Need recs for an immersion blender

[AllisonK]

Mods was not sure if this should go here or in Mindful Home Management. Its food but its home also

We use our immersion blender all the time for soups to smoothies. We have gone through two in the last two years. A Kitchenaid and a Cuisinart. Both stopped working after less than 9 months. Cuisinart will replace it since its under warranty but for $10 to ship the new one and then we pay the shipping back of the old one. I need a good one! My mom had hers for years and its still working so it just stinks that these keep breaking.

Any recs?

[dogmom327]

So you have a restaurant supply store in your area? I've finally figured out that whenever possible, I should buy any and all kitchen equipment there. The prices are often a bit higher than what you'd pay for the personal-use version but the stuff is so much better made.

[AllisonK]

I don't know but I'm sure there is one in Portland. Thanks for the idea I will look into it!

[hummingmom]

My favorite kitchen toy is our professional quality Bamix, which we bought when Pleasant Hill Grain had them discounted a few months back. It's a wonderful piece of machinery, and there are days when I've used it multiple times at each meal. We already had a Braun immersion blender that had been going strong for many years, so getting a new one seemed like quite an indulgence, but I'm very glad to have it. It's in a different league from most of the others:

- longer, metal shaft; no need to stick a chunk of plastic into hot soup
- the blade comes off, so it's extremely easy to clean
- variety of blades for different purposes
- makes mayonnaise in a jar in seconds, just dump in the ingredients and go; no need for drizzling in the oil
- the chopper attachment works better than anything else I've tried for grinding dried mushrooms, dulse, etc. into powder (and it's much easier to clean than a coffee grinder)
- made in Switzerland, very durable and reliable

The down side is the cost... up to $200 list price for the model we have. It's worth looking around for deals, though. We got ours for much less, with several optional accessories thrown in.

[dogmom327]

Originally Posted by AllisonK

I don't know but I'm sure there is one in Portland. Thanks for the idea I will look into it!

I'm such a dork...I didn't even look at where you are located. I can be helpful here...Roses Restaurant Supply on SE 2nd and Clay in Portland is awesome. Good selection, incredibly nice staff. It's weird when you walk in because it's an office in the front (they mainly sell in bulk to restaurants) but just keep walking through to the back. It's not pretty but their prices for stuff are great and the quality is excellent. Plus the staff is really helpful--just ask. I've bought so much stuff there (a blender, case of glasses which were much more heavy duty than anything I could buy elsewhere).