Imagining a modern kitchen without a blender is almost impossible! According to numerous requests from readers, we have tested several new models and are ready to share our impressions. Study carefully, perhaps you would want to entrust one of these blenders with the preparation of your favorite dishes.
Buying kitchen appliances is a delicate issue. Even if you had enough money to buy all the existing assortment in a store, there would be a different problem: where to keep all this wealth and then what to do with it? It so often happens that toasters, food processors, blenders and coffee makers are actively used only for the first couple of months, and then are left forgotten in a closet. We decided to correct this misunderstanding and launched a series of articles “Testing appliances / utensils.” We are not going to tell you about the variety of devices (with the same good job and sales consultants), we will try and then explain how useful they are, how to apply them and which miracles they are capable of . You will have to decide for yourself if you could live without these miracles.
Appliance To Be Tested: Blender Panasonic MX-GS1
- Power – 600 Watts
- Number of speeds: 1
- Bowl 700 ml
I should confess: I have never had a blender. But I dreamed about it for a long time: I try to eat healthy, but I always had to dismiss those recipes of fruit-and-berries smoothies- or vegetable cocktails, which required use of blender. When I got to test the Panasonic MX-GS1 blender I found myself in some confusion: it was the most ordinary immersion blender, it seemed neither to be able to grind nuts nor was it comfortable for making smoothies. That’s why I began testing with a predisposition but in the process it turned out that it was for naught.
The first thing I noticed is the design simplicity:a metallic nozzle is attached directly to the body. A separate bowl of 700 ml is included in the package. This blender is very easy to clean: unfasten the nozzle, wash it and there are no more unnecessary movements.
The first time I had to test the blender it was unexpected even for myself. I made a carrot cake for friends and when the dough was almost ready, I found out that I needed grounded nuts for the cake slice. The first thing that came to mind was to try and grind them with blender, give it a real challenge! The blender did not disappoint: it has easily ground the roasted nuts in average crumbs in just a minute.
So when it came to cooking the carrot-and-ginger cream soup my doubts in the “professionalism” of the blender were grind to nothing. During the soup preparation I have noticed one more significant advantage: the blender itself is very heavy. It does not require any additional pressure efforts: thanks to its weight, it copes with all the ingredients itself. Just 1 minute was needed to make the soup creamy.
To prepare a milkshake I needed a bowl, which comes in the same package with blender. I was a little worried that because of the open cup I would not be able to properly mix the cocktail and that splatters would fly everywhere. But everything turned out fine: the incredibly tasty cocktail was ready in just 20 seconds, and the kitchen was clean.
The main impressions of the blender were exceptionally positive. And though it does not have lots of extra nozzles it is very handy. It is easy to clean, it copes perfectly well with all the tasks, and what’s important, it is very easy to use! Exactly this kind of blender – simple and intuitive – decided to buy my mother.
Appliance To Be Tested: Philips SpeedTouch HR1674 Blender
Specifications:
- Power: 800 Watt
- Number of speeds: from “0” to “Turbo”
- Double whisk for whipping + cup for 1200 ml
This blender’s appearance inspires confidence: stylish design, comfortable rubberized handle, high-quality materials (stainless steel and practical black plastic, which,for instance, does not emit unpleasant odors, even on the first use). It’s interesting feature is the “intuitive speed control” principle: there is only one button on the blender handle (it is situated in a kind of a recess so that your fingers would not slide from it). It allows you to control the device operation speed by a single motion. You do not have to think which mode to choose, nor press anything else: everything is easy and truly “intuitive” for understanding thanks to the SpeedTouch technology.
Another plus for me is an opportunity to buy a basic package, and then purchase all other nozzles separately depending on my preferences. Aside from the immersion blender itself I have tested three nozzles. You will need the first (included with the blender) mixer-nozzle with double whisk to prepare home-made mayonnaise, whip cream or knead pancakes dough. The nozzle copes with such tasks perfectly. The second one is a “multi-functional food processor attachment with a set of knives”. It is needed to quickly chop or grate even hard raw vegetables. By the way, it looks much less cumbersome than is suggested by the title. This is a plastic container with a lid, a knife is set inside and the blender handle is connected to the top. The hole in the processor-nozzle, where you need to put products, is wide enough and is very convenient:a whole medium size potato, for example, can easily fit through it. Carrots are grated and potatoes and apples for a pie are neatly sliced in just a few seconds,while meat is finely chopped. By the way,the blender coped even with frozen chicken filet, turning it into a cutlet stuffing. After that I regretted buying a bulky electric meat mincer. Cleaning all the details (and they are, in fact, a few) is simple. They can be easily washed in a dishwasher.
You can also buy an additional nozzle for mashing, which is made of a special plastic that prevents potato darkening. The very first time I hurried and the mashed potatoes were a bit uneven, but the next time have monitored the process more carefully, so that no lumps were left. Potatoes really did not darken, but speaking of taste (although perhaps I am a bit picky) I still think there is nothing better than a wooden masher.
Anyway I was able to bake a carrot pie twice in a long autumn weekend. Thanks to the blender, otherwise I probably would have been too lazy to grind a mountain of carrots.
Appliance To Be Tested: Blender Bosch MSM8 MaxoMixx
Specifications:
- Power: 800 Watt
- Number of speeds: 12
The Bosch blender also has a simple design. It has a lot in common with the previous one: the device itself and some of the details are black with stainless steel accents so they looked almost like twins in my kitchen. Sometimes I was even afraid to mix the spare parts. An interesting detail, for which a am additionally grateful to the manufacturer: an unusual cord that “winds” and, therefore, will not be damaged when stored.
Thanks to the rubberized casing the blender fits comfortably in your hand. It’s “brutal” power makes itself known from the first seconds of work: it grinds products almost lightning fast.
The device has 12 speeds, which are switched by means of a circular disc at the end of the handle, and 2 buttons for “Turbo” and “Pulse” modes. My configuration besides the immersion blender with a stainless steel “foot” had a whisk nozzle and a food processor with several knives (for cutting meat and vegetables, slicing and a grater-nozzle). The neck of the processor nozzle, where you will put products, seemed too narrow to me: for example, half of a large onion or a whole potato will not fit, you have to cut it into pieces before that.
All parts of the blender are of high quality and are built to last. Nothing slips, you can quickly and easily assemble and disassemble everything. The parts can be safely washed in a dishwasher, but I did it with my hands without any discomfort. The blender has quickly kneaded pancake dough, cut potatoes in ideal and even slices and made smoothie of yogurt, banana and frozen berries in few seconds. Besides that I was able to mash a lentil soup directly in a cooker and nothing got spilled.
Conclusion. Such multifunctional blenders as the Bosch MSM8 MaxoMixx and Philips SpeedTouch can become a full-fledged (and much more compact) replacement for a food processor. If you cook a lot and often, like experimenting in the kitchen, you would not find a better assistant. But if you need a blender occasionally and mostly for making cream soup or smoothies, you can opt for the classic immersion blender. It does not take much space in the kitchen and will do it’s job without question.
