Do You Know Where You Can Stick this Blender?

Author's Rating:

Pros: Fun little gadget, easy to store and clean

Cons: Won't replace anything you currently own

The Bottom Line: 
Probably not an appliance on your must have list, but a stick blender is handy to have around

Author's Review
I was taken in by the infomercials when stick blenders first became popular. The idea of making whipped cream from skim milk sounded like a great idea to me. So when they finally made their way to discount stores I purchased the Cuisinart Stick Blender

The Basics
The Cuisinart Stick Blender is a submersion style blender. It is about 16” and the blade path is about 2 ½” in diameter. Unlike a traditional blender where food is placed in a work container this blender is submerged into the food. A work cup is provided for this or you can use any other container. The blades are surrounded by a plastic shield to ensure you do not damage any of your pots or pans. This stick blender has a high and low setting. The blender should be hand washed only and the motor casing should not be submerged.

My Experience
I was successful in using my stick blender to give skim milk the same texture as whipped cream. Of course it still tasted like skim milk. Although it makes no sense I somehow thought that by adding air to skim milk it would somehow magically transform into something that tasted like whipped cream as well. Not exactly; still it was fun for a while.

It didn’t take long before I found some legitimate uses for a stick blender in my kitchen. It certainly isn’t what I would consider a necessity, but sometimes it is the best tool for the job. Stick blenders are great for mixing liquids and mashing food. I use this stick blender to make chunky style refried beans. It makes creamy pea soup and quickly beats eggs. Although a little large for a single serving the Cuisinart Stick Blender has the power to turn most cooked food into pureed baby food. However, if you want to turn firm chunks of food into a single homogonous mass pull out your food processor. The Cuisinart Stick Blender is a light duty appliance, more like a turbo potato masher – but don’t try to actually mash potatoes with it unless you are looking for glue!

The protective cover around the blades means you can safely use your stick blender in a non-stick pot without worrying about scratching the surface. This small cage like structure allows the food to move around the blades but provides some clearance between the bottom of the blades and your pan. I’ve never had it damage any work surface.

Clean up is a breeze, I just put a drop of dishwashing liquid into the included cup, add some water and run the blender for a few seconds before giving it a final rinse. Otherwise I haven’t found much use for the cup, other than my skim milk experiment. This is an appliance that you want to clean up immediately after use. Waiting too long ensures your blended food will become encrusted on the blades which are almost impossible to get in and around to clean.

My major complaint is that you must hold down the power button for the blender to run, it isn’t a toggle switch that stays on. The handle is well designed to make it comfortable to hold down the button and still effectively move the blender around but I would still prefer not to have to hold the button at all.

One thing about gadgets such as this, it you have to store them. If you don’t have a convenient storage location you aren’t likely to use it. Fortunately this Cuisinart Stick Blender is easy to have at your finger tips. Although rather long, the motor casing has a small enough diameter to easily fit in a kitchen drawer. Sure your drawers are probably overflowing with stuff but once you realize you actually have a lot of uses for a stick blender you will want to make some room for it.

Final Thoughts
Certainly not a necessity, but this Cuisinart Stick Blender is a handy tool to have around. It isn’t going to replace any tool you currently have in your kitchen but it can make mashing food a little bit easier. This is an item I pull out at least a couple of times a week and it was well worth the $20 investment.