Kitchen gadgets everyone should have: Stick Blender [NaBloPoMo Day 7]

My Braun stick blender is one of my most beloved kitchen gadgets. I'm not one for using a million kitchen gadgets even if I do have two kitchen drawers full of them. Sadly, most of them were bought on a whim, used once and cast aside. This one, however, gets weekly use in my house.

As a blender, I use my stick blender for pureeing soups (Cauliflower, Butternut Squash) and vegetables right in the pot, and I definitely used it to make all my kids' baby food.  I use the mini-chopper when I want to make smaller quantities of pesto or for chopping shallots, anchovies, or nuts. The whisk is handy for whipping egg whites. 

I have a thing about dirtying dishes as I cook—I am a "clean as I go" girl—so having a stick blend blender is great for keeping my mania at bay. I'm betting if you have one of these you love it as much as I do.

Comments

[Lisa K.]

I have the very same stick blender set, and we love it! We put it on our wedding registry in 2001, and thank Jeebus we did! I use it at least once a week in some capacity, and it's held up wonderfully. Mine looks a little different since it's the older model, but I imagine it's only gotten better.

Soups, salsa, chopping onions, making smoothies, you name it. It's awesome.

This concludes my Braun stick blender infomercial. Thanks, and good evening :)

[Angie in Texas]

i don't have the braun one, but i know mind gets the heck used out of it! one of my kitchen favs, too!

[Amelia Sprout]

One of the best Christmas gifts ever. I use it for frothing large batches of milk (when we make lattes for a crowd), pureeing the sauce for my green chili pork, and making roasted tomato pasta sauce. We mounted it with the bracket to a the cabinet by the sink, and now I use it even more.

[JAMom]

Thanks for posting this! I've been looking for a good immersion blender and had narrowed it down to either the Kitchenaid or Cuisinart (I'm a little neurotic and have to research the heck out of everything before purchasing). I'm off to take another look at the Braun!

[Dana]

I don't have one, but I've contemplated purchasing one. My husband would probably die if I brought one home, but it sounds like a must-have item!

[erin]

Just used my Braun this week when I made Chipotle Butternut Squash soup. Love it for smoothies, too.

[Asianmommy]

Cool gadget! I'd like to try this.

[HeatherBea]

Watching "America's Test Kitchen" today and they did a pesto test with immersion blenders. The winner was the Kitchen Aid with a metal wand. I used to have a Braun and now have no idea what happened to it. Boy would I love one for my marinara. It will be on my Christmas list this year. I actually have quite a few kitchen gadgets on my list so your posts are very helpful.

[msmaria]

I second and third and fourth this reco. I have had a stick blender of some sort since college and love them! I have this exact same one, and discovered that you can also use it to grind coffee beans.

[Jen]

Yes! I just got one and can't figure out how I ever lived without it!

[Kim S.]

I have a black and decker stick blender that I got for $15 or $20 a couple years back. I LOVE IT. I will never go back to using a blender. I used it this weekend to blend beans (for refried beans) and to make butternut squash soup. It is super simple to use and even simpler to clean.

[Jodi]

I love my stick blender. It's great for soup; you can puree it all at once (instead of in small batches in a blender). Not to mention it's a lot easier to clean. I've got the Cuisinart and the top comes off so you can clean it without getting the motor wet (which is how I killed my Braun).