 |
Argos Value Range Hand Blender
by sparkle1004
I hold my hands up to not being much of a cook. I know how to do the odd thing and these are the things that I make time and time again. After being taught how to make a vegetable and finding out how simple it is, I needed to get myself a blender. Knowing that this could very well be a phase I was going through I didn't want to spend a ... lot of money on the product so I chose the Argos Value Range Hand Blender.
About the product
The product has been described as being a blender which aims to puree the food quickly, leaving your cooking smooth and lump free. The blender has a double action meaning that the product will cut horizontally and vertically at the same time using stainless steel blades. It only comes with one speed setting so it might not be enough for the confident cook but it's fine for a starter cook like me. It has an anti splash guard so it should prevent you and your kitchen from getting in a big mess which is one of the main things which put me off cooking. It claimed to be easy to clean with parts that are safe to wash in your dishwasher. As far as I'm aware the product only comes in white.
Appearance and Price
The product is rather big and bulky. It is made out of white plastic and it has a blue switch at the top. The part that you hold at the top is wide and the neck of the product becomes thin before widening out again at the bottom. The edge of the bottom has been cut into a 'teeth' shape and the blades spin around inside this. The electrical wire comes from the top which starts you from accidentally cutting through the product which would be awful! As this is in the value range, it was obviously going to be cheap. It only cost me around £4 and it is available from your local Argos store or from their online website.
Using the product
The product is rather heavy to hold first and foremost. So if you using the product for a long period of time, it will make your arm ache a little bit. The blender is super simple to use. You should plug the product in and push the blue button to make the product work once to make it work and then once again to make it stop. The blender is rather noisy and it will be intrusive if you're are having a conversation with someone in the kitchen. It vibrates heavily too and you can feel the vibrations going up your arm but I kind of expected all these things with a product that came so cheaply.
I use it on vegetables that I have chopped up and boiled to puree them into a soup. The splash guard doesn't work too well so I use it by inserted it beneath the level of the soap before switching it on. This prevents me from getting in a mess while still allowing the product to work too. It doesn't work incredibly quickly but it gets the job done in a reasonable time, managing to remove all of the lumps from my soup and leaving it deliciously smooth. The product is easy to clean by removing the end and putting it in the dishwasher. I've only used this product a couple of times but it feels sturdy and I think it should have a relatively long life as long as I'm looking after it properly.
Conclusion
All in all, I think this a really good product for the price that I paid. It is heavy and noisy but it does get the job done quite quickly. I does everything I need it to do and it's easy to clean. It's sturdy and shows no signs of breaking or not working so I would happily recommend this who don't cook much or who are just getting into it.
Read the complete review |
|
|
Asda 6 Speed Hand Mixer
by angelboouk
I started Slimming World last July and have spent a lot of time preparing meals from scratch. I am part of a few Facebook groups where members can post their recipes and I tried a few out. Some recommended using an electric hand mixer but I didn't have one and using a fork just didn't give the same results - it only gave me a sore arm! I ... decided it was about time that I bought a hand mixer/electric whisk. This specific whisk was recommended by my sister so I headed to Asda to buy one.
~Hand Mixer~
Model no : XJ-2K256
This hand mixer is supplied in a simple silver box. The box contains the actual unit which needs to be plugged in to an electrical outlet, two whisk attatchments and two dough hooks. The attatchments have stainless steel blades.
This hand mixer has 6 speed options and is said to be perfect for mixing even heavy ingredients. It features a 120watt motor. The user manual is very easy to read and understand. All safety information is given and the following guidelines are recommended for the different speed options.
*Speed 1 - dry ingredients or folding in liquid ingredients
*Speed 2 - creaming, making sauces, quick breads
*Speed 3 - all purpose including cake mixing
*Speed 4 - Batters
*Speed 5 or 6 - whipping cream, mash potatoes or beating egg whites
It is also recommended that you use the mixer for a maximum of 2 minutes at a time before allowing it to rest for 3 minutes. This hand mixer comes with a 1 year warranty.
~Price and Availability~
As you would expect, this hand mixer is exclusive to Asda and is available instore and from www.asda.com. It retails at £9.96 but is currently reduced to £6.00.
~My Experience~
When I got this home from Asda, I couldn't wait to try it out. The different attatchments were presented in little plastic bags inside the box. The unit itself is a good size and is made from durable, wipe clean plastic. The unit is quite heavy but comfortable for me to hold though those with issues with their hands may find it a little bulky. There is a good sized handle which comfortable fits my hand though men with extra large hands may find it a bit restrictive.
The unit has ventilation holes to stop it from overheating when in use. The attatchments are very easy to slot into the underside and click into place. The complete unit feels robust and very safe to use. I do find the cable to be a bit on the short side. My plug sockets are under my kitchen units which means I have limited space to use this hand mixer but I do manage with a little bit of movement! The stainless steel attatchments are of a good quality.
~In Use~
I use my hand mixer several times a week and it hasn't let me down yet. It is so easy to use. I have only found need to use the whisking blades as I have a bread maker which does all 'dough' related mixing for me. My sister uses her dough hooks though and isn't keen on them as the dough mix often clogs up the hooks and needs to be removed before she can start again. This is time consuming so I would say this is more suited for whisking activities.
My main use for my hand mixer is whisking up egg whites. I make Slimming World friendly pancakes a few times a week and this involves seperating my egg whites from the yolks, whisking them up and then binding back together with sweetener. This is my new favourite thing to do as the pancakes are absolutely delicious. I have them with fruit and yoghurt for breakfast normally so my hand mixer has been well use for this recipe.
Once I've attatched the whisks and plugged in the unit, I am ready to go. I always use a large, deep bowl or measuring jug for mixing. I wouldn't recommend mixing anything in a shallow container as this may end up messy. In general though, there isn't really any mess caused by whisking stuff up with this hand mixer. The speed changer is very easy to access when in use and practical to operate. It is a little slider which is easy to move along the noted speeds and won't change itself with being moved. The unit will fall over if it is sat on its side but will sit neatly if sat upright normally.
This unit is quite powerful when in use but never becomes a chore to hold it and it is certainly much better to use than a fork! The whisks spin into action very quickly and a light burst of air speeds through the vents keeping the unit cool. The unit is very noisy and this noise increases between the different speed levels so it isn't one to use if the children are in bed. It is important to keep the whisks submerged in the bowl contents whilst in use to avoid splatters.
Performance wise, this hand mixer does an excellent job of mixing most ingredients. I tend to use speed 1 or 2 for a minute before gradually changing to a higher speed for mixing my egg whites. After 2 minutes or so, my egg whites have expanded and a thick, foamy white mixture is formed. I would recommend using speed 6 if you are planning on making meringues with the egg whites as this will allow the mixture to become a little firmer.
I have found this hand mixer to be great for mixing together my cake ingredients (on the rare occasion that I make cakes now) as all the ingredients are dragged through the whisks and blended together well. I do find that I need to make sure my butter is quite soft though. I didn't like mixing butter and icing sugar together to form a frosting. The icing sugar seemed to be too fine and simply formed a cloud of dust and was a little messy.
Whisking up cream is an absolutely breeze with this hand mixer. I tend to use Elmea whipping cream and find that within a few minutes I have a bowl of thick, delicious looking cream which has a perfect whipped consistency. Perfect for having with desserts. I also find this hand mixer to be great for whisking up Angel Delight and really anything that requires an electric mixer. I find that this hand mixer copes well with thick mixtures as well as liquidy mixtures.
~Cleaning~
Being white, the unit seems to attract marks very easily. I simply give it a wipe over with a damp cloth. The attatchments should be removed from the unit and washed/dried quickly. I find that if I wash them soon after use, any mixture or food comes away from the blades easily and they are left looking clean and new.
~Conclusion~
This hand mixer is very simple to use and can be stored neatly without taking up a great deal of room. It is very cheap and has made my kitchen tasks quite a bit easier. Fair enough, it doesn't look attractive but mine is stored in the cupboard when not in use so this really doesn't concern me at all.
A great purchase - thanks for reading :)
Read the complete review |
