When we talk of kitchen appliances, the two most necessary items that one cannot ignore considering are a blender and a beater. The latter is also known as a hand mixer. If you have a large family, their food needs are comparatively more. Every day, one has to make several dishes. However, something that takes most of the time and work is the pre-preparation of the recipe. Therefore, adding a few simple appliances in your kitchen can decrease your workload efficiently. From bating eggs to making purees, these appliances can do it all. However, to use them correctly, you need to know where and how to use them.
Another aspect that confuses most of the people is that which one out of a hand mixer and a blender would be appropriate for their kitchen? Both these appliances play a similar role; that is, blending of the ingredients. However, there lies a difference in the mechanism of action, speed, power, and many more features. Whipping, kneading, whisking, blending, and batting are some of the popular terms related to these instruments. But, customers are always confused about which one can ace the particular task.
To avoid your confusion and bring you to a conclusion, we are here with some essential points about these devices. Knowing everything about these appliances will help you to choose any one out of them. We assure you that at the end of the article, you will arrive at your final product.
Let us begin with the basic definition of these products:
- What is a blender?
A blender is another culinary device that is useful in mixing, emulsifying, or processing the food items. The blades present in the blender are the primary source of blending. The use of blenders is more popular than the hand mixers. Almost every household/ restaurant kitchen setup has a blender. To know more points about these two devices, read the article till the end.
- What is a hand mixer?
A hand mixer, otherwise known as an egg-beater is a handy kitchen device, which when immersed in the ingredients, performs their mixing action. It can either be manual or motorized (electrical). However, nowadays, the motor hand mixers have replaced the manual ones due to their ease of use.
- What are the parts of these appliances?
Blender:
- Housing: The name suggests that it is the part that houses the motor of the blender. One can also refer to it as the base or body of the blender. At the top of it, the mixing jar sits.
- Motor: It is the energy-producing part of the blender. It is present inside the body/base of the blender. When we switch on the blender, it helps in the dynamic rotation of the blades.
- Jar/ Pitcher: The place where all the ingredients sit and mix is known as the jar or pitcher. It is placed at the top of the body.
- Lid: The lid helps in securing the top of the pitcher. It should be secured tightly to avoid any spills during blending.
- Seal/Gasket: One gasket is present in the lid of the blender. It helps to snuggle fit the lid during operation. The second one is the O ring seal at the bottom of the jar.
- Blades: Blades help in blending the ingredients. The sharpness of blades and motor power determines the efficiency of a blender. Cross blades and flat blades are the two fundamental blade types.
- Cups: Some of the blenders provide storage cups as extra accessories with the blender.
Hand mixer:
- Body: The body encloses the motor of the hand mixer/beater. It is the largest part of the device.
- Beater: The immersion of the beater into the ingredients causes the mixing of the food. It can either have a beater, rotator, or both.
- Dough hooks: The dough hooks are usually available in a set of two. The kneading process becomes entirely hassle-free.
- Motor: Motor regulates the speed and rotation of the beater.
- Handle: As it is a handheld device, the handle helps in holding the device.
- Explanation of their working mechanism:
- Blender: One can relate the action of a blender with a tornado. When you turn on the device, the motor activates the blade, and it starts rotating at high speed. The motion of the ingredients inside the jar occurs like a vortex. This spiral movement allows the ingredients to blend smoothly. The air, water, and ingredients play an essential role in whirling motion and mixing. Therefore, we always recommend putting the thickener and liquid in the right amount.
- Hand mixer: After inserting the beaters in the housing and turning on the device, the motor starts to function. The energy that generates in the motor transfers to the beater, which helps in mixing the ingredients. The cooling fan rotates to maintain the consistent speed of the motor. The primary contrasting feature between a blender and a hand mixer is that the hand mixer needs to be immersed in the ingredients. On the other hand, we put the ingredients in the jar to mix it in a blender.
- Pros and cons:
Blender pros:
- It helps in mixing large capacity ingredients.
- It has a faster action.
- Even the cheap blenders will give you satisfactory results.
- Blenders have high power that can process ingredients within seconds.
- Many options and varieties are available.
- It enhances the interior of your kitchen space.
- It can perform various kinds of mixing actions.
- It has different control settings.
- One can also choose to crush ice in a decent blender.
Blender cons:
- It will take a small separate space in your kitchen.
- Cleaning consumes time.
- Only high-quality models have ice crushing features.
Hand mixer pros:
- Weighs less, easy and handy to operate.
- It does not consume bench space.
- Easy to store and compact.
- Various kinds of attachments are available.
- It features different speed settings.
- You are free to pick the bowl of your choice.
- It has hassle-free cleaning and maintenance
Hand mixer cons:
- It cannot blend all kinds of ingredients.
- It has low power operation in contrast to the blender.
- It prepares a lesser amount of batches.
- Where to use them?
Blender:
- It helps in preparing the batter for baking and cooking.
- It makes delicious and nutritious smoothies, milkshake, and protein shakes.
- Making fresh and rich almond milk at home is now easier than ever.
- A blender can also work as a juicer.
- You can prepare powdered sugar for baking and other purposes.
- It helps in making super outstanding salad dressings.
- You can also make fresh butter and cream at home.
- You can also use it to make skincare solutions like scrub and body lotions.
Hand mixer:
- It helps in the preparation of cake batter and recipes.
- Homemade butter can be quickly prepared from it.
- Tasty dosa batter for breakfast can be ready within minutes.
- It also helps in frothing milk and whipping cream.
- One can also use a hand mixer to shred chicken.
Conclusion:
We hope that you have decided on the product of your choice till now. Thanks for reading. Happy shopping!