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I got this one for christmas a few years ago. I use the small prep-chop (last item on the right) far more than I do the immersion blender (though I do use that once in a while).

The prep-chop can make salsas, sauces, gremolata, pesto, salad dressing, etc. in small volumes much better than a blender or a food processor. It's certainly one of my favorite gadgets... and it's in storage right now. :sniff:

I have one of those sets Pie. I use it all the time. I especially love the stick blender for making smooth soups without having to put it into a jug blender. I've never used the whisk attachment though. I find it's usually just easier to do it by hand.

Me too. I've never been a big fan of the whisk.
And it doesn't hurt that all the attchments/parts (except the motor itself) are top-rack dishwasher safe. (Or at least, it's never come to grief in mine!)

someone told me they use their little prep chop thingy and love it. will have to look into that one! A regular food processor is too big, and too complicated, and too hard to clean.

I've never used ours.

I've only used a prep-chop style thing once, and it didn't work for shit. I had assumed it was a fundamental design flaw. So does this mean I just had a crappy one, and a quality one will actually chop the food like it claims it will?

My set is only a few years old Clod. It works pretty well. Makes really great smoothies too. Also good for making dips like homus and quacamole...or any dip really. That's what I use mine most for.

You use the self-enclosed prep-chop thing for those, or your immersion blender? I'm a fan of the immersion blender (except of course when it mutilates me,) it's the chopper that failed spectacularly. (It wasn't the brand shown above though, I don't remember where it came from.)

ok, maybe we need to refine what we're calling all the bits. lol There's the little blender which I'm assuming is the immersion blender, and then there's what I call the stick blender which is what I think you're calling the prep chop? eta: I think I've got it the wrong way round now I'm looking at it again

Either one works well for the applications I've mentioned. Dips are good in the little blender because they're a small amount.

The stick blender is good for larger quantities in a saucepan, such as soup.

I've labled them

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one gadget I do NOT recommend is those microplane graters. The kind that were woodworking tools until someone figured out you could grate cheese with.

The first time I used it--grated finger. soooo not fun! The second time I used it, I was careful, and . . . my hand slipped, and grated the same damn finger.

Obviously a plot of the devil. I threw it into the trash.

The Braun I pictured above uses the immersion blender motor (decoupled from its blender stalk) attached to top of the clear lexan cup. The top has a set of gears that drive a shaft with blades on it at the bottom of the cup. It can hold about a cup, maybe a cup and a half. I wouldn't make hummus in mine; it's too small. (I use my regular food processor for that.)

It really shines when I'm making small batches of sauces, pesto, or dressings.

er, no I don't think so. an immersion blender is a stick blender--not the regular kind of blender which has a carafe that fits into a base, but a stick-line thing that you immerse into pots.

The prep chop I'm thinking about is a small bowl like affair, with either a motorized or crank chopper. Too busy now to look for pics.

I'm talking about the thing on the far right in the picture. But now that I look closer, it looks like it might be motorized. The thing I used to have that sucked was like this, where you push the plunger down repeatedly with your hand and it (supposedly) dices whatever is inside.

Cloud, I love my microplane! I use it for lemon zest, garlic, hard cheese, chocolate... Oh well. To each his own!

Yes, it's a "System". The motor hooks up to a immersion blender, or a prep-chop, or a whisk (useless!).

yeah, it grates well. too well!

Immersion blenders are marvelous for making purée of vegetable chunks in soup. Plug and play, stick it in and hit the switch, nothing to it except there's a knack to using one: avoid standing it straight up on the bottom of the cookpan, as it'll suck down onto the bottom so hard you can't move it about. Powerful little suckers. And watch having it too near the surface of the liquid in the bowl because that same power can throw a lot of soup or puréed vegetables all over the kitchen.

Yep - sounds marvelous... except for the suction issue and the throwing shit all over the kitchen problem. :p

:crazy: That's HLJ's other personality talking.

Mr. Clod's favorite kitchen item is the deep fryer, primarily because he's never had to clean it.

Why would you ever need to clean a deep fryer?

Obviously you've never seen the movie "Scotland, PA."

hand held crank style parmesan cheese grater

The phone. It has been involved in more of my meals than anything else I have.

This is a guilty pleasure of mine. It takes all of my will not to call those late night infomercial guys when they are selling kitchen gadgets. I think to myself, "How have I lived without that mini blender with little cups? I really need that pressure cooker that keeps cooking even when the heat is off, even if it's in the freezer. Why don't I have that rotisserie cooker, etc...

I wish I was being sarcastic, but I'm not. I really want those things. I'd love to have a job reviewing all the crap they sell on tv to see if it really works as good as they say.

Years ago, I bought the super slicer. It was complete and utter crap, and it was only after I had used it myself that I could see how they were putting the commercial together to hide the flaws and make it look good on the tv. I'll never buy anything from tv again. Although that shamwow made in Germany looks intriguing. ;)

got the shamwow - loooser! its good to drag across your car, but thats about it. IT never EVER gets a surface completely dry. And once its dirty....its done. :headshake

I got a food dehydrator years ago and used it twice. I tried making beef jerky and it sucked. I also made banana chips and they didn't.

Kitchen torch. This thing has a powerful flame...so fun. Oh, and it's good for creme brule, too.

I have the shamwow, and I'm pleased with it ... first use of the item was to prevent a liquid from staining an upholstered surface ... sucked the stain right out of the fabric.

I keep one in the car in case of emergencies, haven't had one yet.