Years in the past, when I realized of the existence of home-kitchen immersion blenders, I received so excited that I purchased three of them: one for myself and one every for my mother and my sister. How may you not go wild for a handheld software that might nearly immediately flip a can of Campbell’s Chunky into one thing easy and silky?
Immersion blenders have develop into inexpensive and fairly indispensable instruments within the years since then. All of them work roughly the identical means. The enterprise finish is a spinning blade on a shaft that clips into the highest half, a mix of motor and controls, all in regards to the measurement of an extra-tall can of White Claw. The twine normally emerges above your hand, which appears odd, however you barely discover it. One of many major glories of immersion blenders is that you do not have to switch boiling soup from its pot to a full-size jar blender to doubtlessly one other pot to mix it. Simply plunge the blade into the pot you cooked it in and begin mixing. It is nice for soups of many stripes and is especially sturdy for do-it-yourself mayo, hollandaise, and dressings. I like utilizing mine to whip up quick-and-dirty batches of herb sauces like salsa verde.
If you’re finished, tuck the blade shaft within the dishwasher, wrap the facility twine across the prime and slide it right into a utensil drawer, then go about your day.
Some immersion blenders—also referred to as “hand” or “stick” blenders—work higher than others, however I’ve at all times admired their usefulness and worth. I married right into a fundamental Braun that was sufficiently old to wish duct tape to carry the whisk attachment collectively and difficult sufficient to maintain chugging for years afterward. Testing Braun’s MultiQuick 7 in 2020 demonstrated refinements in energy, management, and consistency of the completed product. For instance, the bell-shaped dome over the blade, together with your personal good sense, retains splatter to a minimal.
This was the pleased historical past I saved in thoughts when testing the brand new cordless immersion blender from All-Clad. The corporate is greatest identified for its pots and pans, but it surely seems it’s additionally been making different kitchen gear, together with immersion blenders. Between that and the cordlessness, a brand new characteristic in some kitchen home equipment, I used to be intrigued.
{Photograph}: All Clad
The All-Clad Cordless Rechargeable Stainless Steel Hand Blender is available in silver or black and works similar to its corded brethren. The highest half, which you maintain, has controls to show it on and off and to regulate pace. For charging, you set it into its matching dome-shaped countertop charging station. It does not take a lot of a artistic thoughts to suppose that it appears like a big, shiny dildo nestled in between the KitchenAid and the microwave, one thing that is exhausting to unsee.
Nonetheless, I buzzed by testing rapidly and simply. On a go to to Vancouver to see my mother-in-law, I made vichyssoise—potato-leek soup—deliberately leaving the leek chunks bigger than I ought to need to see if that would depart stringy bits in every single place, however the All-Clad powered by, leaving liquid velvet in its wake. Ditto for utilizing it as a of entirety for Thanksgiving gravy. No lumps right here! Amongst reviewer colleagues at different publications, I’ve seen All-Clad’s immersion blenders, each corded and cordless, get some slack for being a bit unwieldily, and whereas it is definitely not as intuitive or snug because the ski-grip deal with and variable-speed set off of the MultiQuick 7, this one felt OK contemplating that it is cordless. One peculiar factor that may sound a bit contradictory following that was that I could not resolve the right way to grip it. “Away” from me, clamping it between my thumb and forefingers and utilizing the thumb to show it on and off, or curled into my hand with the facility button underneath my fingers. Neither was significantly snug. Oddly, once I requested a rep about this their response was basically, “Whichever!” which made me want it had been designed somehow.
Over the winter, I leaned into the cooler climate and made butternut squash soup with ginger. Like leeks, that ginger may have posed an issue, however the completed product was a pleasing, warming soup, a hearty blast when the daylight was minimal.
