Have a KA blender... from a yard sale for maybe $5. Works fine, not used a lot.

Have a Cuisinart food processor... another yard sale find. Use it a LOT. Seems stuff isn't easy to get all out of blender??

I had one of those old Osters. Loved it for years. We finally killed it making margaritas. One day it started smoking. That's when we started drinking our margaritas on the rocks, hehe.

I wound up with a Breville blender that we use mostly for smoothies. Also a Cuisinart food processor. I never thought I needed one, but this one has nesting bowls and cleans up easily. I use it way more than I thought I would. Worth it just for making fresh breadcrumbs, lol. And we have an immersion blender, used for hot soups and sauces, mostly.

I'm not sure I'd want to do without any of them.

I could do without allot of things but not my good blender. Sounds like that is what you need for veggie/fruit drinks and smoothies. Not one appliance does it all but a blender is something i can't do with knife skills. Expensive though. I have the Blendtec built into my countertop. Vitamix is similar.
Some work friends have the NutriBullet and love it. They don't cook at all but do make all sorts of veg drink inventions in their office. Sounds like a good blender is missing from your collection. My stick blender is handy but really just a one trick pony. Seems to be on its last hick-up and loosing power. Not sure if i will replace it. My blender will cover its old job.
I hesitate to recommend appliances as they often don't hold up to the task. Or just don't last. Check Amazon for reviews for blenders that do protein drinks if that is what you are missing.
Vitamix or Blendtec for the best quality.

Here is a link that might be useful: NutriBullet

Small appliances are not a one-size-fits all venture, as you have already found out.

I use a Hamilton Beech Drink Master (malt maker - purchased it at Target) to blend a protein shake every morning (homemade kefir, 100% fruit juice, flax/chia seed meal, hi-maize starch, Jay Rob Unflavored Whey Protein Isolate, Great Lakes Gelatin - in the green container, goji powder - if I have some - and a powdered supplement). I never add fruit because we tend to use fruit whole (mostly as a snack or dessert). The HB is easy to clean - a stainless steel cup and the mixing wand. I tried other things - emersion blenders, Oster blender (hated cleaning it), a "special" smoothie blender that was instantly donated to Goodwill, before getting the Hamilton Beech Drink Master. It's been in use for over a decade and is used every day and won't break the bank to purchase, and doesn't take up much counter or storage space. If you add fruit, you will need something with blades in it. The HB will also make malts and I've used it to make whipped cream and NO Ice Cream Milk Shakes (cold water, instant nfd milk powder, cacao powder, ice and a 5-second spray of PAM).

After a number of blenders, including a relatively new Ninja with 2 bowls (40-oz. and 72-oz. - which I liked), I received a Vitamix as a gift. Wish I would have purchased one years ago after all the blenders I've had.... I make a lot of seed and nut milks, and the Vitamix does the best job. The Ninja wouldn't blend tiny canary seeds very well for canary seed milk, and the nut milk pulp was very coarse, while the pulp from making it in a Vitamix is small and less pulp than what was left in the Ninja.

If you are interested in a blender, you can watch videos on-line and see if they are what you would use one for. You can "cook" soup right in the Vitamix. A Vitamix will also blend whole fruit and some greens for smoothies - PLUS you can make frozen treats in a Vitamix.

I also have a 7-cup Cuisinart FP that I hardly ever use, but I use my little Ninja Master Prep Chopper all the time. I was using a Magic Bullet before, but it just didn't have enough capacity for what I was needing it for, and I didn't like it for protein drinks because they foam too much, and the 7-cup FP, as well as my blenders were too big, and not the appropriate choice for small amounts of sprouted seeds/grains/beans or small amounts of fresh or dried bread for making bread crumbs, and many other things I use it for.

-Grainlady

I love, love, love my KitchenAid immersion blender! I think every serious home cook needs to have one of these tools. Now I'll try it out on the cauliflower fauxtatoes.

[BTW, my food processor now resides in the laundry room.... just sayin']

Here are a few reasons to have an immersion blender:
~ frosting, icing, and glaze for cake
~ baby food
~ fudge sauce
~ sweet potato souffle
~ smoothies and milk shakes
~ pancakes and waffles
~ salad dressing
~ soup!!!
~ gravy
~ beating eggs
~ pureeing cooked apples for applesauce and apple butter.

You need an immersion blender!
Teresa

I agree with Teresa - you need an Immersion Blender. I bought the Breville BSB400XL as a gift this season after doing way too much research. I don't know how much she will use the extras -- she asked for an Immersion Blender -- and looked perplexed when she opened it :). She is a great cook, but said she only wanted it for soups. For me, I would probably get one with more speed and attachments. And now I want a new one!
I also purchased it from Chef's Catalog (now a part of Target - who knew?). I was very happy with the delivery.
Delivery is free over $25.00.

Here is a link that might be useful: Breville Blender

After reading all the posts I think I will start with an immersion blender. Kitchenaid has a 3 speed at bb&b for about $60 and I have a coupon so I was leaving toward that.

I will keep the other suggestions in mind if the immersion blender is lacking. It appears there are some of the models mentioned on craigslist right now. Perhaps unwanted gifts. I imagine they will keep popping up as people invest in expensive kitchen items only to realize they don't like to cook ; )

I have a Bamix immersion blender, which I use for salad dressing, whipping cream for hot chocolate, and general blending for small quantities, e.g. toppings for just DH and me for one meal. It has four different blades, but no attachments, and does not chop effectively, despite a chopping blade purported to chop garlic. It also is not long enough to reach the bottom of a stockpot for emulsifying a large quantity of soup. A professional immersion blender would work for that, but they are very expensive. Not having to transfer hot liquids in order to puree them is a safety feature, so in that regard, I suppose a commercial immersion blender would have the safety advantage. If the family is here, or if I am cooking larger quantities, I use the food processor. I am a big fan of the Magimix and the attachments that I have for it. I keep it out on the counter all the time. If I could only have one or the other, hands down, it would be the food processor. The latter is more versatile, by far, and handles greater quantities.

Everyone likes something different, as is usual, LOL.

My Dad had one of those old Osters, it went forever, and we mostly used it to shred cabbage for sauerkraut as my stepmother didn't/wouldn't cook.

I have an old Osterizer blender and it works fine for the once every 5 years that I use it, LOL.

I have a KitchenAid food processor that I use far more than I ever thought I would. I make breadcrumbs from leftover bread, it makes the best and smoothest hummus, far better than the blender. I make Jessica's lime chipotle marinade and the fresh cilantro actualy gets chopped up instead of wound around the blades of the blender. I also use it to grate cheese, chop large amounts of onions without crying, slice garlic for the dehydrator.

I also have an immersion blender, which I have stuck in the bottom of the cupboard and never touch. I don't make smoothies or protein drinks, don't make shakes or mixed drinks, once in a while I puree soup.

However much I use the food processor, though, it doesn't sound like that's what you need. The immersion blender might be enough.

Annie

Annie's post is right on, I think. However, you seem to be branching out in your cooking, so you are right to keep the other suggestions in mind. DH came into the kitchen recently and was worried about the tears streaming down my face and my bright red nose. They were the result of my decision to slice two enormous Texas sweet yellow onions with my beloved knife instead of using the processor. I had to reassure him that no tragedy had occurred, just onion slicing. I guess one onion is my limit, unless I want to look like I'm at a funeral.

kitchendetective, I thought you were going to say you were crying because a recipe wasn't coming out right, LOL. My eyes water terribly when I cut onions. I had not thought of using a processor for onions!

kitchendetective, if I want onions to be uniform, or I just want a slice on a burger, then I use my trusty knife. I also use the knife to chop veggies for salsa, as I either tend to get the pieces unevenly chopped or they turn to mush, I can't find that middle ground. Woodie did get me a pair of onion goggles and they do work, BTW. I do wear contact lenses, the hard gas permeable type, and others have said that the lenses protect their eyes. That doesn't work for me, unfortunately, nor does refrigerating the onion first or any of various other tricks I've tried, like holding a slice of bread in my mouth, which also looks stupid, LOL.

But, if I want a bunch of onions for something, like when I'm canning, and I don't care about uniformity, they go into the processor.

I haven't been able to make pastry successfully in the food processor, which many others here say they do, and I tried making almond flour, but I only got big chunks or almond butter, I'll buy nut flour in the future if I want it. It doesn't make powdered sugar either, no matter how long I process it. It is, however, good for a lot of other things, including that onion...

Annie

When chopping a lot of onion, I put the cutting board on the rangetop and turn the hood on - low speed is usually enough to keep the onion fumes out of my face. Unless I'm doing an awful lot of cutting, I don't find it worth getting the food processor out. Also I usually want to control the slice or chop size more than the food processor lets me.

For most of the things you mention, a blender would be better than a food processor because they were pretty liquid. Most food processors don't handle large quantities of liquid well - the stem that holds the blade is short to allow different attachments to be put on and if you go higher than that with very liquid ingredients they leak. So milkshakes and smoothies work best in the blender - it handles all the liquid.

I sometimes use an immersion blender for soups and it works fine there where I don't mind (and often prefer) to just liquify some of the solids leaving some chunks. I've not found one that will produce a smooth liquid like a blender will.

I use my food processor for making things that are thicker - finely chopped ingredients or pastes rather than liquids. For example, grinding chickpeas with the other ingredients for felafel as well as making hummus. Chopping nuts, chopping parsley for tabouleh salad, making bread crumbs, making pesto sauce. The blender has a harder time with those thicker mixtures.

Also, making biscuit or pie dough.

Sometimes if I need to shred a lot of vegetables, I'll use the shredding disk for the food processor.

LOL. I don't think my cooking failures have ever tasted bad enough to cry over. On the other hand, a few of my pie crust failures have made me feel like crying.

Went to bb&b. They don't have the KA immersion blender, spatzle maker, or a dough scraper (where to people find these?) in the store so have to order on line : (

cloud_swift what an excellent idea for cutting onions!

edited to add, they didn't have any pins with rings either!
What did I buy? 3 mesh strainers, silicone tongs and spatulas, meat tenderizer, and meat thermometer.

This post was edited by debrak2008 on Sun, Dec 29, 13 at 15:49

King Arthur Flour has dough scrapers. Sur La Table has dough scrapers and spaetzle makers. One or the other has a food mill that can be purchased with a spaetzle disc. BB and B has a 200 W Bamix and will honor the 20% off coupon with them. SLT has an Ebates arrangement and BBB does also, I think. Williams Sonoma has a 150 W Bamix with attachments. They probbly have dough scrapers, etc., too. I think a number of those have various brands of immersion blenders.

cloud swift, that's a great idea. Except that I have no vent fan. I have a lovely built in empty vent hood over the stove that matches the cabinets. Go figure.

Elery says that I can't vent up, there's a bedroom directly above the kitchen but I could cut a hole in the side of the house and vent out onto the back deck. That didn't seem like a good idea. I could get a recirculating one, although the "experts" say venting outside is best. So, since I have never had one, ever, in my entire life, I decided to just do without since this house is for sale. Maybe my next house will have one. (grin)

Annie

This post was edited by annie1992 on Sun, Dec 29, 13 at 16:34

Nut flour is tough. I've made ground almonds or walnuts in the food processor or blender, but haven't taken it down as fine as a flour. Also, if you want to get really nice nut flour, you need to blanch the almonds first and rub off the skin - something I find it hard to find time to do.

Part of the trick to grinding nuts in a food processor or blender is to pulse with short bursts so you don't heat them up and cause the oil to come out.

I've had the best success for small batches of ground nuts with the little Cuisinart mini-food processor. But it still doesn't produce something that is as fine and uniform as the store bought nut flour.

My friend has a recirculating vent and it must work reasonably well as I don't smell excessive cooking odor when I visit her - which is usually when she has been cooking for a party or dinner at her house. It should be close to as good as an outside vented one at getting out the grease (there is always plenty on the filter baffles when we go to clean them) and the carbon should neutralize most of the smell. What it won't do is get out the heat (and probably not much of the humidity).

Venting to the side of the house is fine - though if it vents to a deck and people are there when it's running they will hear some noise from it. Since you are selling it probably doesn't make sense to add one now.

Cloud_swift,
I haven't tried making nut flour, but I have watched several Youtubes about making them in Blendtecs and in Vitamixes and your experience seems to be consistent with what I've watched. Blanching is necessary, then careful attention to length of blending so that one stops before making butter. That results in uneven grind size, so one then needs to sift and reprocess the larger granules. OTOH, doing all of that supposedly saves about 60% over the cost of high quality nut flours (not counting time, labor, and prorated costs of blenders, LOL).

sleevendog,
Would you show us your Blendtec set-up? How does one install one in a counter? Is it the "stealth" model? How long have you used it? I've been researching various models, but I think some gift certificates that I have may be the ultimate arbiters.

I don't think I am too far off-topic here because OP did ask about blenders, and for larger quantities than what a food processor can handle, a blender is reasonable. The blenders that heat ingredients do make more sense for this purpose because transferring already hot liquids is dangerous, both during the transfer and during the blending process.

Tip #1 Dough scraper:

Home Depot plastic spackle knife set works well. Three knives, narrow, mid and wide, $4.00

Tip #2 Nut flour:

Put your little coffee grinder with nuts inside the freezer. After a few hours, then grind.

Tip #3 Small mixer:

If you like whipping one egg, whipping one serving of whipped cream, ---- any small quantity blending/mixing/whipping ----- get a small rechargeable electric erazor. A small stainless steel whisk fits it well for all those little jobs.

dcarch

Nut flour isn't "tough" if you use the correct process. You can use either blanched or unblanched nuts for making nut flour and nut meal. I use nuts that have been soaked overnight in lightly salted water (this method activates enzymes that neutralize enzyme inhibitors), and after they have been soaked, I can slip the skins from the almonds (which makes a whiter flour) and then dehydrate the soaked nuts (with or without the skins) until they are crispy dry.

Soaking makes the nuts easier to digest and they are higher in nutrition, which is why I use this method. Because they have already been processed - what I call "Crispy Nuts" (to differentiate them from raw nuts), I don't necessarily need to soak them before making nut milk - especially if using a high-speed blender like a Vitamix.

I process nearly all the nuts we eat this way. Another benefit of "Crispy Nuts", they last longer in storage without needing refrigeration or freezing (when kept in a cool, dark storage area). The only "Crispy Nuts" I refrigerate or freeze are walnuts because they contain large amounts of triple unsaturated linolenic acid and are much more susceptible to rancidity than other nuts.

If you are grinding whole nuts, that is considered nut meal, and it will turn to nut butter in a food processor or blender before you get a fine flour, so expect the nut meal to give you coarser results in recipes that call for almond flour. Almond (or other nut) meal will work in recipes calling for nut flour, but not always as well as the finer nut flour. Since going wheat-free (Jan. 1, 2013), I make and use a LOT of nut flour and coconut flour.

I make nut flour from the dehydrated pulp remaining after making nut milk, and make coconut flour the same way when making coconut milk using unsweetened coconut and water. The remaining pulp (from nuts or coconut) is then dehydrated and ground fine - and is much finer than nut meal. These homemade flours are nearly as good as the commercial brands I've used, and cost MUCH less.

You can use a rolling pin to break up the lumps on the dehydrated pulp - and that will work fine in many recipes, or if it needs to be finer, use a blender or food processor for even finer finished product.

-Grainlady

Which Vitamix container do you use for making nut flour?

I make nut milk in a Vitamix 5200 wet blade container (e.g. - 1 c. almonds to 2 to 3 cups of water - depending on what I'm using the nut milk for) and strain the pulp using a nut milk bag. The pulp is what I dehydrate and use for nut flour.

You can make nut milk in most blenders, it doesn't have to be a Vitamix, in order to make nut flour. It WILL, however, make a difference in how small the pulp has been ground during the process. My Ninja doesn't grind the nuts as fine as the Vitamix, as an example, and other cheap blenders I've owned didn't do as good a job as the Ninja.

For anyone who uses almond milk AND almond flour on a regular basis, making your own will save you a LOT of money - even if you use traditional method, not the "Crispy Nut" method I use. I buy almonds at Sam's Club (unfortunately they have seen a price hike the last year - $14.48 / 48-oz.), and I also take advantage of reduced nut prices after the holidays.

Otherwise, I would suggest Honeyville almond flour (they have blanched and unblanched) and shipping is $4.49 for your entire order.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Honeyville

My stick blender is an older brAun model and not up to veg and shakes at all.
I see now some have muti-uses. Cannot handle ice and some frozen fruit. I still use mine every other month or so just to give a soup a bit of creaminess without using 'cream'.
Still makes a spitting mess if i don't move the pot to the sink and give it some cover like a foil 'hat'. New models seem to be a better bet.

k-detective, my Blendtec is the icb3. Their website has a video showing the counter mount. No problem taking a pic though.
I have three jar containers and use an older one for grain. Not that often since i usually need smaller amounts and have been using my spice grinder for experiments. I recently made a blend and ended up with cement in the Blendtec but have adjusted the recipe to include some oat and rice to absorb some of the seed oils. And have learned to use the pulse on low as it takes only second to grind.

Debra, BBandBeyond has what you want on-line and a dough scraper in stainless is only 5bucks. I like the solid stainless with the rolled edge i believe is only 6-7$
(shipping charges might be annoying...)

Here is a link that might be useful: blender product review pro/con

Ended up with a Vitamix purchased almost entirely with store credits and promotional gift cards and the help of an indulgent manager at Williams-Sonoma. Have not sprung for the dry jar yet. We'll see how a smoothies diet goes first, and then, perhaps, branch out. Thank you all for your help. BTW, when I ran the blender for the first time, it did not seem exceedingly noisy, so I have not placed ear plugs on the island.

The immersion stick blender stayed with my ex, and I finally bought myself a vitamix.

No comparison! I use it all the time.

My daughter was making smoothies and fruit pops for the kids, and her blender and juicer just didn't measure up. I bought her a vitamix too.

She now retired her hand crank meat grinder, that she only used to make our favorite recipe for cranberry jello, with oranges and apples in it. She now uses the vitamix. Way faster, and she says, way easier to clean.

If you can afford it, get one. You will not regret it.

dough scrapers, have you ever tried an old store card? You know, like a credit card? They make great scrapers!

Moni

I ordered a kitchen aid 3 in 1 immersion blender and am waiting for it to arrive. After I try that for a while I can see if I need more equipment like the vitamix.

As for the dough scraper. I never had one but was at a bread making demo and the baker had a rounded scraper (shaped like an artist palette). He made it look so easy to get the dough out of the bowl. I wanted one like that but all I seemed to find is the square edged ones. I did order one online so I will have it soon.

I attempted kale smoothies in my Waring retro blender (of margarita fame) and could not get the kale to blend. Here you see Green Smoothie #1 from the Vitamix. I guess the question is, "Would you drink something that looks like this?"

Did you find the color off-putting? "Smoothie" is a bit ambiguous - what are the other ingredients in the recipe?

There are any number of "green drinks" that are very good, but as usual, taste is subjective. You get accustomed to the color. I prefer using my juicer for "green drinks" rather than adding greens to my kefir/fruit juice smoothie/protein drink. Recipes for "green drinks" and "smoothies" are often very high in carbs from all the fruit or fruit juice in them, with only a token amount of greens. Some of these blends have more "sugar" in them than a can of pop/soda.

Kale happens to be my New Year's ingredient. I dehydrate it, and as it turns out that's an easy way to sneak it, or should I say add it, into all kinds of dishes. You can add dried kale to smoothies instead of adding fresh kale, because fresh kale can be hard for some blenders to mix. Dried kale can be powdered and the uses for powdered dried kale are endless.

I've been working on a kale-based granola ever since I got a sample of Coconut Cacao Kale Granola from Nuts.com, and now I'm hooked. In the past I've made kale chips several different ways as an occasional snack food, but the granola has won the prize in the snack division..... ;-)

-Grainlady

The green and the foaminess were a bit of a challenge to me. This one was two handfuls of fresh baby kale, a couple of cubes of pineapple, a couple of cubes of mango, and a cup of coconut water. It wasn't super sweet, but it did taste sweet. I agree, one definitely has to watch the sugar and carbs in smoothies.

You won't believe the number of reasons given for foaminess when you do a little research on the subject.

-Too much liquid and produce that contains a lot of water - watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers, etc. (no more than 4-6 oz. of additional liquid).

-Blend in stages adding the fruit first, then remaining ingredients, and blend "foamy" ingredients last and for less time.

-Protein produces foam, including protein in fruits/vegetables. High protein content: kale, spinach, mango and pineapple. Low protein: apples & celery.

-Insoluble fiber = foam (apples, tomatoes, leafy greens other than romaine lettuce).

-Soluble fiber = smoother texture (gelatinous fiber found in mango, bananas, peaches, pears, kiwi and romaine lettuce).

-Low speed and less liquid = less foam.

-High speed and less time = less foam.

That being said, I get foam juicing wheat grass by hand in a hand-cranked juicer, so definitely NOT a high-speed apparatus. And for even more foam - juice wheat grass and an apple for "Apple Grass" juice. Go figure....

The link below was interesting.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Joy of Blending

To reduce/remove foam and air bubbles in a liquid:

If you have a vacuum machine with a canning tube suction attachment, put the liquid in a larger container/bottle and draw a vacuum. foam and air bubbles will be removed.

Make sure the liquid doesn't enter the machine.

dcarch

I think I used the wrong pre-set program for that drink. The order of addition was good, but too high too fast was the issue. I do have one of those jar vacuums, though. I may try that. How do you dehydrate kale?

Debrak2008, I do hope you will report on your purchases. I attended a pie and roll class before Thanksgiving and the chef used a plastic bowl scraper that was straight on one edge and rounded to conform to a bowl on the other. I think she found it at King Arthur Flour and thought it was great.

To dehydrate kale: Wash thoroughly. Remove stems (save to use in another dish, stir-fry, or soup). Cut the kale leaves (kitchen scissors work well for removing the stem and cutting the large leaves into smaller portions) or tear the kale into manageable-sized pieces. (After you've made dried kale once, you will decide what size/s of pieces work best for you and fit in your dehydrator.)

Dip the cut pieces in an acidic water bath (1 t. citric acid powder, OR vitamin C powder,OR Fruit Fresh per quart of water). This aids in preventing bacteria growth, helps maintain color, and adds a little vitamin C. Drain (I give the cut pieces a gentle spin in my salad spinner).

Place same-sized pieces together in a single layer on a dehydrator tray - or on one side of a tray if you mix sizes on a single tray. Equal-sized pieces will dry in approximately the same amount of time. If you put a combination of large, medium, and small pieces together on the same tray, the small pieces will finish drying first, and you will need to remove them so they don't over-dry - so keep the same sizes together as much as possible.

Dry between 105-120-degrees F. until crispy dry (or about 4-6 hours). When crispy, allow the kale to cool to room temperature while on the trays (20-30 minutes). Don't let the dried kale sit in high humidity or it can rehydrate, and if enough moisture is absorbed, it can mold in storage. As soon as it is cool, store in an air-tight container and keep in a dark, cool place.

This is a great way to "save" some less-than-perfect kale you forgot in the crisper drawer.

-Grainlady

Congrats on your purchases.
Debra, you will find the stick blender very useful. Just a 20 second blend in the soup pot will retain some of the veggies and blend just enough to give a creamy texture without adding cream. Easy to clean and not a big appliance to drag out.

High powered blender have a learning curve. Experiment. Try some frozen fruits. Things you normally like. Add some 'greens' gradually. My green drink is not the color green. I use frozen blueberries so i get an odd color. With celery, beet, apple, ginger, spinach. Always a bit different. Low pulse, add some chia and a bit of flax seed. Pulse, pulse, rest...a chunk of frozen banana...pulse high just a bit. Variations and experimenting will prevent foam.

If i get a heavy foam by trying something new, i add a cup of water, pulse again, then i pour it through a strainer. Not a tight coffee filter...a mesh one over a wide mouth ball jar with a few ice cubes. The foam stays behind. I get more of a thinner juice. Some of the good-for-ya fiber gets left behind but no big loss making the beverage more palatable. My pups love it as does the worm composter so nothing is wasted.
Getting used to a chewy beverage is just a mind over mater for health. When i put in a couple brussel sprouts, i needed a bit more ginger, some lemon juice and ac vinegar. Yeah, it was a bit zesty, lol, a bit like drinking a salad. Used it tossed over some savoy cabbage and grated carrot.