I’ve given almost zero thought to immersion blenders … the only time I saw much reference to them was when my son was young enough to eat baby food and it seemed like something one could use for homemade versions. He’s almost 24 so that is not an issue any more
But it seems like I see more and more references on line, and now that I often cook small amounts/ad hoc throw-together-what I have stuff, and I’ve always been a big fan of purees, I wonder if it might not be a useful gadget.
Exhibit A: tonight I decided to throw together some stuffed zucchini, no recipe needed, just what I have on hand/feel like using. The stuffing will contain: whole wheat bread crumbs, tomato paste, cream cheese, bits scooped out of the zucchini, and fresh herbs.
Mixing the stuffing into a reasonably uniform paste is a bit of a hassle by hand but since it’s only a small amount, it’s also kind of a PITA (and not necessarily extremely effective) to use the blender or Cuisinart.
Would an immersion blender be what I want in this circumstance?
ETA: after actually reading your post, I don’t know how well it would work in this particular case. I guess it depends on the blender. I only use mine for liquids and am unsure how it would handle a thick paste. I think it might clump up.
I have one. I have used it maybe 2 times in the past 5 years. Probably go to Goodwill when I do my next household purge of crap I don’t use. My $10 mixer with one beater works just as well and is easier to clean.
I like to make potato leek soup. An immersion blender is a godsend for that recipe and it’s relatively small and easy to clean and store relative to most kitchen appliances. I’m sure there’s lots of other pureed soups that would benefit. My wife also likes to make smoothies but we recently upgraded to a special blender for that so the immersion blender gets less use lately.
Yes, it will improve your kitchen life, unless your kitchen life, as suggested by @Happy_Lendervedder turns into some sort of porn movie scenario.
What I like about it is that a bunch of things that I can use it for 80-90% of what I’d use my food processor or blender for, but it takes up a fraction of the space and is a thousand times easier to clean.
Proviso - I use a CHEAP immersion blender, something like this one
made of hard plastic I bought for $9.99. You can get fancier, but much past $30.00 you’re paying for prestige or power you will likely never need. If I’m doing something that needs powah, I’m using the food processor. But for blending slow cooked marinara sauce, blending a homemade salsa, pulsing a can of cooked tomatoes, or making nutrient legume paste, it’s perfect. Pop the head off and toss in the dishwasher when done.
We have several soup recipes that essentially call for the cooked vegetables to be pureed. The recipe will say something like ‘working in batches, transfer the vegetables to a blender and blend until smooth; continue this until the soup has a smooth creamy consistency, then return it to the pot for the next stage’. So we don’t do that. We leave the veggies right where they are, in the dutch oven or steel boiler or whatever, and bring on the immersion blender.
It should work quite fine for exactly the purpose you (the OP) are contemplating.
They take a little practice. You don’t want to lift the whirring blades up above the surface of the liquid or semi-liquid that you’re working with, or it flings it in spatters. But they’re efficient and much much easier to clean than a conventional blender when you’re done.
Two of them, when he was 19 or so. It was the sort of nightmare scenario everyone dreads, where the oral surgeon is in the middle of operating and says, “hmm, this is more difficult than I thought … it’s going to take longer than we planned.”
That dental practice recommended that he have the other two removed once he healed from the trauma of the first two. He has decided to ignore that advice and wait to see if the two remaining teeth ever cause any problems. Can’t say I blame him.
I haven’t had any other kind of blender for decades, and I use it for just a few things. Having said that, mine is very useful and practical. I use it mainly for purees and certain sauces and, if all else fails, as a backup remedy to deal with lumpy white sauce. Plastic and similar won’t scratch non-stick cookware, if that’s a concern. IME, the cheap ones don’t hold up for very long. The business end is typically not easily accessed, but that’s not a problem if you don’t let food dry and harden onto it (just give it a quick rinse before washing more thoroughly later). When using mine, I take safety measures to an extreme by plugging in the motor first. When the time comes, I put on the attachment, use the blender and break it down as soon as I’ve finished, leaving the attachment in the food and putting away the motor before proceeding. It’s safer that way and reduces clutter.
My gf makes soup once a week or so. Without the immersion blender she’d be putting small batches in the blender, making a mess in the kitchen (and it’s my job to clean up).
The immersion blender is a tool we’d replace immediately if it ever breaks.
Protip: put the business end under running water and turn the blender on. The food will zip right off. Concerns about putting an electric device under running water should be allayed with “but it is a device designed for submersion in liquid.”
I do a roasted red pepper bisque that is great, but I hate the blending part. There’s no way not to make a damn mess. I’ve thought about an immersion blender, but would it work in a big soup pot? I’ve always figured the chunky bits could just swim away in such a large container.
The immersion blender creates a vortex, pulling all the soup-stuff towards itself like the back side of a fan, and then expelling it to the sides. In a big soup pot, you could probably accelerate the process by stopping, stirring deep, then resuming until you’ve got puree. But it isn’t just a passive device that only chews on what’s in its immediate vicinity, it tries to pull everything towards itself.
Agreed. If you make cream soups or need to mash up some beans to thicken a stew, it’s a great tool. It sure beats having to do it in batches in a blender.
Mine is metal but I think that’s better because it can withstand the heat of a hot pot, though perhaps the plastic ones can withstand typical stovetop temperatures. And I usually keep it from touching the bottom, just to avoid scratching the non-stick surface.
I’m not at all a fancy cook, but there are two or three things I make occasionally for which it’s helpful.
