Kit

First Austria FA-5273-5 immersion blender arrived to us in a small rectangular box without a handle. On the front side of the package are images of all three attachments of the device: blender, whisk and chopper. Next to it are the bright icons, indicating the presence of turbo mode, indicating the volumes of the cup and the bowl of the chopper, as well as the maximum power of the device. On the side edges there is a description of the device capabilities and technical information in 12 languages, including Russian. A close look at the package is enough to get a complete picture of the blender.

Upon opening the box, inside we found:

• engine block
• blender attachment
• whisk attachment
• mixing beaker
• two-blade chopper blade
• chopper bowl with lid
• instruction manual and warranty card

All components of the blender, packed in polyethylene bags and separated by thick cardboard inserts.

At first glance.

The First Austria FA-5273-5 is a beautiful, austere case made of glossy black plastic with metallized inserts.

The weighty motor unit has a traditional cylindrical shape with a slight taper in the grip area, which makes it comfortable to hold and does not slip out. The large buttons with ribbed surface are right under the thumb. In the upper part of the motor block under the adjustment ring with the pointer bar is the scale of shifting speeds from 1 to 7, in the form of a series of increasing dots. The ring rotates smoothly, without clicking.

On the back of the motor unit is a sticker with technical information and a place for attaching the power cord, protected by a casing about 2 cm long of dense rubber. The connector for fixing the nozzles is made of plastic. To fix the nozzle it is necessary to align it with the connector and turn it clockwise, focusing on the drawings of open and closed lock on the nozzle itself and the mark on the body of the motor unit.

The blender nozzle is made of stainless steel. The diameter of the hemisphere in which the knife is hidden is 6 cm, the depth is about 2.5 cm. There are four oval notches in the side walls and four protruding “legs” under them. The knife block consists of two blades arranged horizontally.

The 700 ml mixing glass is made of plastic that is quite strong in appearance and touch. On the outer wall of the container is a frosted inset indicating the volume of the loaded product in ml and ounces (fl.oz.), in increments of 50 ml and 4 oz.

The stainless steel chopper blade looks standard. The blades are curved in an arc and have small round holes on the wide part.

The chopper bowl up to the Max mark holds 450 ml, the full bowl capacity is 700. The knife is attached to the metal shaft at the base of the bowl. The black plastic lid is firmly fixed due to the faceted shape of the bowl top and the lid itself. The plastic of the bowl as well as the mixing cup looks sturdy.

The whisk attachment is made of plastic with a removable metal part, which is six intersecting metal arcs, 4.5 cm in diameter at the widest part.

All parts of the blender are made of quality materials. The nozzles connect to the motor unit easily, no backlash and looks neat.

Instructions

The First Austria FA-5273-5 immersion blender instruction manual in 12 languages is presented as a small 26-page black and white booklet.

Information in Russian is printed at the very end of the document and takes up only three pages. After reading the concise text, we learn about the construction of the device, the purpose of each of the nozzles, recommendations for use and care of the device. The last page of the manual contains schematic pictures of the device, all nozzles and parts.

Controls

First Austria FA-5273-5 control, like most other immersion blenders, is extremely simple. After connecting to the mains, the device is turned on by pressing and holding the necessary button.

The top one starts the unit at a speed adjustable by a rotary ring. The speed in the range from 1 to 7 can be changed directly in the process of work by scrolling the ring to the necessary mark. The regulator stroke is free, without stepping. Below is the turbo-mode button, which turns on the device at maximum power at once. In this case it is not possible to adjust the speed.

Operation

The manual says nothing about preparing the blender for the first run, so we did as usual – we washed all the nozzles and cups, wiped the motor unit with a damp and then a dry cloth.

First Austria FA-5273-5 nozzles have different maximum continuous operation time:

• blender – 30 seconds (break – 3 minutes)
• whisk – 60 seconds (break – 3 minutes)
• chopper – 15 seconds (break – 3 minutes).

When making cranberry mousse, we several times significantly exceeded the recommended time of the whisk without stopping (2-3 minutes of whipping in one cycle), but the device calmly continued to work, only barely warm in the area of the handle. In the broccoli chopping test, the time was also exceeded (up to 25 seconds per cycle), but it was not unpleasant for us.

The motor unit is comfortable in the hand, the weight is almost imperceptible. The buttons are easy to press.

First Austria FA-5273-5 is a simple, understandable device, the interaction with which brings only comfort and pleasure.

Care

The instructions do not tell you whether the blender parts can be washed in the dishwasher. It is recommended to wash the nozzles under running water, avoiding water in the gears. The motor unit, the chopper cover and the whisk adapter can be cleaned with a damp cloth.

Our measurements

During testing, we measured power consumption with a wattmeter. The maximum power recorded was:

• chopping tomatoes (blender) – 120 W
• Dill chopping (shredder) – 15 W
• Chopping onions and broccoli (shredder) – 19 and 44 watts
• Whipping cranberry mousse (whisk) – 34 W
• Banana and kefir smoothie (blender) – 96 W

Noise level is, subjectively speaking, average.

Practice Tests.

To evaluate the performance of the First Austria FA-5273-5, we ran a series of tests:

• chopped tomatoes in a blender
• Shredded dill with a shredder
• made broccoli cutlets with a shredder
• Whipped cranberry mousse with a blender and whisk
• Made a smoothie of bananas and kefir in a blender

Shredded tomatoes.

For the dough, we took almost 400 grams of “cream” tomatoes. We cut them into four pieces and placed them in a mixing glass thus filling it to the 600 ml mark.

It took 20 seconds on medium speed in normal mode and another minute in “Turbo” mode to grind to a homogeneous texture. The tomatoes were mashed, but the pieces of skin and seeds remained.

We continued blending in Turbo mode for another 20 seconds. The puree became more airy, the pieces of skin became smaller, but they were not completely crushed.

Another 20 seconds of blending in “Turbo” mode did not change the situation.

Result: good.

Dill

It took us 15 seconds on medium speed to chop the dill.

Result: excellent.

Broccoli cutlets.

Ingredients: broccoli – 400 g, one onion, two eggs, salt and black pepper – to taste

We picked the broccoli florets, washed them under running water and cut them into small pieces. Then we put them in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes, then we put them in a colander and temporarily set them aside.

The onions were peeled, cut into four pieces and turned into mush in 15 seconds using the chopper attachment in Turbo mode.

After the onions, we went back to the broccoli. The chopping cup is not as large as we would have liked, so we chopped the vegetables in two batches of 200g each. The bowl was filled above the Max mark, but that didn’t stop the unit from chopping the contents in just 25 seconds. For the first 10 seconds the chopper worked at medium speed, then we increased it to maximum speed.

Stirred the broccoli, onion and two raw eggs in a separate bowl. We added salt and ground black pepper to the resulting mass and once again mixed everything thoroughly. Formed small cutlets, put them on a baking tray and put in a preheated oven to 200 ° C for 30 minutes.

Result: excellent.

Cranberry mousse.

Ingredients: cranberries – 500 g, semolina – 7 tbsp. sugar – 350 gr, drinking water – 1,3 l

Cranberries, thawed at room temperature, we kneaded with a blender almost to the state of mush. The berries were divided into two halves. 250 g were processed in 20 seconds at medium speed.

The crushed berries were transferred to a saucepan and brought to a boil and boiled over moderate heat for 5 minutes. The resulting decoction passed through a sieve and returned the cranberry puree back into the saucepan. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and add sugar. Continuously stirring, a thin trickle of semolina was added. Without stopping to stir, we boiled the mass for about 5 minutes. The resulting “kissel” cooled and proceeded to whipping.

For the first 40 seconds the whisk worked at medium speed, but it became clear that the power needed to be increased. We switched the device to “Turbo” mode and continued whipping. All in all, it took 15 minutes of net operating time to whip almost 2 liters of cranberry mass. Since the whisk is not designed for long work without a break, we made 5 stops of 2-3 minutes each, thus, in fact, still exceeding the maximum operating time of the device in one cycle. During this time, the device did not turn off and only got slightly hot in the handle area.

During the whipping time, the cranberry mixture doubled in size as it should have, turned slightly whiter and gained the necessary airiness. A favorite dessert from my childhood – a success!

We only downgrade for the forced rest stops.

Result: good.

Banana and kefir smoothie

A couple of bananas were cut into suitably sized pieces, placed in a chopping glass, and poured in kefir. The blender ran for 10 seconds at medium speed and 20 seconds at maximum speed.

Thirty seconds and we had a thick, homogeneous smoothie in front of us.

Result: great.

Conclusions

First Austria FA-5273-5 coped with all the tests very well. It is not designed for long work without breaks, and this is an undoubted disadvantage, but as practice has shown, you can feel it only when working with a whisk. The blender and chopper are fast enough to cope with the processing of products and there is simply no need to exceed the permissible working time (and not too much, as our practice has shown, you can).

In the cranberry mousse batter, the task for the whisk, we must admit, was not the easiest: to turn almost two liters of thick berry mass into an airy dessert is almost always not quick. Even though it had to be stopped, the device coped with its task well. Let’s not forget that this is an immersion blender from the budget category.

According to the results of operation, First Austria FA-5273-5 is noted by us as a convenient, simple and very useful device for standard tasks with small amounts of products.

Pros:

• beautiful design
• Quality of assembly and materials
• Stepless adjustment of speeds from 1 to 7

Cons:

• The device is not designed for long continuous operation