Putting the Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender to the Test

For the longest time, I've had my eye on a certain hand-held gadget. In the store, it would tempt me with its sleek, stainless steel body and numerous attachments, begging me to take a closer look. But after a few glances, I would walk away reminding myself that I already had a blender at home. With very little space left in my kitchen, I also owned an electric beater as well as the "As Seen On TV" Magic Bullet blender for grinding things. There was absolutely no more space.

But then, I got to thinking. That hand-held blender could actually replace all three of the above - my electric beater, blender and magic bullet, possibly giving me more space in my already tiny apartment kitchen. Additionally, it would make life easier by having only one appliance to use for all three purposes, which would also make cleaning a lot quicker. But would it actually do the things that it advertised online, or is it all just marketing hype? After reading the numerous reviews online, I went ahead and got myself one of my own.

Product Features

• It blends, chops, grinds and whips.
• The chopper attachment chops onions, nuts and vegetables in just a few seconds.
• Whisk attachment is great for whipping up creams and topping for desserts.
• 2 cup blending cup that's microwave and dishwasher safe to blend shakes, salad dressings and more.
• Ability to blend right in a pot, pitcher or bowl.

Putting it to the Test

I put my Cuisinart Hand Blender to the test as soon as I got it home. The first thing I noticed was how it doesn't take up much space. After getting rid of my blender, electric beater and Magic Bullet, I had space for my Cuisinart, the attachments and with some extra space to spare.

The first test my Cuisinart had to undergo was to whip some cream. I make a lot of desserts and wanted to see how well it would take on this simple, but important task. The verdict? Hands down, it was easier and whipped my cream much quicker than my old electric beater. But being able to whip cream does not justify my purchase and so I decided to put it to another test. I decided to make pumpkin soup from scratch using fresh pumpkins, something I've never been able to master.

The Final Verdict

Did my new Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender hold up to the challenge? Can it really make silky smooth pumpkin soup from scratch? Will it be cumbersome and awkward to use?

I'm happy to say that I'm absolutely thrilled with how my soup turned out. Dare I say, my pumpkin soup turned out as good as, or even better than the one I had at a fancy restaurant in town. Check out my recipe below.

Pumpkin Soup the Easy Way

There's nothing like a piping hot bowl of soup to heal the soul. Soup is the ultimate comfort food that really hits the spot when you need it, and can brighten up the gloomiest of days. I've always had a particular fondness for those creamy soups that rely on a certain ingredient, such as this creamy pumpkin soup I made last week.

Up until I got my new stick blender, I avoided making anything akin to pumpkin soup mostly because the entire process seemed to be a lengthy and rather complicated one, especially when using fresh pumpkins. The traditional way involved baking the pumpkins in an oven for 30-45 minutes, then pureeing them in a food processor until they were smooth, before adding them to the soup. The Cuisinart Smart Stick Blender eliminates the need for this lengthy process and makes things so much easier.

In fact, this pumpkin soup was the very first thing I made using my new Cuisinart Smart Stick Blender. It was surprisingly easy to make and virtually fail-proof using this state-of-the-art hand-held blender. The most difficult part of the entire recipe was peeling the pumpkin.

Here are some helpful tips

Here are some tips that will make things easier for you. First, peel the pumpkin before zapping it in the microwave for 5 minutes. This makes it easier to cut them into slices as fresh pumpkins can be pretty tough. Although I prefer to use fresh pumpkins, you can opt to use canned ones, which would make it even easier and quicker to make.

Watch this video to see a brief description of the Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender.