The blender is one of the most versatile and important kitchen tools in a cook’s arsenal. Sauces, smoothies, lemonades, and cream soups – there’s just so much you can do with it! But the more you use it, the duller those blender blades become. In fact, there are things that can harm this tool to a point of no return. In order to avoid serious damage, there are a few things you should never put inside your blender, even if everyone says it’s totally okay. From mushy substances like mashed potatoes to hard objects like coffee beans, here are 7 surprising things you should never, ever put in a blender.
Dried fruit
Apricots, prunes, dried dates, and sun dried tomatoes are the things you should avoid putting in your blender. Their gooey texture will make your blender blades all sticky and can easily ruin them if not cleaned properly afterwards. To avoid unnecessary damage add some water to your dried fruit mix or simply soak the fruits in water to make them more mashable.
Extra hot liquid
Your trusty blender is capable of many things, blending hot liquids not being one of them. If you’re dreaming about making one of those velvety cream soups, there’s one simple rule you should follow: never, ever put scalding hot liquids (or other hot ingredients) into a blender. The lid might actually explode from all the steam! Let the liquid cool for a while before blending and fill only half of your blender. Make sure you’re mixing the ingredients slowly!
Ice cubes
Who doesn’t like iced drinks, especially when it’s scalding hot outside? Nevertheless, you should stop yourself from putting chunks of ice or frozen fruits into your blender. This will definitely dull the blade and can even harm the whole utensil! What you can do is let your fruits and berries melt for a while before making the smoothie. You can also use crushed ice for your summer drinks and cocktails.
All kinds of utensils
It may be very tempting to use a spoon or any other kitchen tool to help your blender do its work, but it’s always best to avoid putting foreign objects into the mechanism while it’s still working, even if it seems like not such a bad idea at the time. If you want to ‘help’ your blender in any way, just push the stop button and stir whatever that is you want to stir, and then continue blending.
Mashed potatoes
Yes, out of all things, mashed potatoes are among the most dangerous for your blender. `It’ll never create that picture-perfect fluffiness you’re after, but the device will only overwork itself, turning potatoes into a gooey unappetizing substance. Blend the potatoes by hand if you want your mashed potatoes to both look and taste amazing.
Coffee beans
Yes, you blender can become a type of substitute for a coffee grinder, but we assure you the quality of coffee and its flavor will suffer greatly as a result. A blender will turn your coffee beans into different-sized granules and you won’t be able to boil a proper cup of coffee no matter what you use – a coffee machine or a Turkish coffee pot. It’s best to invest in a proper coffee grinder!
Dough
Dough is really not something you should make in a blender. If you still want to try – be prepared for a tough texture that’s really hard to work with. Hands are your best option, but if kneading is a bit too much for you, try using a more specialized utensil like mixer or food processor. Your cookies will be saved!
