Choose your weapons I love a hand blender. They’re smaller and cheaper than the jug versions, and dead handy: just stick it in a pan and go. And I agree! Because there’s no jug, they save on waste and washing up too. The problem is choosing between them, since there are so many on the market, at all different price points and power levels. You might want to check out how noisy the one you’ve got your eye on is, too: nobody likes an electric hand-held item that your neighbours can hear you using through the walls, after all…
Yeah, right. I’m not a hundred percent sure I understand it myself, but somehow the shape of the various blades – like the S-shaped one for dicing tough veggies, or the plastic potato masher for creaming spuds at low speeds – work in unison with the dome to be super-efficient, or something. (Look, it just works, okay?) The motor’s a reasonably powerful 700W effort – not class-leading, but up there – with adjustable speed control and even a so-called turbo function, which we imagine to be like the turbo boost on KITT in Knight Rider. There’s a ton of accessories, too: like a whisk for beating eggs, and a 1.4 litre jug.
Indeed not! If you’re investing in a posh blender, there are probably two main ranges you’re looking at: KitchenAid and Smeg, as seen here. There seems to be a bit of a war going on between them at the moment, both keen to colonise every corner of your kitchen. They’re basically the same, though, aren’t they? Both make high end kit, both have a retro vibe, both have rarely met a bright colour or a pastel tone they don’t like... The question may be, which aesthetic do you prefer? This latest offering from Smeg – the Italian luxury appliance giant with the schoolboy-tickling name – is certainly handsome, in a futuristic 1950s-style. Snappily titled HFB02, it offers especially smooth, even blending, achieved through what they call a ‘Flow Blend’ system.
But what about the most important thing (the colours, obvs)? Of course! It comes in black or red for the bold, or a more subtle cream or pastel blue. All are designed to match the rest of the Smeg kit you’ve doubtless got, like their toasters, coffee machines, juicers and kettles.
PREmIUm BLENd
WHO HATES WASHING UP? EVERYONE, OF COURSE. TIME TO INVEST IN A TOP-NOTCH HAND BLENDER, SAYS MATT BIELBY, AND START WHIPPING UP A STORM
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So is it better than KitchenAid’s? Well, KitchenAid’s version is perhaps slightly more aggressive looking, like the world’s most powerful electric toothbrush. And it comes in a red that’s all-but-identical too. But really, does it even matter? You’ve probably already decided which team you’re on… The Smeg HFB02 hand blender costs £119.95, and is available at Gardiner Haskins in Bristol, Coopers Stores in Bath, and branches of Currys; smeguk.com
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