You have a hand blender and you are wondering if you can use it for chopping? I will teach you how to do use your hand blender to chop here.
A hand blender is also known as an immersion blender, or you can call it a stick blender. The shape looks far different from a normal blender that usually comes with a base and a jug-like container. This one has a stick-like shape and that is why it is usually called the stick blender.
The Hand Blender is a piece of kitchen equipment or appliance that is usually used for blending food. It can also be used for making smoothies. Lastly, it can also be used for chopping, and that is what we are about to explain in this article, how to make use of a hand blender for chopping.
If you are doing small jobs, you are going to need this immersion or hand blender, this is because it is perfect for small jobs. If you are going to be blending something large, you should go for the other bigger blenders that have a base and a jug-like container.
Those ones are best if you are blending a larger quantity of foods. The hand blender is the best choice for low-volume tasks. For those who may be asking the question of how to use a hand blender for chopping, we have made it clear at the beginning of this article that hand blenders can be used for chopping. The question is HOW?
Table of Contents
Steps on how to use a hand blender for chopping
Making use of the hand blender for chopping is not as difficult as you may think it is. Where you will spend a lot of time is when you are peeling off the skin of whatever you are about to chop with the hand blender.
Chopping with the hand blender itself does not take so much time. Take note that when you buy your hand blender, it usually comes with attachments, and one of those attachments are is the chopper.
The chopper attachment is what is used in chopping foods. Make sure that any hand blender you are using comes with a chopper as an attachment. If it does not have the attachment, you may not be able to use it to chop foods. This is how you can make use of the hand blender for chopping:
Step 1: Start by Peeling of the skin of the item
This is the first thing you need to do when you are chopping with the hand blender. It actually depends on what you are chopping. Take for example, you are chopping an onion, you should first of all peel off the skin of the onion.
You should not chop anything in the hand blender with the skin on it. It does not make any sense at all, if you chop anything in the hand blender with the skin on it, you may not like the results at all. To make the results better you should first of all peel off the skin of whatever you want to chop.
Step 2: Cut it into quarters
After peeling off the skin of whatever you want to chop in your hand blender, it could be onions, etc. Whichever one it is, you should cut it into quarters. The purpose of doing this is so that it will be able to be reduced into smaller pieces when you are chopping it.
Cutting it into quarters will hasten the chopping process. If you do not cut it into quarters, before it will finish chopping, it will take a longer time. It is just like when you want to blend tomatoes, you do not throw the tomatoes in the blender, you need to, first of all, reduce it to a small size so that when you are blending it, you will get the best results and the right texture.
It is the same thing when you are chopping with the hand blender, it is very important that you cut it into quarters so that the right texture can be attained easily when you are done.
Step 3: Attach the Food chopper
This is the next thing that you need to do after you are done cutting the food into quarters. Remember that we said it at the beginning of this article that the hand blender usually comes with attachments, they are the milk frother, beaker, the egg whisk, and finally the food chopper.
For the purpose of chopping, the attachment you will need is the food chopper. This will enable you to be able to successfully chop any food you want to. If you have bought your hand blender, you should confirm that there is a food chopper attachment in it.
If you do not confirm this and it ended up not coming with the hand chopper, what you should do is that you should take it back for replacement, that is if it comes with a warranty or a return back policy.
This is what the warranty and the return back policy entails. However, if the hand blender does not come with a warranty or return back policy, it may even be more difficult.
Step 4: Pulse The food in the chopper
After cutting the food in the quarters, you should put those quarters in the hand blender and pulse it until you are satisfied with the result. Remember that when you are making use of hand blenders to chop, it is best that you do it in a smaller container.
This is a small task; smaller containers will do the job just fine and will give you the best results. If you are doing larger tasks, you should use a blender with a larger container. Imagine doing small tasks with the hand blender like chopping onions and you are making use of a large container, you will not have the best results at all. Take note of this because that is what will determine the quality of your chopped food.
Step 5: Cleaning the hand blender
This is also a very important part of the hand blender. Hand blenders are not different from regular blenders when it comes to cleaning. The blender has blades as well, these blades help you to successfully chop the food that you put inside it.
After doing all these things with the hand blender will definitely be dirty. If you do not wash the blender immediately, you are likely to leave all the dirt to get stuck on the body of the blender and you will even make it more difficult for it to be cleaned. In order for the blender to work efficiently and also, for the blades to remain strong and efficient, you need to consistently clean it and take care of it properly.
To wash this hand blender, what you need to first of all do is to disassemble all the parts so that you will be able to access all the parts when you are cleaning. This is very important because if you do not disassemble the parts, some parts of the blender will be clean and then some will not be clean at all.
To avoid this, make sure that you disassemble all the parts of the blender. After disassembling all the parts, you should go ahead to wash all the parts of the blender. Do not forget that you should also focus on the blades, the blades do the chopping job and if there is any food residue on the blades, the washing will help to remove it.
Making use of dishwashing liquid is also advisable, but when you are using it, make sure that it is just a small quantity, the purpose of doing this is to ensure that the fragrance does not leave any residue on the body of the blender. Remember that you are dealing with kitchen equipment that usually comes in contact with food frequently, you need to be extremely careful.
Another thing that you can do when you are cleaning your hand blender is that you can choose to soak it in water for some time, that is if you notice that the hand blender has some dirt that must have been stuck and is proving difficult to remove. When you soak it, you should leave it for about twenty minutes, then you can wash it again, after doing that the stains should remove completely.
After washing it completely, the next thing you need to do is to rinse it well. What the rinsing does is that it helps to remove all the soap residue that may have been stuck on the body of the blender. And also, it will help to make the hand blender completely clean.
When you are rinsing it, make sure that you are rinsing it in running water, it will help to take all the dirt down and leave no stains on the blender. When you are doing this continuously, it will help the blade to stay sharp and neat and also free from rust or corrosion.
One thing that could cause your blades to wear easily is when it is exposed so much to rust and corrosion. When you are done rinsing then you can go ahead to dry it. When you keep it in a place for it to get dried, make sure that where you are keeping it is safe and nothing will happen to it there.
Leaving it to air-dry means that you are allowing it to dry naturally, this is the best way to dry kitchen equipment. When you are done drying it the final thing to do is to store it in a very safe place where it will not be prone to breakage.
Final Words on how to use a hand blender for chopping
These steps that we have shared on how you can use your hand blender for chopping will guide you on the process when you want to start using your hand blender for chopping. We said it that hand blenders usually come with attachments, one of them is the food chopper.
This is what will enable you to be able to chop with the hand blender. When you want to chop using this hand blender, you should get your food chopping attachment and use it to chop your food.
Take note that when you are chopping small-volume food, you should make use of a smaller container, some are usually 500 ml. They are usually the best and will make your task quick, you cannot be chopping small food and make use of a large container, it does not fit at all.
If you are chopping food that has skin, we used onion as an example at the beginning of this article, and we said that what you should do first is that you should peel off the skin so that when you are done chopping it, you will get a smooth result and good outcome.
After peeling off the skin, you should cut it into quarters, it is just the same thing as when you want to blend tomatoes in a regular blender, in order to make the blending process even smoother, you need to reduce the tomatoes into smaller sizes, that is exactly the same thing you are doing with the food you want to chop in the hand blender.
When you do that you are helping to reduce it into smaller sizes so that the chopping process will be faster and will even bring better results. This is a process that you should not skip at all. If you throw the whole food inside the hand blender without reducing it by cutting it into quarters, you may be giving the blades so much work and make it difficult for it to chop successfully.
When you are done chopping with the hand blender, it is wise that you need to should clean the hand blender thoroughly. Clean it so well that there will be no traces of chopped food residue on it.
When you are done cleaning, you should rinse it well so that if there is any soap residue it will be washed off. After rinsing you should dry it naturally by air-drying it. After that then you should store it in a very good place.