Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Blender Drinks and Other Treats that can be Done through the Blender

Smoothies, anyone? This is just one kind of the many blender drinks that you can do upon getting yourself this kind of appliance. Are you getting thirsty already? There is a solution to that. It is to explore your kitchen and start making your own creations.

More than a Blender

There are more into this appliance than being a blender that will help you create smoothies and fruit juices. Here's a list of how else can you utilize this product.

1. If you have the talent for cooking but don't do it often because you just don't have the time to chop the ingredients that you need, then blenders can help you with the dilemma and make cooking easier for you to do.

2. You can easily do baby food. This way, you are assured that your baby is taking in safe ingredients that you yourself have prepared.

3. You can entertain at your home easily with the kind of mixes, spreads and the likes that your family and friends will surely love. This way, whenever you have friends or loved ones visiting you, they will have something to look forward to. And you can also make this your specialty. You can even make a business out of this. All it needs is just a little practice and a lot of experimenting.

4. A good blender will also help you create the needed ingredients for your baking venture. This will not only be useful. This will allow you to spend less with the ingredients that you will need in baking because you can already make them by yourself.

5. Blenders will make great sauces. But of course the genius lies in you. So research about the ingredients and let this little appliance bring magic to your creation. Eating will be so much fun and an exciting feat if you've mastered the things that you can do with your blender.

Don't Forget about the Smoothies

The blender was invented in 1922 with the aim to create soda fountain drinks. This was done by Stephen Poplawski by placing a blade at the bottom of a tall container. Through time, more developments happened with the appliance. Until now, this is a popular sight at most people's kitchens.

There are ready made mixes for smoothies that can be bought at your favorite groceries. All you have to do once you reach home is to use your blender and add your favorite flavors to create something for your own delight. You can also develop your own flavors that you can serve whenever there is a special occasion happening at your home.

It doesn't matter if the weather is hot or cold. Smoothies and other fruit juices that can be created with the help of your trusted blender will always be appreciated by the people who will be able to taste such treat.
The way to do this is through research. You can ask around for ingredients and you can also do your own. Experiment if you must. Just remember that however you do it and no matter what the outcome is, you should enjoy the process of making them.

There are other things that you can do with this genius appliance more than blender drinks. But just thinking about those drinks, especially the smoothies will surely make you run out to the nearest store to buy your favorite flavor.

How to Use A Blender

Let’s say you are throwing a party at home. Naturally, there will be food and drinks. But what if you suddenly run out of bottled refreshments? For that, you can make some of your own which is only possible if you know how to use a blender.

1. The first thing you have to do is take it out of the cabinet and put it together. In most cases, the unit is ready to use. You just have to wash the carafe and dry it before you throw in your ingredients.

2. For others, you have to place the blade in the retaining ring then set the gasket over the blades and inside the ring.

3. Next, screw the retaining ring firmly to the bottom of the pitcher. Be sure that this is seated correctly otherwise you will have a leak.

4. When it is ready, you must place the blender on a flat and dry surface. Set the carafe and the plug the blender in.

5. Now, throw in the ingredients. Close the lid firmly and then choose the setting that will do the job. For instance, use the ice or chop setting to make smoothies or other frozen drinks.

6. If you want to add other things like grate chocolate, use the pulse setting. This can be placed inside the carafe if you have a secondary lid so you don’t have to switch it off then on again.

Instead of adding ice while it is being blended, you can also use frozen fruit as this gives it a brighter flavor. Then you pour the drinks into glasses and serve it to the guests.

7. If you have to make more, just follow the steps mentioned. Don’t forget to wash it after each use using dishwashing detergent, add water halfway and then run the blender on low speed for a few seconds.

If you have to make more than 3 batches, perhaps you should get a bigger blended next time. Just make sure to use the right amount of ingredients each time to maintain consistency in whatever you are making.

8. When the party is over and it is time to clean up, rinse the blender thoroughly and take it apart before this is placed back inside the cabinet. Taking care of your appliances will make sure that they will still be working the next time you have to use it.

The blender is very easy to use and you can make other things with it in a matter of seconds. If you have a baby at home, you can make him or her food by adding a small amount of liquid into the cup of fruit and vegetables then blend this for a few seconds using the Puree setting so the food will smoothen out lumpy gravy.

So now that you know how to use a blender, the only thing you have to do now is decide what you want to make and then prepare the ingredients. For those who want to experiment, do some research online and then practice this at home. If you just purchased a new one, look inside the box because it may already come with an instructional book or even a video so you can become an expert in no time.

The difference between blenders and food processors

Blenders are gadgets that one cannot do without in the kitchen. It is a big help especially in preparing food and drinks for your family. You can even use it when you organize a party in your home. You can mash vegetables and create purees, crush ice and fruits and turn them into shakes, it can even make coffee by helping crush coffee beans. Most chefs also love their blenders because it can crush hard spices that may be bitter to taste when eaten.

What they do instead is turn these spices into powder which can easily dissolve into the food. That way, they will not only get rid of the bitter taste, they will be able to incorporate the flavor into the dish easily.

Blenders however are often mistaken as a food processor. In fact, a lot of people do not actually know the difference between the two except that one is smaller than the other. In general, blenders and food processors overlap in their functions. Being versatile kitchen gadgets, each can also do the other's job except that of course, it will not be done as brilliantly as when the one with specialty does it.

Blenders are great with liquids, making juices, smoothies, and margaritas. It is often used to mix several liquids. In fact, it is also called a liquidizer. Its blade can turn up to the speed of 18000 revolutions per minute. If you want your food to purely turn into liquid, the blender is the answer. Blenders are great with making purees, in grinding food into little pieces. It is especially useful in mixing alcoholic concoction and fruit shakes. It can also chop ice although not all models are powerful enough to do this. The blender is also use to smooth and emulsify sauces as well as chop ingredients for dishes.

Food processor on the other hand work on solids and can give you semi-solid foods. Between the two, the food processor is often considered as the more versatile as it can also liquefy something when the settings and time allowance are set. With its interchangeable blades and disks, you can use the food processor in a variety of ways. It can for instance chop ingredients for your dish, slice veggies, shred cabbage for your salad and also make purees for your little tot.

In baking, a food processor is also a huge help as it can help with the mixing of ingredients, kneading the bread dough as well as grinding bread crumbs for your crust. You can even make sure of a strainer which can separate the juice from the solid. There are manual food processors and there are electric. Most models will run in a specific speed. You cannot adjust it anymore.

Whether you buy a blender or a food processor for your home will depend on what you are planning to do with it. If you will use it primarily for cooking, the food processor is the better choice as it can help you in baking and in preparing the ingredients such as chopping, slicing and mincing.

If however, you are buying one to make healthy shakes for you and your family, stick to the blender as it is its job in the first place. If you want to prepare both food and drinks, the food processor is perhaps the better choice.

The versatility of a food and drinks blenders

With people becoming more and more health conscious, blenders have become a household fixture. After all, using this home gadget is the easiest way to stay healthy by making your own fresh food and drinks.

Blenders is one of the most versatile piece of gadget in the kitchen. It can double as a juicer and sometimes even a food processor. This is why it is often mistaken for any of the two. But what makes blenders different is the fact that it can be used in a lot of ways. With a juices, you will only be able to create juices while the food processor will only help you in creating purees and in mincing ingredients. With a blender, you can enjoy both functions.

In fact, a lot of people who diet or who subscribe to a certain diet plan often have this handy tool at home. Blenders are used to create prescribed concoctions that are otherwise unmixable. You can combine all sorts of veggies and fruits together without having to cook anything. You are saving yourself from the oil in cooking plus you are taking in fresh food.

Blenders are also a must for vegetarians. Because they cannot eat meat, they will often use blenders to mix together foods and drinks that will supply them with the proteins and other nutrients that they need. Some even keep a separate blender for the food and the other for drinks. You see, people can cook their own veggie meat using this kitchen tool. They would just mince the veggies and then combine it with other veggies. Others however, prefer a food processor, which is also easy to use.

Coffee drinkers and those who love holding parties will also want a blender in their homes. They are great for creating cocktail drinks for your small parties at home. You can make PiƱacoladas, smoothies, juices, frapuccinos and even frozen margaritas. The blender will even help you crush ice that the drinks will need. You can even create milk shakes and ice cream using this very versatile kitchen gadget.

Households with a newborn baby also invest in a good blender. Because these young ones cannot yet eat solid foods until they are about one and a half or two, mommies will have to prepare purees at home for the first few months. Although there are purees in the market such as Gerber, some mommies want fresh home-prepared foods for their children. Babies are often served potatoes, banana and apples. As they grow older, the blender can also be handy in making semi-solid foods like cooked meat and veggies.

Those who love to cook will also love to have a blender on their own. With the help of this handy gadget, they can turn spices that are oftentimes hard and bitter to taste into powder that the ingredients can easily take in. In fact, most restaurants will have blenders in their kitchen as this can help in the cooking of food and in preparing drinks. In fact, cooking schools will surely have these in their kitchens. Believe it or nor, blenders are even used in laboratories.

What they use however is not the typical blender that you see at home or in restaurants. Blenders are used in the fields of food science and microbiology where it helps in conducting research to create medicines.