Gadgets....

[Pie]

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.

[Aliantha]

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.

[Pie]

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!)

[Cloud]

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.

[HungLikeJesus]

Originally Posted by Cloud

funny--I have an immersion blender I've used only once.

I've never used ours.

[Clodfobble]

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?

[Aliantha]

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.

[Clodfobble]

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.)

[Aliantha]

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

[Cloud]

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.

[Pie]

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.

[Cloud]

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.

[Clodfobble]

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.

[Pie]

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

[Pie]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

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.

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