Immersion Blenders

With so many good cooks on this message board I thought I would pose a question about immersion blenders. We have never owned one but it looks like the tool for making soups, sauces, dressings, etc. In poking around on the web I have found quite a range of immersion blenders with many underpowered units overheating easily. At the moment I’m looking at the lower end of the Bamix(Swiss) and Dynamic(French?) blenders as they seem to be units that can work well and have longevity. If someone has personal experience with these can they comment on the pros and cons. Also there seems to be single, dual, and variable speed units…how important is it to have dual or variable speed? How easy are these blenders to keep clean?..Thank you, Gary

I have a kitchen aid with variable speed and love it, plenty of power, sauces and marinades come out better

I love my immersion blender and use it all the time. It’s a Braun and I don’t think I spent a lot on it. I’ve had it for a long time. Single speed. Don’t know why you would want more than one speed. Super easy to clean. I’m surprised at your comment on units overheating. I mean it is so quick that I don’t see how it has a chance to overheat.

The old Braun units are much more durable than the newer versions. Mine must be close to twenty years old. Don’t try making mayonnaise with it, but I puree potatoes and other veggies, soups, tomatoes, etc…

Bamix and Dynamic are great if you’re in a professional kitchen, but for home use it’s a little bit of overkill.

Years ago (25+) I had a Braun Mini Pimer and loved it. Recently I purchased a Viking immersion blender and it has been a huge step up. Makes short work of soups, sauces, and general grinding blending jobs that are messy and time consuming in a blender or food processor.

I have used the same Braun for 25 years. I use it for soups all the time and for a smoothie every morning. When making smoothies, I really beat on it to get the frozen fruits going. It is finally starting to have some problems. I was given this http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-724385/Cuisinart-SmartStick-Immersion-Blender-Berry-Blue for Christmas but haven’t used it yet.

My stick blender is one of my favorite tools.

Super easy to clean. Just fill something with water and a little soap. Blend away. I have no idea why these are now made to go in the dishwasher. That would be more work.

Jason

I also have an older Braun and have used it for 15 yrs. Never a problem and the results are always creamy and smooth

Thanks for the replies. In reviewing your responses and the information on chowhound it seems the older >10yrs models for many popular manufacturers pre-date their economic move to Asia for cost-effective manufacturing. Also based on the info I ended up purchasing the Dynamic Mini-pro at a substantial savings from a restaurant supplier. Parts for these units are widely available in the US…Gary

The old Brauns are good but I have found none of these last very long in a commercial situation. That said, I have had this one for close to two years and it still works great:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00281QTE0/ref=wms_ohs_product

The attachments are really awesome, particularly the whisk. The immersion part is stainless steel which comes off and can be popped into the dishwasher. It has a number of different blades for different tasks and a powerful motor: 550 Watts

I have the Cuisinart stick blender with the included accessories:

It works well and is reasonably-priced. I really like the chopper attachment, as it’s excellent for chopping up smaller batches of
things without dragging out the big Cuisinart. Of course, it’s not for heavy-duty chopping, but it’s worked fine for most items.

Bruce

Ditto.

My wife uses the Russell Hobbs immersion blender and likes it a lot. I think she got it at Williams-Sonoma years ago, still going strong.

I have this one and it has a weak point. The ‘clips’ that hold the heads on get brittle and break. I am on my second (replacement) one now. Otherwise, I love it but I doubt it would make 15 months (warranty period) again. Next I go All Clad.
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/all-clad-immersion-blender/?pkey=e%7Cblender%7C17%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C5&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet--NoFacet--tabletop%2020%25%20off%20promo-%20copy-_-

I’ve had a bamix for years and love it.

what “clips” are you talking about? They did have an engineering flaw with the tabs which has been fixed with the updated model.

Just received my Dynamic MX070. Looks like the following Dynamic MX070.1 - Commercial Immersion Blender - 7" Detachable Shaft - Immersion Blenders - ZESCO.com . Was able to find an ebay seller that saved me another $40 off that discounted price. Plan to make an apple-turnip soup later today to test it out. …Gary

That uses the same blades as the Miallegro but has 1/3 the power of it. Would like to hear how it performs.

Gene, I have a second gen and the clips are the same.

I found the following message thread useful in discussing immersion blenders…http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/810839 …Gary

The Dynamic immersion blender made quick work to blend the softened apple-turnip-leek ingredients in a chicken stock-apple cider base to give a hot apple turnip soup(Sunset Mag recipe). Since I wanted to try this recipe as a cold soup I chilled the soup in the refrig before serving. When served I added a dollop of creme fraiche which nicely cut into the fruity character of the soup. I would do this recipe again in a heartbeat. BTW the spouse turned the extra soup into spice bread muffins to feed the granddaughter. The Dynamic blender also made quick work of blending chopped canned tomatoes, red wine, and herbs to make a quick and easy marinara to go with an eggplant parm with prosciutto dish. Using the blender is easy but I found out from my son that you tilt the blender slightly and keep is off the bottom to get good mixing and avoid cavitation and keep it from sucking downward. I did use the variable speed in slow rpm mode with chunky ingredients and then moved to higher rpms when the initial chunks broke up. Cleanup is easy with a quick rinse in water and a wipe down. With this I plan to make many more soups. Next up might be potato leek soup since I have a couple of leeks left over from the apple turnip recipe…Cheers, Gary