Do either of you do things like butternut squash soup, or (as pulykamell mentioned) dried peppers? I’m talking about getting stuff to the point where it’s completely pureed, as fine or finer than baby food. If there’s an immersion blender that is powerful enough to do that, I want to know about it, because I’ve never seen one that can get things THAT fine. The blender, on the other hand, does it great, even the skins on the dried peppers.
Yeah, my immersion blender purees things just fine.
The only thing I’ve found that it doesn’t do well is make smoothies. It will get there, eventually, it just takes forever.
Athena - well, there was the exploding tomato sauce in the blender (lid came off). Nothing like starting at a new school with a large burn across your nose. And I’m not sure how many times I lifted mixer beaters out too quickly or farther than I intended, with the concomitant spray of whatever across the kitchen.
I will admit that those kitchen mishaps were when I was much younger, and really my fault more than the equipment. But some things just leave a mark! 
At any rate, I’ve done similar with the immersion blender, it just doesn’t carry enough material with it to make the same kind of mess.
I make cream of broccoli and cream of mushroom soup, and I did a roasted butternut squash bisque once. All were quite smooth, but I do admit I didn’t take it to the absolute point of baby food smoothness. Of all of these three soups, I think it was the squash that became a very smooth puree very fast. I did, however, roast the squash first with onions and garlic until it was falling apart soft and slightly caramelized.
I haven’t tried it on dried peppers, I can see where that might cause problems. I have a mini-chopper that does a great job on that sort of thing, though, so I usually grab it first for those. It’s also my go-to for mincing large quantities of herbs and pulverizing hard cheeses.
I’ve never made squash soup, although I’ve got one in the frig that I was thinking of using for that. If I go that route, I’ll let ya know how it goes.
I love mine. It makes the BEST mayonnaise, and you can use a similar technique to make really good, creamy and thick hollandaise without a double boiler.
Yeah, that’s what I’d want - the blender takes it to baby food smoothness very quickly. Never had an immersion blender that would get near that, though they do a decent job of making a medium-to-coarse puree.
I guess what I’m getting at is I’m not looking for “good enough”, I’m looking for “as pureed as a blender gets it.” I’d drop cash on an immersion blender that would do that, otherwise I’ll stick with the immersion blender I have, and use the standard blender for when I want really pure puree.
To clarify, when I say dried peppers, I mean dried peppers reconstituted in liquid and pureed with the liquid. Heck, I’ve seen a lot of blenders that wouldn’t puree the skins, you often have to put it through a sieve.
And do let me know on the squash soup!
I use mine when I make scrambled eggs. They come out super fluffy!
Since I’m only cooking for two, I often find I need to blend quite small volumes of stuff that simply aren’t practical in a jug blender, so the hand blender’s perfect for that.
One thing I’ve found is that the blades can get gummed up with stuff that needs hoiking out partway during the blending process. IMPORTANT TIP: wait until the blade stops spinning (assuming your recipe doesn’t call for fresh blood).
I’ve done butternut squash soup, and I don’t remember there being any problem with the immersion blender. I mean, the squash basically turns into puree on its own without much help from the blender, doesn’t it? Like I said, if I want it super fine, then it gets rubbed through the chinois or wire mesh strainer.
Why is using two tools easier than using one?
I’m going to break from the herd here and say that I love my immersion blender.
Have one; use it to make Gazpacho soup.
I’m getting some mixed messages here, but I sense lukewarm approval towards immersion blenders.
I’ll definitely be getting one very soon!
I actually just tried it to puree pumpkin seeds for a green pozole. And it worked! Got it down to a powder (well, kind of a slightly damp grainy powder because of the oils) in a couple seconds, and I don’t think a regular blender would have worked as well, with the seeds getting stuck in the bottom of the blender, away from where the blades can reach. With the immersion blender, I can just push it up and down easily and blend away. My other choices would’ve been a coffee grinder (too small for the amount I was doing), a food processor (I hate getting that thing out and finding all the parts for it, and then cleaning it), or perhaps a mortar and pestle (handy, relatively easy to clean, but I wasn’t in the mood to exert any elbow grease.)
You will not regret your purchase.
Make sure you get one with a metal shaft. That way you can use it on boiling liquids if need be.
Noted. I’ve been looking at product reviews on Amazon. Apparently the Cuisinart models have some kind of cheap plastic connecting piece that tends to break easily, so that model is out.
Maybe a trip to a local appliance-monger is in order.
“Immersion blenders” are called just “blenders” in Spain (well, ok: most people call them “minipimers”, after the Braun series). I do have one because my mother insists, it’s absolutely pristine. She does have one, so does Grandma, and my aunt, and my cousin and…
They’re all the handheld type, not the big ones which occupy a lot of space; here, you rarely see those outside of a gourmet store. And although all of them came with different blades and other stuff, they all end up being used with the basic blade, which is perfectly good for anything from gazpacho to those mashed potatoes my youngest brother likes - the ones that have a viscosity in “liquid concrete” ranges.
Definitely this. Why have the thing if you can’t stick it in your pot of boiling soup? Why would they even make them without a metal shaft??
:smack: My mental image was of making chili powder. Yeah, I could see some problems with that.
Yeah, I’m a rebel, too. Love mine! I mostly use it to make pesto, but I’ve used it on soups as well.
Not sure why everyone is giving it such a bad rap.
I have one and love it. Cleanup couldn’t be easier.