Hot answers tagged blender
18
I think you're misunderstanding the claim slightly. You do not heat an already pureed soup, you puree and heat in one step. You can indeed make a hot soup from cold ingredients using certain high end blenders. The only one I've verified this with is the vita-mix. To do this, you put your ingredients in to the blender, turn it on, and let it run about 5 ...
13
It can be a bit tricky, a couple of tips:
Use a lot less liquid in the blender than normal. Do batches if needed.
Vent the lid so the steam can escape. A lot of lids have a center piece that can come out. Using less liquid will stop stuff coming out the top.
As Ocaasi suggests, you can cover the open lid with a kitchen towel as you start to insure there's ...
10
Look for a strong motor and thick blades. If the blades are thin, they're likely to warp over time. The motor needs to be able to spin those blades through the liquid.
Look for a thick glass container. The plastic ones are unlikely to deal with the heat of things like soups and sauces being dumped in.
Check the gasket between the glass container and the ...
10
Well, this is a common confusion between "sour" and "bitter".
The better your olive oil is, the lower its acid value - extra virgin olive oil has the lowest acid value, it is pressed in ways that reduce contact with atmospheric oxygen. Contact with oxygen increases the acid value of olive oil.
Whizzing olive oil in a blender aerates it, and the resultant ...
10
You need enough liquid in the blender for it to work; if the leaves get stuck in blender canister, they won't reach the blades to get ground up. It's mostly an issue of width of the container relative to the size of the basil leaves.
I typically make my pesto in a blender rather than a food processor, but I do the following:
Pack a few inches of basil ...
7
Sure, you can juice with a blender, as long as (a) the blender is of reasonably good quality and (b) you're not expecting the same kind of yield or quality you'd get with a juicer (electric or manual). You'll also need a very fine strainer, or cheesecloth if you're like me and hate any amount of pulp.
You'll have to peel them first, and try to remove the ...
7
Almost any normal sorbet recipe will contain a decent amount of sugar, and strawberries are no exception. I'd guess probably 1/2-2/3 cup per pound of strawberries. Use a substitute if you have an aversion - honey, agave, raw cane sugar, whatever you prefer. (Of course, anything liquid is going to contain some water, and cause a bit of ice, but it's still ...
7
I can think of two reasons to prefer square containers :
They store in less space for the same volume, when you're dealing with dozens of them (as the smoothie shops likely are)
The key to a good blending is that the inside is not round -- you need baffles and such to keep the blender from forming a single, smooth vortex. The square containers would help ...
5
You can get a hand-held blender that you can stick inside the pan you're boiling the sauce in instead of transferring it to another container. I love this tool for soups and sauces such as yours.
4
Any round piece of something that's reasonably solid will provide a start for a lid (think, arts and crafts store). Then trace around the top of the blender to see where the top of the container meets the lid. Then glue a foam-rubber gasket (DIY home store... windows) just inside the line and it should create a tight seal between the blender and the lid.
...
4
I don't think it's possible. You are talking about restaurant / bar quality blender (like Vitamix, Waring, or Blend-tec). Cheaper units will not have the horsepower or quality of construction to do things like smooth blends of ice in a drink, generate enough friction to heat a soup from scratch, or grind flour from nuts and grains.
Even if your blender ...
4
I make a smoothie every morning for myself and my wife to take on the drive to work, and I've yet to have anything get caught under my blades - so although I don't have a specific answer to your question, I'll relay my process and see if it helps :)
Night: Take out 20oz fruit and put in fridge. Generally, 2 fresh bananas and a couple large handfuls of ...
4
A vita mix should work pretty well; maybe you could carefully drag a spatula in the top of the vortex (nowhere near the blade!) to introduce more air. A whisk will be pretty slow going. And then there is a whole other category of foams made in a whipped cream canister. Here is a link to get you started: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9lJMGImGKE
3
One way to modify the recipes (but you won't get the smooth texture of the original recipes) is to cut the onion and carrot a lot smaller than the original recipe ask for. You want to almost dice it. When you are frying the onion and carrot in the pan, do it for like 1-2 min rather than the whole 5 minutes. And finally you will need to cook it in the stock ...
3
The Olive Centre suggests that; other factors can also affect the quality of your oil which include air, light, heat, water and too much sediment. Light speeds up the oxidation process which shortens the shelf life of the oil.
Also, there was research carried out which confirmed that dark glass (preferably browner) Antique Green was one of the best ways in ...
3
The Magic Bullet is essentially a blender, and is, as such, inherently unsuitable for making a salsa.
Also, the "seven-second" part of that recipe is a lie. You're still going to have to peel the onions and garlic, remove the stems and seeds of the peppers, and trim up the tomatoes.
You're getting your knife and cutting board out anyway, so why not just ...
3
I have used the exact same procedure that you describe on a number of occasions, and the result has always been a thick butter-like consistency, and I think that this is pretty much unavoidable when using a food processor. Maybe you can get a thinner consistency if you use the whole egg like ElendilTheTall suggested.
Anyway, since the sauce never ...
3
I have an Oster blender, and bought a special ice crushing blade for making smoothies. Stuff seems much less likely to get caught; the blade that came with it was almost useless as it would just cavitate under the food and spin uselessly.
3
Use a vacuum pump. People who pour liquid rubber into moulds use a vacuum chamber to get the bubbles out; I've heard of people degassing wine with a vacuum pump (see these youtube videos, for example); I wouldn't know why it wouldn't work for soup.
The question is of course where you get a vacuum pump. If you're doing this in a commercial kitchen I'm sure ...
2
Maybe you need to invest in one of these: Blendtec :)
I have a Kenwood Smoothie 2GO. It's pretty effective and I don't find ingredients getting stuck under the blades. Make sure you get one that has one of the blades that points down, this catches ingredients that sit below the blade quite well.
2
In short, if you have enough liquid then a good blender shouldn't get stuck and you shouldn't have to scrape it down. Read the answers to my question here - http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/5174/blender-buying-square-vs-round-container - that basically addresses the same thing.
Go for a square, glass container with ridges.
2
I have a recipe for blender Hollandaise that calls for whole eggs, not separated. Simply blend them until frothy, then drizzle in the hot butter while the blender is running. Add lemon juice/vinegar and seasoning and stir well.
The same recipe made by hand just uses egg yolks, so perhaps the whites help the consistency somehow.
2
I recommend taking the piece that you already have and applying very light, progressive layers of silicone sealant caulking to the edges to snuggie up the fit of the piece you already have. By progressive I mean put it down light, test it vigorously with dyed water to see where it is leaking, put a little more on those spots until it leaks no more. A tube ...
2
On the random/crazy side, I could almost imagine a partially deflated 4-square/kickball ball or similar rubber ball working.
You deflate it just enough so when you hold it on the top it forms to the shape of the opening.
It's rubber, so easy to wash.
Should be pretty cheap at a local sporting goods store.
2
I believe the term you're looking for is 'chopper'. Here and here for example.
This, a draw string powered chopper, is an interesting idea as well - I have difficultly believing it can produce enough force though.
And there's the rotating handle, crank kind.
You've got options.
Or even more basic, 'knife' ;)
2
This is a prime example of taking something that is a negative about a product and spinning it to a selling point. "It's not a bug, it's a feature!"
An ideal blender would not impact the temperature of the contents. Physics intrudes, friction and waste heat affect the contents of any blender. This company chooses to amp it up.
From an energy efficiency ...
2
I've used (not extensively) both a Vitamix 500 and a Thermomix TM31. I didn't know there was a difference in RPM, but I didn't notice too much difference in end-effect when both were turned up to full power. So I think it doesn't make much difference at those speeds anymore.
If you're having trouble milling spices though, it helps to heat them a while in ...
1
Mandoline. Depending on what model you get it can slice, dice, grate, and chip!
US$20 will get you a basic one. The better ones are often a long running brand with replaceable blades
See What to look for in a mandoline?
1
I would avoid that. Orange juice is normally simply squeezed. I would simply halve them and squeeze them. If you were to blend it and if you happened to get seeds in there then when you turn on the blender it will puree it which would add a funny taste to the juice.
Was your intent to get extra pulp or to just speed up the process?
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