Blenders

Blenders are one of the truly versatile small kitchen appliances. They can puree, liquefy, crush ice and more. With features like these, a blender can benefit you whether you are a health food nut or you want to add more drink-making tools to your home bar.

For smoothies and blended drinks, look at either a full-size blender or a single-serve blender. The single-serve small blender saves space and might be the perfect machine if you like to make yourself a morning smoothie or cold blended coffee. Alternatively, the full-sized blender is good for parties, meal-prep and shared treats. If you need specific features for your planned recipes, make sure that your new blender offers the right functions. For example, an ice crush full-size blender is useful for many drink recipes.

If you want to blend or puree certain foods, like soups or whipped mashed potatoes, you may want a handheld or immersion blender so that you don’t have to take the foods out of the bowl or pot in which you are preparing them.

If you are unsure whether you need a blender or a food processor, you should know that some blenders have multiple attachments to expand their abilities. With the right attachments, you can even get close to mimicking a food processor. You can whip up a frozen daiquiri for summer party guests and then change your kitchen blender attachment to make pesto, dressings, soups, pizza sauce and more. If, however, you want to make vegetable or fruit juice, you will need to invest in a separate juicer.

When you use your new blender for smoothies, you can save money on groceries by choosing frozen fruit instead of fresh. Frozen fruit in smoothies and frozen drinks also reduces the ice in the recipe and increases the intensity of flavor.

Given a blender mixer’s versatility, it can make the perfect appliance gift for the holidays or a housewarming party. In particular, a portable food blender is great because people can keep it in the kitchen as well as use it anywhere, from the kitchen countertop to the office or gym.