Comments on: What to blend with new immersion blender?

Question: What to blend with new immersion blender?

anthropomorphic — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:10:34 -0800

I just got a brand new immersion blender. What should I blend?

I've only ever made butternut squash soup and have never made smoothies. Any tips on the use of this thing and/or recipes? Aside from soup and smoothies, am I missing anything? Could I use it to cut up the butter for, say, a pie crust? Any tips on use?

By: DrGirlfriend

DrGirlfriend — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:16:04 -0800

I use it to emulsify homemade salad dressings. I prefer it over having to whisk or shake the hell out of them, not just because it's easier but also because I think the texture comes out better.

By: lore

lore — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:17:21 -0800

If it's not summer, the best tomatoes for homemade spaghetti sauce are canned whole tomatoes. An immersion blender is very handy for getting them to whatever level of chunkiness you desire, and you can blend them right in the pot in which you're simmering the sauce.

By: jedicus

jedicus — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:18:32 -0800

As mentioned, an immersion blender makes quick work of homemade vinaigrettes. Use the basic 1:3 or 1:4 ratio of oil to vinegar and have at it. Adding a little dry mustard will help the emulsion hold together (like 1/8 to 1/4 tsp per cup of dressing). You can also use prepared mustard but the flavor will be more apparent.

Are you talking about cutting up the butter before adding it to the flour mixture or to work the butter into the mixture? If the former, just use a knife. If the latter, I can't say for sure it wouldn't work, but I would have my doubts. It would probably be pretty messy. Immersion blenders work best on liquids, particularly liquids deep enough to, well, immerse the business end.

By: jedicus

jedicus — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:19:19 -0800

Whoops, that ratio is backwards! You want 1:3 or 1:4 vinegar to oil.

By: julen

julen — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:20:35 -0800

It did totally transform my soup-making habits, but I've also used mine for mashing potatoes (they get a bit more glossy and thin and less chunky than the old-fashioned method, so you might not like the results as much), making puddings and mousses, various dips and sauces (short pulses for a salsa!). My mom uses hers to make gravy.

By: mhuckaba

mhuckaba — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:22:01 -0800

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvc8Au4YO60

By: kaseijin

kaseijin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:22:25 -0800

Soups! That's pretty much all I use mine for, but for it totally can't be beat for soups.

By: Madamina

Madamina — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:25:09 -0800

Breadcrumbs. Mayonnaise. Pudding.

And I was not a smoothie person either, but boy howdy did I become one when I got my immersion blender. Frozen strawberries, a banana, some orange juice and maybe a little protein powder, and wheeee! Cleanup couldn't have been simpler. They work perfectly with plastic stadium cups.

It really helped me get a good breakfast that kept me going until lunch, which made a huge difference when I was trying to eat healthier and lose weight. But they'd be tasty even if you weren't trying to do that.

By: supermedusa

supermedusa — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:25:26 -0800

I just bought mr supermedusa one as a holiday gift. he intends to use it for soups! (and I highly recommend cream of carrot & cauliflower, its a delicious combo!!)

By: jedicus

jedicus — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:30:21 -0800

Oh, if you're making a large amount of hollandaise or similar sauce, you can use the immersion blender to keep the emulsion stirred while you slowly add the butter. Depending your blender, you'll probably want to keep to the lowest setting. If you're making it by yourself, it's much easier than whisking with one hand while pouring with the other.

By: Lazlo Hollyfeld

Lazlo Hollyfeld — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:35:46 -0800

Crepe batter!

By: Namlit

Namlit — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:55:16 -0800

1) Hummus. I used to do this in the big mixer-thingy on my Swedish kitchen assistant (no, not the Swedish Chef, the other one from Huskvarna) before, but if you want nice thick hummus it sticks to the sides and doesn't blend well. With the immersion blender, no problem.
2) anything that has developed lumps while it oughtn't have lumps, such as hasty-made béchamel or slop-stir polenta.

(In my experience, cutting up butter for pie crust is hand work).

By: Gilbert

Gilbert — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:17:22 -0800

2nding soups. Cheap pumpkins and butternut squash abound this time of year. Winter squash soup also freezes amazingly well. Come summer time, you can use it for chilled cucumber soup and gazpacho. Seriously; that thing will change your life.

By: onhazier

onhazier — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:25:58 -0800

Fruit butter. During the summer, I'll toss about 20 sliced, ripe peaches, 3 cups of sugar, a splash of lemon juice and some spices into a crock pot. At the end of the day, I take out most of the liquid and use my immersion blender to make a spiced peach butter. It only keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks because of the lower sugar content, but it is great on toast, ice cream, in cakes, etc. I save the spiced peach juice and use it in mixed drinks.

You can find recipes for pumpkin butter and apple butter. I'm sure there are lots more.

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:36:02 -0800

You can whip cream with it (duh). Frozen orange juice tastes twice as good when stirred with one of these. Aeration, I suppose. Try it and see.

By: mmascolino

mmascolino — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:39:59 -0800

Along with whipped cream...you can make meringue.

By: Citrus

Citrus — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:45:15 -0800

Tomato sauce.

I also find that it's great for quickie milkshakes.

_{(Dammit, now I want a milkshake!)}

By: yawper

yawper — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:47:46 -0800

Dal (lentils).

By: essexjan

essexjan — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:48:43 -0800

You can also impress your friends by frothing milk (which you can heat first in the microwave) for their coffee. I bought a couple of big cappuccino cups and a shaker of cocoa powder and, honestly, friends are just amazed that I can 'make' cappuccino. Fill the cup half with strong coffee, and half with the frothed up milk.

I also make mayonnaise in mine in seconds, and use it for soups. It makes a great banana milkshake. In a tall container put 1 banana, a cup of milk and a big scoop or two of vanilla ice cream. Fabulous. Also works great with strawberries.

By: jerryg99

jerryg99 — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:57:37 -0800

When you make a pot roast, take out the roast and blend the cooked veggies into smooth goodness for the gravy.

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:38:39 -0800

I've used mine to make paste out of reconstituted dried chilis for soups, to whip steamed cauliflower, hummus, bean dip, homemade mayo, dressings, frozen margaritas. Pretty much anything you would need a blender for.

By: mearls

mearls — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:49:01 -0800

Mulligitawny soup

By: GenjiandProust

GenjiandProust — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:53:42 -0800

Nthing soup. I like the Good Eats Curried Pea Soup recipe. It is very versatile, and can go all the way from very vegan to mostly meat with minor adjustments. It is my default soup for quick winter dinners.

My stick blender has a little food processor attachment. I am not keen on attachments in general, but this one is great when I need to make a small amount of paste (garlic, onion, spices, whatever) for a dish. Much less clean up.

By: aimedwander

aimedwander — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:11:19 -0800

My most recent immersion-blender use was making cantaloupe martinis but that's just a spin-off of smoothies, really. One thing I like about using it with soups is that some recipes like gazpacho or vichyssoise have versions where they're entirely pureed or entirely diced, and an immersion blender let you just whirl it around until it's as chopped as you want it. It's not as fast as the food processor or blender, meaning that you've got more control over how blended you make it.

By: KatlaDragon

KatlaDragon — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:13:42 -0800

You might prefer your salsa chunky, but I've had good luck using my stick blender to fancify cheap jarred salsa, adding more of whatever I have and love (mostly cilantro and chipotles) and whizzing it smooth.

By: fixedgear

fixedgear — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:34:29 -0800

My stick blender has a little food processor attachment. I am not keen on attachments in general, but this one is great when I need to make a small amount of paste (garlic, onion, spices, whatever) for a dish.

I came to say this. We use our Braun for garlic, pesto, wet rub, etc.

By: xammerboy

xammerboy — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:00:02 -0800

I use mine to make soups all the time, but it's really miraculous when making mayonnaise. Put two egg yolks in a mug with a little olive oil and a drop of oil. Blend until emulsified, then keep pouring a little more oil then emulsifying.

Add:
- Shallots and lemon and any herb
- Adobo chili and lime
- Garlic and salt (call this Aioli)
- Rouilly for fish (look it up)

By: prettypretty

prettypretty — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:08:17 -0800

I make an easy avocado dip:

-- two hard boiled eggs
-- one ripe avocado
-- juice of half a lemon
-- salt and pepper to taste

blend... et voila!

By: Marky

Marky — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:07:40 -0800

This recipe for mayonnaise is remarkably similar to Michael Ruhlman's in "Ratio," except they olive oil instead of canola.

Simple, tasty and delicious!

By: transporter accident amy

transporter accident amy — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:12:20 -0800

My boyfriend has successfully used his immersion blender to grind both chicken and turkey breast for these delicious baked meatballs.

By: stoneweaver

stoneweaver — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:50:03 -0800

Batter! Cakes, brownies and cupcakes are all easier.

By: Robert Angelo

Robert Angelo — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:17:52 -0800

Yes to batter! Not only that, I'm going to use mine later today to mix up my Thanksgiving pumpkin pie filling.

If you don't have an electric hand mixer (we don't) and don't want to pull out a big stand mixer if you have one (and I hate to bother with it) the immersion blender makes all sorts of mixing tasks faster and easier.

By: jabberjaw

jabberjaw — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:32:35 -0800

Cheesecake. If you're like me and don't have the gumption to waste counterspace on a big Kitchenaid.

By: ifjuly

ifjuly — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:38:06 -0800

Whipped cream (use the little container attachment if necessary), chili, all manner of soups, smoothing out red beans and rice...its finest use, in my opinion, is for cutting out the 3+ steps, graduated blending, and painful hot splatters on the wall and yourself involved with a standard blender. Just whiz a big hot pot of simmered goodness and you're done.