Uses of an Immersion Blender

[MrsCupcake]

Hello everyone I just got an early Christmas present a Kitchen Aid immersion blender. Not something I had wanted and not quite sure what all to do with it. What do you do with your immersion blender?

[pj26]

What not to do: leave it sitting in a hot pot of soup (or liquid). Learnt this the hard way when it melted :(

But I use my new one all the time, hardly ever get out the bigger blender, so much easier to clean as well.

[Quine]

Been there, almost done that. Still works great. Picked up a second one at a thrift store. Once you start using them, you find so many ways to use it more.

[firecooked]

Among other uses, mine get used weekly for vinaigrette. A spoonful of mustard, a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of vinegar, a shake of salt and a big grind of pepper, blend and start adding olive oil. Stop occasionally and taste until there is enough oil. I will stay emulsified and almost liquid for a week in the fridge.

[greygarious]

My most recent use was for popsicles. I made a package of flavored jello in a 4-cup pyrex measuring cup using only 4 oz of boiling water, and buzzing it with the IB. Then I added canned fruit with its juice to the 2-cup level and buzzed again. This could have been poured into bowls and chilled as jello, but instead I added 4 oz. of light cream, buzzed again, and poured into popsicle molds.

[adido]

With the whisk attachment I make whipped cream and I can get egg whites into stiff glossy peaks.

[Quine]

Welcome to CH! Here is a ink to a similar post, lots of good ideas there as well:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/756207

[MrsCupcake]

Quine thanks for the welcome and the link. There were so many pages to look through and as I did a bit of looking I could not find an article with the answers I was looking for. The more I read the more I can';t wait to use my IB!

[Quine]

Glad to help. I am sure that you will soon be putting the blender in the yard sale pile after you start using the IB.

[CanadaGirl]

I often use it to make "ice cream". Approximately equal amounts Greek yogurt (I use fat free) and frozen fruit (cherries are my favourite) blended will take on the consistency of ice cream. Yummy and guilt free.

[danna]

UMMM! Great idea! I've been blending one peach per hefty serving of low fat vanilla ice cream....but your idea would let me amp up the protein and reduce the sugar. Thanks! (well....thanks, i think...that peach milk shake is pretty damn good)

[MrsCupcake]

Sounds great I will have to give it a try sometime. But I am with CanadaGirl I love my ice cream too! Although ice cream does not always love me. I am at times dairy sensitive. Except yogurt does not bother me.

[MrsCupcake]

Thanks everyone for the responses. I am getting excited to try it out. Milkshakes seem like a good start. Better whip out the ole ice cream maker. I have some fresh fruit from Kelowna mmm that would be good in there.

[DoobieWah]

Three scoops of vanilla ice cream.
One heaping teaspoon of Malted Milk Powder.
Milk.

Bzzzzz. Bzzzzz. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

The best vanilla malt EVAH!

[junescook]

If I do a braise with vegetables in it, rather than straining out the vegs at the end and thikening the gravy with flour, I'll simply pour the entire contents into a saucepan and use the stick blender to turn the entire contents into my sauce.

I also use it to par-puree my red beans as someone has mentioned above.

[Will Owen]

I was going to say that about veges and braises. I learned long ago to make tasty low-carb gravy that way, but in a regular blender I had to either wait until the ingredients cooler to room temperature or endure an explosion out the top of the jar. That was at first my only reason to buy the stick! Over time, loads of other uses have suggested themselves, that soup puréeing among them.

[firecooked]

There is a great pot roast recipe from Giada where you puree the mushrooms and cooking liquid into gravy..

[TomMeg1970]

Sometimes I'll partially puree a pot of cooked beans in order to make the whole thing a bit thicker.

Or else I'll completely puree the whole pot in order to make a sort of hummus.

Sometimes I want my tomato sauce to be non-chunky, so I use the immersion blender at the very end of cooking.

[jmcarthur8]

Oh, yes! You just reminded me - bean soup! And potato soup. I use the thing every winter for those. Just to puree some of it, and leave the right amount of chunkiness.

[lsmutko]

Those are my two that always call for the immersion blender.

[jmcarthur8]

The pear jam I was canning this weekend was too lumpy for me, so I just whipped out the 'zhoop zhoop thing' ( that's what it's called in my family - don't ask why) and blended out the big chunks. Saved me from having to pour the hot jam into the blender.

[danna]

I through away my regular blender after I realized I used the immersion all the time.

Hummus
Pesto
Salad Dressing
Puree soups (most important use, IMO, because you don't have to worry about hot liquid on the ceiling, as can happen in a regular blender)
Fruit Sauce (this weekend, I pureed a peach w/ sugar and grated ginger, served on cake)
Dips (last week I did a tomato, roasted red pepper, feta cheese dip for veggies)
Gazpacho

The fact that these things can be accomplished in a container that has a lid for storage is brillant. And the wand detaches and goes in the dishwasher while the still-clean end goes back in the cabinet. LOVE IT.

[puzzler]

Instant Hollandaise sauce from scratch is my favorite.

[nutellaluvr]

Immersion blenders save the day if you have lumpy gravy and do small batches of egg whites nicely (or at least mine does with the attachment). Nuts aren't something I would use with this tool though...

[MrsCupcake]

Can you chop nuts?

[Scary Bill]

Mix paint, mow a very small lawn, trim your nails.

Ok, once you start using it you will wonder how you ever lived without it. Excellent for making mayo, as mentioned above, yorkshire pudding, salad dressings, gravies etc, etc. Hopefully it came with a tall slim bowl as it works best for things like mayo.

[MrsCupcake]

People keep mentioning mayo. I have never made my own mayo. How long does it last? That is what holds me back from making it that I would have to eat it all in a few days.

[Scary Bill]

Depends on the acidity in your recipe. We've used it in a few days as when we have made it, it has been for a specific purpose. From my standpoint though, inasmuch as an immersion blender does make very good mayo, so does Hellmans with less fuss. And they have insurance.

[firecooked]

Agree on how you lived without it. I bought one for the 2nd house, and have not missed my blender!

[Antilope]

- A Poem About Mayonnaise? -

A Blender at the end of a stick,

will make you mayo very quick!

With all your ingredients at the temp of the room,

how could your mayonnaise fail to bloom?

If the width of the jar is nearly the same,

as the end of the stick then you're in the game.

To a one quart jar add the egg of a chicken,

both yellow and white and your mayonnaise will thicken.

On top of the egg way down in the jar,

add vinegar, spices and you will go far.

Now carefully pour on top of the stuff,

the oil of your choice, but just use enough.

Turn off the stick, press the egg to the bottom,

now turn it on and we almost have got'um.

When you see mayo at the end of the stick,

slowly pull upward that's part of the trick.

With the blender now at the top of the jar,

it's mayo you wanted so there you are!

Though Mayo's a matter of personal taste,

when it's around me it won't go to waste.

Finding Hellmann's or even the Food that is Best,

depends on whether you're east or you're west.

But wherever you end your food buying trip,

you always will find they have Miracle Whip!

- Antilope

[Isolda]

Love this! It may become my new mayo recipe.

[Antilope]

Mayonnaise with an Immersion Blender
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/672307

[cellophane_star]

Dishes that are better liquified but you don't feel like taking out the blender... ex: pureed soups like creamy broccoli, butternut squash, etc.

[DPGood]

The instructions packet that comes with the immersion blender includes care and use, and recipes, among other things. Have you read it? We use ours mostly to puree soups and make mayonnaise, etc. Makes great smoothies too.

[MrsCupcake]

I have not yet found my instructions pamphlet. I took everything out of the box and got crazy busy visiting. So 5 days later finally cleaning up no pamphlet to be found. It's got to be around here some where. I just wanted to see what different things people do. Besides soup and smoothies.

[Isolda]

You can probably dowload it from the Kitchen Aid site if you don't find yours. We use ours for smoothies, pureeing small amounts of stuff that needs to be pureed, and most importantly, for just plunging into a big soup pot and pureeing it rather than having to do it in messy batches in a blender. You can also whip small amounts of cream with the whisk attachment. We use ours more in the winter, to be honest, because that's when I make creamy soups.

[MrsCupcake]

I can't wait to make creamy soup to try it out. That is such a pain to transfer to the blender then to another clean pot. So time consuming and dirties a lot of dishes. If I don't find the pamphlet I will try the website thanks for the tip.

[Quine]

Hint, Gazpacho season is here! Go for it!