# Anyone Have an Immersion Blender? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 17, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-an-immersion-blender/638050 "2012-10-17T19:23:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Zjestika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8edcca/32.png) [@Zjestika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zjestika)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-an-immersion-blender/638050/61 "2012-10-18T17:01:36Z")
I use my immersion blender to make salad dressings. It’s so easy to make caesar, italian, and balsamic vinaigrette. I have the [Cuisinart one](http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CSB-76BC-SmartStick-200-Watt-Immersion/dp/B000EGA6QI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350579501&sr=8-1&keywords=immersion+blender) and I’d recommend it. As for as the plastic part snapping off I think you’d have to be pretty careless with it to break it. I got mine 3 years ago and use it about once a week. And it comes in a variety of pretty colors! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-an-immersion-blender/638050/62 "2012-10-19T05:51:33Z")
Hell, I use mine _to make baby purée_. It does that so well, I don’t have to sieve afterwards. So I’d say it’s powerful enough. It’s a Braun. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-an-immersion-blender/638050/63 "2012-10-19T07:35:43Z")
Got one. I hate it, my husband loves it. The thing itself is easy enough to clean. The walls and cabinets, not so much. (He has got the knack. Mostly I would rather just beat it with a whisk or puree it in the REAL blender.) ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-an-immersion-blender/638050/64 "2012-10-19T14:33:11Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Hell, I use mine _to make baby purée_. You monster! ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-an-immersion-blender/638050/65 "2012-10-20T07:57:25Z")
Not only do I have one, I have two! (Okay, one at home in the USA 110VAC, and one here in China 220VAC, KitchenAid and Philipps respectively). Certainly I use the blender more often, but for hot stuff in the pot? Out comes immersion blender, and everyone’s happy. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-an-immersion-blender/638050/66 "2012-10-20T14:05:03Z")
One more thing I like about an immersion blender: for super thick things, you can use it to blend in a mashing motion without having to add liquid. With a countertop blender, there are some things that just won’t blend well without either adding liquid or without constant scraping of the sides. ---
**Author:** ![amijane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@amijane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amijane)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-an-immersion-blender/638050/67 "2012-10-20T15:19:29Z")
Love mine. I use it almost daily and it’s the appliance I miss most if it breaks down. I keep burning motors out. Oops. Over the years, I’ve used it to make: Babyfood Lump-free anything (gravy, white/cheese sauces where I was too lazy in too much of a hurry to whisk the liquids in bit by bit) Mashed potatoes Soup Mayonnaise, Hollandaise, dressings or anything else requiring emulsification Ketchup Grinding spices, nuts and seeds for baking Smoothies – my daughter has grown up thinking that a “milkshake” is a banana, a handful of berries and some milk blended until thick Cocktails, including crushed ice Frothing milk for fancypants coffee drinks or to top off hot cocoa Whipping cream or eggs, on pulse setting Making insanely fast batters and it takes the stress out of worrying about most things that might curdle on you. A fresh custard splits in the pan because you tried to thicken it a hair too long? Blend it! It’ll be back to silk-smooth in a second. I also use the mini-chopper that comes with many models for: Making breadcrumbs Rubbing fat and flour together in an instant to make small amounts of speedy pastry Grind regular sugar into powered sugar Chicken bones for bonemeal in addition to chopping herbs, dried fruit, nuts . . . Purees aren’t as smooth as I’d always like, but I have no countertop or cupboard space for a regular blender, and I do have a fine metal sieve I can strain stuff through if I’m feeling fancy enough to bother. So they’re versatile and, surprisingly easy to clean. ---
**Author:** ![biqu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@biqu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biqu)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-an-immersion-blender/638050/68 "2012-10-20T20:46:45Z")
I had an Oster “beehive” blender up until a few weeks ago, when a chain of kitchen accidents caused multiple glass breakages, starting with a jar of maple syrup and ending with the “beehive” of the Oster blender. In the subsequent days I searched Craigslist for an immersion blender, specifically for the built-in safeguard against broken glass that it would provide in my clumsy hands. I’ve only used my secondhand immersion blender twice (both times for making hummus), and I have to admit the process went a lot quicker than what I was accustomed to with the Oster blender. No need to transfer ingredients ladle by ladle, and no need to disassemble the blade from the glass mixing container for cleanup. I can’t wait to try the immersion blender when making a winter squash soup. ---
**Author:** ![StuffLikeThatThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@StuffLikeThatThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StuffLikeThatThere)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-an-immersion-blender/638050/69 "2012-10-21T00:04:43Z")
I also originally used my immersion blender to make baby food. It blends plenty smooth. Now I use it to make smoothies and soup. Mmmm. I did borrow one from a friend first to see if I would like it, and hers did not blend nearly as smoothly. Mine has 10 speeds, and I use the higher speeds to get very smooth stuff. Maybe that’s the difference. I gave my countertop blender away. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-have-an-immersion-blender/638050.md?page=3)