You may mess up your blender if you have used your blender for all your grinding, mixing, and blending needs for all kinds of food.
There are so many appliances made for specific jobs. Food processors, spice and coffee grinders, and immersion blenders are all suited for a specific task. Also, each blender has been made with different materials, specific features, and diverse motor power. With this huge variety available in the market, you need to explore the product specifications before purchasing any to ensure your needs will be covered. But, if you already have one, look at the items you should avoid putting into your blender at all costs.
1. Potato
When you use a blender, because of speed, you lose control over the texture and final result. Instead of having a smooth or creamy result in certain foods, you will face an unpleasant, gummy mass. Potato is one of those ingredients that should not be put into the blender; otherwise, over-processing and high speed can lead it to release a large amount of starch, and the result will be a sticky, starchy texture.
For cooked potatoes, instead of using blende, depending on the recipe, you may want chunks, hand-mashed potatoes, or smooth puree. Consider using a potato masher or mash by hand or chop to small chunks to achieve the fluffy and desired consistency, which is suited for your recipe without over-processing.
2. Ice Cubes
If your blender is not designed to crush ice, blending ice cubes directly in your blender could be a bad idea, even in some blenders with a crushing button. Ice cubes are hard and dense and difficult to break down. This can cause the blender to splash or splatter and make a mess or even dull the blades or cause damage to the motor by overheating due to too much pressure on the motor over time. To avoid these issues, use a smaller amount of ice cubes in every section of crushing. Use ice that is already crushed, and add enough water( at least 1 cup ) to give the blades space to complete the process smoothly.
Alternatively, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your blender and ensure it tolerates ice crushing. If yes, ensure there’s enough liquid in the blender to facilitate blending without straining the motor or damaging the blades.
3. Hot Liquids
When you pour something hot into a blender and hit that power button, things can get pretty wild. The heat from the liquid creates steam, which builds up pressure in the blender. If that pressure doesn’t have a way to escape, it can make the blender’s lid pop up unexpectedly. Imagine a hot tomato soup explosion all over your kitchen – not a fun cleanup, but potentially dangerous. Even if it does not happen, there’s still a risk. Hot liquids can mess with the blender’s parts. Plastic pitchers might warp or melt; rubber seals can get ruined; that means you could end up with a busted blender.
So, to avoid explosions, damaged blenders, and messy kitchens, it’s best to let hot liquids cool down (at least for 10 minutes) before you even think about pouring them into the blender. You can remove a small part of the lid to help release steam, or you can use an immersion blender with steelhead to get the result you want.
4. Frozen Food and Fruit
Blending large and hard frozen food similar to ice cubes is even worse. It can break the container while twister blades fling those huge, heavy rocks around.
Blenders are designed to handle soft mixtures, not frozen solid rocks. So when you hit that blend button, you’re asking your blender to work overtime. Of course, there are super-powered blenders out there that can handle even rocky ice, but even for those, you have to break ice solid into smaller chunks.
5. Dried Fruit
You might toss some dried fruit into your blender, but hold up a second! There are a few reasons that it is not the best idea.
Dried fruit can be pretty tough for your blender and can put pressure on the blades and motor.
Dried fruit often has a sticky, sugary coating. This coating can gum up the blades, stick to the sides of the jar, and turn your blending session into a sticky situation.
So do not take the risk of dealing with a sticky mess; try other ways. You could chop it up by hand, soak it in liquid to soften it, or use a food processor if you’ve got one handy.
6. Spices
Graining spice is a tricky job. If you are planning to grain hard whole spice into a regular blender with large blades, you need to consider a longer process. However, those large blades have not been designed for graining spice. On the other hand, you will expect powdery, lightweight, well-grained spices, which could potentially cause a dust explosion if your grinder is not well sealed. For these reasons, you can purchase a good spice grinder or use ready ground-up spices.
7. Coffee Beans
Generally, using a blender to smell ingredients is a big no-no! For something hard and dry like coffee beans, which are bold and smelly, do not even think about using a blender. Although coffee beans are rich and satisfyingly small, but if you do not have a coffee grinder nearby with some quick guides, you can grind coffee beans with a blender for a S.O.S situation.
Pour a small amount of beans into the blender. If your blender has a grinder button, push it. If not, select the higher speed and use the push-and-pause technique. In each pause, blend to move larger pieces to the center and repeat until you reach the grind you want.
8. Bones
It might be obvious putting bones into a blender does not make sense, but with a little search, you will find there are a lot of recipes with blending up bones as an ingredient. It does not need to be said what would happen if you put large and hard bones into a blender. Even the most powerful blender can not tolerate hard bones. Bones can dull or damage the blades and motor and completely ruin the appliance.
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