What Blender And/or Food Processor Do You Use?

[Emily Elizabeth]

My KitchenAid blender died after 5 years so I thought I would ask what blender you use for our type of cooking. I would like to be able to grind up almonds and make almond meal and flour (probably need something else for that?) and also do the regular icy/smoothie things with it.

I am also going to get an immersion blender for pureeing soups and pumpkin and such - so if any of you have one that you like, please let me know!

Lastly if you have any input on food processors I'd love to hear that as well. I keep seeing them used on the food network, so now I think I have to have one!

[dlp252]

I'll be watching this thread closely, lol. I just broke my full sized blender. That was after I broke my favorite little Magic Bullet. That was the third Magic Bullet I broke by the way, lol.

I guess I need a heavy duty blender, but still intend to buy another Magic Bullet too.

[jerseyangel]

I have both a food processor and a blender.

The food processor is good for things like grinding, shreading, cutting flours into shortening for multiple pie crusts, etc.

The blender, I use for smoothies, homemade ice "cream" mixtures, and things that just need to be whipped together well.

I have a Cusinart food processor and a Waring blender (the bar-type with the heavy glass pitcher)--both I'm very satisfied with and have had for years.

[mtraezme]

I just got an Oster from Target. It works pretty well but hurts my ears because it's so loud. I need to get some of the earmuff thingees they have at the firing ranges.

I really, really want a Blendtec or Vitamix because those can handle nut butters and things.

Here's a good link that compares the two.

Open Original Shared Link

Ezme

[AndreaB]

I have a cuisinart food processor and a bosch universal mixer/blender.

I burned out 2 osters before getting the bosch. It's pretty heavy duty.

[Green12]

I also have a Cuisinart food processor, nothing fancy just the standard one with the white/cream base and gray pulsing handle. It wasn't too expensive and it works great.

Blenders I have not had much luck with

[Darn210]

I have a Cuisinart Food Processor . . . works fine but I don't really push it if you know what I mean.

I love my blender. It is Hamilton Beach but it is a (low end commercial) bar blender. It has off or on - not all those 14 inbetween speeds. It can mix a FULL pitcher of smoothies or daquaris.

[Emily Elizabeth]

Thanks everyone for your responses! I'll let you know what I end up getting and how they work!

[Emily Elizabeth]

Okay, I wanted to report back on what I ended up getting. I got a Cuisinart Blender/Food Processor Duo and a KitchenAid Immersion Blender. I am VERY happy with both products. The Food processor is only about 2 cups, but I really don't need it for much more than that very often. If I do it's just something like shredded potatoes and I can empty it out once it's full and continue with another batch. They are all very easy to clean too - dishwasher safe - yay! Now I don't know what i ever did without them. Especially the food processor! I'd be happy to answer any questions anyone has about them.

Happy Holidays!

[jerseyangel]

Glad you found some things that work well for you! They sound great.

[dlp252]

Is the immersion blender pretty powerful? I've never had good luck with those, lol. Don't think I've had KitchenAid though.

[AndreaB]

I absolutely love that the cuisinart is dishwasher safe. They even recommend that over hand washing from what I remember.

[Emily Elizabeth]

Yes, I would say so. I don't have anything to compare it to since it's my first one, but I can say that when I pureed a cabbage/potato/broccoli soup it did very well. Blended it right up into a smooth creamy soup! There are multiple speed settings so I can use less power on easier jobs like smoothies and more power on the veggies and such. It seems to be very sturdy too. I hope this is helpful!

Is the immersion blender pretty powerful? I've never had good luck with those, lol. Don't think I've had KitchenAid though.

[tarnalberry]

I have a KitchenAid blender for whipping/blending/mixing things, a KitchenAid stick blender for much the same for hot soups (I definitely like those), and a CuisinArt food prep processor for chopping/mixing other things. (Definitely different purpose.) The big food processor (stand mixer) is kinda like a blender for very dense stuff?

[dlp252]

I hope this is helpful!

Yes, very, thanks!