I generally use it when making soup. Just be sure the pot is deep enough.

Ask me how I know that...

I would underline happygram's warning, could I. Especially if you're using it on anything laced with tumeric...which stains.

I use it all the time. To emulsify vinaigrettes, to puree soups & sauces, to smooth out gravies, and, the little chopping bowl attachment is great for any number of chopping and puree tasks too small for a blender.

I have rarely found a use for mine, but when I was first given it I used it (so I could tell the giver that I actually used it!) to mix milkshakes. Once I used it to whip cream, but I had to whip more than I needed or wanted. I daresay you could use it to puree baby food, if you did enough in one batch. And I suppose if I had a tooth out, it would come in handy for mushing up my food. But really, it's just taking up precious space in my cupboard. It's a gutless wonder.

Warning: you'll regret it if you don't wash it IMMEDIATELY after use!

I have one which came with its own deep narrow container, about the size and shape of a rolling pin without handles....but it also sits on my counter unused. I have used it to smooth out a sauce or gravy but tend to use a blender (smoothies) or food processor (pesto, hummus etc.) for most things that need blending. Guess it's time for me to put it in that hall cupboard which is the graveyard for unused kitchen gadgets.

SharonCb

E Jessy gave me mine, it was not something I felt I really needed but...... I use it all the time now. I make whipped cream using the whisk attachment, salad dressings, soups, small amount of someting that needs to be finely chopped and I make nice smooth applesauce with it. If you can keep it handy I'm sure you get into using it quite often.

No clean up problems here, I just rinse what I use and throw it in the DW. Takes up less space than if I had used the FP.

Nancy

Nancy, yours can go in the dishwasher? How cool is that?

Mine is electric and has a motor, can't picture one that would go in the dishwasher.

I don't use mine often, but it comes in handy for soups and sauces, gravies, etc. I use it alot when canning things like tomatoes and even some jams. Haven't tried this, but I bet it would grind herbs.

Linda

It all can go in the DW except for the section with the motor, guess I didn't make myself clear. The motor section I just wipe clean with my dishcloth. it doesn't get 'immersed' anyway.... :))

Nancy

I use mine regularly for soup, sauces, salad dressings, gravies. I love how easy it is to just stick it in the pot and give "whatever" a whirl. Also use the chopper often too, not so much the wisk.

Like Nancy's, the attachments can go in the dishwasher. My old one was one solid piece and I found it a pain to clean so I used it less often.

YOu have to be careful--some IB's cannot be used in hot liquids (and when they say that, they MEAN it).

Mine has no attachments, nothing that can go in the DW, but it's a cheap one. Am another who almost never uses it. I'm just not comfortable using an electric appliance, with a dangling cord on the gas range--just seems like an accident waiting to happen. And for everything else, I have my KA mixers (2 stand ones, one hand); 2 food processors, and a couple of blenders (one gasoline powered one for outside.) The stick blender is the last thing I reach for for that sort of job.

Well, I don't have azzalea's worries about a cord and a gas stove....I try to be careful!
I don't use it a lot, but mostly at the stove top when I don't want to pour something into a FP or a blender and smooth out in batches. If I only use it once a month, it's worth the room, because it does what no other tool will do. It smooths out a pan of cooking gravy, allows me to do a rough chop on a cooking soup, smooths out a cream sauce that has not been whisked continually enough, or a pastry cream with a small lump or 2.
And It's so easy for milk shakes....just whirr it in a 2 cup measure and pour.
Again, I don't use it even once a week, but when I do I really need it.
Linda C

My hand blender is my only blender since I don't have room to store a full sized model. I use it for smoothies mostly. I've also used the whisk attachment for making meringue and whipped cream. The KA stand mixer does a better job for whisking, but for small amounts the hand blender is wonderful. I've tried to make bread crumbs with it, but the bread clogs the holes in the blade shroud. I also make milkshakes with it every now and then. I say I want to use it for soups, but it hasn't happened yet. I also used it making alfredo sauce once, and it worked well.

Do wash it immediately, especially if yours (like mine) does not have a dishwasher safe shaft. Mine isn't all one piece, but the shaft is plastic and it says in bold letters not to put in the dishwasher. They can be very messy as well. I've spattered smoothie juice all over the kitchen more times than I care to recount.

I use mine mostly when I'm making tomato sauce from whole tomatoes.

I love mine! Like those above, I use it for soups, gravy, dressings, tomato sauce, and when I need beaten eggs for a recipe or omelettes. My had a push button to detach the blender end from the motor end for easy DWing.

Mine is Cuisinart cordless, and it separated into three sections. The bottom section can go into the DW, and the top part separates for recharging and contains a retractable plug so that there is not a separate attachment for charging. It has no other attachments.

I bought it for DM on a visit, and she said she never used it, and so I took it back with me and also take it with me when I visit her. I use it for puréeing tomatoes (still in the can!) and also for smoothing sauces on the stove. Since it is cordless, it is very easy to use on the stove. I also use it for puréeing soups, and I find it much more convenient to use than the FP for this purpose. I used to spill hot soup trying to get it into and out of the FP. Also, it would slosh around in the FP, and I have much more control with the stick blender.

I make a lot of sauces and soups, and so it gets plenty of use. I seldom use it to make drinks or mayo - I use the blender for that. I do use the stick blender much more often than the regular blender, however, and it is mounted on the wall above my stove. I originally thought that the battery operated one would not have enough power, but this is not the case at all. In fact, it is more powerful than the old Braun stick blender that I had for 20 years. I only started using the cordless one when the Braun died.

Lars

I mainly use mine for creamed soups, gravy, tomato and other sauces, applesauce (if I want it smooth), and probably a number of other things that I can't think of at the moment.

Joanne

{{gwi:1500334}}

This is the one I bought. It's not cordless. And I wish it had a stand of some kind. I have to make room in a drawer for it now. Oh...the headache of making room for another gadget. :)

Not to hijack the thread, but...
How do you use this thing?
I have one which I use for soups and mashing potatoes, etc but I'm not sure what to do with it.
If I keep it totally immersed to prevent splashing the lumps tend to get pushed to the side. If I bring it out to mush the lumps I get splashed. Do you need to use it in a narrow deep container? I just use it in whatever I have cooked the food in.

Oh, yeah, mustangs! Big, puffy omelets!!
Plus all of the above. Except we never seem to make smoothies. Not sure why.

Deanna

So which brand/model do you recommend?

Oh I sure do love mine.

I use it for tomato sauces, gravies, soups. It's so easy to just stick it right into the pot you're cooking in and give it a whirl.

cindylouhoo most of us have and love the Braun.

I do everything mentioned and I also whip up a couple of egg whites every weekend or so for waffles.

Jillq, you have to keep moving the thing up and down as you go. Like pounding laundry with a big stick, as they did in the old days. Push/lift, push/lift.