Choosing the Best Blender - Different Types of Blenders

When it comes to choosing a blender, you must first consider what you will be using the blender for. For example, there was a time when many consumers just had a go-to blender in the kitchen in order to make shakes and smoothies or bar drinks.

Nowadays, there is an evident infatuation for culinary television shows, as well as the continual hunt for the best diet available. With these two new developments, consumers are purchasing new household appliances at an alarming rate.

In the past, there were only a handful of blenders available on the market. Now you can search on line and find literally hundreds of brands and varieties, all specializing in different blending techniques. And that is not even including juicers!

Let's take a look at the different types of blenders available and some tips in choosing the best blender.

Bar Blenders - These were created for 1 reason - crushing ice and blending it with liquids. If you consider yourself a cocktail aficionado and love entertaining guests and creating daiquiris, margaritas, and other blended drinks, bar blenders are a great choice.

Food Processors - In the past, most kitchens contained both a food processor as well as a drink or bar blender. Food processors contain larger, sharper blades meant for cutting and dicing food. Depending on how long you blend the food, you can create different consistencies and sizes of the processed food.

Hand Blenders - This type of blender is best for individual serving sizes or for blending right in the cooking container. For instance, let's say you want to make a quick smoothie without dirtying a blender container. You can throw all your ingredients into a large cup and blend right in that container. Or, you can use hand blenders right in your sauce pan, allowing for optimal control of blending time and consistency.

Juicers - These come in a variety of blending types, including mastication and centrifugal juicers. The masticators are best for juicing fruits, vegetables, and especially for wheat grass. The centrifugal juicers typically can handle most fruits and vegetables, but will not yield the juice from grasses. Note however, that juicers will separate the pulp from the juice, hence their name.

Combination Blenders - These are the types of high powered juicers that are really popular right now. Brands such as Ninja and Vitamix are examples of these blenders, in that they can handle blending ice like the bar blenders, but can handle other tasks such as food processing and blending fruits and vegetables.

Understanding how each of these blenders work will help you decide which is the best blender for you to use in your home.