3 Squares unveils a blender that cooks
With a built-in heating element, the Soup3rb Heat + Blend from 3 Squares promises to whip up dinner in no time.
- 10 years product testing experience with the CNET Home team
CHICAGO -- We've seen blenders that run fast enough to heat up your soup , but 3 Squares is taking things one step further with a new blender that features a built-in 800-watt, non-stick heating element. Announced today at the International Home and Housewares Showcase here, the Soup3rb Heat + Blend Blender will sell for $150 when it launches later this year. Pick one up, and you'll be to use it to cook soups and sauces -- no extra pots or pans needed.
The Soup3rb (yes, that's really the name) sports a funky black and green design with push-button controls, a digital display, and a 450-watt motor. You'll find all of the usual settings for power and time, along with the option to blend hot or cold.
The jar is made from stainless steel -- to look in at what you're cooking, you'll need to peer in through the lid, which is made from clear, BPA-free plastic. As for capacity, it promises to blend up to 57 ounces in cold mode, and up to 47 ounces when the heat's flipped on.
With the heating element, you'll be able to cook a quick soup or sauce, or prep ingredients before a blend -- melted butter, sauteed onions, what have you. 3 Squares also tells us that the Soup3rb will feature various presets for both heated and non-heated blending.
This isn't the first small appliance from 3 Squares. Previously, the brand released the silicone-topped Cov3r Toaster and the slow-cooking, rice-and-quinoa-making Tim3 Machin3 .
With an appliance that's more niche-oriented than a toaster or rice maker, the brand might be trying to tack into less competitive waters. There aren't many other heated blenders out there, though Cuisinart sells one at a similar price point.
Of course, the overall blender game is much more competitive. At IHHS alone, we saw several intriguing new ones, including a Bluetooth-enabled Blendtec and a high-end line of Hamilton Beach blenders bearing the Jamba Juice brand.
The Soup3rb is still going through final design, logic and user interface tweaks, but 3 Squares tell me that it's very close to complete, and will be ready for the US retail launch in the third quarter of this year. 3 Squares doesn't currently ship outside of the US, but it's looking into possible international expansion this year. That $150 US price converts roughly to AU$195 or £100.
In addition to the Soup3rb, 3 Squares announced a new mini edition of the Tim3 Machin3 that's better suited for cooking small servings, as well as the Du3t Sous Vide + Slow Cooker , which is following the sous vide trend of Anova , Nomiku and First Build by heading to Kickstarter later this year.