Good Housekeeping - Good Housekeeping Juices & Smoothies

Icy cold drinks, velvety soups, creamy soda fountain treatsyou can make them all quickly and easily in the blender with just the flick of the wrist. However, to ensure perfect results every time, and for safetys sake, it helps to know a little bit about how your blender works and to follow a few simple food-preparation guidelines.

All blenders feature a control panel offering several speed options. Some models have four or five speeds, others just high and low; still other manufacturers list methods rather than speed, such as whip, puree, liquefy, chop. But rest assuredyou can make any recipe in this book in any standard blender using the high button, which blends foods quickly and smoothly. If your blender has a puree button, which is more powerful, use it for making thicker mixtures such as soups and dips. You can use the high button for soups and dips, tooit will just take a bit longer.

Always keep your hand on top of the blender while it is in use as a precaution against the top coming off unexpectedly. This can happen if youve added too many ingredients at one time or when they create more volume than you anticipated.

Be sure the motor is off before you scrape down the sides of the blender to move the food onto the blades. Use a rubber spatula onlynot a metal one or a knife.

Never put your fingers in the container. The blades are sharp.

Whether youre making a silky-smooth soup or a frozen slush, the goal when blending is always the sameconsistent texture.

Add the food in small batches. This will ensure that your ingredients get uniformly pureed and keep the blender from overflowing.

Chill the ingredients before making blender drinks. This will keep your drinks cold longer.

Cut pieces of fruit and vegetables into small uniform sizes. This gives better consistency and puts less strain on the blender motor.

Place equal parts liquid and solid foods in the blender when pureeing soups. This will keep the texture consistent from one batch to the next.

For best texture, let hot liquids cool slightly before adding them to the blender.

Always crush ice or break it into small cubes before adding it to the container, particularly if your blender has a less powerful motor.

If you are blending ice with other ingredients, add ice to the blender last.

Once you discover the wonderful variety of luscious smoothies, frozen drinks, soups, and dips that can be made in the blender, you may want to buy a newer, bigger, and more powerful model. If so, check the options out carefully before you make your purchase.