Need a new immersion blender?

[Jenise]

I do/did. My old Krups, one of the first ever on the market, had a cracked fuselage and was being held together with a C clamp. But while in California last week we happened into a Sur Le Table, and they had the Vikings on clearance--from $130 to about $80. It has the sleek appearance of a good home unit with the horsepower of a professional model. SLT also had the Breville on display, which is apparently their new favorite appliance maker, and we were able to plug them both in and test them in operation. No contest unless you're afraid of power--the Viking just ate the Breville's lunch.

We do and have been looking....thanks for the info.

Drew

[Jenise]

Good luck, Drew. The store we were at had lots of them, so you shouldn't have any trouble locating one. We actually did quite well on the Clearance shelf: we'd gone there because our friend had seen the Bodum travel version of the stainless steel individual French Press cups there. We'd been discussing our love of French Pressed coffee over breakfast and mentioned that Starbucks has discontinued it's line of individual French Press mugs, which put Bob and I in great fear of the gaskets on ours ever breaking down. We originally bought them for our boat but it instantly became our favorite home method and we use them every day. Every day we drink coffee, that is. So handy to make a cup you can drink half of over the newspaper and finish on your way to work. Or simply make one cup of on the days your spouse prefers tea. They had four and we took them all. But before we could pay for them, some guy came in the store on the express mission of buying one of these for himself. He could not believe his bad luck to have arrived five minutes after we did, and we agreed. We gave him one.

I've looked at the Viking and it seemed oxy -clunky. How does it feel in use and how is the cleanup ? I do need one and the local cookware store is discontinuing them but I don't think at such a good price.

[Jenise]

I've looked at the Viking and it seemed oxy -clunky. How does it feel in use and how is the cleanup ? I do need one and the local cookware store is discontinuing them but I don't think at such a good price.

It's identical in size to my old Krups, the motor/handle end being about three inches in diameter; but heavier, as there's more motor and it's steel where the Krugs was plastic. Should be identical in cleanup--just rinse off the business end with soapy water. It's amazingly powerful in use and has two speeds (unlike my Krups), of which the lowest speed will probably be all I'd need 99% of the time. Comes with a good sized beaker and a good stainless steel whipping attachment. Haven't used it yet other than to beat up some water at Sur la Table, as previously described. Ask your cookware store to let you demo it in the store before making a decision.

[Jenise]

Used this last night and discovered something new and wonderful. Unlike my old Krups, which was unibody, the beater end of the Viking snaps off for cleaning separate from the handle/motor so you can put it through the dishwasher or at least fully immerse it. Kewl!

Used this last night and discovered something new and wonderful. Unlike my old Krups, which was unibody, the beater end of the Viking snaps off for cleaning separate from the handle/motor so you can put it through the dishwasher or at least fully immerse it. Kewl!

I think that that's pretty standard for the genre now, Jenise. Our ca. 10-year old Braun immersion blender has the same feature, and I can't imagine life without it. Ever since Jean nearly sustained burns from an attempted purée of hot soup in a blender the immersion blender has been a staple of our kitchen.

Mark Lipton

You got a buy ! Just check my cookware store - $ 119.00

[Jenise]

You got a buy ! Just check my cookware store - $ 119.00

I wonder if they'll have a "sale" on the Sur La Table website? They do catalog/internet nationwide.


Mark, didn't realize but of course this innovation makes perfect sense. I did say mine was one of the originals, didn't I? Obviously, haven't kept up.

Not on the Sur la Table cite. Bit the bullet and bought one at $119 that included the chopping attachment - something I will definitely use as well. Gave it a test drive this afternoon making the tonnato sauce for the vitello - works very well.

[Jenise]

Ouch on the price, Christina, but the quality of it is such that it's probably the last one you/we will ever buy, if that's a comfort.