10 Other Uses for a Blender

It's summertime and you've finally dragged the blender out of the kitchen cupboards to make smoothies with. Now that it's sitting on your kitchen counter, taking up valuable counter-space, you are wondering if there's anything else you can use it for. The answer is, of course, yes! A blender is a very useful kitchen tool, with the capacity to do the work of a food processor, a mixer, a grinder and an immersion blender. Here are some valuable ideas to get your blender working overtime, perhaps even once smoothie season is over.

Food processors are great for chopping up and mixing vegetables, salsa and spreads. Did you know you can do much of this same work in a blender? If you don't have a food processor, don't buy one when a recipe says to use it for something; try making the recipe in your blender instead. Here some of the tasks a blender can do in place of (and, in some cases, better than) a food processor, an immersion blender, a mixer, or a fork.

Nuts. A blender does a great job at chopping up nuts, whether for a sauce, a salad topping, or to add to a crust.

Cracker Crumbs. If you need cracker or bread crumbs (from stale bread), a blender is an easy way to make them. You can make crumbs as fine as you like in the blender, for pie or cheesecake crust, meatloaf or meatballs, or as a coating for baked chicken.

Spreads. Spread recipes often call for a food processor to mix the ingredients. If the ingredients are liquid enough, a blender can be used instead. Cream cheese based spreads and pesto are some examples of spreads that can be made in the blender. As with the hollandaise sauce, pour olive oil into the blender through the hole in the lid to make pesto. Make a spread in the blender requires more stirring than a food processor, but is a workable alternative if you do not own a food processor.

Ice. Using your blender to break ice into smaller pieces is just as fast an easy as using a food processor. Many models even have a special button for ice.

Baby Food. Pureeing baby food is just as easy in the blender as it is in the food processor. Add water to cook fruits and vegetables and blend until the desired texture is reached.

Sauces. Use your blender to make hollandaise or béarnaise sauces by adding the hot, melted butter through the hold in the blender lid. You can also use the blender to puree a tomato sauce.

Soup. It can be a dangerous job to puree hot soup in a blender, but if you don't have a handy immersion blender, it's very doable. Be sure to puree soup in small batches, and cover the lid with a towel or pot holder in case any hot splatter escapes.

Salad Dressing. Whipping up some homemade salad dressing is made easy in a blender. Just dump the ingredients in the blender cup and whirl away. It only takes a few seconds to emulsify oil and vinegar in the blender.

Egg Whites. It can take ages to beat egg whites by hand until stiff. Even with a mixer, it still takes several minutes. Use your blender to beat egg whites and they will be forming peaks in no time.

Whipped Cream. As with beaten egg whites, whipping cream can take a long time to make. Save yourself a little time by using the blender. It is also easier to make small portions of whipped cream in the blender, since mixer blades don't always reach to the bottom of the bowl.