Immersion blenders

[CCCate]

As some of you may remember, I queried the group about getting an immersion blender. In the end, I bought a MiTutto 9080 (or 9090). I really wanted to use it for small batches of pesto and making mayonnaise: a food processor and/or my blender (Cuisinart, ca 1971) was just too big for small tasks. Well, I experienced the same drawback as others reported: the blades are too high to chop & puree 1 cup of basil leaves. When I went to beat the egg yolks for the mayo (which I normally do for two minutes before beginning to add the spices and then the oil) we read, in bold type: REMEMBER; THE HAND BLENDER SHOULD NOT BE OPERATED FOR MORE THAN ONE MINUTE WITHOUT STOPPING. I am pretty sure I could pulse the yolks effectively following this guideline, but to be on the safe side I went back to my old hand-held mixer, which did the entire job perfectly, as always. For the pesto, I went back to my old Cuisinart and used the small blender container, which also comes with a screw-on lid for storage. Don't know why I never thought of this before, but it worked perfectly! I am confident that the immersion blender will come in handy for other uses in the future, but it is not the solution for making small batches of pesto!

[NickBelletti]

If you want to run it more than a minute you would need something commercial. Maybe a Waring or something?
Something like this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Waring-18-imm...

[emu48]

Hard to imagine why anyone would want to let an immersion blender run for more than a minute. These things are hugely powerful, for what they're designed to do. One minute is enough to puree rocks.

[mikie]

REMEMBER; THE HAND BLENDER SHOULD NOT BE OPERATED FOR MORE THAN ONE MINUTE WITHOUT STOPPING.

Is this unique to the particular brand you bought? I don't remember seing such a warning on the Bamix we have, or maybe I just didn't look closely enough. Unless the motor is exceptionally wimppy or you're mixing concrete, this really shouldn't be an issue. Even the least expensive drill you could find, can opperate continously for minutes at a time and in very demanding conditions. I'm just surprised that such a warning is on an imersion blender.

[wyogal]

It's warding off complaints in case someone burns out the motor.
I just usually pulse mine. A minute can be quite enough time to puree. If not, then I'd just stop it, count to 5 and start it up again.

[scubadoo97]

I think my Bamix Gastro had a statement about 5 min of use at a time. I have certainly used it for longer without issue

[dcrb]

I have a Daily which seems to be a clone of the Bamix. It has been used without fail for well over 10 years and I have never consciously observed the one minute rule (I do start and stop the machine but that is to check on the progress). It is great for many tasks and downright poor for others. The blender and food processor are there when called upon, as is a hand mixer going on 40 years old and a stand mixer. Each one has it's own strengths and weaknesses.

[roxlet]

I bought the accessory for my Bamix that turns the stick blender into a small food processor. There is no limitation as to how long you can run the stick blender.

[jedovaty]

The manual for mine (purchased last year), says not to run it longer than 5 minutes, or break if it gets warm.

[VitalForce]

Immersion blenders are perfect for blending soups and purees in the pots. Just used mine today for some refried beans.

I find inexpensive mini-food processors are excellent for small quantities that tend to get lost in full-sized processors.