Hand Mixer vs Immersion Blender/Hand Mixer

[waterdogs]

There was a previous similar topic, but it got sort of hijacked, so I hope it is OK to start another one.

My old 6 speed Waring hand blender gave up the ghost today. I knew something was coming when it lost a couple of its speeds over the last few months. Now it has started sparking, so I am ready for a change.

But I am so confused by everything out there. I use the hand mixer for things such as quick breads and whipping cream; and when I need to blend soup I go get the blender and try to pour carefully.

I have been thinking about an immersion blender and see at least a couple (eg, Bamix and KA) that seem to imply they can handle both mixing and blending jobs. But can an immersion blender mix banana bread ? Can any immersion blender do this ? Or am I looking at just replacing the hand mixer and continuing to ponder the immersion blender?

Any and all thoughts gratefully welcome.

MEJ

[pigeonpie]

I tried whipping cream a little while ago with a hand blender. Within seconds, I had butter - or at least, it was well on it's way there, apparently having leapfrogged the 'whipped cream' stage entirely. This was in someone else's kitchen, with no whip of any kind available (we ended up going out and buying clotted cream, which is thick enough already - man that was a damn good banoffee pie ).

However, I have a hand blender at home which I use for blending soups - even though I have a regular blender. It's just So much less messy to blend the soup right in the pan, particularly if I make a lot and would have to blend in batches in the regular blender.

I've never tried using it for mixing cake mixtures etc, since I have other gizmos for that.

[Shalmanese]

I pretty much bought my IB for blending soups. I don't want to be transferring multiple litres of hot liquid all around my kitchen if at all possible.

[JAZ]

An immersion blender is not a substitute for a hand-held mixer. Some of the more powerful ones can whip cream and egg whites, but they're not designed for other mixing tasks. No banana bread, in other words.

I personally think immersion blenders are inefficient and a waste of valuable kitchen space, but I know I'm in the minority.

[Jaymes]

.Or am I looking at just replacing the hand mixer and continuing to ponder the immersion blender?

This is the answer to your question. You need the hand blender. The immersion blender is a very nice, and handy, luxury.

You already know everything that the hand blender does, and the immersion blender won't do a lot of it.

But I love my immersion blender and use it for soups, gravies, hot chocolate and other hot liquids, which you can blend right in the pan; and some drinks, like milk shakes, which you can blend right in the glass. I also use it for the kind of quick blending for which I would otherwise use a whisk (or sometimes even a fork), like stirring the egg yolks and key lime juice into the Eagle Brand milk.

It's a very handy tool, and you can find inexpensive ones for $15-25 (like mine) that work just fine.

But it's definitely a supplement to the hand blender, and not a replacement.

Edited March 4, 2007 by Jaymes (log)

[waterdogs]

.Or am I looking at just replacing the hand mixer and continuing to ponder the immersion blender?

This is the answer to your question. You need the hand blender. The immersion blender is a very nice, and handy, luxury.

You already know everything that the hand blender does, and the immersion blender won't do a lot of it.

But I love my immersion blender and use it for soups, gravies, hot chocolate and other hot liquids, which you can blend right in the pan; and some drinks, like milk shakes, which you can blend right in the glass. I also use it for the kind of quick blending for which I would otherwise use a whisk (or sometimes even a fork), like stirring the egg yolks and key lime juice into the Eagle Brand milk.

It's a very handy tool, and you can find inexpensive ones for $15-25 (like mine) that work just fine.

But it's definitely a supplement to the hand blender, and not a replacement.

←

Perfect. Thank you all for your thoughts. Hand blender it is.

[Jaymes]

But it's definitely a supplement to the hand blender, and not a replacement.

Perfect. Thank you all for your thoughts. Hand blender it is.

Um...mixer. Too late for me to edit, but I meant "hand mixer." As opposed to an immersion/stick blender.

But I think you figured it out.

[MarketStEl]

Agreed with most of what's upthread, but there are a few things, like pureeing vegetables, that a hand (immersion) blender makes so much easier and that can't really be done with a hand mixer.