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The holidays demand a lot of multi-tasking. Not only are there lots of things that need to be done outside the home like Christmas shopping, present wrapping, and house decorating — but the kitchen itself can be a tad … chaotic. The kitchen tends to be the center of the flurry of activity with a long list of things that need to be taken care of: Food shopping for the holiday meal, preparing menus, juggling prep for tons of ingredients, and managing cooking times to get things out in time.
Eating the stunning meal at the end may all be worth it, too, but there’s no denying that several things can go wrong along the way, making what should be an enjoyable process extremely stressful. Luckily, Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis has a nifty little kitchen gadget that she says is a savior in the kitchen when you’ve gotten something wrong, according to what she told Today.
As she said, having an immersion blender on hand is the trick to fix annoyingly clumpy gravies and turn them into smooth sauces. And when De Laurentiis has a tip to give, her fans can rest assured that the trick works. This time though, she isn’t the only one to believe in the magic of this kitchen tool.
An immersion blender may be a solid investment
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While a food processor or a stovetop blender may do an equally fine job, Serious Eats says that an immersion blender makes it even easier. For one example, if your soup or sauce turns out clumpy — if you were to use a stovetop blender, you’d have to wait for the liquid to cool down and then transfer it to the additional device. An immersion blender, on the other hand, can be used in the same pot that you’re cooking the liquid in, and it can blend large batches of liquid in just one go — meaning, you don’t have to wait for it to cool down.
It’s not just in times of kitchen disasters that an immersion blender can come to the rescue, either. Having one can do the job of several different pieces of equipment, which can make your holiday cooking even easier. You can ditch a whisk or a food processor for an immersion blender while making creamy homemade mayonnaise and vinaigrettes. An immersion blender can also quickly turn out some whipped cream for hot chocolate!
You could also use the tool to make small amounts of slurries and purées. If Giada De Laurentiis telling you to have an immersion blender on hand over the holidays hasn’t convinced you already, this might: The multipurpose equipment can be used to make fluffy scrambled eggs or smooth pancake batters for breakfast on Christmas morning as well (via SF Gate).
