How to Use a Blender

Chop nuts, puree soup, make a fruit smoothie. A blender is handy for these tasks and much more. Get the most out of yours by using it properly.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Blenders
• Drinking Glasses
• Rubber Spatula

1. Choose a flat, dry surface on which to operate your blender.

2. Put the blender together. Place the blades in the retaining ring, then set the gasket over the blades and inside the ring.

3. Screw the retaining ring firmly to the bottom of the pitcher. Be sure the retaining ring is seated correctly or you will have a leak.

4. Set the pitcher onto the base and plug the blender in.

5. Put the recipe ingredients in the pitcher. Put lid on firmly.

6. Use the Ice or Chop setting to make milkshakes, smoothies or frozen drinks.

7. Make baby food by adding a small amount of liquid to a cup of fruit or vegetables and blending it for 15 seconds on the Puree setting. Five seconds on this setting also will smooth out lumpy gravy.

8. Take advantage of the Pulse setting to make bread crumbs, grate chocolate, chop vegetables and make cracker crumbs.

9. Add food to the blender through the secondary lid while the blender is running.

10. Clean the pitcher after each use. Put a little bit of dishwashing detergent in, add enough water to fill it halfway, put the lid on, and run the blender - with lid on - on a low speed for a few seconds.

11. Rinse the blender thoroughly. Take it apart and dry off the blades.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a food processor if you need to blend more than four cups of food.
• For longer life, hand-wash the blade assembly and gasket, as well as plastic pitchers.
• Put your hand on top of the lid when blending to insure that the pitcher stays seated on the motor.
• Never stick a spoon, spatula or hand in the blender while the blades are moving.
• Be careful when adding hot food to your blender. Glass pitchers in particular are prone to cracking.
• Don't lift the pitcher off the blender until the motor has stopped.
• Always add liquid when crushing ice. If you crush ice dry, you can damage the container and blades.