Don’t know about you, but we think having a Blender to hand is a necessity in the kitchen. They’re handy for so many things. From pulping soups, blitzing smoothies, making milkshakes, to smoothing sauces. They make cooking a dream. Even if you say you don’t enjoy cooking, having a good blender will make all the difference. There’s different types of blender to choose from too…

There’s lots of things to consider when buying one. They often come in lots of different sizes depending on what you want to use it for. There’s also lots of questions you might ask when shopping for one. Like whether you want glass vs. plastic? Is it dishwasher friendly? Is it lightweight and easy to clean? Does it have variable speeds? Does it have specific programmes? Blah blah blah. Though it’s important to take these things into consideration. Who wants to get caught up in all these questions? Fish through all these different (sometimes pretty fancy) types, brands and prices. Only to end up feeling confused. All you need is something that’s going to do the job; that’s easy to use; easy to clean; and not break the bank. We appreciate that there are types of Blenders better for certain tasks. But, unless you’re getting one for a specific need, most blenders will perform well for your culinary ventures.

Here, we list the three main types of blender you can consider getting…

1. Handhelds:

Handhelds are nifty gadgets that can be stored in the kitchen drawer. They’re handy for pulping small amounts of soft Food and drink. Mainly coming in handy for milkshakes, smoothies and pulping soups on the hob. In that respect, they require less effort to use than traditional blenders as there’s no need to transfer the soup to a blender jug. This makes your life easier and saves you more washing up. Handhelds are also very easy to clean. Normally they come with a few blade attachments that come off and can be hand-washed between uses. The only drawback is handhelds have limited functionality and aren’t really adequate for blitzing hard foods. Sometimes they can be quite heavy so you’ll want to buy a lightweight one if you do.

Handhelds are the perfect option if you want something compact that doesn’t take up valuable cupboard or surface space. But still meets your needs to puree food/drink once in awhile.

Buy one for £10 here!

2. Small Blender:

Traditional small blenders are great for the kitchen for similar reasons to handhelds. They store away nicely, though take up more room. They’re pretty easy to clean depending on which you get, and they don’t require much effort to use. Like handhelds, they’re great for working with small amounts of food. But differ in the fact they will often come with a 500ml-1 liter container and are more powerful. This means they’re great for blitzing single-servings of smoothies, iced drinks, soups and pasta sauces. Including hard foods like onions; and this is why we love having one! Anything to avoid those dreaded onion tears is a winner in our eyes.

We use the Tefal Mini Pro which comes out most days in the kitchen. It’s a multi-function chopper that mixes, blends, minces, chops and emulsifies – all in one! It’s easy to clean and we like the fact it has a ‘pulse’ button for extra blitz speed. As well as the above, it’s great for small loads of baking too. Like making a small batch of pancake mix or whisking up a couple of eggs for omelettes. 

You can buy a Tefal Mini Pro online here – they’re only £25.99 – so great value!

The only con is that a 1 liter container isn’t big enough for large amounts of food, which is why you might invest in a…

3. Large Blender:

With a large blender, you can blend pretty much anything. Often coming with a 3 liter jug, they’re big enough for bulk blending and family-sized cooking. They can tackle all sorts of foods including ice and nuts as they come with different blade attachments. This means you can make all sorts like your own peanut butter and iced drinks. Large blenders will vary in price, with glass versions being more expensive. Some people buy glass as it’s stronger, but then it’ll be quite heavy to handle – so that’s up to you and your budget.

The main cons of a large blender is they’re bigger and louder. They’ll take up space if you keep it on the kitchen work top, but it’s worth it if you’ll use it every day. Better than lugging it out a cupboard each time ey? Large blenders will also take more time to clean, but you can sometimes find ones that are dishwasher friendly.

As long as you’re happy with the extra effort required to use one, a large blender is by far your best option if you want a good all-rounder. We use the Kenwood Multipro Food Processor and we LOVE it:

Buy it here now!

To Summarise…

Handhelds (£): Take up the least space; need low effort; are easy to clean; and perfect for occasional small-scale blitzing of soft foods.

Small Blenders (££): Take up more space; need low effort; are easy to clean; but can tackle harder foods with a 500ml-1 liter capacity.

Large Blenders (£££): Take up the most space; need the most effort; are the hardest to clean; but can tackle up to 3 liters of ALL food types.

What next?

As always, before purchasing any blender, think about what you’ll be using it for. That way you can buy the best type for what you need.

If you know you’ll be doing lots of blending, we advise you to get two – one big, one small. More than one?! Yes, we know that also means more money. But the only reason we say this is for convenience. It makes your life easier knowing you have something to suit the big and small tasks. That way, you’ll get the best of both, and are likely to get the best use out of them too. Sometimes it’s a hassle to lug out a big blender for small-scale blitzing. If you’ve only got a big blender, the effort to clean it after might put you off using it at all for such small tasks. Because let’s be honest, we all have our lazy days. But we wouldn’t want you to miss out on all the fun. So if you’re lucky enough to afford both, then buy both – you won’t regret it.

But if you can’t afford both. Then you might feel stuck. If you can only afford one or the other, then we’d recommend you invest in a large blender. Especially if you’ll be using it most days. Even though it requires more effort to use, at least you’ll have something to meet ALL your needs.

So there you have it, the three types of blender available and our advice on which to get. Between them, they will help you blitz through recipes like a super star! So much, you’ll be questioning how you did cooking without them.

To start you off, check out these 5 Delicious Vegan Nicecream recipes – they’re so yummy!

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