KitchenAid Blenders

Buying my 3rd one, grrrrrrr…., March 11, 2009

These plastic jars just don’t last. I don’t know how this even qualifies as a viable product. We have to replace ours every several months. We don’t do anything abnormal with it. Smoothies mainly, and we use our icemaker to pre-crush the ice for it (since we know it’s so sensitive). It doesn’t take long for cracks to appear, and then come the sticky leaks that get all over the blender and the counter. And, it’s so expensive. Unfortunately, our blender (the KSB-580, which is similar to the 560, I think) doesn’t take the standard glass jar. Big mistake on our part. At some point, I guess, we’ll need to buy a new blender so we don’t have to keep replacing the jar. Argh.

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Cracked after a year of light use, August 18, 2010

By

Timothy Wayne (San Francisco, CA USA) – See all my reviews

I’ve had this blender for about a year. It has two cracks in the bottom that cause leakage whenever it’s used. And they have the nerve to ask for a replacement?

A pox on all their houses.

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cracks under normal use, August 16, 2010

I purchased a kitchen aid blender thinking I was getting a quality product. After a year of normal use, multiple cracks started to appear in the base of the jar. Food residue gets trapped in the cracks & the jar now leaks from the base. I would like to replace the jar and not have to buy an entire new blender, but I’m not willing to pay 50.00 plus shipping for another poorly made product. A glass replacement would be nice!

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Top Rate Blender, April 27, 2010

We were looking for a blender that would make smoothies on a daily basis, last longer than 90-days and not cost us a fortune. This blender easily crushes the ice and blends the frozen fruits into a delicious smoothie without problem. It does not over heat or stall and the 4-level blade prevents air pockets common with other blenders. It is somewhat loud but that is to be expected from a motor powerful enough to easily crush ice in seconds. We recommend this blender to anyone looking for quality at a reasonable price.

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No complain!!, July 20, 2010

Before I bought this I checked many reviews. I chose the glass jar over polycarbonate one that would be nice, if there in no leaking possibility.

Cleaning and assembling are easier than other brand that I owned before since it is built well.

Primary purpose of this is making smoothy and ice crush. This is doing better than I expected. Especially, for ice crushing, it does crush and pulse and it is very effective. I recommend it with 5 star.

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Very good blender., May 25, 2010

I’ve only had the blender for a couple of weeks, but it is working well. The base (that the blender fits into) is metal, but the piece that goes into the base is made of plastic. It does ice very well. It is very noisy.

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quick, clean, fast, and tough, December 10, 2003

After tearing through 2 stick blenders in 6 years, I tried this one — and let me tell you — the KitchenAid takes the prize. The motor (the highest powered I found on the market) is tough enough for batters and heavy mixing, and still with the multiple speeds and whisk attachment, is light-handed enough for making fast work of whipping cream, and egg whites.

The chopper is worth the upgrade from the stick alone as it will do everything the old counter-top hogging food processors ever dreamed of doing, but with half the clean up time. It also makes it easy for chopping just enough for one or two servings without breaking out the heavy hardware.

Unless you use a mixer for tons of cookie dough or to knead bread (in which case you want the biggest and toughest counter-top kitchenAid stand mixer you can afford…) then this is the best I’ve seen. Stick this blender down into a bubbling hot soup pot full of veggies, beans and meat — it will puree the whole pot into a smoothe and beautiful soup in a matter of 2-3 minutes.

A great product (and a great gift.)

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Whips like a pro!!!, July 25, 2005

By

Carolyn Rampone “Carolyn D’Amico Rampone” (Plantation, FL USA) – See all my reviews

I learned a long time ago, if you go KitchenAid, you go for life. They make the highest quality, longest life products I have ever seen. This hand mixer is the third of its kind I’ve owned. I’ve had two of the Braun models and they died out after about a year of average use. I finally got the KitchenAid and it has been going strong for a few years now. I really like having the ability to go down to the bottom of a large pot, a full 8″. Even though it is of substantial weight, it fits your hand like a glove. I found it far superior to the Braun, as a matter of fact, it doesn’t even compare.

The plastic cup with lid makes an excellent accessory since you can mix and store without wasting time. The chopper is the most efficient I have seen, does a better job that a food processor. I especially like the multi-speed dial. It goes from 1 to 9 so it has the power you need, when you need it. Egg white or whip cream doesn’t even challenge it, the whipping attachment makes sure of that. This baby handles like a pro. There are times when you don’t need the big mixer and the immersion blender really fills in nicely. You won’t be disappointed with the quality, power or its sleek look.

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The right tool for the job, February 15, 2007

By

Timothy J. Drozinski (Florida, USA) – See all my reviews

I’m at a point in my life where I am developing a taste for quality, and can finally afford the kind of quality I desire. I like to dabble in the kitchen, so I’ve been building my arsenal of kitchenware recently. I’ve invested in some high-quality cookware and utensils, and started working on some appliances. I’ve got an 11-cup Cuisinart food processor, but that tends to be overkill for a lot of smaller jobs – I hate all the cleanup involved with making a cup of guacamole dip, for instance. I like to use peeled whole tomatoes to make tomato sauce for pasta dishes, but my wife doesn’t care for chunks of tomato in the finished sauce. No problem… I just dunk the stick blender right into the can of tomatoes and out comes a nice thick puree with all the rich flavor that pre-made sauces seem to lack.

This stick blender came highly recommended by an acquaintance, and it doesn’t disappoint. With its high-power motor, variable speed settings and versatile accessories, this is a compact and high-impact kitchen tool. Easy to clean, too. I would urge caution if you’ve never used one of these before, especially when working with very watery liquids as they can end up getting blown right out of your container if you’re not careful.

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We like to buy things that last, April 23, 2009

So, after 30 years, we needed a new blender. Hmmm. My wife and I hadn’t a clue where to start nor what was out there. On my first two internet searches all I found were the two extremes: small fractional Hp motors or the ridiculously priced 0 to 0 unit.

And yes, of course we want to crush ice – who doesn’t? I have enough engineering background to know that a 0.2 to 0.5 Hp motor is NOT going to crush ice. Finally, we found the KitchenAid models! Some were 0.9 Hp, which is more like it. The pitcher (I call it) was a larger diameter and a little squat – perfect design for better blending, not to mention storage.

We decided that two speeds just wasn’t enough, 3 speeds would be borderline and we certainly didn’t want anything ridiculous like 10 or 15 speeds. (That’s what they do when the motor is underpowered to do the job.) We settled on the KitchenAid KSB465Wh 4-speed with 48 ounce jar and 0.9 Hp motor. The weight wasn’t given but the appearance gave you the idea that the base was good and heavy – a prerequisite.

We’ve used it several times starting about a month ago – it’s perfect. It’s even better than the one that lasted 30 yrs. The pitcher is dishwasher safe, it has something they call “intelli-speed” which adjusts the horsepower as needed to deliver constant speed. This is something where most blenders fall short, you put something heavy in it and the motors just slows down. The base is good and heavy – hurray, no more tipping over. The ad doesn’t mention this but you do NOT dissasemble the pitcher for cleaning! Another big plus.

By the way those to blenders don’t work and don’t last. This one is priced around and you get what you pay for. A very solid unit with a decent motor and good features. And yes, it does a marvelous job grinding ice – a whole tray at a time. And, if you let it go for about 10 seconds you have ice “powder” – it’s better than our ice shaver for snow cones.

Blending is far superior to our old blender. It digests even the tough stuff easily. We haven’t yet really needed to use it but it has pulsed speeds for those really tough materials. I’d recommend THIS blender to anyone who doesn’t need to grind nails.

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A clear winner!, May 26, 2009

By

B. D. Earthcare “Not quite retired” (Seabrook Island, SC United States) – See all my reviews

After doing more blender research than I care to admit to myself, I narrowed my search to three blenders. I selected this model after speaking to a most informed and helpful Kitchenaid customer service rep who answered my remainding questions one Saturday afternoon. Since, they staffed their customer serviced department on the weekends, I was already impressed. This blender replaced a just out-of-warranty Cuisinart blender which I loved, until it died a premature death, I can say without hestiattion this model is far better. Since I use our blender daily to make breakfast smoothies, some with ice, I thought my blender needs were simple. Quite to the contrary, I discovered. There is no middle ground when it comes to chopping ice and this blender does a superb and lighin’ quick job. I add very frozen berries to the morning mix and this blender handles them beautifully. The performance, design, ease of operation and cleaning each have exceeded my expectations.

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Best blender ever., September 26, 2009

By

William J. Kelly – See all my reviews

I have only used about four blenders in my life but this is by far the best I have come across. I picked it up by chance on the clearance end cap at Target but if I knew how well it worked I would have gladly paid full price. I have never seen a blender crush ice so well, in fact my fiancee and myself are eating snow cones we just made with it as I type. It makes the smoothest smoothies ever, I can’t wait to find more uses for it!

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Great, but no “ON” button, just “pulse”, November 23, 2007

By

L. Bollinger “bollinl” – See all my reviews

I love handblenders. I have this one and its attachments, and I use it pretty regularly. I have two complaints: 1) the powercord is thick, cumbersome, and hard to keep out of one’s way. I had a cordless unit from a different manufacturer before, and I must say–the extra power here is nice, but I’m not 100% convinced the hassle of the cord is really worth that extra umph very often. 2) and here’s the kicker–there’s no actual “on” switch. You’ve got to hold it on the whole time. I really wanted to give one to my mom for Xmas, but she simply doesn’t have the hand-strength any longer to make use of this unit. It takes me two hands to keep it held “on,” and my hands cramp up when I’ve got something that I need to blend for a sustained amount of time. That said, this is a lovely unit (I adore the red color), and I get lots of use out of it. I just would have liked a chance to think about those two issues before I bought it (about a year ago), and certainly before I gave it for a gift.

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Unsanitary – eventually may cause food poisoning, January 22, 2010

I bought this to replace a Braun I had for 15 + years. This was to replace the cheap Braun on which the motor finally gave out after thousands of uses. I have the most expensive Braun and it is the best ever made, however Braun has stopped making hand blenders all together (I wrote to Braun and that is what they told me). I have always thought kitchen aid to be a great product and in the past they were, until they sold out to Westinghouse. The blender works well, although the slowest speed is higher than medium speed on my Braun.

The problem is the seal on the bottom of the mixing shaft under the blade. There is a rubber gasket or sealer that does not seal, but traps blended food under it. After a through washing and allowing it to stand and dry the food particles leak out and dry. I used mine daily, week days at work, to make a whole food/protein shake. Each day I washed it thoroughly and dried it. The next day I would take it to make my shake and note that particles of yesterdays shake had seeped out from under the rubber seal. I tried cleaning under the seal on the outside only to discover that the problem also appears to be in the center next to the shaft where it is impossible to clean. I could actually see food trapped half under the rubber seal and there is no way to clean it out. My shakes are green in color and I can see the green, gradually turn to brown, on the outer edge of the rubber seal and again whole food trapped under the center.

Amazon has been great about returning products that are defective and has assured me that they will get me a full refund for this product. My problem now is finding a quality hand blender equal to the top of the line Braun to replace this KA.

If i can see the very bottom where the blade and seal are it would make the purchase easier. Braun put a stainless steel plate with an O ring in the center and what appears to be a durable sealant on the base. That is how you make a quality product, not the way kitchen aid made this product. If they would fix this problem, the rest of the blender has worked fine 5 days a week for 4 months.

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handy, October 24, 2005

By

Barbara Rockwell – See all my reviews

I had one of these that had a battery and the recharger hung on the wall with its attachments. I loved it, it was light and convenient. It finally broke and they don’t make them that way anymore.

This whips up a storm, its detachable head cleans perfectly in the dishwasher with no fuss. It has tremendous power and its design sucks the food into the blade and a circular motion is set up for efficient blending. It does not whip cream, you need a whisk or beater for that. Instead it would turn cream to butter. It is kind of heavy but stands up on its own without tipping over. The beaker is the perfect container. It is kind of tall and the cord has so much memory that it takes up too much space on the shelf over my sink where I keep it. There is no safety. At all. If it were plugged in and you accidently hit the switch while your finger were in the blade, they would be chopped up. Because of this, it should never be stored plugged in. But overall, I do like it and I use it often. If I had small children, I would not have this in the house. And if I were teaching a child to cook, I would never, ever use it.

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The Blender with Intelligence, July 21, 2007

By

D. Wooten “Real Shaka Zulu” (NorCal, USA) – See all my reviews

I have owned a lot of blenders and this one is very impressive. I was tempted to give it 4 stars as it is not the best blender I have ever owned. That distinction goes to the Vita-Mix which has a nuclear reactor for a base, sounds like a Harley and cost as much as a microwave but if you need a blender that can crush anything and make flour and HOT soup….well….but back to the KitchenAid.

First it looks great. As a home chef, having a sleek modern looking kitchen is important. Second it is easy to clean… I will never own a push button (i.e. old Oster-type) blender again. Nor one with a multi piece jar. One leak can and has ruined an evening or party, as you run to grab paper towel and dish clothes to control the margarita or soup that is running across your counter and down your cabinets. Then the fun of cleaning your blender nooks begin….grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Now the really impressive part. I have owned a Waring for years. Everyone always raves about it and if you have a thin liquid, it works great. But for crushing ice and making smoothies, it just flat out sucks. So I sought out an ice crushing (margaritas), sealed jar (gravies/soups), lightweight, large capacity (parties), easy touch (easy to clean), piece of art. The KitchenAid is all those things and has a logic built in that controls the blade speed. It knows how well it is crushing the ice and modulates the motor to ensure an even snow like texture that is incredible. The same system is also built into the other modes, measuring resistance to step the motor up, then back it down to ensure smooth results.

This is my first KitchenAid product, but it will not be my last. BRAVO

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Top-Notch Blender, March 11, 2008

By

Thomas Tracy (Northern GA, United States) – See all my reviews

This is an excellent, high-quality blender. We replaced an inexpensive Oster with it and like this KitchenAid much, much more. Things I really like:

1) Power – this blender whips through hard-frozen fruit like nothing is there for wonderful smoothies.

2) Smooth, one piece control panel – makes for super-easy clean-up as there are no cracks or crevices to trap spills. Yet, the buttons behind the panel still have a nice tactile click response so you know you pressed one.

3) Brushed nickel finish – very attractive on your counter.

4) Polycarbonate jar – this worried me when considering this purchase as our old blender had a nice, thick glass jar. But, after using this blender for 3 months, I like this jar better. It is thick, yet lightweight, and hasn’t scratched (although I only use rubber or silicone spatulas inside any way).

5) One piece blades & jar – our old blender had a screw-off base, resulting in 4 parts for clean-up – the base, the blade assembly, the jar itself & a rubber gasket. This blender’s blades are permanently mounted in the bottom of the jar making for easy clean-up. I either just put it in the dishwasher on the bottom shelf, or I rinse it out, fill it up halfway with warm water & a small squirt of dishwasher detergent and run it on medium for 10 seconds or so.

Unlike another reviewer, I have experienced no leaks. There is a hex hut on the bottom of the jar that holds in the blade assembly & I am sure there is a rubber gasket underneath the nut. If I ever do get a leak, I plan trying to slightly tighten this nut with an adjustable wrench – I imagine it could possibly loosen over time due to vibration.

The bottom line is that while there are certainly many less expensive blenders on the market, this is an extremely powerful, well-built & attractive option. I think it is worth the price (I had a rebate to lessen the sting), but others may not depending on their budget.

UPDATE after a summer of making daiquiris & margaritas – This blender makes FANTASTIC frozen drinks. It really pulverizes the ice & frozen fruit to make a killer frozen cocktail!

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Monster ice crusher, July 2, 2007

By

Jason Austin (Virginia Beach, VA USA) – See all my reviews

If you’re into crushed ice and smoothie type drinks, this is easily the best one I’ve found. It reduces ice cubes to a smooth slush in just seconds. The “crush ice” mode pulses on and off to crush the ice quickly and few more seconds at a higher speed smooths it out and adds some air volume. It also looks very sleek, so won’t mind leaving it out on your bar or in the kitchen.

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Search for the holy blender…, July 31, 2006

I have been looking for a blender for a few weeks now. We have started making smoothies at home and burned up our old one. Our girls like the “Chocolate Elvis” recipe from the local smoothie place which contains peanutbutter, bananas, yogurt, ice, and milk. I guess this is really hard on blenders. I bought one at Target 2 weeks ago that had “700 watts peak power” on the box. It died in 2 days. The power spec on the bottom of the blender said 450 watts. I think that is false advertisement. I have seen this on 2 different blenders now.

I have been leery of buying any blender with the little plastic teeth couplers because of all the bad reviews here on Amazon. I also wanted to stay away from anything with only 450 watts.

I was in another store and saw this blender. It has a new design for where the blades couple with the motor. “Commercial quality couplers with 12 interlocking teeth….coated for quiet operation”.

We have had it for a few days now and have made some pretty thick smoothies. So far, so good. No burning smell like the one that was immediately apparent with the Target blender. My youngest daughter complanied that her smoothie was “too smooth”. I guess she got used to the chunks of ice that our past blenders have left.

Kitchenaid doesn’t seem to advertise the actual power specs on their blenders. On the bottom of this one it says that it draws 6 amps. Which is about 720 watts or about 0.9 horsepower.

My only complaint so far is the soft start feature. The blade starts at a slower speed then quickly increases to the speed you chose. This process still throws everything up into the lid, which is what it should prevent. It works fine though as long as you have the lid on. It also works if you start with the slowest speed and work your way up.

Overall this blender seems to be well made and pretty well thought out. The cord storage on the bottom is a great feature. It has much bigger feet than the previous model. So far, I would highly recommend this blender for the person looking for a good blender in the under 0 range.

Added comments:

It is a year and about 300 smoothies later and we still have this blender. I would highly recommend it!!

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They Redesigned The Container (carafe)!!!, May 25, 2008

By

Robert Derenthal “bucherwurm” (California United States) – See all my reviews

We bought this Kitchenaid blender over a year ago, and after several months the container started to leak. The leak was small, and we put up with it for awhile. We finally got tired of the mess, however, and called the factory. We were told that the container had been redesigned, and they would send us a new one immediately even though our warranty had expired. When we got the new one we could see that it had indeed been redesigned, and have used it for some time now, and NO LEAKS. A leak proof container plus the other great features of this blender now warrant a definite five stars.

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Blender Carafe Leaks, February 8, 2007

I was loving this blender until a couple weeks into owning it and making smoothies daily, I noticed that it was leaking from the bottom of the carafe below the blade. The longer I used it, the worse the leak got until it was virtually pouring out of the bottom of the blender everytime I used it. So I returned it to Amazon and got a replacement. Thinking it was a fluke, I began to use my replacement blender. It is now a couple weeks old and again it is beginning to leak from under the carafe. The motor and everything below the carafe is wonderful, but it appears that there is a design flaw with how the blade is secured to the bottom of the carafe. The nut slowly begins to loosen and with time begins to leak. I would not recommend taking a risk on this model. Looking at the higher priced professional Kitchen Aid model, it appears to have the same carafe and may have the same problem so you may want to try a different manufacturer or research it further before making a purchase.

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The GrandDaddy of Hand Blenders!, June 25, 2004

By

Stephanie Lamphere “mom and web geek” (Birmingham, AL USA) – See all my reviews

June 25, 2004: I have had a Braun handblender for many years (10 years?), and was pleased with its performance, until it finally lost its spunk last week. I bought this product yesterday as a replacement, and I must say I am very pleasantly surprised! This was a HUGE step up! I would even say that this is a professional quality gadget! (It is certainly styled to look the part!)

My favorite thing to make with my handblender is hummus – a mediterranean chick pea dip – and last night I made some the smooooothest hummus I ever made! This is in part because of the 9 speeds available on this model. I started out with lower speeds and then worked my way up to the top one. This is a large handblender, but it was comfortable and easy to use – lightweight even, and sure has a LOT of power. As with most of these products, it was a little difficult to clean the blades, but not a problem. (Really, the best way to clean it is to “blend” a cup of soapy water!)

There other models of this that come with attachments – that might be nice in the future, if I want to whip or chop using the attachments – but this basic model with the blender and the cup are all I need for most anything, and worth the price tag for the POWER you get from this brand! It’s true what they say – KitchenAid ROCKS!

UPDATE: yikes! I was blending bread into breadcrumbs (not toasted, silly me) and it got doughy and really thick and blew the fuse. If anyone knows how to fix that, please comment. I stand by my earlier glowing review – this incident was my fault!

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Quite useful, seems well made, December 21, 2006

By

Matthew Leo “grumpynerd” (Boston, MA) – See all my reviews

For those of you have have never had one, these immersion blenders are quite handy. They are easy to clean, and convenient to use. They also don’t take up much space; I keep my KitchenAid unit on the counter, and store the beaker in the cupboard where I keep glasses, with the blender attachment inside. It’s no fuss at all if you want to mix just a single drink. While a traditional blender is more versatile, if I had a choice of only one I’d go with the hand blender as being the most useful on a day to day basis.

This is the second immersion blender I have owned. I like this one quite a bit; it is powerful, but quiet. I’m not sure whether having 9 speeds is so important, I find I either use speed setting 1 or 9. Maybe they should make custom units that go all the way to 11.

One concern with a device like this is marrying a powerful motor to a removeable attachment. My first device (an Oster) chewed itself to bits, leaving metal shavings in my food (good thing I checked). The KitchenAid unit’s attachment has a good positive lock design which makes this improbable. A safety interock would have been better. The metal shaft of the blending attachment is driven by a hard plastic socket with slim splines. This means in the unlikely event of anything ending up in your food, you’ll have tiny bits of fractured plastic, not desirable of course, but preferable to long, razor sharp metal shavings. The socket looks like it could be replaced if necessary, but given the price most people would opt for replacing the entire unit over having it serviced.

One thing would be nice is if the guard around the actual blades was plastic instead of metal. Then it could be used directly inside nonstick saucepans for pureeing soup.

Conclusion: a safety interlock and plastic blender shield would improve this product, but overall it is well made, quiet and safe. Few things are made to last these days, but given how useful this device is, its a safe bet you will get your money’s worth.

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Cumbersome in the kitchen., January 29, 2006

By

M. Rumph (Isle of Palms, SC USA) – See all my reviews

Pros: This stick blender is mighty and powerful.

It’s stainless steel base and shaft make it easy to clean; and it doesn’t stain like the white plastic ones.

Cons: For normal kitchen use I found it awkward and heavy.

Nearly 17″ tall (with the switch at the tallest point) and weighing nearly 2 pounds, it is cumbersome. Considering that most countertops are 36″ tall, it is 53″ high when operating. That’s shoulder height or higher on most woman.

The power switch requires continual pressure to operate it, which adds more stress to the already too high, heavy device. It’s more comfortable if you put your mixing bowl (or included plastic container) down in the sink. This lowers the device considerably and makes it much easier to operate.

If you plan to keep it on your counterop (as I do) be prepared for it to fall over often, as it is very top heavy. I screwed a metal cup holder into the underside of my cabinet to “hang” its cord and keep it from crashing into every other appliance I have there. If it had come with a stand or wall-mounted holder, I would have rated it a 4. If you plan to keep it in a drawer, you will have no problem.

Overall, it’s a nice gadget, and certainly easier than cleaning a blender.

Mahlon Rumph, SC

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quick, clean, fast, and tough, December 10, 2003

After tearing through 2 stick blenders in 6 years, I tried this one — and let me tell you — the KitchenAid takes the prize. The motor (the highest powered I found on the market) is tough enough for batters and heavy mixing, and still with the multiple speeds and whisk attachment, is light-handed enough for making fast work of whipping cream, and egg whites.

The chopper is worth the upgrade from the stick alone as it will do everything the old counter-top hogging food processors ever dreamed of doing, but with half the clean up time. It also makes it easy for chopping just enough for one or two servings without breaking out the heavy hardware.

Unless you use a mixer for tons of cookie dough or to knead bread (in which case you want the biggest and toughest counter-top kitchenAid stand mixer you can afford…) then this is the best I’ve seen. Stick this blender down into a bubbling hot soup pot full of veggies, beans and meat — it will puree the whole pot into a smoothe and beautiful soup in a matter of 2-3 minutes.

A great product (and a great gift.)

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Whips like a pro!!!, July 25, 2005

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Carolyn Rampone “Carolyn D’Amico Rampone” (Plantation, FL USA) – See all my reviews

I learned a long time ago, if you go KitchenAid, you go for life. They make the highest quality, longest life products I have ever seen. This hand mixer is the third of its kind I’ve owned. I’ve had two of the Braun models and they died out after about a year of average use. I finally got the KitchenAid and it has been going strong for a few years now. I really like having the ability to go down to the bottom of a large pot, a full 8″. Even though it is of substantial weight, it fits your hand like a glove. I found it far superior to the Braun, as a matter of fact, it doesn’t even compare.

The plastic cup with lid makes an excellent accessory since you can mix and store without wasting time. The chopper is the most efficient I have seen, does a better job that a food processor. I especially like the multi-speed dial. It goes from 1 to 9 so it has the power you need, when you need it. Egg white or whip cream doesn’t even challenge it, the whipping attachment makes sure of that. This baby handles like a pro. There are times when you don’t need the big mixer and the immersion blender really fills in nicely. You won’t be disappointed with the quality, power or its sleek look.

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The right tool for the job, February 15, 2007

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Timothy J. Drozinski (Florida, USA) – See all my reviews

I’m at a point in my life where I am developing a taste for quality, and can finally afford the kind of quality I desire. I like to dabble in the kitchen, so I’ve been building my arsenal of kitchenware recently. I’ve invested in some high-quality cookware and utensils, and started working on some appliances. I’ve got an 11-cup Cuisinart food processor, but that tends to be overkill for a lot of smaller jobs – I hate all the cleanup involved with making a cup of guacamole dip, for instance. I like to use peeled whole tomatoes to make tomato sauce for pasta dishes, but my wife doesn’t care for chunks of tomato in the finished sauce. No problem… I just dunk the stick blender right into the can of tomatoes and out comes a nice thick puree with all the rich flavor that pre-made sauces seem to lack.

This stick blender came highly recommended by an acquaintance, and it doesn’t disappoint. With its high-power motor, variable speed settings and versatile accessories, this is a compact and high-impact kitchen tool. Easy to clean, too. I would urge caution if you’ve never used one of these before, especially when working with very watery liquids as they can end up getting blown right out of your container if you’re not careful.

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