Kitchen Kit Roadtest: Proline Series 5 Speed Cordless Hand Blender

This is not a paid post. Just wanted to clarify that up front. I thought it would be good if I was doing a giveaway with Bistronomy French Food Unbound and a KitchenAid hand blender that I give you a bit more info on what that actually entails.

A 5 speed cordless hand blender with 5 attachments and 2 blending arms so you can puree, chop, shred, froth and whisk your life away. It is charged using a lithium rechargeable battery and the battery life is really good.

Quite a few I've got to say. I am really impressed with the quality and useability of this blender AND the attachments are actually relevant to use. Too many times have I bought a 'kit' only to find the majority of attachments complete crap and a waste of my treasured cupboard space. Finally a product in tune with your needs in the kitchen.

• The parts come in a container. Yes it looks a little bit like a briefcase but its handy. It means you aren't rummaging around your kitchen swearing profusely while you try to find the damn whisk attachment.
• Its cordless. Such a big plus for mobility around the kitchen and it comes with a lithium-ion battery for charging. In other words it actually works and this machine holds power. I cannot tell you how good it is to be able to run around the kitchen without having it attached to a powerpoint. FREEDOM!
• Pan and blade guards. If you want to froth a sauce reducing in the pan you can without fear of scratching your cookware. Genius right? 
• Extended blending arms so you can blend in deep pots or bowls. Genius again.

The unit itself is pretty sleek while the box of attachments is a little bulkier but it is still streamlined and very very nice to use. It feels weighty in your hands but only in the sense of quality rather than any kind of cumbersome piece of equipment and usage is very intuitive - the controls exactly where you'd expect them to be on the unit etc etc.

Some of the parts are dishwasher safe and some are not. I feel like I am fighting the inevitable. Either handwash them all or live in fear of putting the wrong part in the dishwasher #storyofmylife.

I guess cost is also a factor. At $499 it's not something you are going to purchase on a whim but perhaps that's a good thing. Save yourself from the $80 crap and put the money towards something that will last. I have learnt the hard way many times before, you really do get what you pay for. And at least with this you can really see where the money goes. So yes it might pinch but you will be happy about it once you get into the kitchen with it.

So far I've used it for pureeing, smoothies, chopping and making emulsions and sauces. My final test (this weekend) will be using the whisk attachment to see how it battles eggwhites for meringue but so far so good. It is fast, precise and not noisy at all. Unlike other units where some attachments/components work better than others I really can't fault these and my pet hate - those blenders that screech like nails down a blackboard  - is thankfully not a concern.