Make complicated kitchen tasks easy with an immersion blender
The invention of the blender took a lot of the forearm-building hard work out of the kitchen. And that's a good thing! When each dish takes less effort to prepare, it becomes easier for home chefs to achieve mouth-watering results with less sweat and less time. Iced drinks become smoother, soups become thick and creamy, and pesto reaches a nutty point of perfection.
Why buy an immersion blender for your home kitchen?
There are many different types of blenders that you can add to your kitchen. Countertop and commercial blenders are the most powerful, with strong blades and large capacities. They're ideal for making large batches of dishes and drinks that need a lot of blending, like icy smoothies or party-sized hummus.
Single-serve blenders are the compact version of a countertop blender, with smaller containers that attach upside-down to a sharp blade. Both single-serve and countertop blenders blend from a fixed position with a motor in their base and blades that sit below your ingredients.
Immersion blenders are more flexible. Also known as hand blenders or stick blenders, they're a convenient way to blend ingredients in a variety of situations or containers. The motor in an immersion blender is small, portable, and hand-held, working from the top down when it generates its power.
When to use a hand or stick blender
Hand blenders are a great option in the kitchen for both convenience and portability. These small blenders feature free-standing base blades, which you can lower into the ingredients of your choosing. They're invaluable if you're trying to pulverize a dish or ingredient that's too large for a countertop blender, like a massive pot of butternut squash soup or a family-sized batch of grandma's secret tomato sauce.
Hand blenders are also easy to clean after use—even in a small sink—which makes them convenient to have in the kitchen.
How to prevent splashing with a stick blender
Stick blenders don't come with a splash guard, as they're designed to be as minimal as possible. To prevent splashing when you use them to pulverize messy ingredients, make sure your immersion wand is fully immersed before turning it on to low. If your stick blender only has one speed, pulse it slowly to begin and build up to longer pulses as your ingredients start to blend together.
Do-it-all immersion blenders
Some immersion blenders come with a set of attachments instead of just one immersion stick. To change out your attachments, you can typically twist off the blender's immersion stick to swap it with attachments like a chopper or whisk. Different blender attachments can help you grind nuts, dice vegetables, and whisk whipping cream.
With do-it-all designs and powerful motors, immersion blenders can give you a hand with all sorts of cooking and baking tasks.