Twenty years ago, the blender was a symbol of " modern" American kitchens, a shiny electric obelisk that could do it all- or at least all the tasks of that relatively ingenuous age, namely mixing batters, pureeing soups, and frothing drinks. Then along came the flashy foreign food processor, with it's french accent, Porsche-like motor, and more blades than a lawn-mower factory. As home cooks became enamored of this exotic appliance, they consigned blenders to milkshake duty.
But don't sell your blender short. Old-fashioned one-speed blenders, as well as the new ones with up to a dozen or more settings, are finding a role in the light and healthful cooking style that so many people desire today. This type of cooking is based on colorful and intensely flavorful sauces that use minimal amounts of butter and cream, if any. Although food processors are unsurpassed for chopping, slicing, and grating, blenders have an edge when it comes to liquefying and sauce making. For example, the upcoming chapters show you how to make dishes like sauteed chicken breasts with a wonderful quick sauce of white wine, chicken stock, leeks, and herbs.The normal way to make this sauce is to cook down the leeks, stock, and other ingredients, maybe add a little butter for smoothness, and pass them through a strainer. With a blender, however, you just toss everything in the bowl and whizzzzzz-- instant sauce. The sauce is even more flavorful because the leeks and herbs dissolve into it. This technique does not work as well in a food processor, whose two-level slicing blade cuts through liquids instead of blending them.
I could not agree with you more. People under use a blender when its better for soups than hand cutting or food processors.
ReplyDeletehref="www.blender-guide.com">--Bobby