A blender with a whisk is one of many devices designed to make kitchen work easier and make cooking as productive, fast and creative as possible. The symbiosis of two useful devices is an attempt to improve and expand the functionality of a familiar device. Does this make sense and is it worth replacing the usual mixer with a blender with a similar attachment? It’s worth looking into.
Lifehack with construction power tools
What can replace the mixer is a screwdriver, drill or hammer drill. The only drawback of the latter is its massive size and heavy weight. The replacement principle is simple.
- Insert a whisk into the hole for the drill and start whisking the products.
- If there is no whisk, firmly attach two forks to the drill.
It is only important to take into account that the whisk and forks must be firmly secured, otherwise there is a high probability of injury.
The presented options will be a good solution if you don’t have a mixer at hand. Each analogue will help achieve the desired result.
Good day, dear readers!
Today we will touch on the topic, blender or mixer, which is better? I will tell you about the features of both, and at the end of the article I will provide several models that you can use in your kitchen.
Rules for whipping into thick foam
For preparing desserts, pastries and other confectionery products. In order to achieve the desired taste and fluffiness, you should whip up a thick foam manually or mechanically. There will be no problems with this only if you know how to do it correctly and choose the right eggs and utensils.
Eggs must be fresh
When choosing the main product, it is important to maintain a middle ground. Those proteins that have not yet had time to cool down do not rise well; it will not be possible to achieve hard peaks from them. It follows that at least 3-4 hours have passed since the chicken laid it, all this time it should be in the refrigerator.
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Old eggs that have been in the refrigerator for several days are not suitable for creating a thick foam. Even if the proteins can be raised to the required value, they will soon begin to bubble and return to their original state. Ideally, the age of the chicken egg is from 5 hours to 7 days.
Attention! It is important not only to choose the right main product, but also the dishes for its preparation. First of all, it must be deep; during processing, the foam can rise up to 4 centimeters. The second important rule is material. It is recommended that the bowl be made of glass or metal. If you beat egg whites in aluminum or plastic containers, there is a high probability that the foam will take on a gray tint.
Carefully separate the whites
The first thing you need to do in order to quickly beat the whites without a mixer is to carefully separate the yolk from the white in one of three possible ways. To do this you need:
- Break the shell with a sharp knife and pour the entire contents of the egg into a bowl. The yolk will be immediately visible among the clear liquid; it should be carefully caught with a spoon or hand so that its integrity is not damaged and it does not dissolve in the protein.
- Make a small hole in the top of the shell with the tip of a knife. Pour the protein through it into a plate. If the liquid does not flow well, then you should make a hole larger or create the same one, but on the opposite side.
- Break the shell exactly in the center over the plate, with some of the clear liquid ending up immediately at the bottom of the bowl. Next, you need to carefully pour the yolk from one half of the shell to the other, so you can pour all the white.
You should not allow even one drop of yolk to get into the total mass; this will lead to the fact that it will not be possible to beat the whites without a mixer. This droplet must be carefully removed with one half of the shell.
Differences between a mixer and a blender
Despite the fact that both devices are already familiar to us, they are often confused and considered interchangeable, and the desire to have a blender with a whisk, if you already have a mixer, is incomprehensible and immodest.
Indeed, these representatives of small household appliances have similar functions and names. The word “blender” comes from the English to blend, and “mixer” from to mix - mix, combine. Both of these devices, as their names suggest, mix products.
But the first one grinds and mixes, and the second one mixes and beats.
This is their fundamental difference. The mixer will mix and beat soft, liquid products that do not require chopping or cutting. A blender will grind solid foods, even to the point of puree, and mix different foods into a homogeneous mass, but will not be able to whip them into foam.
But this is true with one caveat: if we are talking about a submersible device with a conventional nozzle. Just to expand its functionality, it is equipped with a whisk. For whipping cocktails, eggs into biscuits, cream into cream, it is just as suitable as a mixer.
Although even with such equipment there is a difference between the devices.
- The mixer has two whisks, the blender has one.
- The mixer whisks rotate simultaneously in different directions, saturating the air bubbles more energetically, making the foam more fluffy and stronger; a single blender whisk cannot aerate the product as quickly.
- Mixer whisks, even on the simplest, inexpensive model, are usually made of durable steel. But judging by reviews from online store customers, not all blenders can boast of durable whisk blades.
- The mixer has the ability to use special dough attachments (dough hooks) to knead a fairly thick mass. For a blender, even with a whisk, there is no question of a thick dough; at best, it will turn out liquid - for pancakes.
By the way, not only the dough, but also mashed potatoes are a finicky dish to prepare. It can be prepared deliciously using only an immersion device with a puree attachment. A regular attachment, whisk or mixer will turn the dish into a sticky mass.
How to choose
When deciding in favor of a mixer or blender equipped with a whisk, remember the purposes and volumes for which you are purchasing these devices.
If you decide that a blender with a whisk is exactly the device that will replace your mixer, consider a few points.
- When purchasing, pay attention to its power. A device with insufficient power will not cope with viscous products. At best it will get stuck, at worst it will burn out.
- The strength of the whisk rods is an important characteristic. How well the whisk is made determines how well it will beat the products and how long it will serve you.
- Another important point is speed adjustment. If it cannot be adjusted or the speed range is small, the following problem will arise: the whisk will get stuck in a thick mass, and it will splash out in a liquid mass. Ideally, the speeds will be adjusted smoothly. Turbo mode also doesn’t hurt to choose the ideal whipping speed.
Choose the device that seems suitable to you. Do not be led by advertising; when choosing, use common sense. Think carefully and evaluate why you need this or that unit, which functions will be superfluous and which ones will be necessary.
Decide why you are taking a kitchen assistant for: making cocktails, dough, cakes, or chopping vegetables into puree and whipping children's soups and soufflés. Then you can’t go wrong with your choice and a mixer or blender equipped with a whisk will give you the joy of creating culinary masterpieces.
The secret to fluffy foam: room temperature eggs
It will be possible to make a thick and dense mass from proteins only in one case, if they are at room temperature. Cold whites can be beaten only until soft peaks appear, which tend to settle quickly. Therefore, it is recommended to remove the egg from the refrigerator to the kitchen counter 2-5 hours before cooking.
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If the housewife suddenly decided to please her loved ones with dessert, forgot or did not have time to take the egg out of the refrigerator in advance, then you can pour warm water into a bowl and lower the product into it for 5-7 minutes, then take it out and start the cooking process. Do not put the egg in hot water; it may begin to cook under the influence of high temperature.
Achieving the formation of a thick, shiny foam from egg whites by hand whipping is difficult and will require a lot of time. But, if you follow all the rules for its preparation and take into account possible nuances, then soon this task will be feasible.
Advantages of a blender with a whisk
When choosing this device, people are guided by the following reasons:
- Space saving: one device takes the place of two, and a blender is usually more compact than a mixer.
- Saving money: if you only have enough money for one good-quality device, then it is better to choose a high-quality blender with a whisk than two inferior devices.
- Models with a strong whisk and high power still cope well with the task and are able to whip up fairly strong foam and prepare a cocktail or smoothie. Buyers of online stores and visitors to forums, for example, give very high ratings to BOSH devices.
- A blender with a whisk can replace a mixer if it has several speeds and a turbo mode. By experimenting with changing speeds and sharply increasing the speed, you can achieve good results, for example, in making cocktails.
