Hi

Does anyone own and use one of these hand held blender/mixers?
http://www.doityourself.com/invt/0502591

Is it a must have or not? As you might note in my previous
messages, I am building up my kitchen. If you use one of these
things..
what does it save you time doing?

Are these mixer/blenders a necessity? I'm beginning to think many
'gadgets' are just that. Gadgets. I haven't used my blender inn
years.

Maybe a thread should start on most USELESS kitchen itmes or
appliances.

Thank you

sandi wrote:
Hi

Does anyone own and use one of these hand held blender/mixers?
http://www.doityourself.com/invt/0502591

Is it a must have or not?

I use mine to puree hot soups in the pot they're cooking in or to make
milk shakes. I don't use it for much else.

On 26 Nov 2006 21:35:02 GMT, sandi wrote:

Hi

Does anyone own and use one of these hand held blender/mixers?
http://www.doityourself.com/invt/0502591

I have one, and I really like it.


Is it a must have or not? As you might note in my previous
messages, I am building up my kitchen. If you use one of these
things..
what does it save you time doing?

Mostly cleanup and counterspace. I don't have much counterspace, and
it cleans up really quickly.


Are these mixer/blenders a necessity? I'm beginning to think many
'gadgets' are just that. Gadgets. I haven't used my blender inn
years.

I use my hand blender a lot, but if you don't use a blender, it would
be useless to you, I think.


Maybe a thread should start on most USELESS kitchen itmes or
appliances.

Heh. Don't get me started. I'm on a yahoo group for people to discuss
kitchen appliances, and it's amazing how much useless crap those
people collect. Barely a day goes by without someone saying "I have
one of those still in the box that I've never used, but I just HAD to
have it!" or "I have to hide my three new roasting pans in the
basement so my husband won't see that I've bought more!"

Serene
--
"I can't decide if I feel more like four ten-year-olds or ten four-year-olds." Laurie Anderson , on turning 40.

http://serenejournal.livejournal.com

On 26 Nov 2006 21:35:02 GMT, sandi wrote:

Does anyone own and use one of these hand held blender/mixers?
http://www.doityourself.com/invt/0502591

Is it a must have or not? As you might note in my previous
messages, I am building up my kitchen. If you use one of these
things..
what does it save you time doing?

I use mine a lot. It's good for making smooth gravy. It's good for
combining cocoa powder with liquids. You can whip cream with it. If
I make a batch of soup that's too runny, I'll just puree a small
portion of it, right in the pan, with the stick blender. They're
awesome!

--
Special K Update 11-25-2006 07:45 PM
www.caringbridge.org/visit/kilikini/

"Damsel in dis Dress" wrote in message
...
On 26 Nov 2006 21:35:02 GMT, sandi wrote:

Does anyone own and use one of these hand held blender/mixers?
http://www.doityourself.com/invt/0502591

Is it a must have or not? As you might note in my previous
messages, I am building up my kitchen. If you use one of these
things..
what does it save you time doing?

I use mine a lot. It's good for making smooth gravy. It's good for
combining cocoa powder with liquids. You can whip cream with it. If
I make a batch of soup that's too runny, I'll just puree a small
portion of it, right in the pan, with the stick blender. They're
awesome!

I have one - oops, make that two. I must admit to not using it very much,
but I like the idea of smoothing gravey with it.

elaine

sandi wrote:

Does anyone own and use one of these hand held blender/mixers?
http://www.doityourself.com/invt/0502591

Is it a must have or not? As you might note in my previous
messages, I am building up my kitchen. If you use one of these
things..
what does it save you time doing?

I have the more deluxe kit that includes the attachments
for whisk and food chopping. I originally bought it
to puree soups after dental surgery. Since then, I've
used it with the food chopper attachment to make pesto.
It does a great job, with much easier clean-up
than my previous method (running everything through
a meat grinder).

I also use it to puree peeled and cored roasted
red bell pepper with Dijon mustard to make a
red dip that I use with Snyder's pretzels (Old Tyme
variety).

I've never used the whisk attachment for anything.

I use this gadget more than anything except perhaps
the Ronco rotisserie. (It depends on the season,
because I don't use the Ronco as often during the
summer, due to the heat it generates.)

Oh wait, I take that back. I use the PreshRoastPlus8
usually twice a day, to roast the pumpkin seeds
I snack on while working out on the elliptical
trainer. So FR8 is #1, and the Braun is roughly
tied with the Ronco for #2, depending on season.

I'd really like to compare it against an ultrasonic
disruptor, but I haven't bought one yet. I did win
a homogenizer on eBay recently, but it hasn't
arrived yet. I might use the Braun to prep materials
for the homogenizer. The homogenizer works by
forcing material at high pressure through a small
orifice, creating a small intense jet. Pureeing
the material with the Braun might be sufficient
to prevent clogging of the orifice.

sandi wrote:

Are these mixer/blenders a necessity? I'm beginning to think many
'gadgets' are just that. Gadgets. I haven't used my blender inn
years.

No, they're not necessities unless you think they are. Before buying a
new kitchen tool, please think about what you would miss if you didn't
have it.

My favorite kitchen tool (knives excepted) is my stand mixer, because I
make bread or pizza dough often enough (once or twice a week) that
doing without it would put too much stress on these old hands, so it
wouldn't be fun to do it. Yet there may be others reading this who have
their stand mixers standing in the corner waiting for the next garage
sale.

OTOH, my sweet SIL gave me an immersion blender 3-4 years ago, which I
have used maybe twice since then. It's a perfectly good instrument that
would be a great tool for someone who wants to use such a thing, but
it's a gadget to me, because it doesn't fit in with the kind of cooking
I do.

Please, sandi, decide for yourself what you want in your own kitchen!

David

sandi wrote:

Does anyone own and use one of these hand held blender/mixers?
http://www.doityourself.com/invt/0502591

Is it a must have or not? [snip]
what does it save you time doing? [snip]

I am not one for small appliances and gadgets but I find this wand
mixer to be very practical and useful. I use it for a number of things
I had not anticipated. It resides in a holder on the wall and I reach
for it often.

You can make mayonnaise and flavored mayonnaises almost instantly and
with no effort. This is something I rarely did when I'd have to use
the blender or a whisk and lots of elbow grease. Now I do it
frequently. One good batch of aioli -- garlic flavored mayo --
justifies buying this tool, imho.

You can easily purée soups in the soup pot. Nothing else to clean, as
the blender just rinses off. Again, I used to have to get out the
blender and purée in batches, make a mess and then clean it up. So I
often skipped the purée, being lazy. Now I do it whenever I want to.

Mine came with a separate mini-chopper and blade. Like a one-quart
capacity food processor (or smaller). I don't use it very much because
I am fast with a knife for small quantities. But I used it to crumble
graham crackers for a pie crust the other day and it worked well.

It came with a whisk also, which I have used to whip egg whites.
Impressively fast, but that's not something I need to do more than a
couple of times a year. I haven't tried whipping cream with it, but
I'd bet it does that well, too.

None of this is essential, but the device can be kept handy, cleans up
immediately, and simplifies some tasks significantly. If mine ever
breaks I will replace it quickly. -aem

"Goomba38" wrote

sandi wrote:

Does anyone own and use one of these hand held blender/mixers?
http://www.doityourself.com/invt/0502591

Is it a must have or not?

I use mine to puree hot soups in the pot they're cooking in or to make
milk shakes. I don't use it for much else.

The first time I made soup where I had to puree it in batches
(I used the food processor, could have used the blender), I
figured out that a stick blender was a must have for me if I ever
decided to do that again!

I don't think it's gadgety at all. Don't know that it's a must have,
either. Doesn't cost much, doesn't take up much room, and it's
very useful. I would buy another one in mine broke.

nancy

In article s.net,
sandi wrote:

Hi

Does anyone own and use one of these hand held blender/mixers?
http://www.doityourself.com/invt/0502591

Is it a must have or not? As you might note in my previous messages,
I am building up my kitchen. If you use one of these things.. what
does it save you time doing?

A must have? Up to you. My hand mixer died last week. I replaced it
with the Braun M880 -- $37 at Amazon. This unit combines a hand mixer
with the stick blender. I'd just bought a new stick blender a few
months ago (also the Braun) and now have no use for two. This (M880)
was highly rated in a couple places and the price was reasonable enough.

What does it save me doing? It saves me from pouring hot stuff into a
blender container for pureeing. It's a whole lot less messy than
pureeing a liquid in a food processor, that's for certain.

The blender goes to the mixture, not the other way around. I love it.
It makes mayo in less than 10 seconds (recipe's been posted here a few
times). Don't know what your storage space is like - the stick blender
can hang on a wall and take up not much space. Cleaning it is a snap.

Are these mixer/blenders a necessity?

Necessity? Not very much in this world is a necessity * food, shelter,
clothing. The rest is for window dressing and/or convenience. This
makes pureeing food quite convenient, IMO.

I'm beginning to think many 'gadgets' are just that. Gadgets. I
haven't used my blender inn years.

Are you looking for an argument or for justification of your opinion?
One person's gadget is another's tool. :-)

I like mine. That I replaced an outdated stick blender with another
makes it, for me, a must. I did nicely without one for 21 years or so.
Now I have to unload the stick blender in favor of the multi-purpose
thang (it has a stick blender attachment).

Maybe a thread should start on most USELESS kitchen itmes or
appliances.

It's been done. More than once. Or twice. Or three times.

Thank you
Any time.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
"Maligning an individual says more about you than the one you malign."
http://web.mac.com/barbschaller; blahblahblog
http://jamlady.eboard.com

sandi wrote:

Hi

Does anyone own and use one of these hand held blender/mixers?
http://www.doityourself.com/invt/0502591

Is it a must have or not? As you might note in my previous
messages, I am building up my kitchen. If you use one of these
things..
what does it save you time doing?

Are these mixer/blenders a necessity? I'm beginning to think many
'gadgets' are just that. Gadgets. I haven't used my blender inn
years.

Maybe a thread should start on most USELESS kitchen itmes or
appliances.


I use mine once in a while, maybe 2-3 times a month. It doesn't
take up much space. It is easy to clean up. It is great for
smoothing out sauces that have gone lumpy. I suppose that I could
live without it, but I use it a lot more than I use my much more
expensive food processor which takes up a lot more space and is
more work to clean up.

We've owned two like that over the years, and given both away. The
first was a gift. It was corded, and seemed a pain to use and clean.
Off to the thrift shop it went, hopefully to make some other person very
happy.

But then a model came out that was cordless and rechargeable, and we
thought, "Aha! That will take care of the dragging cord problem! We'll
use it and live happily ever after." Not to be. We're still living and
happy, but the thing wasn't as powerful as the first one, nor did it run
very long on a charge. Off to the thrift shop...

Over the years, and after sending MANY such gadgets to various thrift
shops, we've learned to at least make an attempt to analyze what problem
a particular kitchen tool object of desire is supposed to solve. If it
isn't *really* clear that it will save a good bit of time and effort on
something we do on a monthly basis, at a minimun, we typically pass. I
say "typically", because we still sometimes cave in and buy something
that NEVER gets used after the first couple of tries.

The local thrift shop folks absolutely love the stuff we bring in, by
the way...

Bob
===============================
In article s.net,
lid says...
Hi

Does anyone own and use one of these hand held blender/mixers?
http://www.doityourself.com/invt/0502591

Is it a must have or not? As you might note in my previous
messages, I am building up my kitchen. If you use one of these
things..
what does it save you time doing?

Are these mixer/blenders a necessity? I'm beginning to think many
'gadgets' are just that. Gadgets. I haven't used my blender inn
years.

Maybe a thread should start on most USELESS kitchen itmes or
appliances.

Thank you

I find these hand blenders more useful overall than other blenders.
I'm a gadget freak, and own two stand blenders, but the hand blender
has many many uses. Pureeing in the pot, making mayonaise, making nut
butters, mixing protein shakes. It cleans up under running water
(don't submerge the motor) and the containers can be anything. I
recommend having one. Then the decision is which one.

Steve, In Maryland

sandi wrote:
Hi

Does anyone own and use one of these hand held blender/mixers?
http://www.doityourself.com/invt/0502591

Is it a must have or not? As you might note in my previous
messages, I am building up my kitchen. If you use one of these
things..
what does it save you time doing?

Are these mixer/blenders a necessity? I'm beginning to think many
'gadgets' are just that. Gadgets. I haven't used my blender inn
years.

Maybe a thread should start on most USELESS kitchen itmes or
appliances.

Thank you

sandi wrote:
Hi

Does anyone own and use one of these hand held blender/mixers?
http://www.doityourself.com/invt/0502591

Is it a must have or not? As you might note in my previous
messages, I am building up my kitchen. If you use one of these
things..
what does it save you time doing?

Are these mixer/blenders a necessity? I'm beginning to think many
'gadgets' are just that. Gadgets. I haven't used my blender inn
years.

Maybe a thread should start on most USELESS kitchen itmes or
appliances.

Thank you

Not that brand, but yes, I use my immersion (stick) blender waaaay more than
I thought I would. It's great for blending cream soups right in the pan,
gravies and sauces, even for whipping eggs for a really fluffy omelette!

Jill

sandi wrote:
Hi

Does anyone own and use one of these hand held blender/mixers?
http://www.doityourself.com/invt/0502591

Is it a must have or not? As you might note in my previous
messages, I am building up my kitchen. If you use one of these
things..
what does it save you time doing?

Are these mixer/blenders a necessity? I'm beginning to think many
'gadgets' are just that. Gadgets. I haven't used my blender inn
years.

Maybe a thread should start on most USELESS kitchen itmes or
appliances.

Thank you

Have one like that somewhere. It was somewhat useful until I decided It
was probably harboring bacteria. The one I had was kinda hard to clean
to my satisfaction, anyway. Mine could not actually liquefy anything-
doubt it even could have taken lumps out of a gravy. Mine was a gift,
there is probably a heavy duty version that performs much better.
YMMV


Aloha!

Barb