Hand Blender

[ArtVandelay]

My Brother has now decided that he'd rather I bought him a hand blender instead of a griddle. Looked at those cast iron griddles and he found they weren't worth the expense and he'd rather I spend my money on a fancy gadget for his flat.

Still looking to spend £50-£60 tops really and he'd prefer the blender to be brushed steel or black. Looked at a few Dualit ones on ebay and some of the Philips range, but I really am clueless as to what makes a good blender.

Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated

[Mobile Chicane]

Get one with a chopper. It's really useful for breadcrumbs, nuts, salsa etc.

This looks like it will do the job for £40:

http://www.johnlewis.com/230855940/Product.aspx

Edited by Mobile Chicane on Tuesday 9th March 12:12

[ArtVandelay]

Mobile Chicane said:

Get one with a chopper. It's really useful for breadcrumbs, nuts, salsa etc.

This looks like it will do the job for £40:

http://www.johnlewis.com/230855940/Product.aspx

[snip]

I like the look of that one, the only thing that worries me is the power at 200w. Other hand blenders that I've looked at have been 700w or is that just overkill? Looks wise, that blender is spot on though.

[grumbledoak]

I've got the Marco Pierre White one:


Variable speed, 650W. Not dishwasher safe, though none were when I looked.
£33 from Amazon, though I think it was half price at £20 in Robert Dyas when I bought.

hth

[Mobile Chicane]

I've got a 300 Watt one which is perfectly adequate. I see your point about whether 200 Watts is enough though.

If I were to replace mine tomorrow I'd probably choose this for the attachments:

http://www.johnlewis.com/230855939/Product.aspx

[ArtVandelay]

Mobile Chicane said:

I've got a 300 Watt one which is perfectly adequate. I see your point about whether 200 Watts is enough though.

If I were to replace mine tomorrow I'd probably choose this for the attachments:

http://www.johnlewis.com/230855939/Product.aspx

The Dualit one has caught my eye, plenty of grunt and a nice design plus the attachments. Prefer the black finish, think I'll have to get myself down to John Lewis at the weekend for a look.

grumbledoak said:

I've got the Marco Pierre White one:


Variable speed, 650W. Not dishwasher safe, though none were when I looked.
£33 from Amazon, though I think it was half price at £20 in Robert Dyas when I bought.

hth

I like the look of that one and the motor is certainly powerful enough to slice some onions. I take it at such a low price it doesn't include quite the range of accessories the above Dualit one does?

[grumbledoak]

ArtVandelay said:

I like the look of that one and the motor is certainly powerful enough to slice some onions. I take it at such a low price it doesn't include quite the range of accessories the above Dualit one does?

Yes, it's just what you see in the photo. But, at £20 it was a bargain. (We've a Magimix anyway).

[Vron]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Breville-VHB014-Stainless-...

I paid £20 for mine when they were on offer. They were £26 in Tesco's recently if they still have any.

[ArtVandelay]

Vron said:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Breville-VHB014-Stainless-...

I paid £20 for mine when they were on offer. They were £26 in Tesco's recently if they still have any.

The poor reviews on Amazon put me off I'm afraid, looks wise though it's nice.

[Vron]

ArtVandelay said:

Vron said:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Breville-VHB014-Stainless-...

I paid £20 for mine when they were on offer. They were £26 in Tesco's recently if they still have any.

The poor reviews on Amazon put me off I'm afraid, looks wise though it's nice.

Yep but for £20 its OK - I only use it for whizzing spuds into mash and the same for carrot and turnip. So far its been fine.

[grumbledoak]

Vron said:

whizzing spuds into mash

Wallpaper paste, I'd imagine.

[Cotty]

grumbledoak said:

I've got the Marco Pierre White one:


Variable speed, 650W. Not dishwasher safe, though none were when I looked.
£33 from Amazon, though I think it was half price at £20 in Robert Dyas when I bought.

hth

Is the bottom bit metal or just looks like it. I use mine for making soups and a metal bottom bit would scratch a non-stick pan.

[Cotty]

I have a Philips 300W hand blender like this

http://www.consumer.philips.com/c/juicer-blender/3...

Its fine for blending soups and the bottom bit detaches and goes in the dishwasher and does not scratch my non-stick pans.

[grumbledoak]

Cotty said:

Is the bottom bit metal or just looks like it. I use mine for making soups and a metal bottom bit would scratch a non-stick pan.

Yes, it is pretty much as it appears, the lower part is all metal up to a plastic bit at the top about an inch tall (you can almost see the join in the photo). I'd imagine it would survive the top drawer of the dishwasher for quite a few years.

Scratching isn't an issue for me; my only non-stick pan is the frying pan.

[Cotty]

grumbledoak said:

Scratching isn't an issue for me; my only non-stick pan is the frying pan.

I had expensive stainless steel pans, but they kept falling apart. When the last one fell apart I just used some Nectar points and got a free set of Tefal non-stick pans from Argos. They are really good and still going strong after lots of abuse and being run though the dishwasher.

[Vron]

grumbledoak said:

Vron said:

whizzing spuds into mash

Wallpaper paste, I'd imagine.

Baby food

[VR6time]

My Bamix is the most used kitchen device I own. It does all sorts, and has a food processor attachment too.

Well worth the extra. and a 10 year guarantee.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=ba...

[TooLateForAName]

Another Bamix vote.

[littlegreenfairy]

VR6time said:

My Bamix is the most used kitchen device I own. It does all sorts, and has a food processor attachment too.

Well worth the extra. and a 10 year guarantee.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=ba...

I'm about to inherit my mother's Bamix. Hers is about 40 years old and still in amazing working order (inherit as in steal as I quite like it...)