Immersion Blender Tips

A Kitchen Aid® Immersion Blender is almost a necessity for some recipes.

Jenny Harper, head of the NESTLE TOLL HOUSE test kitchen says, “The KitchenAid(R) Immersion Blender has become the Test Kitchen's new best friend!”

An immersion blender is the perfect tool for smoothies. And with a chopper attachment, you can chops small amounts of vegetables, cooked meats and nuts. The whisk attachment whips up eggs whites in less than a minute. Puree soups in the saucepan – no need to risk spilling or burning.

Jenny made the following recipes with an immersion blender. Here’s what she said:

Banana Berry Smoothie
“All ingredients for this quick, refreshing beverage were put into a pitcher. The blending attachment was used. It chopped up the frozen strawberries and sliced bananas just fine. Very easy to adjust the speed. Any of our VeryBestBaking.com smoothie-type recipes could be made this blending attachment. “

Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Soup
“The chopper attachment was used here for the garlic clove and onion. The clove of garlic was processed first and then the onion added for chopping. Prior to putting the onion into the chopper, it was first sliced into chunks. After processing, the mixture was put into the saucepan for sautéing, then transferred to the blending beaker along with the roasted red peppers The blending attachment made the pureeing of this mixture very easy! All was poured back into the saucepan when recipe started.”

Southwest Corn Soufflé
“Three egg whites were whipped using the whisk attachment. In less than a minute, the egg whites were whipped into stiff peaks. Talk about fast!”

Ham and Swiss Quiche
“By using the chopper attachment, the ham and green onions were very easy to chop. The evaporated milk, eggs, flour, salt and pepper were blended together with the whisk attachment. All attachments were so easy to clean!”

Cream of Broccoli Soup
“The chopper attachment was used to finely chop the garlic clove. The onion was then added to be coarsely chopped (before that, the onion was cut into big pieces). All done so easily! For this recipe, the dry milk, water and flour needs to be combined prior to putting into the soup. The whisk attachment blended everything so well.”

Pumpkin Peanut Soup
“Talk about a yummy soup for a cold winter's night- this is it! The KitchenAid Immersion Blender makes this soup so easy to make. The onions, shallots and garlic cloves were all chopped in the chopper attachment. Once the soup mixture was done cooking on the stove, the blending attachment was used to blend the soup to a smooth consistency. All of this was done right in the saucepan!”

More great recipes for a KitchenAid(r) Immersion Blender:
Soup recipes
Smoothie Recipes

KitchenAid(r) Immersion Blender Usage Tips
Cut solid foods into small pieces for easier blending or chopping.

To avoid splashing, insert the Immersion Blender into the mixture before pressing the power button and release the power button before pulling the Immersion Blender out of the mixture.

When blending in a saucepan on a cooktop, remove the pan from the heating element to protect the Immersion Blender from overheating.

For best blending, hold the Immersion Blender at an angle and gently move up and down within the container. Do not pound down on the mixture with the Immersion Blender.

To prevent overflow, allow room in the container for the mixture to rise when using the Immersion Blender.

Recipe ideas to try with the KitchenAid (r) Immersion Blender:
Banana Berry Smoothie
Ham and Swiss Quiche
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Cream of Broccoli Soup
Southwest Corn Soufflé
Pumpkin Peanut Soup

Convection Ovens
There are two basic types of convection ovens: European and American. Both are available in the U.S. Baking directions are not consistent, so be sure to follow the manufacturer's directions. Convection ovens should be preheated about 15 minutes — 20 minutes for larger ovens.

Oven Temperature
Check the accuracy of your oven temperature with a mercury oven thermometer placed on the middle of the oven rack of a preheated oven. After you get the actual temperature, adjust your oven dial accordingly so the interior oven temperature is where it needs to be.

Toaster Ovens
If baking cookies in a toaster oven, follow the manufacturer's directions.

- First, remove the baking tray from the toaster oven.

- Preheat the oven to 375° F for approximately 5 to 10 minutes.

- Drop cookie dough onto the baking tray. Generally, about 6 cookies may be baked at one time.

- Actual baking times vary from toaster oven to toaster oven — from as little as 7 minutes to as long as 14 minutes.

- If cookies are too flat, increase temperature to 400° F. If cookies become too dark on top, preheat oven longer or try reducing temperature 25° F.

Aluminum Pans
Provide good diffusion of heat. But, even expensive aluminum pans will pit and become discolored, which may even adversely affect the color and flavor of some foods, particularly foods containing acids.

Insulated Baking Sheets
Are also good for cookie baking. Some brands may recommend either adding 2 T flour to the recipe or raising the oven temperature 25º F. After making this adjustment, just follow the baking time called for in the Original Nestlé® Toll House® Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. For best results:

- Make sure your baking sheets fit your oven properly.

- Baking sheets that are too large or which are placed off-center in the oven cause heat to build-up underneath, producing cookies that get too dark or burn on the bottom.

Baking Sheets
Shiny aluminum baking sheets with only 1 or 2 sides work best for cookie baking.

- For best results, make sure your baking sheets fit your oven properly.

- Baking sheets that are too large or which are placed off-center in the oven cause heat to build-up underneath, producing cookies that get too dark or burn on the bottom.

- Choose baking sheets with at least a 1- or 2-inch clearance all the way around, and that do not touch the sides, front or back of the oven.

Dark Metal Pans
Catch and hold heat well. They’re better for browning pies, but may brown cookies too rapidly.

Earthenware Pans
Are poor conductors of heat, but both glazed and unglazed earthenware will hold heat well and not discolor foods. They can be heavy, and break easily with sudden temperature changes. Because lead may be present in some clays used to make earthenware cookware, we do not recommend it for food use.