Mixing it Up (cont.)

We’ve noticed that chopping attachments that allow your immersion blender to perform like a mini food processor, in particular, are becoming more prevalent. For instance, within the past 2 years, Hamilton Beach began to include chopper attachments on immersion blenders that are priced below $30. Before that, you would have had to pay at least $40—and typically more—for an immersion blender that had a chopper attachment. We found that this attachment isn’t as convenient as an actual mini food processor, because you have to hold the attachment and the power button simultaneously. (Mini food processors typically have an “on” button.) But we also found that the performance of chopper attachments was adequate, and they save you from the purchase of a separate unit, which would cost you at least $20.

Further, prices are coming down for people who want both big and small portions: In 2010, Hamilton Beach introduced a 14-cup food processor that includes a 5-cup bowl for $70. Other food processors that include at least two bowl sizes typically start at $170.

And in blenders, we found three manufacturers—Cuisinart, Hamilton Beach and Oster—that also have joined the versatility bandwagon. This spring, Oster introduced the My Blend Blender ($40), which blends foods right in a 20-ounce sport bottle that’s supplied. And last summer, Cuisinart launched its Blend and Cook Soup Maker ($365), which we believe is the first blender that has a heating element that the manufacturer says will sauté and simmer ingredients, then blend them into soup and sauces in the jar.

This technology differs from that of blenders by Vitamix, which also claims to be able to prepare hot soup. In the Vitamix models, ingredients are heated through the friction of the high-power motor, rather than a separate heating element.

And, in another nod to versatility, Oster’s new BLSTDG blender ($60) has an oval, rather than round, jar that’s designed to fit easily on a narrow shelf of a refrigerator door.
Call it versatile leftover storage.

Jessica Goldbogen Harlan has covered housewares for 16 years. She has written for Consumers Digest, About.com and Arthritis Today.