Customer Reviews

Braun MR5550CA Multiquick Professional Hand Blender, White

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you are looking for a decent hand blender at a good price, then this unit's for you. This product's hits are its powerful 400 Watt motor and a sturdy design that makes light work of most chopping, grinding, mixing, and puree'ing chores. I think the only thing it won't do is turn small stones into sand. Also, you gotta love the variable speed and the no-splash head.

However, no good review would be complete without highlighting how this unique product could have been made even better:

1. A longer, stainless steel shaft would have been preferable over the plastic one. Firstly, the stainless steel would have given it the LOOK of a heavy-duty, professional mixer, and second it would make clean-up good deal easier.

2. The business end of the device is WAY TOO LARGE and you will be hard pressed to find any glasses or cups in your cupboards that this device will fit inside of. What this means is an extra bowl (or supplied cup) to wash anytime you want to mix up some salad dressing, juice or a milkshake.

3. The unit only comes with one blade. Many other manufacturers provide for switchable blades/attachments that can crush ice, froth milk, whip cream, and aerate your sauces and cake/pancake mixes. Braun offers no products with this features. For shame.

Apparently, Braun does make another model (MR 5000??) that boasts 500 watts of variable-speed power with a stainless steel shaft, a head small enough to fit in most ordinary mugs and glasses, and a set of accessories to die for, but for some reason they do not market this model in North America. BIG MISTAKE.

Overall, this unit is a good buy and if you can overlook the above unfortunate and obvious oversights by Braun, I'd recommend this product for anyone looking for a hand blender or mixer.

I have been using an older version of this Braun for more than a year, and I can say that it is the best money I have ever spent on a kitchen item, and perhaps the best under [$$$] I have ever spent on anything. I have all the kitchen tools, most professional level, and all the garage tools that anyone could want, but for my money this is the real deal. Spend the extra for this professional model and you will not be disappointed. The extra power is well worth the extra $$. It is amazing. Clean up is so quick and easy and it does about everything. I even started using mine as a juicer when my old juicer broke. In a tall container, throw in some chopped carrots, a banana, protein powder, and some Silk soy milk, and 2 mins. later you have ecstasy. I have done away with my blender, chopper, etc. And for whipping, I no longer create the big clean up mess with my KitchenAid. I even take this item with me when I travel since I wind up cooking wherever I visit. That is how much I love this product. I have no affiliation with the company, by the way.

Braun, who else!... I recently graduated from the basic Braun stick blender (which still works perfectly and looks like new after 2+ years of daily use) to this technological gem. Reason: I like to add ice cubes to smoothies and low cal frozen desserts, and I didn't want to burn out my old unit. Also, the whisk attachment looked tempting for smaller batches of egg whites or anything whipped. The unit also comes with a handy chopper for smaller jobs, but I haven't used that since I already own a similar product (which probably will burn out looooong before the Braun will even get warm...) Honestly, I didn't expect to actually notice a difference between 200 and 400W, so I was surprised when my first Slim Fast drink turned out so creamy that I nearly had to eat it with a spoon. My KitchenAid UltraPower Blender does a nice job on crushing ice, but this handy dandy stick blender processes ice cubes in a smoothie to a lovely near grit-free consistency in 20 seconds flat. I don't peel apples and the like, the stick blender processes the quartered and seeded fruit so smoothly that mere color flecks of the peel remain. It doesn't matter if you're making one, two, or 10 smoothies at once: it's a snap with this stick blender even if you have to make several batches, since each only takes about 20 seconds to make. Cleanup is a breeze: A drop of dish detergent into the beaker, hot water, immerse the blender, and WHIRL!, rinse, and done. No taking apart hefty blender containers and washing rubber gaskets, blade assembly, and lid parts. This item is a serious tool that I use at least once every single day. If I had to choose among all my beloved kitchen gadgets and power tools, I'd choose this stick blender. Why? Because it is so versatile, so easy and fun to use, and simply so darn useful!!! It's not just a smoothie maker, it's great for pureeing soups as well. The plastic is a high quality material that won't melt when working with hot soups, and it won't scratch non-stick pots. I've been a loyal Braun customer for many, many years for good reason: the company makes high quality products that stand up to heavy use for many years. There are cheaper stick blenders on the market, but you get what you pay for. Normally I don't rate an item until it has survived well past the warranty date, but since all my other Braun products have stood the test of time and continue to work as well as when they were brand new, I have confidence that this stick blender will be as durable as everything else that carries the Braun name.

One day, I'm browsing kitchen gadgets on amazon.com (as I am wont to do), and I see this hand blender. I think to myself "Gee, this looks pretty handy, but would I ever have use for one?" In another screen, I'm talking to a friend so I ask her if she has one. She says yes, and it is the best thing since sliced bread. She tells me there are some models you can't control the speed on and some you can and the variable speed one is the one you want. So I bought this one.

WELL. I don't know if there are enough adjectives in the dictionary to describe how much I love this thing. With the stick blender part, I make amazing strawberry-banana smoothies or rich chocolate shakes in a minute. With the chopper attachment, I made delicious salsa in 30 seconds or chop bell pepper for my quesadillas in less time than that.

I love quesadillas but I hate chopping the onions and peppers I put in them. I love fresh salsa but I hate chopping tomatoes and onions to put in it. This product has become my lifeline to quick quesadillas and salsa. :)

Don't think that just because your regular blender is on the shelf collecting dust, you won't use a hand blender. Trust me, my regular blender hadn't been used in YEARS, but I'm still finding new uses for this stick blender!

any cook will find many, many uses for this wonderful product.

a friend who is a very good cook told me about his stick blender. i was desperate for a tool to use in indian-style cooking to puree the various small amounts of spices and other flavorings some recipes call for (i am not about to spend hours with a mortar and pestle). When this product appeared in my gold box, i bought it immediately.

it is amazing. i've used it to puree beans and make fruit/yoghurt drinks, chop small amounts of onions, garlic, ginger, etc., which it does better than the mini-food processor i have. i've whipped cream with it, and the cream turned out perfect--no more getting the mixmaster out for half a cup of cream, or, worse, using the egg beater. as for the main reason i bought it, pureeing very small amounts of ingredients--it's fabulous.

as another reviewer noted, it probably won't turn rocks to sand, but that's about the only thing it won't do, and sand is not a major ingredient in most of my cooking.

its easier to use than my mini-food processor (and frequently gives better results); it does a better job of pureeing than my traditional blender; most of the parts are dishwasher safe, so its easy to clean; its relatively quiet for its power--its perfect!

I am very impressed with the heftiness and solid build of this stick blender. I have another Braun, much smaller, which now feels like a toy compared to this one. Time to retire the little, less powerful one. I also like the size of the food chopper - it is much bigger than the mini choppers that are in the market. You can easily put in all the ingredients for salsa or guacamole, and chop it all in one chopping session, rather than chop little portions as you would in a mini chopper. Much easier than hauling down the food processor. Great in-between size.

The ONLY reason I give this item 4 stars (would have given it 4.5, if I could have) is that it is much bigger than I had expected, and as another reviewer mentioned, the "base" of the stick blender is quite wide (2-7/8 inches in diameter) and therefore, does not fit most drinking glasses. Solution to this: use the included beaker then pour into the glasses. On the other hand, it is really nice to have the wider base for puree'ing soups - makes your job much faster, especially with its power. The whisk I really don't have a use for, much faster and less clumsy to use a hand whisk. But hey, it is still an added bonus.

This is a neat, handy and versatile kitchen tool. I use a kenwood chef for large mixing jobs, but this wand blender for a range of smaller jobs.

Using the closed compartment which contains a blade you can make breadcrumbs in seconds, and you can chop nuts, vegetables and rough sauces or salzas.

The whisk is handy for beating up a small amount of cream or eggs.

But it is the wand blender that sees the most service. It is great for pureeing soups in the pot, I use it to mix cheese and tofu to make dips. To make tomato sauce for pizzas or pastas I blend a can of tomatoes in the covered container with garlic, herbs, salt, pepper, tomato paste, sugar and je ne sais quoi. Whatever you do not use immediately can be stored for a couple of days in the fridge.

You can use it to blend milkshakes, malts and icecream floats, cocktails, make light fluffy pancakes and a host of other things.

Everyone needs this blender. Use it for one day, and you'll wonder how you lived with out it.

The variable speed 400 watt motor can crush ice, chop nuts, puree sauces, make smoothies, etc. The convienent size ensures you'll use it when you need it, unlike some bulky kitchen appliances. Mine's mounted on the wall, next to the range, right where I'll need it.

I do aggree with some previous reviewers, that a stainless shaft would look better, but for those of us with non-stick cookware (love my Analon Titanium), the plastic version is a must.

this is really a great blender, but for god's sake BE CAREFUL!! i was using it to cut butter into flour for a pie crust (which, when done right works beautifully), and being that butter is slippery, my finger slipped onto the "on" button by accident while i was working in the bowl with my other hand. i know, i know, it sounds stupid, but i am not an overtly klutzy person! suffice it to say that i am glad that i still have my finger. though a few stitches made it all better, i felt i should warn that by not having an on/off switch, you get better control, the ability to pulse...but PLEASE be aware that just by hitting that little button, you cause those blades to move round and round.

in spite of the injury, i still use it often, especially to mince onions and garlic. Also GREAT for hummous and blending soup right in the pot.

I just purchased the Braun 5550 hand blender and I am ecstatic with it! I could just absolutely kick myself for waiting sooooo long to make the move. I have always used a volcanic rock mortar and pestle to make my salsa, but having used my Braun, I will never use it again. It chopped my ingredients exactly like I wanted them. Also chopped my strawberries for shortcake to perfection. Made my egg salad a dream come true. The only thing you have to be careful about is overloading the chopper bowl as I did with the first set of salsa ingredients. The only thing I've found to be a negative is mashing potatoes, as they came out rather like thick paste. Changes the texture as opposed to my hand mixer. I had never purchased a food processor as I always make small amounts due to there just being my husband and myself, so this little jewel is just perfect for our needs. Clean-up is very easy. I just can't wait to use it for all the other things I have planned for it. I have had it a week today and I have used it EVERYDAY since it came and sometimes twice a day. Oh, I must not forget how fantastic the milkshakes are, the beaker included makes it so easy. My next big test I'm looking forward to trying is beating the egg whites for my lemon meringue pie. The MOST WONDERFUL thing about this product is that it can be used in any cookware or glassware due to the guard around the mixing blades. Fantastic product!!