Braun hand blender - MR400WH Review

If you know me and read me here and elsewhere, you know I'm a guy who likes his gadgets.  If it makes it easier, quicker or sometimes even just a bit more interesting, I want it.

And so it was with the idea of stick blenders.  Now to tell the truth, I didn't buy my first stick blender to use in the kitchen.  I bought it to help me make soap.  You know I'm a soaper, right?

When you make soap, the ingredients, oils and sodium hydroxide have to be stirred for a very long time to achieve trace in the process known as saponification.  Oooo, technical talk gives me goose bumps!  But I promise, that's it for now.  I won't bore you further (at least not in this review).  So I figured it might really cut down on the time if I stirred with a stick blender.  I had read articles so I thought I'd give it a try.  It worked.  I had purchased a very inexpensive stick blender (DUR) at Wal-Mart for about $10 and everything was great.

BRAUN Multiquick hand blender MR400WH

One day during one of my frequent trips to either Bed, Bath & Beyond or Linens n Things,  came across the BRAUN Multiquick hand blender.  Now both the ravishing Mrs. Xeno and my daughter Jenna just love fruit smoothies.  So do I.  Normally we used our ancient Oster Blender.  Good, but then it had to be washed thoroughly and being as old as it is it isn't doing ice very well these days.  So this was a pretty easy purchase decision.  With the usual 20% off coupon it was a buy.

Basically, it's a sharp blade attached to the shaft of a 200w motor that operates at very high speed (12,000 RPM), or at a somewhat slower speed.  You put your ingredients into a glass (add some yogurt) and quickly it's turned into a smoothie.  Little muss, little fuss.

The Ice Thing

To make a good smoothie you need ice.  But remember this is a hand stick blender.  It might handle ice cubes, but repeatedly subjecting it to cubes is going to burn out the 200w motor.  I suggest using it on crushed ice and fortunately our fridge will comply.  Just a tip.

Other Uses

Yeah, it makes a pretty good smoothie.  But it can be used for anything you want to blend, mix or puree.  I love it when I'm preparing squash soup or gazpacho.  It makes short work of potatoes and it is a godsend when I'm ambitious enough to make my own tomato based sauces from scratch.

Clean Up

Now, you can't put this in the dishwasher, but frankly I find sticking it in a glass of soapy water, turning it on and then rinsing it is pretty much all it needs.  It is about as easy as it can get to clean.

My Viewpoint

This is a gadget for the kitchen that I just don't want to do without.  It's inexpensive, versatile, easy to clean and it takes up so little room.  What's not to like about it?  Understand that it's not going to replace your food processor for the big jobs, but when it's too burdensome to pull out the big dog, the BRAUN Multiquick hand blender is usually more than up to the task.  I like it.  I think you will too.

Regards,

Rudi