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Magic Bullet: Does It Really Do That?

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Everyone's lives are so busy these days – anything that promises to make meal preparation easier would certainly be welcome.

The Magic Bullet, a counter-top food processor, claims to make tons of delicious snacks, drinks and salads in 10 seconds or less – but does it really do that?

Kelly Surkernek and her two sons, 4-year-old John and 2-year-old Nick, agreed to help us find out.

The Magic Bullet comes with lots of parts – two chopping blades, a small mixing cup and a large one. Here's a good idea – four party mugs so you can mix and serve in the same container.

We started with a strawberry banana smoothie for the kids, one of many "10 seconds or less" recipes that come with it.

We added the strawberries and bananas to one cup of ice, add a splash of orange juice, twist on the chopper blade and within 10 seconds, it's easy to see why the Magic Bullet is great for drinks.

But it claims to do so much more. We tried some fresh Parmesan cheese. It's working – but not even close to being done in four seconds. We're not complaining – it does a great job.

We add the Magic Bullet sprinkle top and voilà – the Magic Bullet is looking good – until we get to the party snacks.

It claims to turn onions, peppers and tomatoes into salsa in just five seconds and make guacamole in just three seconds.

That's where things started going south. No way was our guacamole done in three seconds. We had trouble getting all the ingredients blended. Directions say if ingredients stick to the sides – and they do – you are supposed to use the "tap" method.

So we tapped and pulsed. By the time we got all the ingredients blended, it was "too mushy" and "too blended."

Maybe it was our mistake – we're still new at this. So we try the salsa.

We combine cherry tomatoes, garlic, cilantro and onions, carefully following the directions.

Again, a few quick pulses didn't begin to combine the ingredients and by the time we did combine the ingredients (we tried it twice and both times) what we ended up with didn't look like salsa – it looked like mush.

"I don't understand. You were here I followed every direction. Still turns to mush. Tastes good though, it looks bad. It looks horrible," Surkernek said.

We have the same problem with the so-called "6 Second Chicken Salad." The chicken salad is more of a pate.

The Magic Bullet seems to work great if you're making baby food or anything liquid.

But for everything else we tried, the Magic Bullet was a dud, a big disappointment and for $100, Surkernek says: "I don't think I'm going to buy it to make smoothies."

The Magic Bullet costs $100 plus $34 shipping and handling if you buy it from the "As Seen On TV" Web site, but we found it cheaper at retail stores and other Web sites.

Bottom line, the product is a great blender – but it's no magic bullet.

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