Bamix

[paulraphael]

We just got a Bamix Mono (the 150 watt version) after a decade or so of deliberation. I'm wondering if we got the right one. Lately my girlfriend has been using a stick blender daily for various concoctions, including one where she makes a batter out of eggs and raw oatmeal. The old cheap blender couldn't blend the oats smooth. Surprisingly, the Bamix is worse.

 

The one we got came with 3 blades: the all-purpose 3-edged cutting blade, the emulsion maker, and the flat disk. It did not come with bigger 2-edged blade: 

 

Would this do a better job pureeing oats? Or do we need a more powerful Bamix? Or is this something the Bamix design is bad for?

 

 

Edited March 29, 2021 by paulraphael (log)

[liuzhou]

150 watts is certainly at the lower end of their product range. Mine (which I love) is 250W, but they go up to 350W. Can't help you with oats, but yes, I thnk you need a more powerful verison.

[weinoo]

43 minutes ago, paulraphael said:

We just got a Bamix Mono (the 150 watt version) after a decade or so of deliberation. I'm wondering if we got the right one. Lately my girlfriend has been using a stick blender daily for various concoctions, including one where she makes a batter out of eggs and raw oatmeal. The old cheap blender couldn't blend the oats smooth. Surprisingly, the Bamix is worse

 

 

 

I did a lot of thinking about a new immersion blender before purchasing one recently. Though not 10 years worth.

 

After reading a bunch of reviews, I bought this Breville - 

 

 

So far, it works really well. I doubt I'll ever use the mini-chopping bowl, but I suppose it's nice to have.

 

Interestingly, some of the reviews I read for Bamix didn't like it at all. Others did.

[rotuts]

@paulraphael 

 

I can't address the Bamix watts etc

 

but , I have many immersion blenders

 

as I understand it :

 

raw oatmeal is an issue :

 

Steel-cut ?  Rolled ?  etc ?

 

why not just get those oats ( dry )

 

in an inexpensive ' coffee blade mill "

 

turn it on , shake = Oat Meal ie meal as is flour 

 

what it courser ?  use a bit less time.

[AAQuesada]

Might be worth trying the emulsion disk but I tend to agree with @rotuts that that raw oats are going to be an issue for any handblender. If they could be allowed to hydrate first maybe that would help -I don't know if that recipe has any other liquid? coffee grinder is a great idea as well. 

[paulraphael]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I bought the sharp blade (linked above) and it does a better job than the all-purpose blade. This thing's real strength seems to be emulsions and whipping, rather than making totally smooth purees.

[jimb0]

given that it's a batter, how much does the blending affect the cooked texture, out of curiosity? have you tried powdering the oats dry, first, before attempting to make a batter with them with the stick blender?

 

obviously a different price category but this is something i'd probably turn to the vitamix for. incidentally, if this batter is the main sticking point, you might be able to just purchase pre-ground oat flour and use the bamix for everything else.

Edited April 12, 2021 by jimb0 (log)

[paulraphael]

15 hours ago, jimb0 said:

given that it's a batter, how much does the blending affect the cooked texture, out of curiosity? have you tried powdering the oats dry, first, before attempting to make a batter with them with the stick blender?

 

obviously a different price category but this is something i'd probably turn to the vitamix for. incidentally, if this batter is the main sticking point, you might be able to just purchase pre-ground oat flour and use the bamix for everything else.

 

This is something my girlfriend is using it for, and she's looking for as fast and easy a solution as possible, with minimal cleanup. We have a Vitamix but that turns everything into a bigger project. She may try pre-grinding the oats, or she may decide this is good enough.

[jimb0]

18 minutes ago, paulraphael said:

 

This is something my girlfriend is using it for, and she's looking for as fast and easy a solution as possible, with minimal cleanup. We have a Vitamix but that turns everything into a bigger project. She may try pre-grinding the oats, or she may decide this is good enough.

 

fair, but i'm not sure how the vitamix turns it into a bigger project than the stick blender. it certainly doesn't take any longer to clean up. if you do decide to try pre-grinding the oats, the vitamix at least would be a good solution there, in part because you could just do a pound and keep them in a bag in the cupboard or freezer.

Edited April 13, 2021 by jimb0 (log)

[jedovaty]

I have a 10+ year old bamix. 150w.  I actually exchanged the first one I bought for the one with the long shaft.  The bamix is used for making mayo/aioli, blending soups quickly, puree canned tomatoes, and I have the small "slicey" attachment that I use to make pesto (doesn't look like the new style, however, it's different).  I tried making an ice smoothie with the bamix, didn't work.

 

That said, I'm curious about this sharper blade.. I see it is for meats and veggies, but appears to be unavailable wherever I check.  Willing to share a source?

 

Also, I've read your comments, and happy you and the gf are making it work.  FWIW, my ex-gf had one of those ninja things from costco that had a special mug attachment to the base, which worked similar to a magic bullet.  It had no issues with rolled oats in smoothies, did not try with steel cut or groats, however.  Easy to clean up, etc.  Her boss had a magic bullet at work and used it for peanut butter and various other ingredient smoothies.  Never talked to him about it, however, I just recall she mentioned it once.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

1 hour ago, jedovaty said:

 

 

I'm curious about this sharper blade.. I see it is for meats and veggies, but appears to be unavailable wherever I check.  Willing to share a source?

 

 

Here, for one.

[paulraphael]

5 hours ago, jedovaty said:

That said, I'm curious about this sharper blade.. I see it is for meats and veggies, but appears to be unavailable wherever I check.  Willing to share a source?

 

I found it on Amazon. $20, which seems like a lot.

[paulraphael]

5 hours ago, jimb0 said:

 

fair, but i'm not sure how the vitamix turns it into a bigger project than the stick blender. 

 

Because it's more work to scrape food out of the jug, and because it's rather heavy and doesn't live full time on our counter. Has to be pulled out and put away. Bamix is more like grabbing an electric toothbrush.

[jimb0]

the counter issue is a fair criticism but a little dish soap and blending would remove any batter issues imo. 

[dcarch]

If you go to a construction site, you will notice that most power hand tools used now are all cordless rechargeable.

 

Lithium batteries and advanced DC motors are making these tools possible.

 

You are beginning to see cordless immersion blenders on the market. They are still expensive, but I think they will replace the ones you need to deal with a long plug-in cord. Yeah, you can even blend when you are cooking outdoors.

 

dcarch

Edited April 14, 2021 by dcarch (log)

[paulraphael]

On 4/13/2021 at 4:27 PM, jimb0 said:

the counter issue is a fair criticism but a little dish soap and blending would remove any batter issues imo. 

 

I'm not talking about cleaning, I'm talking about getting all the food out of the thing. The vitamix is clunky at this. Which is why I almost always use it for large batches.

[TdeV]

I have had several battery operated immersion blenders, almost all useless. While I wish the Bamix had no cord, it is the undisputed hero at blending.

And I can now make mayonnaise!

The remnants can be easily removed from the blade, and it rinses fairly easily.

Edited August 21, 2021 by TdeV
Addendum (log)

[jimb0]

1 hour ago, paulraphael said:

 

I'm not talking about cleaning, I'm talking about getting all the food out of the thing. The vitamix is clunky at this. Which is why I almost always use it for large batches.

 

ah. it didn’t occur to me that this would be problematic for a batter. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I don't often prepare batters, but for my last batter I used the Blendtec frothing jar (the jar with a metal disc instead of the typical Blendtec blades), on the Blendtec batter setting.  No problem with emptying the jar or with cleanup.  I would expect the Vitamix experience to be similar.

 

Most recently I used my stick blender for a spinach souffle.  The stick blender worked fine, but the next time I made the souffle I just used a whisk -- much easier and far less mess.

 

I'm sure by now I must sound like a broken record, but for anyone contemplating a stick blender, consider an homogenizer.  Price is high but the technology is game changing.

 

[paulraphael]

On 4/14/2021 at 11:43 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I'm sure by now I must sound like a broken record, but for anyone contemplating a stick blender, consider an homogenizer.  Price is high but the technology is game changing.

 

 

I assume the price is high only because it's a specialized tool sold to science labs—the same reason that once upon a time you couldn't get an immersion circulator for under $1K. I'm waiting for someone to wakeup and make a rotor/stator head for a vitamix or higher-powered stick blender. How hard could it be?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

17 minutes ago, paulraphael said:

 

I assume the price is high only because it's a specialized tool sold to science labs—the same reason that once upon a time you couldn't get an immersion circulator for under $1K. I'm waiting for someone to wakeup and make a rotor/stator head for a vitamix or higher-powered stick blender. How hard could it be?

 

Not very hard.  The Biospec homogenizers that Kerry and I have are powered by a Bamix motor unit.  Something I've pointed out again and again.  Most of the cost is in the rotor-stator probe:

 

 

 

[paulraphael]

On 4/19/2021 at 12:56 AM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Most of the cost is in the rotor-stator probe:

 

 

Someone with autocad and a machine shop could do this as a kickstarter project. I think the simplest approach would be a Vitamix attachment, since that thing is more modular. The cost of the replacement jugs for the VM would keep it from ever being really cheap, even if you could get the blades made in China.

Edited April 21, 2021 by paulraphael (log)

[DesertTinker]

I got to play with my newly acquired vintage Bamix today, yesterday was cleaning it up and reading the instructions. Made a batch of Senate Restaurant Navy Bean soup, got to the part where you’re supposed to mash some of the beans to make it “creamy”. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to put the new toy into action… Dang! It may be 35 years old and only 85 watts, but it had a major vortex going in that big pot of soup in just a few seconds. I kinda over blended, I had no clue it would work quite so quickly or thoroughly, oh well, still delicious. It blows all previous immersion blenders (and there have been many) I’ve had completely out of the water.

 

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, DesertTinker said:

Dang! It may be 35 years old and only 85 watts,

 

They made good stuff back in the day, and Bamix has always made good stuff. Back then, they probably had one basic model; now they have a dozen.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

2 hours ago, DesertTinker said:

I got to play with my newly acquired vintage Bamix today, yesterday was cleaning it up and reading the instructions. Made a batch of Senate Restaurant Navy Bean soup, got to the part where you’re supposed to mash some of the beans to make it “creamy”. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to put the new toy into action… Dang! It may be 35 years old and only 85 watts, but it had a major vortex going in that big pot of soup in just a few seconds. I kinda over blended, I had no clue it would work quite so quickly or thoroughly, oh well, still delicious. It blows all previous immersion blenders (and there have been many) I’ve had completely out of the water.

 

First, kisses for mentioning Senate Bean Soup, a favorite of my father that I haven't heard mentioned indmany decades.    And re your new acquisition, If it works, use it!   I have had three Bamix.   One put together from the core picked up at a flea market augmented with internet sourced parts, the second a mint-in-box from several decades ago, and finally my pro model, I finally allowed myself.     The latter lives in the city; the new/old model is in the country and the cobbled together one is still going strong at our son's.    And/but, yes, don't turn your back unless you want a silky puree!