New to immersion blenders or looking up some tips on how to maximize this powerful and versatile kitchen tool? Let us show you how to use an immersion blender—from how to operate it to what you can do with it and tips for accident- and mess-free sessions in the kitchen.
How to Operate a Stick Blender: Six Simple Steps
- Prepare your stainless steel bowl or container and sliced ingredients.
- Put the pieces of the wand blender together per instruction that comes with your kitchen device. Yours may require you to snap or screw pieces together.
- Once the pieces are secured into place, plug the appliance into an outlet.
- Pour the ingredients into your mixing bowl or pot and submerge the head of your immersion blender into the mix.
- Turn on your stick blender, keeping its blades below the surface to avoid splatters. Do under 50-second intervals to avoid damage to the motor of your device.
- Unplug the blender when you’re done to avoid kitchen accidents.
The Different Uses of Immersion Blender
The immersion blender is a powerful and versatile tool. You can use it to prepare a number of recipes. Here are a few things it can do:
Baby Food
Say ‘no’ to bottled baby food or instant food mixes. Through your immersion blender, puree fresh fruits or vegetables to give your wee one food that’s free from preservatives and that do not contain ingredients that he or she may have allergies on.
Batter
Whether it’s pancake or cake batter, trust your wand blender to do the job. You’ll be rewarded with a smooth and consistent mixture to work on.
Soup
Avoid the hassle of transferring softened soup ingredients little by little into a tabletop blender. Apply your stick blender directly into your pot to make creamy vegetable soup without slop. Do wait for your concoction to cool down before dipping in your stick blender, especially if there are plastic parts that will be submerged.
Smoothies
Making only a glass of smoothie for yourself? No need to take out your bulky and hard-to-clean tabletop blender! Your wand blender will whip up your healthy drink in a jiffy! Just throw in slices of your favorite fruits or vegetables in a large stainless steel glass and some crushed ice.
Sauce or Dips
Take the DIY route by making your own sauce or dips at home. It’ll give you finely chopped, smooth, and well-mixed ingredients. Whether it’s aioli or tomato sauce, you’ll find success with your immersion blender.
Jams
Save time from mashing fruits to make your favorite jam with the use of a wand blender. Fruits like strawberries, cherry, peach, or plum will be mashed to perfect consistency in no time! You can also use your immersion blender to make spreads like pesto or hummus.
Mayo
Aside from blending and pureeing, your hand blender can be used for emulsifying. Whip up your version of mayo at home by mixing oil, egg yolk, and lemon juice. Other preparations that require emulsification and that can benefit from your immersion blender are ice cream, salad dressings, and margarine.
Safety Tips on How to Use an Immersion Blender
If you want your hand blender to last you a long time, here are a few tips for use and care:
- Use stainless steel mixing containers.
Your hand blender can mash ingredients to a fine consistency. Imagine what it can do when the blades or metal protective guard comes in contact with plastic or glass containers. To avoid harmful particles ending up in your food or breaking your choice of vessel, use stainless steel containers for your preparations. Also, do not use non-stick pans with your hand blender.
- Let the food cool down before blending.
If you’re working with hot soup, remove the pot from the heat source and let it cool down for around 15 minutes. This will keep hot liquids from splattering on you and non-metal parts from melting.
- Work your way up from a low to high setting.
Most immersion blenders now are designed with speed control. When working with chunky food, use the low setting and progress to a higher speed to manage the splashing.
- Reduce splatter by using high-sided containers and submerging the head fully under the surface.
When working with large batches, submerge the immersion blender head fully into the mixture to avoid messy splashes. You can also use high-sided bowls or pots to contain the splatter inside.
- Make a makeshift lid to reduce splashing.
Another way to deal with splatters is to use a makeshift lid such as a paper plate with a hole in the middle to put the blender shaft through. You can use this technique when working with large or small batches.
- Turn off the immersion blender each time it’s near the surface.
Where the wand blender’s head gets in contact with the air and the mixture and it’s turned on, things are sure to get messy. So, turn the blender off before bringing the head into or above the surface.
- Do not go over the marker.
Keep safe from shorts by not dipping your immersion blender deeper than it should. Mind the marker. If there’s none, an inch or two below the point where the shaft connects to the handle or motor should be safe.
- Move it around.
When working with a large or deep container, move your hand blender up and down, side to side, or in a stirring motion to get an even consistency. Try not to stay in one location, which only works with containers with a small diameter.
- Unplug it when you’re done.
To avoid accidents with the hand blender’s sharp blades, unplug the kitchen device as soon as you are done.
- Wash it as soon as possible.
Your hand blender is one of the easiest tools to clean in the kitchen, but it will take you longer to clean it if you allow food to get encrusted into its nooks and crannies. When done, run the unplugged and disassembled shaft under hot water, soap it up with a gentle sponge, and rinse. Some immersion blenders are also dishwasher-safe.
- Store in a safe place.
The blades of the immersion blender are particularly dangerous. Keep your immersion away from children’s reach.
Now that you know how to use an immersion blender, it’s time to get some practice! Take out that recipe you’ve been meaning to do with your wand blender!