What does a blender do?

If you still do not know what a blender does and why you need such a technique in the kitchen, then this article will reveal for you all the secrets of such a kitchen appliance.

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The history of the blender

Many people think that a blender is a relatively new invention. But this is not so. Similar devices appeared in the last century. But their possibilities were rather limited.

The first blenders were used only for whipping cocktails. In the late 90s of the twentieth century, kitchen appliances improved to a modern level and began to provide housewives with great help in preparing not only liquid drinks, but also delicious food.

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Why do you need a blender?

A similar device is a device operating from an electrical network. Its main purpose is grinding, whipping and mixing products. Obviously, a food processor can handle such functions. But the cost of the latter is much more than even the most expensive and multi-functional blender. And the last place in the kitchen is very small, which can not be said about the combine. In addition, caring for a blender is much easier.

Important! If you need to grind a large number of products, then you should still pay attention to a more functional technique. In our portal in a separate review you will find all the tips, how to choose a food processor.

So what does a blender do?

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Blender functions

In recent years, people are increasingly trying to adhere to a healthy lifestyle. But what is a healthy lifestyle without proper balanced nutrition? In this case, the blender greatly simplifies the preparation of tasty, nutritious and healthy food.

Often, the purchase of a blender is carried out with the advent of the child in the family, because for a long time, the baby will need grated food. The blender will cope with this function without problems.

Such advantages of such a device can not leave indifferent any family, since the scope of application of the unit is quite wide. With it, you can easily prepare the following dishes, while saving both your nerves and valuable time:

• Mousse. If you have a blender, you will stop working on self-pushing and mixing products to prepare healthy mousse.
• Puree soup. In just a few seconds, such a dish will make this dish for you. You will forget what lumps are in the soup, as the blender will grind everything without “defects”.
• Sauce and cream. Such products are made quickly and with minimal effort on your part. Simply place the tomatoes with vegetables or products on the cream in the bowl and press the power button on the blender.
• Pate. Delicious morning sandwiches with pate in the presence of a blender, you will do more often than before.
• Ground ice. With the help of special nozzles, which are often supplied with the unit, you can quickly make snow out of pieces of ice or divide the ice into parts of the required size.
• Cocktails The blender evenly mixes all the ingredients for cocktails. Children like this function especially, because milkshakes using this technique are simply amazing.

Important! And this is only the beginning of a large list of possible dishes in the preparation of which this kitchen unit can help you. More high-tech devices are able to chop meat or make minced meat from it, grate vegetables, knead the dough and much more. Thus, everything a blender does is dependent on your imagination.

The quality of chopping meat on a blender can be very different from chopping a meat grinder. If you need to purchase this device, then there is a publication on our portal that will help you -"Rating of meat grinders for the right choice".

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Blender Selection Criteria

If you intend to purchase a blender, then it is worth considering the following individual factors for its use:

• What kind of food are you going to use for cooking with the appliance.
• How often do you plan to use a blender.
• How many people your family consists of.
• Do you have any little kids. Follow the link where you will findthe best blender models for baby food.
• Do you plan to prepare desserts or restrict yourself to main dishes.
• How much money are you going to spend on a blender.

The choice of the equipment that will satisfy your needs most of all depends on it. There are several types of units for this purpose, they all differ in various parameters, and the functions of a blender of a particular model can be different.

Important! Smoothie drinks are becoming increasingly popular. For people leading a healthy lifestyle, and those who want to prepare this delicious drink, the information in our publication will be usefulSmoothie Blender.

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Types of Blenders

There are three main types of blenders in the modern market. Buyers often wonder which one is better. But no one will give you a definite answer, because each type is designed for the preparation of specific products. Let's consider each of them in more detail so that you can understand what each type of blender does and what functions of the blender will be useful to you.

Stationary

Typically, such a unit has a bowl with a volume of about 2 liters. It is placed on a special stand with legs. The engine and control mechanism are inside the entire structure. In the bowl at the very bottom are knives that chop the food. To wash the bowls and knives, you need to remove both from the stand and substitute under a stream of warm water.

Important! If the purpose of buying a blender is to mix and whisk large quantities of products, we recommend that you pay attention to mixers. You can find detailed information about this technique in our article. “Mixer with a bowl - which is better?”.

Stationary Blender Functions:

• Mixing.
• Whipping.
• Crumbling ice.
• Making juice.

Important! The stationary blender, although it will be more bulky, but its power is much higher. And this is the potential for different functions of the blender.

Submersible

The submersible type of the blender in appearance resembles a pestle, at the end of which a nozzle with blades is placed. The blades begin to rotate when you press the button on the base of the device. A feature of this device is the need to constantly hold it in your hands throughout the work.

Important! Instead of a special bowl, you can use any container that is convenient for you, which gives a certain benefit when preparing portioned dishes.

Functions of a hand blender:

• Shredding.
• Making mashed potatoes in small quantities.
• Mixing liquid and semi-liquid products.

Universal

Similar devices are also called multi-blenders. It combines a submersible and stationary blender, thanks to the large number of accessories that come with it:

• Whisk for whipping.
• Knives of various sizes.
• Beaker.
• Several capacities.
• The lid.
• Graters.

Hybrid Blenders

In addition to these basic types of blenders, there is also a technique that combines the functions of a blender and a double boiler or a double boiler. In such devices, you can first grind the products, and then, without shifting the prepared mixture into another container, cook them in the same bowl.

Such kitchen devices appeared on the market relatively recently, but many have already managed to appreciate the merits of hybrids. They found special recognition in families where diet food is preferred or families with young children, because steaming preserves almost all the nutrients in any food.

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Blender specifications

When choosing a blender, like any other equipment, it is imperative to pay attention to its technical parameters. Their combination will determine what makes the blender that you are going to buy and what functions of the blender will be available to you.

Electric power

The speed and overall performance of the blender directly depends on this indicator:

1. For mixing liquids and making cocktails, a power of 300-500 watts will be enough.
2. The processing of solid products will require more serious power - at least 800 watts.

Important! Keep in mind that the more powerful the equipment, the higher will be the energy consumption. Therefore, if you are going to often cook, but simple dishes, give preference to average parameters, so as not to overpay for the excess energy consumption.

Capacity

Most models of this small kitchen appliances come with a bowl. Its volume can be different: from 400 ml to 2 liters. Everyone should choose this parameter individually, starting from the number of family members and the amount of food.

Important! Remember that you will never fill the bowl completely to the brim, as this will disrupt the operation of the blender and will not give you the desired effect. Useful volume is always 200-300 ml less than real. Consider this factor when choosing the volume of special containers.

Blender material

The foot of the submersible blender can be made of metal or plastic. As a rule, the plastic version is cheaper in cost, but the metal is more durable and safe.

Important! Plastic submersible blenders are not recommended for immersion in hot foods.

Bowl material

The bowl may be made of glass, plastic or metal. To understand which one will be the best for you, consider the following features of each proposed material in the blender kit:

• The plastic option is the cheapest. Its main advantage is the relative strength of the material. But it all depends on the responsibility, integrity of the manufacturer. The most inexpensive units can be equipped with bowls, which after a couple of months of operation crack if the load is high.
• Glass bowls, despite a significant drawback - the relative delicacy of fragility, are perfectly washed and do not absorb product odors. In addition, glass is an environmentally friendly material. And in order not to damage such a bowl, you just need to be extremely careful when handling equipment.
• Metal containers are the most convenient option, as they combine the advantages of glass and plastic. Their only drawback is the high cost. But here, take into account that the metal must be stainless steel, otherwise - corrosion may occur, which will negate all your costs.

Important! The choice of bowl material directly affects what the blender does. Therefore, think in advance how you plan to use such a technique.

Additional nozzles

The number of additional accessories increases the possibilities of the hostess. However, not all people use additional nozzles, they just lie and gather dust in the kitchen cabinet without work. Therefore, you should clearly know what you expect from a kitchen blender. The optimal set is the presence of the following elements:

• whisk whisk;
• nozzle for splitting ice;
• hook for kneading dough;
• chopper, vacuum pump.

Important! The vacuum pump is a nozzle for expensive blender models. With its help, air is sucked out of special containers into which food is placed. Thus, the storage conditions of the product are improved.

Number of speeds

The more speed modes the device has, the more convenient it will be to use. A good blender has at least three speeds that are manually switched in the process. Smooth shifting simplifies the adjustment of the required chopping quality. The number of speeds can vary from 2 to 16.

Important! Some models of blenders are equipped with a turbo mode. Such a function allows for a short period of time to significantly increase the speed of the device.

Additional functions of the blender

In addition to all the basic functions in cooking, some manufacturers make their appliances more convenient and safe. To do this, they include such blender functions in the proposed models:

• Pulse. The essence of this function is to stop the blender for a few seconds. This time will be enough for you to control the degree of product readiness. After that, the blender starts working again in the set mode.
• Automatic blocking. Such a function prevents the device from turning on in case of improper assembly. This avoids troubles and serious injuries. How to assemble the blender correctly is described in detail in the instructions for any model.

Power supply

If before this question did not arise at all, since all such devices had a cord, with which they were supplied with power from the mains, then from the end of 2010, innovative technologies appeared - a wireless blender. Such a device runs on battery power, which allows it to be used away from the outlet.

Important! The main disadvantage of the wireless blender is its short-term operation without recharging (approximately 20 minutes).

Cleaning and care

Stationary blenders often have the option of automatic cleaning in their functionality. It works as follows:

1. After use, warm water is poured into the blender tank and the corresponding self-cleaning button is pressed.
2. When the nozzle rotates, water will treat the entire inner surface of the bowl, as well as the knives.

Submersible blenders, in principle, are also easy to wash, but all processes must be performed manually.

Important! Be careful when manually cleaning knives, as there is a chance of injury from sharp objects.

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Useful recommendations when working with a blender:

• The stationary type appliance is not recommended to grind hot products. Such actions can lead to darkening of the plastic bowl and overheating of the motor.
• Do not load the appliance bowl to the brim. This can cause contamination of the surrounding surfaces, and the products will not be crushed as high quality as you expected.
• A submersible blender should not be turned on for a long time. The motor, which is located inside the base of the device, can quickly overheat, which will lead to damage to the unit.
• Do not allow the “idle” operation of the submersible blender. Such an action may lead to malfunction of the device.
• Before processing the products with a blender, they must be cleaned and cut into small pieces. Such kitchen appliances will not cope on their own with large-sized ingredients.
• After using the unit, it must immediately be washed so that the remnants of dried food do not further affect the operation of the blender.

Important! The part of the blender where the mechanism is located should not be washed with water. If it is still dirty, wipe it with a damp towel, then dry it with a dry cloth.

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Possible damage and breakage of the blender. How to proceed?

• In order not to encounter breakdowns and malfunction of the device, you should buy such equipment only in trusted stores and only reliable brands.
• In a blender, absolutely everything can break: from the whisk to the motor. To avoid damage to the nozzles, use them strictly for their intended purpose.
• If you want to independently configure failed kitchen appliances, but at the same time do not have the necessary experience and skills, then immediately abandon this idea. It is better to spend money or use the current guarantee and contact a service center. Reconstruction can be extremely difficult.

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Stock footage

If you use the blender for its intended purpose, and the material and assembly of the unit are not in doubt, then such a technique will serve you for long years. It will greatly facilitate your work and reduce the time spent in the kitchen.