Cuisinart CSB-76BC SmartStick 200-Watt Immersion Hand Blender, Brushed Chrome

I used to think of immersion blenders as silly and unnecessary... until I got one, which happened to be this one. As a new mother I wanted to make my baby's food and found the pitcher blender and the food processor to be *okay* but not terrific for making food into the consistency of puree that I was looking for. (This is for an older infant who is able to handle stuff that hasn't been through a food mill.) On a whim I decided to give this smart stick a shot because I have other Cuisinart appliances that I've had for ages & been really happy with, plus - at least at the time of my purchase - the price was low enough that even if I didn't like it it wouldn't have been a huge loss to just pass it along to someone else. I loved it immediately. In under a minute, the bowl of steamed fruit (with a bit of water added) was consistently and smoothly pureed. There's only 1 button that you have to hold in to run it and then it shuts off once pressure is removed from it - very easy to operate. I moved on to other fruits and vegetables and have not yet been disappointed. I had worried that making my own baby food at home would be too much of a pain, but this hand blender makes it a snap to do a large batch at once which I then portion out and freeze. It paid for itself in the first month of use in what it saved on buying jars of baby food at the store (especially because I buy only organic stuff for the kiddo). Then, as long as I already had it, I tried it in a few batches of soup that I made... and wondered how I had gone so long without ever getting one of these before! No more fiddling around with pouring scalding hot soup into the blender in batches (I make a big pot so there are leftovers - quite a juggling act when smoothing it out bit by bit). My mom, who had used a different kind of immersion blender in the past said that this one changed her mind (for the positive) about them - apparently it's much easier to use than others which don't have a guard around the blade, which totally makes sense to me. Cleanup and storage are also totally easy. The end that touches food pops off with an easy press of a button and it goes right into the dishwasher. It's also small enough so storage isn't a hassle. My husband and I have a verrrrrry small urban apartment with very limited cupboard space, so we really are conscious about each thing that we bring into our home because we don't like clutter and there's therefore no room for extras. Even though that's the case, the appliance part is about as big as my hand so it tucks neatly between larger appliances in our cupboard. The blade fits easily into our cutlery drawer. We already had measuring cups so gave away the one that came with this, but it's a great thing to have too if you need it.

I'd been wanting to try a stick blender for quite a while, and this one was at a reasonable price point to be worth adding to my kitchen arsenal. Originally I wanted a stick blender for pureeing soups and chowders, which it does beautifully with much less mess than using my old traditional countertop blender. No more transferring small amounts of soup to the blender at a time, processing, then repeating for more small amounts until the pot was done. This does the job in the same cooking pot without damaging the pot in the least. And the cleanup is much faster too since the business end of the stick blender pops off easily for hand washing. No more juggling the breakable blender container to wash it and trying to get the blades clean without bloodshed. Next came milkshakes, for which I bought a New 30 Oz. (Ounce) Malt Cup, Milkshake Cup, Blender Cup, Cocktail Mixing Cup, Stainless Steel, Commercial Grade to pair with the stick blender. A perfect match! The only problem is that now milkshakes are too quick and easy to make, so I end up making them more often. I don't do smoothies, but this would be perfect for those too. I keep finding more uses for this gadget such as chopping nuts, blending cream of coconut and milk for ice cream, and mashing bananas for muffins and quick breads to name a few. The only thing I have found that this doesn't do well is chopping chocolate. The heat generated by the blades is enough to melt the chocolate so you end up with a lumpy mess instead of chocolate chunks. It's a great gadget and well-constructed. It only has one speed, but I haven't found that to be a negative. It does the jobs I need it to do well with just the one speed. The same for cord versus cordless. I haven't found having the corded model to be a problem; having to find a place to mount a charger dock and keep a battery charged would be more fuss than simply using this model with a cord for the way I use the blender. I don't know how I got along without it for so long. Recommended!

Basically, it's a decent blender but the price is high for what it is. Not sure how to rate this, so 4 stars for longevity, ease is use, cleaning, and durability but only 2 for current price ($149.00--wth???) so really I'm at a 3.5 and rounded up). Soooo... I bought this stick blender in 2012 and it's still blending basically just fine. I used to use it almost daily but now It's usually just 1-2x weekly (strictly used for protein shakes mixed with only liquid and powder all these years). However, it's starting to make a squeaky noise when used and I wanted to price a replacement for when it was time. And jeez Louise! The price is now literally 5x what I paid all those years ago. I know prices rise, it's been 8 years, etc., but still! You can buy a cheap-o one for less than $20-$30 that by all accounts will last you 2-3 years. That would be less money spent even if you had to keep replacing them. I guess I'm just surprised by the price. I own this exact one so I know it's not all made out of everlasting steel parts, there's a lot of plastic used in this stick blender. I'm assuming at this point you're just paying for the Cuisinart name? At any rate, mine still works and I will keep using it until it dies and look for a fiscally responsible replacement at that time.

After watching numerous cooking shows, I perked up when the chefs used the immersion blender. As I had never seen one I thought what a great idea, everything needed was in one piece with an easy to detach the blade with a one button push. After purchasing one, I went to town, blending anything imaginable. So much fun. My main goal was to make shakes and malts without dragging out the blender and this gadget is super for that purpose. We can now fix a malt at a moments whim and the clean up is beyond easy. The stem and blender blades come off in one piece and go right into the dishwater. They are so easy to clean while keeping in mind that the blades on the bottom are beyond SHARP! Do not touch them with your fingers! Just swishing them around in the hot soapy water and a gentle wipe with a sponge will do the trick. I noticed right off the bat that the wand needs to be kept at a slight tilt while blending and if kept straight up and down, will act like a suction to the bottom of the bowl or pan that is being used. It needs to be able to whirl the food into the blades, sort of like an ocean whirlpool. The blades never scrape the bottom of the container so there is never a fear that they will damage your cookware. Another use for the Stick is in making vegetable juice for canning in the summer. I simmer cut up tomatoes, carrots, celery, parsley, celery and any other vegetable available at the time from my garden. I run this cooked mixture through a food mill to remove the peels and strings but then return the juice to the pot to further cook down and thicken slightly. This is where the SmartStick comes into play. I just stick in into my big pot and let it do it's thing. The smooth resulting juice is purely a delight. Makes my mouth water just thinking about drinking this stuff!~ My son's family begs for the Italian tomato sauce that I can using this Stick. It is a little work horse and I was so surprised that it can do the large batches I challenge it with. Brothy or cream soups are another area where this can be used. Asparagus time us upon us and nothing is more delicious than cream of asparagus soup. I save all of the pretty tips and simmer the rest until very tender. Next comes out my trusty little Stick and away it goes. When done, I add the tips back to the brothy mixture and simmer until just tender, adding milk, seasonings and a little butter. Yummy delicious. Smooth and beautiful. The ideas for uses are endless. Every kitchen should have one of these but I must stress again that the blades are indeed sharp!

This thing worked great for 2 years. It is perfect if you are looking for an easy way to puree soups and other "soft" items. If you are looking to make smoothies with frozen fruit, I do not recommend this hand blender. It is not powerful enough to durably blend frozen fruit. The motor just isn't strong enough. After a few tries trying to blend blackberries, the jacket where the attachment meets the motor became stripped and the attachment would no longer turn with power. Cuisinart's warranty basically means nothing because it'll cost $20 in shipping to send it back. Might as well buy a new one. I've been using the KitchenAid KHB100OB. Its a bit bulkier and more expensive than the Cuisinart but it has worked well with the same frozen fruit that broke my Cuisinart. Overall, this is a great budget item if you are looking for something convenient to put in a pot and puree. But, unless you can throw frozen fruit to soften it up a bit, this will break if you try to blend hard items. Maybe not as quick as mine, but it will over time.

I just got this little gadget a short time ago as I wanted to puree soups without having to transfer the liquid in batches. It made a very nice thick potato soup indeed! If you like gluey mashed potatoes it can mash them in no time flat but I think I prefer it used for soup. I tried it for whipped cream in a regular bowl and ended up switching to my hand beater as I was more comfortable with that method thinking I would get more fluff. It may just take longer using the smart stick but I can say it did a decent job even if it was a little flat. Using the container it came with might have improved the results drastically and I will also add my bowl was not chilled. What do I really use this little bugger for? Smoothies! Yes, I mean the ones using frozen fruit including whole strawberries. If you have read other reviews you may be thinking, "Whoa there, are you nuts?" I can only say that while I hesitated to give it a try, a genle repetitive tapping motion is all that is needed and in under a minute I had an individual sized smoothie that put a big smile on my daughters face. The money I save from using frozen fruit puts a smile on my face and I know this gadget will get a lot of use in the summer. I love the color as that is also my daughters favorite and I love that it can be cleaned with soapy hot water in the accessory cup and a little whiz at the push of the button. I have noted it is not smart to try and inspect the blades with fingers, particularly if it is still plugged in! Sounds like a "we all do dumb things" commercial to me. When I ordered it I was wondering how long the pink would stay pink but the metal wand portion is quite long and the pink handle part did not get into my soup at all so I no longer worry about the color of the handle but simply enjoy that it makes my daughter show more interest in learning how to make things herself. That blade is adequately covered so with some adult supervision and some common sense, I expect she may enjoy giving me some extra help in the kitchen. Using a gentle tapping motion, I would even consider using this product with one of my nonstick pots to see how it goes. As this is a new alliance in our home I can't predict how long it lasts but I can say it is very easy to use, even for people like me who have trouble with their hands. I certainly would buy one for a friend as a gift and I love that I can now get my daily fruit allowance in a way I really enjoy. Buy this and give Jamie's food revolution smoothie recipe a try. I promise your kids will never know it has oats in it. I use oat bran or leftover cooked oatmeal in mine and it is becoming a daily treat. The accessory cup is just the right size for whipping up a fantastic smoothie in a snap. Update: it has ben almost two years but I just go this out the other day and we enjoyed smoothies again. The cup provided makes enough for one 16 oz glass and we made 5 of those in a row without a problem. The pink color still looks great too.

I purchased this mainly to make soap and lotion, or so I thought. The old hand blender: The one I have been using was plastic and stuff seemed to get stuck up inside it. This wasn't so much a problem with the soap (as the lye kills everything); but it was quite problematic with the lotion as it is preservative-free. The more I used the other hand blender the faster the lotion became moldy. It was also not very powerful (which I did not realize until I got the Cuisinart CSB-76PK). The Cuisinart CSB-76PK: This one ROCKS!!! I have made several batches of soap and lotion with it and was amazed at how much more powerful it is than the old immersion hand blender; what a difference!! Its mixing power is incredible! Nothing seems to be getting stuck up inside it; the immersed portion is stainless steel and seems to be sealed really well. My sister was so excited after she used mine she went and purchased one too - and loves it! I was curious as to whether or not it was powerful enough to make Butternut Squash Soup. My sister has a Blendtec $$$ and my mom has a Vitamix $$$ (which are great machines but not in my budget) so whenever I want to make something really creamy and smooth I have to borrow one of them. Well, no longer! I cooked a butternut squash (really well so that it was super soft) and tried out this hand blender. It produced a soup just as smooth and creamy as the Blendtec! I was astounded! It took it a little longer, maybe 3-4 minutes (I can't quite remember) instead of 90 seconds, but big deal. However, I did discover that this hand blender needs to be deep enough in whatever you are trying to blend that it can mix it - I don't think that is typically an issue with the Blendtec/Vitamix as their containers have a much smaller diameter to begin with; with the soup I just switched to a pot with a smaller diameter, added a little milk and it worked like a charm! For Thanksgiving I baked one of the pumpkins from our garden (not nearly long enough so it was still somewhat hard) and then used this handy little machine to puree the pumpkin for our pumpkin pies. They too turned out spectacular! Smooth and creamy even with the pumpkin not being cooked quite long enough. All-in-all this seems to be a fantastic machine, and at a fraction of the cost of the Blendtec and Vitamix (that my mom and sister use) it performs much of the same functions. Two thumbs up and yes, I would buy another one! UPDATE March 2013 - I still love this! It is fantastic and works perfectly for my soaps and lotions. It would probably work really well for other things too, however I have a Blendtec (which I Love!) that I use instead.

I never owned a hand blender before this. I am a kitchen nut and was tempted to buy a bigger, more expensive unit. For a small household, no need. It has plenty of power for most jobs, and I am glad I saved the money. It's so easy to clean! Just click on little button on the back, and the motor part falls away from the blender blade. You can do it with one hand. Goes on easily, too. I usually rinse it fast after blending and often just use hot water unless there is grease involved. Even then... so few places for dirt to stick. It's nice and easy. No need to buy canned soup anymore. Boil some veggies (I use a couple of beafsteak tomatoes, a red pepper, a small onion) and then blend 'til creamy. You can add textured stuff (mushrooms, meats) afterwards and it's a nice contrast and so flavorful. I have some basil in an herb garden and use the cup (included w/blender) with a little water to blend for Thai curries, add some fresh oregano and parsley for Italian sauces. Adding it at the end means the flavor stays strong and fresh. I like to add some sour cream at times to my sauces; add almond butter to the curry with a litttle sour cream or yogurt - and you're well on the way to a home-made tikka masala! Anyway, sorry I did not own one of these sooner. I use it at least every day; whip some half-and-half in a cup and add it to morning coffee and suddenly, it's like boutique coffee. And the little extra air means less calories and frothier. We enjoy it that way. Maybe I'll never be rich, but I do enjoy my "little luxuries" and for $30 bucks, you cannot beat this if you enjoy cooking. Don't forget to add some garnish - a basil leaf,some coarse-ground black pepper, a little cheese, or the swirled ingredients on top - or croutons - to get that 'finished' feeling. Hope you enjoy this little beauty as much as I do!