Why Blend Ingredients?
Blending is an important technique in cooking for several reasons:
Smooth Texture
Blending helps create smooth purees, sauces, dips, and more by breaking down fiber and cell walls in ingredients. This results in a smooth, creamy texture. Blending is especially useful for making smoothies, baby food, soups, and hummus.
Incorporate Flavors
Blending thoroughly incorporates flavors into a uniform mixture. Blending ingredients like herbs, spices, and garlic distributes their flavors evenly throughout a dish.
Emulsify Vinaigrettes
Blending is used to emulsify vinaigrettes and salad dressings, suspending tiny droplets of oil and vinegar to create a thick, creamy texture.
Aerate Batters and Frostings
Blending whips air into batters and frostings, giving them greater volume and lighter texture. From cake batters to buttercream frosting, blending makes them fluffier.
What Types of Blenders Can Be Used?
There are several types of blenders that work well for blending different ingredients and recipes:
Countertop Blender
Countertop blenders have a pitcher that sits on a motorized base. They have sharp blades at the bottom of the pitcher that blend at high speeds. Countertop blenders work well for smoothies, purees, and mixed drinks. Popular models include Vitamix, Ninja, NutriBullet, and Oster.
Immersion Blender
Immersion or stick blenders have a motor housing attached directly to a blending shaft. They can be immersed into pots, bowls, and pitchers to puree soups and sauces right in the cooking vessel. Cuisinart, KitchenAid, Braun, and All-Clad all make quality immersion blenders.
Food Processor
Food processors like the Cuisinart have interchangeable blades and discs for chopping, shredding, slicing, and often a blender blade for pureeing. The bowl sits on a motorized base. Food processors excel at chopping and pureeing greater volumes.
Electric Mixer
Stand mixers like the KitchenAid have a motorized head that connects to attachments like a whisk and paddle. The whip attachment blends and aerates egg whites, cream, and batters. Paddles can mash and blend thick mixtures.
Blending Tips and Techniques
Here are some tips for blending successfully:
Prep Ingredients
Prep ingredients appropriately before blending. Uniformly chop solid items. Remove tough stems, peels, and seeds as needed. Ensure foods are cooked or softened adequately to blend smoothly.
Add Liquid
Add enough liquid like broth, milk, oil, or fruit juice to the blender to allow ingredients to fully puree. Start with small amounts of liquid and increase as needed.
Blend in Batches
Don’t overfill the blender. Blend thick or large volumes in smaller batches to achieve a smooth blend.
Use Blending Speeds
Use the right blending speeds and duration for your ingredients. Start on low for dry goods. Increase to high for thorough purees. Blend delicate ingredients like whipped cream briefly on low.
Scrape Down
Occasionally stop blending to scrape down the sides of the blender with a spatula, ensuring even blending.
Don’t Overblend
Only blend as much as needed for your desired consistency. Overblending can lead to foods breaking down too much.
Add Items Gradually
When adding chunky items to an already blended mixture, add them slowly through the lid opening while blending. This prevents splattering.
Check Seasoning
Blending can mellow flavors. Taste after blending and adjust seasoning as needed.
How to Blend Specific Foods and Recipes
Certain ingredients and recipes require specific blending techniques:
Smoothies
- Use frozen fruit and ice for thickness.
- Blend leafy greens and dry powders first.
- Add wet ingredients and sweeteners last.
- Blend on high for 1-2 minutes for smooth consistency.
Milkshakes
- Use ice cream instead of ice.
- Start with milk and flavorings.
- Add ice cream last and blend just until combined.
- Avoid overblending which causes ice cream to melt.
Salsas
- Pulse chunky ingredients like onions, peppers, and tomatoes briefly.
- Just blend until mixed but still chunky.
- Add fresh herbs last and pulse a few times.
- For smoother salsas, blend longer.
Pesto
- Blend basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan and olive oil.
- Start with just a bit of oil then drizzle in more to emulsify.
- Blend to desired consistency leaving some texture or fully smooth.
Hummus
- Blend chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic to combine.
- With motor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil.
- Blend until very smooth, at least 2 minutes.
- Add water or oil if too thick.
Soups
- Saute aromatics like onions, carrots, celery first.
- Simmer with broth and vegetables until tender.
- Blend in batches until silky smooth.
- Return to pot to reheat and adjust seasoning.
Baby Food
- Use soft fruits, vegetables, and cooked starches.
- Add water or milk to thin to age appropriate consistency.
- Blend to completely smooth puree.
- Refrigerate portions in ice cube trays for easy serving.
Pancake and Waffle Batter
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup |
| Baking powder | 2 tsp |
| Sugar | 2 tbsp |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp |
| Milk | 1 cup |
| Egg | 1 large |
| Butter, melted | 2 tbsp |
- Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients.
- Add wet to dry and blend just until combined and smooth.
- Avoid overmixing which can cause tough pancakes.
Quick Bread Batters
- Mix dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls.
- Gently fold wet into dry just until blended.
- Reserve any mix-ins like nuts or fruit to fold in last.
- Blend for a few seconds to incorporate, but avoid overmixing.
Cake Batters
- Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time, blending after each.
- Fold in dry ingredients in thirds alternating with milk.
- Blend each addition just until incorporated, don’t overmix.
- Fold in extracts or spices delicately by hand.
Frostings
- Whip butter until smooth, then gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar.
- Blend in extracts, spices, or cocoa powder as desired.
- With electric mixer, beat on high speed for fluffy texture.
- Add milk or cream a little at a time until reached spreading consistency.
Pureed Fruits and Vegetables
- Peel, core, seed, and chop produce into 1-2 inch pieces.
- Add water or juice to help blend smoothly.
- Start on low speed to break up pieces then increase to high.
- Blend until completely smooth, at least 2 minutes.
Nut Butters
- Process nuts in a food processor until finely ground.
- Continue blending, occasionally scraping down sides.
- Blend 5-10 minutes until smooth and creamy.
- Drizzle in oils if needed for consistency.
Guacamole
- Mash avocados with fork then add remaining ingredients.
- Use a hand immersion blender to pulse to desired chunkiness.
- A food processor or countertop blender will make it smoother.
- Be careful not to overblend to a watery consistency.
Mayonnaise
- Blend egg yolk, mustard, lemon juice, and salt.
- With motor running, very slowly drizzle in oil while emulsifying.
- Blend in herbs, garlic, or spices.
- If gets too thick, thin with a bit of water.
Common Blending Mistakes
Avoid these common blending mishaps:
- Overfilling the blender so ingredients splash out.
- Not cutting large ingredients into smaller pieces first.
- Adding too much liquid at once and overthinning the mixture.
- Blending at too high speed for delicate ingredients like whipped cream.
- Letting thick mixtures get stuck to the sides instead of scraping down.
- Overblending until textures become unappealingly smooth.
- Not cleaning blender thoroughly after use leading to residual flavors.
- Forgetting to secure the lid tightly before blending.
Conclusion
Blending is a simple but invaluable cooking technique for combining flavors and achieving the perfect smooth, creamy texture. With a bit of practice and the right blender for the job, it can be used to whip up endless soups, sauces, dips, batters, frostings, and other recipes. Mastering proper blending methods for specific mixtures helps create delicious results every time.