Using an immersion blender be used instead of a food processor in the kitchen depends on a number of things, but then the real question is if you can really use an immersion blender instead of a food processor. Let’s find out.
Can You Use An Immersion Blender Instead Of A Food Processor? Yes, You can use a heavy high powered immersion blender to do almost all the work of a food processor in the kitchen, but only a smaller scale. So, you can decide not to buy a food processor in your kitchen until you are heavy for some heavy food processing work to be done.
An immersion blender is good at its own job especially for things like soups or anything liquid or loose. The function of an immersion blender is somehow similar to that of the traditional blender compared to how close it is to a food processor. If you need a fantastic paste, an immersion blender will do fantastic work for you.
Meanwhile, food processors are extremely great for chunky or textured dishes. An example is in the making of Pesto. Food processors are perfect for that.
A food processor works very well when there are different layers of textured ingredients like nuts, garlic, basil e.t.c. A food processor almost works like a Chef’s knife that chops away. If you know what I mean?
Blenders are generally good for grinding stuff to paste. That is what an immersion blender will do for you. A food processor will not grind food to pastes but can be very good at chopping nuts, fruits and vegetables.
So using one in place of the other is indeed dependent on what you want to achieve.
A blender will not chop BUT blend.
A food processor will not BLEND but chop.
Got it now?
You can use immersion for soups related ingredients instead of a food processor. It will give you a very good result. If you actually want to see how an immersion blender looks like, you can check Cuisinart CSB-300 Rechargeable Hand Blender or Braun MQ9037X Multiquick, and Bamix M150 Mono Pro.
They are all good immersion blenders you can always come across in the market.
Table of Contents
What is the difference between an immersion blender and a food processor
There is a difference between the immersion blender and food processor, although many people think there is no difference. As for liquid ingredients, an immersion blender will always take the upper hand.
That’s exactly what is it made for unlike the multipurpose food processor which is made for more intense tasks such as slicing vegetables or mixing dough, or grinding meat and so on.
Read more: Can You Use A Regular Blender Instead Of An Immersion Blender?
What can I use if I don’t have a food processor or immersion blender
There are many things you can do with a food processor or immersion blender but if in the absence of these two machines, you can use these ones:
- In place of a food processor, a blender is the most common appliance you can use to process your food and it is cheaper compared to food processors.
- If you desire to aerate the combination of butter, flour, milk, the best machine you can use in the absence of food processor is a mixer.
- A grinder is also another good alternative for the food processor. You can grind things like rice, vegetables, groundnut and many more.
- Rolling pin and a plastic bag can also do the job.
- Knives too can be used to slice things like onions, vegetables and many other food items to mention but few.
Do I really need an immersion blender
The answer is yes and the reason is that it comes with a lot of benefits, for example, immersion blenders as small as they look can do most of the tasks a food processor or full-size powerful blender can do. They are lighter and much easier to store or travel with.
The size of the immersion blender makes it a good small household that doesn’t allow you to necessarily use a full-sized blender.
Can you use an immersion blender for mashed potatoes
Not really. If you want to make the creamiest soups and sauces in a completely short time, immersion is number.
Though immersion blenders cannot make good mash with potatoes, they can cut through potatoes quickly and turn them into smooth and creamy ingredients without lumps.
What should I look for in an immersion blender
There are many things you can look at in a great immersion blender but the most important criterion is the quality or brand. You must ensure you consider the ability of an immersion blender to blend things well.
If you can find yourself a good immersion, it will help you perform the job of a full-size blender. Whether you want to make a cauliflower rice puree or smooth nut butter, it is just the best for you.
What is the difference between an immersion blender and a hand blender
A stick blender or immersion blender is known to be able to blend smaller quantity of food compared to the regular full-sized blender and for that, it is a great tool to have in the kitchen for an emergency meal preparation.
Immersion is seen as a type of blending and food processing machine but is quite different from the normal blender and food processor.
Read more: How to Use A Blender to Puree Baby Food
Can I use a hand mixer instead of an immersion blender for soup
It is not that a good idea to use a hand mixer instead of immersion, and again, hand mixers are bigger than immersion blenders.
An immersion blender is cheap and can perform its job better than a hand mixer which is expected to be costlier.
Hand mixer may try its best but cannot be considered as a tool for hot or runny liquid soups. It will only combine ingredients wet or dry but cannot turn them into a liquid. That’s why it is called a mixer.
Can you use an immersion blender to cream butter and sugar
Yes, you can make use of immersion blender to cream butter and sugar but it is not a substitute for a mixer.
For instance, you cannot mix the dough with an immersion blender, you can’t use an immersion blender to cream larger quantities of butter and sugar.
If you are to make this mixing in small quantity, just use the immersion blender instead of the regular full-sized blender.
How do I use my immersion blender without making a mess
Well, there is no way mess will not be recorded while making use of some of these appliances until a precaution is being taken.
To avoid messy food splatter, ensure you keep the blade completely covered while blending and also make sure a high-sided container such as a tall pitcher is used.
You can read more here: How Do I Use My Immersion Blender Without Making A Mess?
Can you use an immersion blender with ice
You cannot crush ice with an immersion blender as it is going to spoil the blade. Maybe in the nearest future, if manufacturers produce immersion blender with a stronger blade capable of crushing ice, you will be able to do so. or now, you can use a food processor or strong full-sized blender to crush ice.
Can you use an immersion blender to whip eggs
You can use an immersion blender for this purpose but it is not that ideal to purposely buy it for whipping eggs.
You can whip egg better with a hand mixer but if you don’t have a better alternative, you can still manage immersion blender that will make the eggs slightly fluffier.
Will immersion blender scratch pots
Your pot is safe as the bottom of the blender is made of plastic over. This has made immersion blender a great choice nonstick cooking tool.
So, feel free to use an immersion blender on your pot, it will not scratch it.
What can I use if I don’t have an immersion blender
In the absence of immersion blender which is very ideal for liquid soups, you can still make use of hand mixer to carry out its job.
There is an advantage using hand mixer as it can add more air while whipping your food item – this means you will get fluffier product using the hand mixer. A multi-blade blender can also replace immersion blender to whip both cream and batters.
Can you put an immersion blender in hot soup
Yes. In fact, the reason is that you may not even splash hot liquid on yourself or it may not even slip and hit you causing some hazards to your skin.
Apart from these risks, I don’t think there any other risk attached to immersion blender when using it on the hot liquid.
If you can overcome the risk, it is your choice to use it because making hot soups creamy is the very reason it was designed.
Can you mix cake batter with an immersion blender
Immersion blenders are great when it comes to blending puree food. However, they cannot do a great job when it comes to mixing wet and dry ingredients.
This implies that it cannot work well for cake batters or whipping food items due to the fact that it is not designed to insert enough air into the mix.
Can you use an immersion blender in a glass bowl
This has to do with the safety measure involved in using an immersion blender. It is good to avoid using non-stick pans and glass dishes together.
The reason is that glass can easily chip or shatter as it comes in contact with the blades of your blender.
This is not only unsafe for your glass or skin but can still waste your food item since you will have to throw it away.
Can you use an immersion blender with frozen fruit
The truth is that you don’t need a blender to make a smoothie. However, the well-designed blades of immersion blenders are good for the job of pulverizing frozen fruits just as they are also effective at pureeing vegetables.
The smoothie should be blended in a beaker or something similar and serve yourself chill.
How do you blend soup with an immersion blender
Yes, it is a great cook when it comes to chunky soups in as much as the chunky is of moderate length and hardness. The small nature of immersion blender is also an added advantage when making such soups or liquid puree.
You can get the blender into the action of this type by just gently squeeze the trigger and pulse to get the desired regularity.
Final words
Immersion blenders are good to go and can do most of the works of a food processor. You can also check of the recommended immersion blenders above, they can do a great job especially the brands selected.