I bought this Kitchen Aid two spend blender in a pinch. I was helping with a event and we needed something for drinks and sauces. I saw this and decided that it would do the job, and went ahead and purchased it. Now before I get into the nitty gritty, I'm not saying this is a horrible hand held blender/mixer. I have definitely used and owned worse ones. That being said, it's also not the best. For me the unit felt a little cheap in my hand, not necessarily sturdy either. I like the gadgets I'm going to be using, especially when cooking to feel like they can handle whatever I throw at them and when using this, it just didn't feel that way to me. The plastic is smooth, and its attractive to look at. It doesn't take up much space, but those don't really outweigh the before mentioned issues I have with it. It's not all bad though. Even with its wobbly tendency when using, it did work okay when making sauces, or other things when there weren't very many chunks. The motor started to sound funny when I tried to mix too much "crunch" into what I was using it for. However it is super easy to clean, has a handy carrying or storage case and comes with a couple extras. My final decision on recommending this to someone would be, that if you're not going to use it often or you're just going to use it for sauces or cream based soups- to mix them up- this is for you. But if you're looking for a long term investment that you are going to want to use for a variety of things- this is not your gadget.

ifish42

USA

Paging through various cookbooks, I frequently ran across mentions of immersion blenders. I thought it was just an another overhyped gadget that would gather dust in the cabinet. Then I received the Hamilton Beach 2-Speed Hand Blender Model 59780R for Christmas and discovered how wrong I was. The whisk attachment makes quick work of whipping cream and creating airy omelets. And nothing beats the convenience and ease of cleanup than mixing your shakes and smoothies right in the glass when using the blending wand. I like putting in fresh fruit like berries and bananas in my smoothie, and with 200 watts of power at my fingertips, have never had a problem. My favorite use, however, has been making cream soups using fresh vegetables from my garden or the farmer's market. It is so much easier to cream the ingredients right in the pot (but not with the heat on) than the messy process of using the blender. The only problem is getting the blending wand to dry thoroughly before putting it away.

simplelife2

Hammond, IN