Guest inoubliable Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reya Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Yes. I use my immersion blender almost exclusively for soups. I would be too messy for me for shakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myra Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I use mine whenever I am "hiding" ingredients that my kids wouldn't necessarily want in their foods. I add winter squash, zuchinni, and carrots to my spahetti sauces and caluliflower & butternut squashes & kale in my soups then blend them - nobody in the wiser and everyone is healthier. Myra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest inoubliable Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I had your same questions a few months ago. My regular blender had just died and I wondered if I'd be happy replacing it with an immersion blender. Since I also really needed a food processor and am very limited on space, I got a mini processor and an immersion blender. For the record, I do have a mixer, but it only has attachments for mixing dough, so I just use it for bread dough. I just mix up other doughs and batters by hand. I've been really, really happy with the hand blender and use it all the time. I've easily puréed garbanzo beans and pinto beans for hummus and refried beans. It's pretty tough. I've also puréed another mixture of rice and peanuts that's the same consistency as a thick bean dip. It's easy to use and clean and doesn't take up as much space as the blender did. And it is *so* much easier to purée soups with it. I love it. I didn't get one with attachments because I didn't want the parts around the kitchen, but that hasn't been a problem for me. Also, I make almost everything by hand and don't wish for a blender or stand mixer, although that depends on what you like to make. Maybe you could get the immersion blender and see if it replaces the other appliances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest inoubliable Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest inoubliable Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Yes. I use my immersion blender almost exclusively for soups. I would be too messy for me for shakes. :iagree: I use mine mostly for soups, too. I just got rid of my stand mixer. Hardly ever used that. I do use my blender for smoothies and shakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Thank you for your response! I just noticed that there are attachments you can get for the immersion blender, so I could turn it into a mini food processor when needed... Hmmm. I don't make bread so I don't need any heavy duty appliances for breadmaking. I'm really loving the idea of swapping out the ginormous stand mixer and blender for one of these sleek immersion blenders with, maybe, the food processor attachment. Did you go with the KitchenAid brand? I've stayed true to KitchenAid for stuff like this, but if there is another brand out there that I should check out, please let me know! I got an inexpensive Cuisinart, but I don't have strong feelings about the brand. :) I have family members who have happily used KA immersion blenders for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I'm looking at this Cuisinart http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CSB-76BC-SmartStick-200-Watt-Immersion/dp/B000EGA6QI I don't know much about this brand, but the price on this is WAY more attractive to me than the price of the KitchenAid. That's the one I got. I don't know if a month's use is a helpful recommendation, but I'm happy with it so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest inoubliable Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I'm looking at this Cuisinart http://www.amazon.co...n/dp/B000EGA6QI I don't know much about this brand, but the price on this is WAY more attractive to me than the price of the KitchenAid. This is the one we have. We like it. We had a cheaper one but it didn't last long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbanSue Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I'm looking at this Cuisinart http://www.amazon.co...n/dp/B000EGA6QI I don't know much about this brand, but the price on this is WAY more attractive to me than the price of the KitchenAid. I have this one and I LOVE it. Every time I use it I say to my husband, "WHY did I wait so many years to buy this." All those years of cleaning pureed soup off the ceiling when life could have been so much simpler . . . Are you a Costco member? Or do you have a friend who is? I got mine there and it is on deal this month--or however they do their specials--for $19.99 AND it comes with a whisk attachment and a mini food processor. It's all so much easier to clean than regular blenders (just remove the blender end of the stick immediately and rinse it with hot water). I bought it when our big blender broke but I've never even considered replacing the big one. I do still have my big food processor and I use it enough to justify the cupboard space but the small one is my go-to food processor when it can handle the job. I know you are trying to save money right now but this tool makes it so much easier to make an appetizing meal out of a big pile of veggies so it might be worth the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbanSue Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I'm thinking that something like this: http://www.amazon.co...=A2YK2GIH39FXSZ would help with making smoothies and shakes. So that I'm not trying to wrestle the immersion blender around a smaller glass. True, but a quart-sized, wide-mouth jar works great, too. And would be free if you already have one :) You really can't use a very small container. Whatever you are blending needs room to circulate a bit, at least. But it doesn't have to be a special container. You could even do the smoothies in a mixing bowl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest inoubliable Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In the Rain Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I've had a KitchenAid immersion blender for years. It works great on bean soups. I've never tried it in place of my blender or stand mixer though, for tasks I would use them for. If you already own those other appliances, I wouldn't get rid of them. We gave our KitchenAid mixer and our food processor away when we bought a Bosch with attachments. We always regretted it! I wish we'd just stuck them in a closet somewhere so we could have pulled them back out. After several frustrating years, we ended up buying another stand mixer and food processor. YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Got mine for Christmas and have made a smoothie daily with it. Love it. No more lumpy smoothies I was getting with my bullet. I even had a brownie desert smoothie with no chunks. Question: Why would people use it in soups? Shouldn't soups have some chunks of veggies in them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I would not try to make cookies with the KA immersion blender. It just wouldn't work out well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beach Mom Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I have the KA immersion blender and I love it. Mine came with a container that we use for smoothies and shakes. My two boys can make smoothies with no mess, which is saying something. Although I did have to teach them to resist the temptation to take the blender out of the cup while it is still running :) I have used it for many large batches of soup including beans, broccoli and lots of other varieties. It handles them all with ease. This is one of my favorite kitchen tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thessa516 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I'm looking at this Cuisinart http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CSB-76BC-SmartStick-200-Watt-Immersion/dp/B000EGA6QI I don't know much about this brand, but the price on this is WAY more attractive to me than the price of the KitchenAid. This is the exact one that I have. I'm VERY happy with it. I make a lot of salad dressing with mine. If I'm adding shallots or onions, I don't have to chop them up first. Just stick them in the cup and go to town with the immersion blender. It's also great for soups. However, I'm not sure that it would replace a stand mixer. I couldn't use the immersion blender for cookies or doughs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest inoubliable Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Got mine for Christmas and have made a smoothie daily with it. Love it. No more lumpy smoothies I was getting with my bullet. I even had a brownie desert smoothie with no chunks. Question: Why would people use it in soups? Shouldn't soups have some chunks of veggies in them? Many soups can be puréed if you want. I grew up on non-puréed soups and sometimes pureed soups still seem weird to me, but I've grown to like it generally. So sometimes I'll purée a lentil soup, or a potato-leek soup, or whatever, and sometimes I won't. It just depends on what I'm feeling like. I do it a lot more now with the immersion blender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Got mine for Christmas and have made a smoothie daily with it. Love it. No more lumpy smoothies I was getting with my bullet. I even had a brownie desert smoothie with no chunks. Question: Why would people use it in soups? Shouldn't soups have some chunks of veggies in them? I have teenagers and young adults. A couple of years ago they finally settled on a name for soups the way I make them: stew-p. LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 For the OP, if you don't use your KA stand mixer very often, put it away but please don't get rid of it. Your immersion blender, while wonderful for many things, probably will not work for cookie doughs and such. I bake a lot and have had an immersion blender, and it would not have worked for the doughs. It did a passable job on mashing potatoes, but they had to be a bit more liquid than i liked for it to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenangelcat Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I gave up on regular blenders years ago. They only last a couple of months in my house. I use an immersion blender for everything and it works fine. My first one lasted 10 years before I had to replace it (for $15) For cookies use an electric hand mixer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest inoubliable Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyr Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 I use my KitchenAide immersion blender 3-6x a day and it is still going strong. Every other cheaper one I had before this stopped working within about 3-6 months. Granted I probably use it more than intended but I have to say I am very happy we finally sprung for the better one =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reya Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Question: Why would people use it in soups? Shouldn't soups have some chunks of veggies in them? Some soups are smooth, like most squash soups. Other have thickeners that are blended in before adding the chunky stuff. Lots of tomato-based sauces need to be blended, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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