Immersion blender
An immersion blender, or 'stick blender' is a kitchen appliance to blend
ingredients or puree food in the container in which they are being prepared.
They
are sometimes called stick blenders, wand blenders, hand blenders, Bermixers
(after the brand name of professional models made by Dito-Electrolux), or
Boat Motor (a nickname used by chefs
Emeril Lagasse
and
Alton Brown).
They may be used for pureeing soups and emulsifying sauces. Some can be used
while a pan is on the stove. Immersion blenders are distinguished from
blenders
and
food processors
that require food be placed in a special vessel for processing. They are
distinguished from
hand mixers
which do not chop the food as it is blended.
The immersion blender was invented in Switzerland by Roger Perrinjaquet, who
patented the idea on March 6, 1950.
[citation needed]
He called the new appliance "
bamix",
a
portmanteau
of the French "bat et mixe" (beats and mixes). The immersion blender has
been in use in European professional kitchens since the 1960s, and was
adopted
for home use in the United States market in the 1980s.
Models for home use usually have a shaft of ten to twelve inches, but models
are available for professionals with a shaft up to two feet. Home models are
available in corded or cordless versions.
The Essential Kitchen: Immersion Blenders
A Bamix Blender
When it comes to buying new kitchen tools it's a constant tension for we
home cooks who are short on space but also sometimes simply want more toys.
Who
among us hasn't wandered into a cookware store and stared at a [fill in the
blank: ceramic ginger grater . . . spring-loaded lemon wedge squeezer . . .
Japanese fish boning knife . . .] and thought, "oh, that will make me a
better cook." More likely it only adds novelty. And then clutter.
Once we get past the basics -- wooden spoons, a chef's knife, a sturdy sauté
pan -- kitchen tools start reflecting the personality and proclivities of
the cook. For example, I own no wok because I don't do stir-fries often
enough to justify its storage space. But I can't imagine not having my salad
spinner,
which is equally clumsy to stow. So it's personal.
Still, there are some tools and appliances that are worth making room for.
They can make it easier to produce better results. Plus they don't take up
much
space. And an immersion blender is a good example.
A Stick of Efficiency
Invented in Europe in the 1950's and made popular in the U.S. in the 60's,
immersion blenders -- also called hand blenders, stick blenders or wand
blenders
-- are electrified wands about 10 to 12 inches long with a rotary blade on
the end. Most are hard-wired but some models come cordless with rechargeable
batteries (I prefer the hard-wired ones -- they're much more robust) and
some are sold with accessories like whisks or choppers. The most popular
brands
are Bamix, KitchenAid, Braun and Cuisinart and cost anywhere from $30 to
$100.
Mine is a Braun that I've had for longer than I can remember. I was recently
given a Bamix with changeable blades, including one for whipping cream, but
I prefer my Braun because it has a shield over the blades making for less
spattering. I also confess to liking the way my old Braun looks -- very
Bauhaus.
An immersion blender works just as the name suggests: you immerse the wand
into the ingredient so that the blade is below the surface and using the
same
hand with which you're holding the wand, you turn it on and off (there's
often only one speed -- on). As long as the blade is in the food and as long
as
you keep it turned on, it will mix with a fury. If you lift the blade above
the food while the blade is whirring, it will spatter and spit. You can use
one hand to position the blade through the food, moving it around and up and
down, leaving the other hand free to hold the container, which may be a hot
pan still on the stove.
Immersion wands are related to your blender, food processor, or hand mixer
and it does some of what each of these other appliances do. But not
entirely.
A food processor does a better job of liquefying and also gives more control
when it comes to chopping ingredients like nuts. So if you want a completely
smooth purée for your vichyssoise or evenly chopped pecans for topping a
fruit crisp, use your food processor. Likewise for whipping. Some immersion
blenders
come with a whipping blade but the wand's aggressive speed means the cream
can rapidly turn to butter; I also think it's too rough for mixing cake or
cookie
dough. So an immersion blender doesn't replace a hand mixer. And if you're a
smoothie fan, a blender will aerate better.
So what does an immersion blender do that these other appliances don't?
Well, nothing, actually. But it takes up very little space, does much of the
work
of these three other tools combined, and because it's acutely handy, you
will use it more easily and often, leading you to make recipes you might
otherwise
not. Best of all, it lets you bring the blender to the food, meaning you
skip the entire step of transferring the food to another container and back
again.
It does much of what the other three appliances do and in the spirit of the
perfect being the enemy of the good, an immersion blender will purée a soup
to 95 percent smoothness and for most of us, that's what we want anyway.
They're also a snap to clean, not a small factor for home cooks. Just keep
the blender plugged in and immerse the wand and blade it into a glass or pot
of hot, soapy water. Give it a couple of pulses and the blade will be
spotless.
When to Use An Immersion Blender
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. Many buy an immersion blender only to make soup. Cook any favorite
combination of vegetables -- cubes of butternut squash and onions, leeks and
potatoes,
celery and shallots -- in chicken or vegetable broth until soft and tender
and without removing them from their pan, use the immersion blender to purée
everything together. Adjust the seasoning and maybe add a little milk or
light cream for luxury.
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. Baby food. Cook organic fruit and vegetables and the immersion blender
will convert them into meals that are both more nutritious and less
expensive than
store-bought.
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. Tomato sauce. Use whole canned tomatoes (San Marzano if you can find them)
that you crush with your hands as you add to the pan, plus slices of garlic
and maybe onions that have been first softened in olive oil. Add a pinch of
red pepper flakes and another of salt. Simmer for about 20 minutes and then
use the blender to make a sauce as smooth as you like (the garlic and onion
will completely combine with the tomatoes). If you want to keep the
ingredients
separated and the sauce more chunky, use the immersion blender to purée the
tomatoes while they're still in the can and then add to the other
ingredients.
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. Cook a roast with a mirepoix of chopped celery, carrots and onion plus
other aromatic vegetables like chopped garlic or shallots, and when the
roast is
done, bring your immersion blender to the roasting pan and create a gravy
that captures all the flavors still in the pan.
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. Mashed potatoes and puréed vegetables. Cook peeled chunks of potatoes in
salted water until tender, drain and return to the same pan, adding butter
and
milk or other ingredients -- maybe also chunks of cooked parsnips or
turnips. Use the blender directly in the pan and mash until everything is
combined
and the potatoes are the texture you want. The same method works for
butternut squash, green peas, cauliflower, or any other vegetable that lends
itself
to being puréed.
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. Applesauce. One of my favorite fall flavors is applesauce. But it's a
chore to make -- peeling, simmering and then puréeing in batches in my food
processor.
The effort is cut nearly in half when I can cook a huge pot of chunks of
apples and once all are softened, quickly turn the whole thing into
applesauce
with my immersion blender. Add a little sugar, some cinnamon, and as I
learned from a Julia Child recipe -- some apricot preserves and a spoonful
of Cognac.
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. Use it with anything to be made smooth -- hummus, peanut butter made with
good Virginia peanuts, gravy, sauces, puddings, salad dressings. Some use
immersion
blenders to make mayonnaise, although I prefer the control of mixing it by
hand. It's also great for making salsa -- although watch how quickly you can
go from chunky to smooth.
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I'm glad to have my immersion blender if only for making Marcella Hazan's
brilliant recipe for osso buco. Veal shanks are oven-simmered for several
hours
with canned tomatoes and vegetables, seasoned with bay leaves and lemon
peel. Once the shanks are falling-off-the-bone, I transfer them to a plate,
and
then use the blender to combine all the vegetables that are still in the
cast iron pot into a smooth and intensely flavored tomato sauce to serve
with
the veal plus rigatoni, a thick tubular pasta.
A dish worth buying an appliance for.
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