ISO hand mixers/choppers with muscle

[Eunosdriver]

Hi all -

1st time poster; my son suggested I should put out a cry for help after thrashing my third hand mixer, and second mini-chopper this weekend. Managed to strip the gears on both of them. Apparently stale sourdough bread is not the best thing to make breadcrumbs from; tasty, but tougher than old boots!

What I'm looking for is a range of hand tools with metal gearing, rather than plastic. Nothing I can see online is helping, but I think it's time to buy some hand tools that are going to last a bit longer than a year

Is anyone aware of anything that fits the bill? Obviously I'd expect to pay more than for bog standard stuff, but I'm getting fed up with having to bin things.

Pete (the tool abuser)

 

[tenspeed]

Welcome to DC Here's seriouseats opinion of immersion blenders. If they go through ice, they should go through dry bread.

The Best Hand (Immersion) Blenders | Serious Eats

 

[RPCookin]

This is what my mother always used to grind up old crusts and stale bread for breadcrumbs. I still have it. Not as sexy as the modern ones, but tough as nails - virtually indestructible.

 

[gadzooks]

Use my VitaMix to crumb crusty, stale sourdough. Bam!

 

[Aunt Bea]

If the bread is dry or frozen solid you can use one of these solar powered box graters to make bread crumbs.

Good luck and welcome to DC!

 

[caseydog]

Power tools can be your friend in the kitchen. I can mix cement with my Bosch cordless rill. What food can be tougher than a bucket of cement?

Here is a we page I found on Google to get you started down that road. From there, get creative.

Cooking With Power Tools: 4 Steps (with Pictures)

Good luck!

CD

EDIT: I just noticed that web page shows a Craftsman cordless drill. Don't get that. Craftsman power tools ain't what they used to be.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

The Cuisinart CSB-79 Smart Stick 2 Speed Hand Blender will do everything you want to do, and more. For 30 bucks more you can even get a potato masher attachment.

 

[tenspeed]

Power tools can be your friend in the kitchen. I can mix cement with my Bosch cordless rill. What food can be tougher than a bucket of cement?

This is what happens when Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor is a guest on The Food Network.

 

[CraigC]

Why would you want to do that task with an immersion blender? Our food processor does the job easily and is more versatile.

 

[GotGarlic]

Why would you want to do that task with an immersion blender? Our food processor does the job easily and is more versatile.

Agreed. I use my food processor for this as well.

 

[Andy M.]

Going by your description, are these the tools you refer to? These are what comes to mind when I hear "hand mixer" and "mini chopper".

 

[Eunosdriver]

Hi Andy - spot on, almost exactly what I broke! The deceased mini-chopper was almost exclusively for breadcrumbs, and the hand whisk gets used for cake making & meringues.

I'm sure there must be a hand whisk out there somewhere with a metal gearbox, it wouldn't surprise me if there's no mini-chopper equivalent, as it's not exactly a pro bit of kit.

 

[Andy M.]

Eunosdriver, a couple of thoughts:

I don't think you mentioned what your electric hand mixer was used for, but they do have their limitations. They will not do a good job on thick cookie doughs, for example.

For the mini food processor, you might want to try breaking the bread into smaller pieces before putting them in the FP. Larger pieces can get jammed between the blade and the bowl and cause your problems.