Stick that in your Philips and Grate/Blend/Whip it! (Philips HR1364)

Member Name: TheChocolateLady

Product:	Philips HR1364
Date:	23/11/08 (516 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Powerful, sharp blades, good attachments, easy to use, clean and store

Disadvantages: Careful of the sharp blades - they are REALLY SHARP!

While I adore my big Braun food processor, there are times when it just isn't the right tool for the job. Using the big bowl to grind up a soup, grate a small amount of cheese or finely chop some spices or nuts isn't always practical. Moreover, the large food processor doesn't do things like whipping up cream or egg whites. I don't have the strength to do this by hand, and my cheap electric beater is only adequate in that department. That's why I bought the Philips HR1364.

I originally wanted to buy the Braun blender stick, but when the saleslady told me this Philips model was half the price of the Braun, had the exact same 600W of power and included all the same attachments, I figured I couldn't go terribly wrong. And while the Philips has two speeds vs. the five speed model by Braun, my previous model had only one speed, so I figured two would be good enough. Both models come with a mixing beaker, a wire whip and a small grinder attachment, so I certainly got everything I was looking for, and its attractive blue and white design even matched my kitchen.

Of the three attachments, I'm finding the grinder to be the most useful. For instance, I took a small onion, red bell pepper and garlic, cut them into small pieces and ground them up to top some fish I was baking, and it came out fantastic. I even used this to supplement tomato paste by grinding up some overly ripe tomatoes. This makes pesto in a snap and who wouldn't appreciate not scraping up your hands to grate cheese by using this? The wire whisk also whips up egg whites better than anything I have ever used, and my mousse cake was marvelous and fell less when it cooled than it ever has. I also like how simply the pieces click together for assembly, and to take it apart you only need to press the two buttons on the sides of the base.

Regarding the main blender this is extremely useful when you need to puree soup, smooth sauces or whip cream. I also found it makes mashing potatoes fun, and it beautifully blends oil and brown sugar for my carrot cake. With the latter, I got a totally smooth consistency and even colour throughout, with no darker parts at the bottom of the beaker, which I used to get when I did this by hand. Speaking of that beaker, this one holds more than a full liter and has measurements on the side as well. It has a spout for easy pouring and even a plastic lid so you can save unused mixes in the fridge. This is wonderful for things like making salad dressings ahead of time.

This model has two buttons - one for the regular speed and another for the turbo. The buttons require some strength to press, but not too much, and it feels only slightly heavy but mostly comfortable in your hand, with a soft plastic grip area. The only thing I would have changed would be that they toggled on and off rather than having to hold them down all the time you use it. Still, it is unfussy to use and I'm assuming safer because the on switch doesn't toggle. Most importantly, that 600w of power speeds through crushing nuts and pulverizing fruits and vegetables like lightening. I don't think I have held the buttons down for more than a couple of minutes, with the exception of whipping the egg whites, which took me more like 5-7 minutes to get stiff enough. Still, that's less than half the time my hand beater would have taken.

Cleaning this is painless, with only the base and the connector for the whip being not dishwasher safe, and a damp cloth does the job on those. Even without a dishwasher, as long as you're careful when cleaning those very sharp blades, everything washes up effortlessly. Storing this is straightforward since there's a hole in the handle of the base I use for hanging this on a hook. It also isn't all that large and fits in a drawer along with the whisk and blender attachments. The beaker is a bit bulky, but taller and thinner than most large measuring cups, and you'll not want to leave the grinder blade in a drawer. I always put mine back into the base with the top on and place it together in a cupboard as soon as it is cleaned, for safety's sake.

In short, the Philips HR1364 is very comfortable and convenient to use, clean and store. It has more than enough power, very sharp blades and great attachments which do a plethora of jobs really well, and almost effortlessly. While it might not replace your food processor or large mixer, it beautifully fills in when these are too big for the job at hand. This deserves no less than five stars and a high recommendation from me.

Thanks for reading!

Davida Chazan © November 2008

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Technical Stuff:

This product can be bought new from Amazon for £30.00 or through their marketplace from £20.99.

You can find the full product details at the Philips page here http://tinyurl.com/5j2wfz
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Summary: A dual speed hand blender with attachments by Philips