Should I Get A Blender Or A Food Processor
Blenders are typically designed for mixing liquids and soft foods together , although higher-end models are powerful enough to crush ice, grind up nuts, and puree tough ingredients. Food processors usually have a circular blade cutter that can chop, slice, grate, emulsify , and shred. Many blenders are designed with a feeding tube that allows you to add ingredients throughout the process. Some blenders actually come with food processor attachments, but they’re usually not as efficient as the appliance on its own. Decide what to buy based on what your needs in the kitchen are versus the specific gadgets functions and purpose. Most households that cook a lot like to have two separate units or one comprehensive blender that is generally on the higher price range.
Cleanblend Lots Of Power For The Price
We have written about the Cleanblend blender before as it is one of the few blenders that offers similar power and performance as a Vitamix for a lower price.
It looks like a replica of a Vitamix 5200 with similar features and controls.
Positives:Plenty of power and great price. Performed well in comparison tests and has strong user reviews. Decent 5 year warranty for this blender price range. Can puree anything and is great for making soups.
Negatives: Takes longer to turn cold ingredients into hot liquids compared to Vitamix and Blendtec. It is loud.
Overall Opinion: The Cleanblend is a more economical choice if you cant afford a Vitamix. The only real negative is that Cleanblend is a newer company and doesnt have the long-standing brand quality reputation of Vitamix.
Breville The Q Countertop Super Blender
With its 1800-watt motor, this is one powerhouse blender. It has four one-touch programs and five speed settings. Best of all, it gives you texture optimization, so you can choose how chunky or smooth you want something to be. The lid is designed to vent steam and prevent spatter, so this is a particularly good choice if you’re guilty of dealing with blender fiascos.
Read Also: Campbell Soup Chicken And Rice Recipe With Broccoli
Why Should Your Hot Liquids Blender Have A Vent
The hot liquid will heat the air and push the lid up or even crack the container. If youre not careful, this can cause severe burns, in addition to lots of splashing.
Make sure that there is a vent or an opening in the lid to let the hot air out, without splashing the liquid all over the kitchen counter. If you dont have this opening, remove the lid after a couple of minutes to release the pressure. For an immersion blender, this wont be an issue.
How We Found The Best Blender
Our food stylists and cooks regularly used five of the most popular blenders over the course of several months. Then, to see how the blenders stacked up head-to-head, they put each machine through a series of tests and evaluated them according to these standards:
- Blending: How well did each blender whip up a kale smoothie? Was the liquid frothy and full of air bubbles? Were there large pieces remaining?
- Pureeing: How long did the blenders take to puree a batch of butternut squash soup? Was the final result smooth?
- Crushing: How long did each blender take to crush ice for a frozen drink? Did the blades get stuck?
- Power: How many watts does each blender have? Do they have horsepower?
- Price: Are the blenders affordable? Does the price reflect the performance?
After subjecting the blenders to our rigorous testing process, we felt confident that we could identify the best blenders for mixing up smoothies, pureeing soups, crushing ice and more.
You May Like: Olive Garden Endless Soup And Salad
Hand Blender Vs Food Processor
- The food processor can definitely save you time in the kitchen because it does so many things. It can chop veggies, grind meats and nuts, mix the dough, whip up batters for baking cakes or cookies, and even knead the dough. Theres a reason that food processors are used in restaurants and at large baking companies- they make cooking easier and more efficient.
- The blender is a great appliance to have if you make a lot of soups or smoothies. It will help break down any vegetable or fruit cell walls, allowing you to drink it straight from the source! This can save you a lot of time, as well as prevent you from wasting any food. The blender can also make decadent milkshakes, margaritas and even grind up coffee beans for homemade flavored coffee.
Lakeland Personal Blender And Smoothie Maker
Best blender for making individual smoothies
Pros:
- Cant be used for hot foods
Star rating: 4/5
If your primary reason for buying a blender is to make smoothies, this pocket-friendly, pint-sized machine will serve you well. The stainless steels are powerful enough to work through frozen fruit, plus they can make sauces and baby food if you do want to use this blender for other kitchen tasks. Its straightforward to use and surprisingly quiet, as verified by its Quiet Mark badge. Read our full Lakeland blender and smoothie-maker review
Available from:
Also Check: Can You Have Tomato Soup On Keto Diet
Magic Bullet Nutribullet Rx N17
The NutriBullet Blender by Magic Bullet is great for making soups, sauces, smoothies and more. This version of the NutriBullet not only extracts 95 percent of the nutrients from the foods that go into it, it also heats and warms soups.
- A 2.3 horsepower motor to evenly blend, shred, grind, and chop.
- Smart technology with an auto start/stop feature.
- 10-piece set for both family and individual sized servings.
Ninja Blender With Auto
Best personal blender
Dimensions: 17 cm x 15.9 cm x 38.7 cmPower: 1000 wattsReasons to buy: Smart Auto-IQ settings, easy to use and cleanReasons to avoid: A little noisy, not for larger drinks
If youre looking for the best blender for smoothies, its a good idea to consider a personal blender. Personal blenders are designed for taking drinks on the go, and can blitz up ice, frozen fruit and protein powder into smooth and creamy drinks. The Ninja Blender with Auto-IQ BN495UK is a smart choice. It has two smart settings that use Auto-IQ to tackle even the toughest ingredients, it can chop through chunks of frozen spinach, banana, and ice to make thick milkshakes and creamy smoothies.
Personal blenders are far from versatile. This option comes with two 700ml cups that have lids for taking on the go, but nothing larger for blending family-sized dishes. What they do offer though is some seriously high powered blending power and a smaller footprint for your kitchen counter. We loved this model when we put it to the test, so if youre after a personal blender, take a look.
Ideal Homes rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Don’t Miss: Unlimited Soup And Salad Olive Garden Dinner
How To Use An Immersion Blender To Make Whipped Cream
Finally, as if making your own blended soups, stews, dressings, sauces, and lattes wasnt cool enough, Ive got this incredibly easy homemade whipped cream recipe to share that is amazeballls yummy. Plus it happens to be vegan, too!
16. Vegan Whipped Cream Whipped cream never tasted so sweet! This whipped cream contains no dairy or processed sugar.
There you have it! I hope Ive convinced you how awesome immersion blenders are and that you should totally go get one. If youre looking for a great one, definitely check out this Braun MultiQuick 9 its full of handy attachments and its awesome.
What are some of your favorite immersion blender recipes? Id love to know just leave a comment to share!
This post contains affiliate links for products I use regularly and highly recommend.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Braun. The opinions and text are all mine.
Best Budget: Mueller Ultra
The Mueller Ultra-Stick Hand Blender is low on frills but big on value. The exceptionally sharp blade boasts eight varying speeds, plus an instant “turbo” option. It also packs plenty of power and produced a smooth soup during testing, despite having some difficulty breaking down larger chunks of food. While it does not include a blending cup accessory, you do get an attachable whisk, which is a nice perk given the price point. For basic purees, smoothies, or whipped cream, this blender is the perfect entry-level option.
Buy It: Mueller Ultra-Stick 500 Watt 9-Speed Powerful Immersion Multi-Purpose Hand Blender, $29
Read Also: Maggie And Mary’s Soup Mix
Are Glass Blenders Better Than Plastic
Most blenders come with a hardened plastic pitcher, but youll find the odd model that has a glass one. Strictly speaking, glass is harder wearing and wont scratch as easily as plastic. This can make a difference if you regularly crush ice, as the sharp edges can scratch cheaper plastics. Plastic can also get tainted by ingredients, staining.
The downside of glass is that its much heavier and if you drop it, youre likely to end up cracking or breaking thepitcher.
Modern plastics are much better, particularly on the high-end machine, so you shouldnt notice scratching. And, plastic is lighter and less likely to break if you drop it.
Kitchenaid Artisan Cordless Hand Blender
Pro-grade, battery-powered blender
As a function of running off a rechargeable battery, this is only rated at 180 Watts but rest assured this pro-style hand blender does not want for blendability.
The fact it’s cordless means you can just whip it out of the drawer and blend anywhere that takes your fancy. Of course, youll need to have it charged first or the whole concept of cordless falls flat on its face. Luckily this five-speed model goes for up to 10 hours on a full charge and has a clear LED indictor displaying the level of charge left. It also holds its charge very well when left in the back of the cupboard for months on end.
However, there is one caveat with this model that needs to be pointed out its a big old horse dong of a blender, and not one for those with Donald Trump-sized hands. It comes with two blender arms, but even with the shorter one, it’s a seriously lengthy proposition overall.
The KitchenAid comes in a clear plastic storage case with three blade attachments an S blade for blending, a star blade for mincing and a whisk for batters, emulsions, that kind of thing.
It also includes a one-litre pitcher with splash guard and a chopping bowl with integral blade for preparing mushy stuff like hummus and guacamole.
This is a great, cable-free choice, even if it is a touch on the premium side.
Read Also: Campbells Soup Chicken And Rice Casserole Recipes
Check How Powerful Your Blender Is
The wattage can work as a guide but higher doesnt always mean a better blender. Take into account additional features that it uses to process food thoroughly, such as jug and blade design. A blenders power can sometimes be displayed in horsepower instead of watts. While basic liquidisers sufficed with two blades, most modern jug blenders will have at least four, sometimes with mini blades nestled around the stack. Theyre usually angled, which helps them to whisk up pieces from the bottom of the jug and create a vortex to drag blender contents down from the top.
Take a look at the best juicers
The Best Immersion Blender For Soup
- Amazon rating: 4.5 stars, 38,000+ ratings
- Pitcher: n/a
- Special features: 8 speeds + turbo setting, whisk and frother attachments included
The benefits of an immersion blender go beyond easy storage, one being its budget-friendly price, and another being its ability to blend hot soups directly in the cooking pot â no transferring required . The Mueller immersion blender has a variable dial with eight speeds as well as a high-speed turbo setting, which allows you to mix ingredients slowly, as well as efficiently puree them. The stainless steel blending shaft and blades can reach into deep pots, and they detach easily for cleaning in the dishwasher or by hand. There are no preset programs, but this versatile pick also comes with a whisk attachment for making whipped cream and eggs, and a frothing attachment for foaming milk. One important thing to keep in mind: An immersion blender will be less powerful than a stand blender, so itâs best for soft ingredients or chunkier soups.
Helpful review: âNow that the weather by is turning colder I like to make my own soup. The immersion blender makes it so much easier. There’s no need to transfer the ingredients to a food processor. It all gets done in one pot. Would absolutely recommend this product to others.â
Recommended Reading: Lipton Soup Mix Nutrition
The Best Premium Blender For Soup
- Amazon rating: 4.7 stars, 4,100+ ratings
- Pitcher: 48 ounces, BPA-free Tritan plastic, dishwasher-safe
- Special features: 10 speeds + pulse, blade friction heating
Boasting an impressive 4.7-star rating overall, Vitamixâs blenders are some of the best for hot blending, due to their wide speed range, durable hardened stainless steel blades, and dishwasher-safe Tritan pitchers. This blender from the brandâs Explorian line comes with a 48-ounce pitcher thatâs ideal for small to medium batches, and has a tight-fitting lid with a venting cap. The best part? The blades rotate fast enough to create friction heat that brings cold ingredients to steaming hot in a matter of six minutes. The simple controls on the Explorian include a pulse button for adding texture to soup, or for chopping up tough ingredients when making salsas, purees, or frozen treats, but keep in mind that there are no pre-programmed settings. The blenderâs variable speed dial allows you to start slowly and ramp up to a high speed for safely pureeing hot and cold soups, as well as other recipes like sauces and nut milks. A tamper is included for blending thick dips, nut butters, or heavy frozen recipes. While itâs not dishwasher-safe, it self-cleans with a little soap and water at the highest speed.
Get The Best Deals On Hand Blenders This Black Friday
The best hand blenders are just the sort of handy gadget that appear every year during Black Friday. Major brands including those below, such as Bosch, Dualit and KitchenAid are normally available with sizeable discounts from the likes of Amazon, Best Buy, Sears and Walmart in the US or Amazon, Currys and Argos in the UK. Searching through the best Black Friday deals should, hopefully, manage to shave some cash off the original asking price.
Read Also: Lipton Onion Soup Mix Nutrition Information
Jar Shape And Motor Strength
A great blender should be able to smoothly process tough items like fibrous kale, frozen berries, and ice without burning out the motor. How efficiently a blender does this depends on a combination of the blade length and position, the shape of the mixing jar, and the motor strength. All three of those elements combine to create a vortex that pulls food down around the blade.
In our testing, weve found that tall, tapered jars with a curved bottom develop a more consistent vortex than short, wide ones with a flat bottom. But the better blending that you get from a taller, tapered jar comes with a trade-off: A fully assembled blender might be too tall to fit under low-hanging cabinets. Blenders with wide, short jars are better for countertop storage, but youre sacrificing performance for that convenience.
Weve found that tall, tapered jars with a curved bottom develop a more consistent vortex than short, wide ones with a flat bottom.
Nutribullet Znbf30500z Blender Combo
Best blender for daily use: for serious smoothie and milkshake lovers
Specifications
Buy this NutriBullet blender if youll be using your new blender more or less every day of the week. Not only is it built to last, but it offers 1,200 watts of power at the touch of one button. Perfect for blending everything from hard fruit and veg to all kinds nut butters, as well as seeds, ice, and more. It comes with a multi-serving pitcher that measures 64 ounces, as well as a 32-ounce cup and a 24-ounce cup for enjoying your drink on the go . Its blade is made from stainless steel and the cups are all BPA-free, while they can be popped in the dishwasher after use, too. This machine also boasts an extraction mode as well as a pulse option, and low, medium, and high settings.
Also Check: Campbell Soup Chicken And Rice Casserole
Best Blender For Sauces
Looking for the best blender for sauces?I’m here to help!Having blended over 100 sauces over the years, I’ve figured out which blenders live up the task and which fall flat.
This guide was created to share that knowledge with you.
Keep readingto learn….
- My top 5 best blenders for sauces.
- What makes a good sauce blender in the first place?
- The two different blender options for the best sauces.
- A detailed analysis of all the blenders that were selected.
Let’s do this!
Best For Smoothies: Breville Control Grip Immersion Blender
This Control Grip Immersion Blender from Breville is dynamic enough to blend up more than just smoothies. Moreover, this model landed the best for smoothies award because of the enormous 42-ounce blending pitcher that is included with it, making it perfect for blending single or multiple smoothie portions. Other blending cups that are included with other models dont even come close to this capacity. The other thing that stood out about this blender was that it was, in our opinion, the most comfortable in your hand.
Recommended Reading: Calphalon 4.5 Qt Soup Pot
