Use a Blender

Shortly this wonderful appliance will be your best friend. After a few experiments, you'll wonder what you can't make with this thing. And all you do is press a button and go. See Step 1 below to get started making pretty much anything.

Steps

Mastering the Basics

  1. Make sure the blender is plugged in, clean, and in working condition. You can pretty much eyeball this one -- if it looks like it's in okay condition, it's probably safe to use.
  2. Put your ingredients inside. We'll cover the things you can put inside in the next section, but for now just know that it all goes in there, pretty much however you want. It's a good idea to get a little liquid near the bottom to get everything going -- otherwise the solid stuff doesn't move around very easily.
    • If you're blending ice, you'll need a little bit of liquid to get it going. The ice floats in water, letting the blades do their thing. No water and the ice will just wedge itself against the sides, slowly melting.
  3. Close the lid and hold the cover tightly. That little cap that comes off? That's the feeder cap. You can leave your blender going, remove the feeder cap, and add in a few more (albeit small) things if you'd like. But other than that, it's best to leave the lid on -- or else you might end up with blender goo on your walls.
    • If it doesn't start, make sure the bottom of the blender is placed securely in the base. If the base and the blender aren't meeting just so, it can't make the connection to start whizzing and whirring.
  4. Blend! Try experimenting with the buttons. Choose an appropriate speed setting depending on what you are blending. Generally speaking, the further you go to the right, the higher the speed.
    • Chop, grate, grind, blend, mix, stir, puree, whip, and liquefy -- don't worry too much about these. You can't really use any "incorrectly." If it isn't the consistency you want it to be, try a higher speed. If that doesn't work, stop the blender, take off the lid, mix it up, and start again.
  5. Open it up and pour it out. If you're done that is. You may need to scrape out the bottom or undo the blades to get it all out of there, especially if it's thick. That's it!
  6. Clean the blender. Take off the blades from the jar and wash the two parts separately. Just run them under warm water with a little soap; alternatively, you can put them in your dishwasher. It's safe.
    • Never, ever, ever put the base in water! If you get it gunky, take a wet cloth or sponge to it. It's hard to hurt it -- and water (or any other liquid) is really the only way.
      • Apart from fire and all.

Getting Creative

  1. Make shakes, gelato, smoothies or ice creams. The most quintessential way to use your blender is for sugary, sweet goodness. Throw in some fruit, ice, sugar, milk and you're just about good to go. And when you do it yourself, you can come up with your own crazy flavors, too. Check out a few of these articles:
  2. Make salsas, hummus, and dips. No more buying that packaged crap -- with your blender, you can make just about anything. Your blender might very literally get your party started. Just make sure if you're making salsa you don't end up liquefying your tomatoes!
  3. Make cocktails. The moment you've been waiting for is upon us. Cocktails. Every blended drink you've ever wanted and even those you didn't know you did can be made with your blender. A little ice, some alcohol, and your favorite flavors and you're set. wikiHow has you covered for this, too:
  4. Make soup and sauces. Yep, you can make soups and sauces in your blender, too. At least the kind of soups and sauces that you want to be creamy and smooth! Check out these recipes:
  5. Make jams and butters. And you thought the list was over. Homemade jams and butters are slowly becoming trendy, so why not join in on the fun? And you'll save tons of money by making your own. Here's four to get you started:
  6. Grate cheeses, make bread crumbs, and grind seeds. If it can be disintegrated, it can be put in your blender and grinded, chopped or shredded. Just don't put rocks in there or anything. Thaw out your stuff before you throw it in!
    • Grind seeds or oats, popcorn, and other grains to make flour or spices
    • Grate your cheese for garnish on virtually any dish
    • Throw small, stale cubes of bread in for easy bread crumbs

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

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