Blenders are used to prepare food items by performing a chopping and/or mixing operation on food stuff. A blender can include a container for receiving food for blending and a blade assembly having blades that can be rotated to perform the blending operation on the food received in the container. The blade assembly can be removably coupled to the container such that the blades are located within the interior of the container and a drive shaft of the blade assembly extends through an aperture in the container. The blender can further include a base that the container may rest on that comprises a motor for rotating the drive shaft of the blade assembly. When an aperture is provided in a container of a blender for a drive shaft of a blade assembly to extend therethrough, it is possible that food or liquid within the container can leak through the aperture.