Choosing the ideal blender for making smoothies and cocktails

The question of which blender to choose – stationary or immersion – is perhaps the first and one of the most difficult questions when purchasing this device. The choice depends on how you intend to use this device. Since this article is about making smoothies and cocktails, we will choose a blender for smoothies. Have you already thought that you won’t be able to enjoy your favorite drink without a special blender? Don't worry: in fact, if you already have a blender, this will probably work! It’s just that each type of model has its own pros and cons – we’ll talk about them.

Cocktails vs smoothies

The requirements for a blender for making a cocktail and a blender for making a smoothie are different, since the recipe for their preparation varies greatly, and this is primarily due to the ingredients.

No matter what kind of smoothie comes to mind, it most likely consists of base liquids - milk or juice - and soft ingredients like syrup, ice cream, fresh berries or jelly. This rule works both for alcoholic cocktails in a bar and for milk cocktails from fast food restaurants. Why are there cocktails with strawberries or bananas, but rarely can you find a cocktail with an apple? Because these ingredients are soft, easily pureed and mixed into a liquid base.Why is syrup added to a chocolate cocktail for taste, and the chocolate itself is used only as a decoration? The reason is the same: syrup is easy to mix with milk and ice cream, which cannot be said about chocolate. In general, any mixer can prepare a cocktail (that is, mix liquid ingredients with soft ones), regardless of the parameters.

But with smoothies, the situation is more complicated: recipes always contain dense foods like nuts, dried fruits, cereals or hard fruits and vegetables, but the main problem is that all classic variations of smoothies use either ice or frozen fruits and berries. This is its “trick”, and it is due to this that its unique consistency is achieved. But smoothies without ice and frozen fruit are no less tasty. Yes, they have a different consistency, but this is a matter of personal preference.

It turns out that when choosing a blender for smoothies and cocktails, you need to focus specifically on smoothies, because any model can grind soft ingredients, but not everyone can handle dense or hard ingredients.

Advice

If you also want to use the blender for making pureed soups, then the situation here is more similar to making a cocktail, since the ingredients become soft after cooking. The only thing, keep in mind that an immersion blender will be much more convenient simply because you can chop and mix directly in the pan without pouring it into a special container, which is usually also small in volume.

Criterias of choice

We have already dealt with the fact that it is more difficult for technology to prepare a smoothie than a cocktail. But then how to choose the right model? It all depends on whether you want to use ice and frozen fruit or not.

Power

Choosing a blender for making smoothies should be based primarily on power, and not on the submersible-stationary principle! This question is actually not even the second one. What really matters is whether the device can handle chunks of ice, crushing them into ice dust. A power of 300 watts will be quite enough for any kind of grinding: companies of different price categories have them - from Scarlett to Brown. But the process will take several minutes, and in a warm room the “snow” will begin to melt quickly, which will ruin the entire consistency. Most Americans, even at home, use powerful blenders, 1200-1400 watts each: they allow you to make smoothies with ice in a few seconds!

By the way

In order for the smoothie to turn out “like in a cafe”, you will have to buy a device of appropriate power, and this is a lot of money. Even if the blender is not industrial, but for home use. There are such models on our market, but we don’t think that you would want to pay about 30,000 rubles for the opportunity to enjoy the ideal consistency, so you’ll have to find a compromise.

Capacity

With submersible models, this problem is not relevant: you can grind even in a steel glass! But a stationary blender for smoothies with ice should be durable. It is better if the container is made of durable carbon fiber, and this is again a characteristic of not the cheapest models. Strong, reliable glass will also be quite expensive, but flimsy glass and ordinary plastic cannot be trusted in such cases. Yes, it looks like the desire to enjoy a smoothie can cost a pretty penny!

Type

So which blender should you choose: immersion or stationary? It doesn't really matter much. It is believed that it is more convenient and correct to make smoothies in small stationary blenders.

They allow you to achieve a delicate texture, and the puree will simply melt in your mouth.
They often have more power, which means the grinding will happen much faster.
When working with them, you do not need to control the process and make physical efforts.
Such models often come with a bottle, as they are mainly intended for making drinks.

If you drink smoothies every day, then this model is truly tailored for this drink. But it also has a small number of disadvantages.

Good and powerful stationary blenders are usually more expensive than immersion blenders.
Such models have low versatility: they can only be used for preparing cocktails, sauces and other small dishes.

But even with an immersion drink it can turn out just as good! There is only a risk that you will get tired of standing over the container, holding the button, and you will not grind the ingredients to the consistency of puree. Disadvantages:

it will not be possible to achieve the most uniform consistency; small particles of ingredients will still be found in the drink;
you have to hold it in your hand, and this is tiring, especially if the blender is not very powerful and grinds slowly.

If this is not a problem for you and you are not at all against small pieces of nuts and fruits, then you will like the advantages of this type all the more.

When using this model, less dishes get dirty: you can drink straight from the container in which you cooked.
These blenders have amazing versatility: they can be used to chop and mix dishes of different sizes and consisting of ingredients of any hardness.
Most immersion blenders come with a whisk included, as well as a small container for chopping in a closed volume, so you can also beat and chop, for example, a handful of nuts or a few cubes of chocolate!

So, if you are a gourmet or if the presence of that same texture is important to you, you will have to fork out for a powerful stationary blender, ideal for making smoothies and cocktails. But if small imperfections don’t bother you at all, then you can either use what you already have or buy a model that will have the greatest functionality.

If you are not going to add ice to the smoothie, then the number of selection criteria is sharply reduced: any modern machine will cope with the task of preparing this drink. In this case, the blender can have a power of 300 or even 200 watts, have a glass or carbon container and be both submersible and stationary.

Now you know what to look for when you go shopping for this little kitchen helper. We hope that the result in the form of delicious drinks will delight you and your loved ones for a long time!