Immersion/Stick Blenders

[dcarch]

To make the diameter small, most hand blenders use perminent magnets for the field coil, which makes it easy to use DC power.

However, a hand blender requires a lot of power to achieve high RPM, a battery for cordless would be very heavy.

The not-too-many cordless ones you find do not give you the power you need.

The Cuisinart CB-76 has a 200 watt motor. I don't see that being cordless.

dcarch

[mgaretz]

Definitely corded. You can see the manual on Cuisinart's site.

[Shel_B]

OK, thanks. I must have missed the manual at their site. I'll take another look, maybe see what else I missed.

[Heartsurgeon]

If you have an immersion blender, and heavy whipping cream, you can make quick, simple, amazing sauces.

for example:

lemon-dill sauce

1 cup heavy cream

2 packets of dill (stems and all)

juice of 1 lemon

big pinch kosher salt

black pepper corns

1/2 clove garlic

1/4 clove shallot

blitz until cream stiffens...AMAZING on fish, or a chip dip.

faux bernaise sauce

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 packet of tarragon (discard the stems)

pinch of kosher salt

black pepper corns

1/2 clove shallot

2 teaspoons of champagne vinegar

blitz until cream stiffens - bernaise flavors in under 60 seconds!

flavored cream topping

any fruit, berry

heavy cream

sweetener of choice

squirt of lemon or lime (lime preferred)

dash of rum

blitz until cream thickens

top your fruit with this fruit flavored cream...

[Paul Bacino]

This looks pretty interesting >

Dynamic Mini-pro

http://www.akitchen.com/store/DY-MX050.html?gdftrk=gdfV2202_a_7c243_a_7c6517_a_7cDY_d_MX050

Edited December 30, 2011 by Paul Bacino (log)

[budrichard]

I've had a Braun 172-B made in Mexico for many years now. It really does not do much and has a time limitation on operation (For Intermittent Use Only) because its just a small motor for household use.

I recently purchased this Robot Coupe Combi with stick mixer, emulsifier and wisks.

http://www.robotcoupeusa.com/products/product-info.php?id=85

It's commercial quality, really works great and is made to serviced. It's made in France. I am in the process of replacing all my countertop household electrics with commercial products not made in China. Everything was Kitchenaid Pro-Line, some of it not too bad and made in the USA but the China stuff is going.-Dick

[dcarch]

I wish they would make a hand blender with higher RPM.

12,000 RPM is not the same as a regular blender's 22,000 RPM.

dcarch

[Shel_B]

Dynamic Mini-pro

http://www.akitchen.com/store/DY-MX050.html?gdftrk=gdfV2202_a_7c243_a_7c6517_a_7cDY_d_MX050

Yes, it does look interesting, and were I not on a fixed income and if I was earning what I did before retiring, I'd buy two <LOL>

I think I'm going to stick with something in the $50.00 or less range until I at least know what I want, both in terms of quality and features.

Thanks for the link.

Edited December 30, 2011 by Shel_B (log)

[Shel_B]

I wish they would make a hand blender with higher RPM.

12,000 RPM is not the same as a regular blender's 22,000 RPM.

dcarch

Your comment on the rotational speed of the blades is something I'd barely considered. I didn't realize that a regular blender spun so fast - 22,000 RPM. How does the slower speed affect the results?

My daily blender is an older Waring professional bar blender, huge, heavy, and which can crush rocks. I wonder how fast that puppy spins.

Edited December 30, 2011 by Shel_B (log)

[mgaretz]

OK, thanks. I must have missed the manual at their site. I'll take another look, maybe see what else I missed.

You're welcome. Also, I see that you're in the bay area. The Costcos near me (Danville and Livermore) have this unit in stainless finish with all the accessories (whisk, chopper bowl, cup etc.) for $29.95. I'm tempted to get one for myself.

[Shel_B]

You're welcome. Also, I see that you're in the bay area. The Costcos near me (Danville and Livermore) have this unit in stainless finish with all the accessories (whisk, chopper bowl, cup etc.) for $29.95. I'm tempted to get one for myself.

Hmmm ... Toots and I just recently joined Costco, so maybe on Tuesday, which is our day to run around, we'll take a zip over there. Thanks for the heads-up.

[dcarch]

I wish they would make a hand blender with higher RPM.

12,000 RPM is not the same as a regular blender's 22,000 RPM.

dcarch

Your comment on the rotational speed of the blades is something I'd barely considered. I didn't realize that a regular blender spun so fast - 22,000 RPM. How does the slower speed affect the results?

My daily blender is an older Waring professional bar blender, huge, heavy, and which can crush rocks. I wonder how fast that puppy spins.

The differential speed between the blades and the food is what determines how good a job a blender can do.

A wood worker's router is more than 20,000 RPM, a Dremel rotary tool can be more than 25,000 RPM.

The way to check RPM is with a Tachometers.

dcarch

[carlux]

Has anyone used the Kenwood Triblade hand blender? It's available in France, and a number of the ones people mention are not. That is, assuming I really need one. I have a Kenwood Chef with a blender attachment, Magimix 5100 Food processor with mini bowl for small amounts. So far I havent felt a great need, but the Triblades I've seen are tempting me.

[pep.]

The 250 watts Bamix has 19000 RPM (the 200 watts model only 17000).

[dcarch]

The 250 watts Bamix has 19000 RPM (the 200 watts model only 17000).

A high RPM motor generates a huge amount of heat. In general, all universal and PM motors have internal turbines to evacuate the heat quickly.

That create a problem for a hand blender design. To avoid electric shock, the hand blender needs to be completely sealed. There are no air vents to vent the heat. To avoid overheating, they just slow down the RPM.

Do not stall a hand blender, you can:

1. Burn out the motor quickly.

2. strip the connector to the blade and render the blender useless.

dcarch

[rotuts]

Ive had several of these over the years. they all have cords and they all work well enough in items with decent liquid: like soups.

the Hamiton beach has an attachment that something like a small food processor and another one of these had an wisk attachment for 'baby formula' ie that powdered stuff. both of these at the time cost < $20 and with a coupon about 15 $

well worth it. they are light and have a detachable lower half which is worth it for cleaning.

the KA I have is this:

http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-2-speed-Immersion-Blender-Empire/dp/B005GFXK1K/ref=sr_1_sc_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1325348335&sr=8-15-spell

its heavier than the HB and has variable speed.

I use the HB 80% of the time

it depends on how 'thick' the stuff is you want to blend

for soups, stock, gravies the < $ 20 will work fine. for denser stuff you might need more umph.

most people do not. go to Bed and bath if there is one near you with their ubiquitous coupons.

[slkinsey]

I've had an immersion blender for over a decade, but rarely use it. I just don't see too many instances where it isn't far better to use the VitaPrep. Soups turn out infinitely smoother, for example. Things like crepe batter immediately come together and there is no need for resting. And of course you can easily crack a ton of eggs directly into the canister and blend away. For other tasks, things like an electric beater or a simple hand whisk seem easier and easier to clean. Mostly I find the immersion blender useful for very small amounts.

[mgaretz]

You're welcome. Also, I see that you're in the bay area. The Costcos near me (Danville and Livermore) have this unit in stainless finish with all the accessories (whisk, chopper bowl, cup etc.) for $29.95. I'm tempted to get one for myself.

Hmmm ... Toots and I just recently joined Costco, so maybe on Tuesday, which is our day to run around, we'll take a zip over there. Thanks for the heads-up.

I just noticed that Costco will have these on sale for $19.95 starting 1-2-12 through 1-29-12.

[budrichard]

I've had an immersion blender for over a decade, but rarely use it. I just don't see too many instances where it isn't far better to use the VitaPrep. Soups turn out infinitely smoother, for example. Things like crepe batter immediately come together and there is no need for resting. And of course you can easily crack a ton of eggs directly into the canister and blend away. For other tasks, things like an electric beater or a simple hand whisk seem easier and easier to clean. Mostly I find the immersion blender useful for very small amounts.

Immersion blenders are for when you have a large amount to process in a large pot on your range and don't want to remove the contents of the pot for processing ergo the long stalk on immersion blenders. For small amounts, immersion blenders are relatively useless.-Dick

[lindag]

I have the basic Bamix that I've been using for many years. I like it for whizzing up marinades or dressings in its little beaker and, of course, for soups in the pot.

The one thing it doesn't have that I wish it did is a shaft that disengages so it can go in the d/w.

I know that KA models have that feature.

[dcarch]

Warning! This is insane, so please don't you try this !!!

I don't have a 500 horse power blender, instead, I try to make do with the following:

I keep a separate blade for my blender, which I sharpen to razor sharp just for making sauces and smoothies. I also bent the blades slightly to create more turbulance. You know how dull those blade are in your blender after you chopped beans and nuts.

When I am making smoothies, I turn the blender to high and I put the hand blender in the blender jar and have both running at the same time. Of course I have to make sure the hand blender is high above the blender's blades.

Works great for me. I am very good with tools, and you may not, so don't try this.

dcarch

[Shamanjoe]

I have a standard Cuisinart that I got as a gift, I think it retails for about $30. It has a fixed blade and shaft, and two speed settings, anemic, and on. I find it works pretty well for smoothing out a tomato sauce, but it was woefully inept at blending a vichyssoise. I'll just stick to what its good at and take my leeks to the blender next time.

[pep.]

The 250 watts Bamix has 19000 RPM (the 200 watts model only 17000).

A high RPM motor generates a huge amount of heat. In general, all universal and PM motors have internal turbines to evacuate the heat quickly.

That create a problem for a hand blender design. To avoid electric shock, the hand blender needs to be completely sealed. There are no air vents to vent the heat. To avoid overheating, they just slow down the RPM.

Well, you are not supposed to run the thing for more than 5 minutes (doing so would void the warranty) and it does get very hot quite quickly. However, I'm not an electrical or mechanical engineer, so it is possible that the 19000 RPM is just a theoretical maximum that is not reached in practice.

[dcarch]

The 250 watts Bamix has 19000 RPM (the 200 watts model only 17000).

A high RPM motor generates a huge amount of heat. In general, all universal and PM motors have internal turbines to evacuate the heat quickly.

That create a problem for a hand blender design. To avoid electric shock, the hand blender needs to be completely sealed. There are no air vents to vent the heat. To avoid overheating, they just slow down the RPM.

Well, you are not supposed to run the thing for more than 5 minutes (doing so would void the warranty) and it does get very hot quite quickly. However, I'm not an electrical or mechanical engineer, so it is possible that the 19000 RPM is just a theoretical maximum that is not reached in practice.

It is very easy for motors (not induction motors) to get to above 20,000 RPM, it is difficult for the motor to maintain 20,000 RPM under load unless it has the rated power.

dcarch

[cbread]

... When I am making smoothies, I turn the blender to high and I put the hand blender in the blender jar and have both running at the same time. Of course I have to make sure the hand blender is high above the blender's blades ... dcarch

1. You're totally nuts.

2. I like the way you think.

Edited January 2, 2012 by cbread (log)