I have a Cuisinart immersion hand blender. It came with a cup I can blend directly in. I haven't used the appliance much, and when I went to grab it last night, but that the cup it blended in, turned the device into a mini chopper/food processor. Unfortunately I don't own that model, and it's just a plastic measuring cup that's tapered.
I needed to mince garlic last night and was in a rush. I usually chop by hand, but had so much going on (including a kiddo at my feet), that I was looking for a hands off way to chop.
Is there any way to chop/dice with a hand blender? What are some non-conventional uses? Do most people use them for soups and smoothies?
I think I need to invest in a mini electric chopper/food processor. Or do any of you have luck with a simple manual chopper?
Slightly off topic, but we own a 7 cup food Cuisinart processor. It's too large for chopping a single onion or garlic. But tell me what you use your large food processors for, too! Last night I used the blender to make a marinade/sauce, and think the food processor would have been more efficient.
I have a Cuisinart immersion hand blender. It came with a cup I can blend directly in. I haven't used the appliance much, and when I went to grab it last night, but that the cup it blended in, turned the device into a mini chopper/food processor. Unfortunately I don't own that model, and it's just a plastic measuring cup that's tapered.
I needed to mince garlic last night and was in a rush. I usually chop by hand, but had so much going on (including a kiddo at my feet), that I was looking for a hands off way to chop.
Is there any way to chop/dice with a hand blender? What are some non-conventional uses? Do most people use them for soups and smoothies?
I think I need to invest in a mini electric chopper/food processor. Or do any of you have luck with a simple manual chopper?
Slightly off topic, but we own a 7 cup food Cuisinart processor. It's too large for chopping a single onion or garlic. But tell me what you use your large food processors for, too! Last night I used the blender to make a marinade/sauce, and think the food processor would have been more efficient.
These are awesome.. I don't think the immersion blender would work for garlic - unless you had a ton of it - and even then. I love mine - it works like a dream for soups and sauces. Not as well for mashed potatoes. There has to a lot of liquid involved for it to work well IMHO.
These are awesome.. I don't think the immersion blender would work for garlic - unless you had a ton of it - and even then. I love mine - it works like a dream for soups and sauces. Not as well for mashed potatoes. There has to a lot of liquid involved for it to work well IMHO.
I never even thought to use it for mashed potatoes!
Honestly, I like the handheld garlic press for crushing garlic. Ours has two blade options - one to slice and one that's more like a fine mince. Far fewer parts and much easier clean up IMO.
I have the cuisinart immersion blender with the food processor/chopper attachment and i love it. I had a cuisinart mini chop too, which someone got me before I got the immersion blender food processor attachment. I hated the mini chop.
I use that for most of the small processing tasks. I use my big food processor mainly for things like pestos, and other sauce blending. I dream of owning a vitamix, and getting rid of my cuisinart completely.
These are awesome.. I don't think the immersion blender would work for garlic - unless you had a ton of it - and even then. I love mine - it works like a dream for soups and sauces. Not as well for mashed potatoes. There has to a lot of liquid involved for it to work well IMHO.
I never even thought to use it for mashed potatoes!
If yours are wetter than mine (Alton Brown has an awesome "wet" recipe that sucks up the liquid a little if you put it on low heat for bit) it would work - mine got pretty gloppy in some places and chunky in others.
We use our immersion blender mainly for soups. We make a large batch of homemade soup for our lunches most weekends and it works awesome for blending up soups. So much easier than the food processor.
No gadgets for cutting up small things, just a good knife and cutting board.
I have a Ninja that can work for smaller things. I used it to grind up flax seeds on a daily basis. But most times I'm too lazy to wash it out to use it for garlic.
I like to squish the garlic with the knife blade, then take the peel off and chop it up. It makes it much easier.
I use the immersion blender for puree and soup, but I haven't used the cup attachment.
I have a large food processor for things like hummus, salsa, chopping nuts, making breadcrumbs, forming veggie burgers.
The regular blender is for things like smoothies, dressings and sauces.
I use a garlic press for garlic in a hurry, and you can throw the garlic in without peeling, but I feel like it leaves a lot of waste, so I just smash it, peel it and mince it usually.
We use our immersion blender mainly for soups. We make a large batch of homemade soup for our lunches most weekends and it works awesome for blending up soups. So much easier than the food processor.
No gadgets for cutting up small things, just a good knife and cutting board.
I have a Ninja that can work for smaller things. I used it to grind up flax seeds on a daily basis. But most times I'm too lazy to wash it out to use it for garlic.
I like to squish the garlic with the knife blade, then take the peel off and chop it up. It makes it much easier.
OT - but had to tell you that your baby girl is soooo cute!
We use our immersion blender mainly for soups. We make a large batch of homemade soup for our lunches most weekends and it works awesome for blending up soups. So much easier than the food processor.
No gadgets for cutting up small things, just a good knife and cutting board.
I have a Ninja that can work for smaller things. I used it to grind up flax seeds on a daily basis. But most times I'm too lazy to wash it out to use it for garlic.
I like to squish the garlic with the knife blade, then take the peel off and chop it up. It makes it much easier.
OT - but had to tell you that your baby girl is soooo cute!
I use the mini food processor attachment for my immersion blender almost weekly and the blender alone a whole lot less often. We do use it for soups though. I just used it this weekend when I had a meat sauce recipe that called for 1/2 cup minced carrots and 1/2 cup minced red peppers. I wasn't going to get my big food processor out for those small amounts.
Post by bostonmichelle on Jul 28, 2014 14:08:26 GMT -5
For garlic, I've started buying the jars of minced garlic at the grocery store. We use a ton of garlic though so it is worth it.
We usually use the immersion blender for soups really. I can't think of anything else that we use it for.
We have a smaller cuisinart food processor that fits maybe 2 onions in it, so if I'm in a hurry for minced/chopped vegetables I just chunk up onions/peppers/carrots/whatever and throw them in there.