A blender is a great tool to have around, especially when you’re cooking a meal, which requires you to either blend, shred or puree some of the ingredients. In fact, it is one of the essential tools in the kitchen, but what happens when it suddenly stops working or you find yourself without one?
The answer is simple, and you find other ways. But, if you’ve been using a blender for a long time, you may not know where to begin. This article handles that. It takes care of how to blend without a blender, especially when it comes to the meals that require running through a food processor or blender.
It will touch on how to blend bananas and make healthy smoothies without a blender. So, without dallying, let’s begin!
Alternatives to Blenders
Just in case you’re looking for alternatives to blenders, you have to understand that blending can give different outcomes.
At times, what we require is to mince or shred a particular ingredient. Knowing the particular texture necessary will make it easy to pick the right tool for the job.
Some of these tools may be things you already have in your kitchen but never expected to use for blending. Have no fear! The use of a blender or food processor is a recent development in the world’s cuisine. Long before that, ingredients have been pureed, minced, and chopped.
Many of the tools mentioned do not use electrical power, and as a result, using them takes more time than a food processor. But, they still manage to get the job done with the right handling and a little bit of know-how.
Below is a list of them. So, let’s go!
Box Graters
This is a simple tool for achieving the most straightforward blending processes ever, i.e., grating and shredding. These alternatives to blenders usually come with three to four sides where the same function can be performed in different sizes and textures. There is also an option to slice, though this is usually cumbersome to use.
In addition to this type of graters, there are those you can use in a rotary form. These are more suitable for heavy grating as they are less stressful and often safer than box graters. With this tool, blending without a blender becomes easy.
Mortar and Pestle
This tool is an old way of crushing ingredients that are necessary for cooking a meal. They are popular in many parts of the world, from Asia to Africa, where they have been used to either crush spice or pound. In the western world, culinary experts often use this because the texture produced by it is delightfully different.
If, for some reason, you find yourself without a blender, grinding with mortar and pestle may not be a bad option. It may take more time than a grater or blender, but it’ll be worth it. This particular tool is the best to make tasty meals such as pesto and guacamole.
Meat Grinder
This is one of the handiest tools to have in the kitchen. It is a tool that ensures that meat, either raw or cooked, is perfectly chopped. It can also be used to chop vegetables, and the design of the tool makes it possible for you to determine what size you want your chopped food item to be.
Using this tool is simple. All you have to do is put meat at the funnel-like top and hit the electric models’ grind button. On manual models, you get to move the crank yourself. In turn, the crank is connected to a large screw, which ensures that your meat is cut and chopped in a precise manner.
The plate can be changed to reduce or increase the meat’s size coming out of the grinder.
Rolling Pin or Meat Mallet
Like mortar and pestle, these two are also for crushing. All you need to do is to seal your ingredient in a plastic bag first to avoid a mess. Once that’s done, place it on a flat surface you can’t break by the forcefulness of the rolling pin or meat mallet. I suggest a cutting board. Roll the plastic bag slightly to achieve consistency. It can help you to answer your question on how to puree without a blender.
When it comes to using a meat mallet, the mess is more because most of these tools have a textured surface.
Furthermore, using a sieve to achieve a finer consistency is advisable when you’re using either a rolling pin or a meat mallet to crush your ingredients.
Mandoline Slicer
A mandoline slicer does the job of a grater but with more versatility and varying degrees in the outcome’s height and size. This means that the tool enjoys the kind of adjustment that a simple box grater does not. It also doubles as a slicing and cutting tool.
As a result of the sharp nature of the mandoline slicers’ blade, using it requires more patience than is needed with a box grater. If you can’t exercise patience, it is always advisable to stick with less dangerous tools.
Another alternative for a box grater and a mandolin slicer is a zester. This particular tool is handy, and depending on the type you buy, you can either get thin slices or a finely grated ingredient.
Making Special Meals without a Blender
In my own experience, individual meals cannot be made with the use of a blender. One major one is a smoothie. The recipe requires all the ingredients to be perfectly blended so they can be drunk in liquid form. Using a blender is almost one of the required ingredients itself, but it is possible to make a smoothie without blender.
The process is simple. All you have to do is ensure that you buy ripe and soft fruits that can be easily mashed by hand or spoon. For this purpose, you can consider kiwi, mango, banana, berries, or pears as the main ingredient of your smoothie.
Pick a soft vegetable that is also not fibrous. You can go for ripe avocado and not the firm vegetables like a carrot. Vegetable puree is also a great alternative if you have that lying around.
Smoothie Recipe without Blending
Ingredients
- Banana
- Avocado
- Yogurt
- Milk
- Ice
- Protein Powder
Directions
- Mash the banana with your hand or spoon in a bowl or cup.
- Peel the avocado, remove the seed, cut into small sizes and mash together with the banana.
- Add yogurt to give it a creamy feel and taste.
- Add ice to the mashed ingredients to create a foamy drink by shaking the mixture together.
- Put milk into the mixture to adjust the texture of your drink. Keep in mind that liquid milk will make your drink less thick.
- Add the protein powder to add nutrients and taste to your mixture.
- Serve. If there is some leftover, refrigerate to keep fresh.
FAQs
How do you crush ice without a blender?
First, you need to get a plastic bag, dish towel, and rolling pin ready. Once that’s done, place your ice in the plastic bag, wrap with the dish towel and crush with the rolling pin.
How do you make a protein shake without a blender?
First, get a thermostat or covered cup. Put water, milk, or juice in it. Add significant contents like protein powder, fruit puree, and cacao powder into it. Cover up and shake like your life depends on it.
Is there a way you can puree without a blender?
Yes. One option is to pound with a mortar and pestle until it is in puree form. For tomatoes, using a fine-mesh sieve works well.
Summary
You can use several tools to achieve the consistency you’ll get from a blender without it. Some of them are knives, mortar and pestle, mandoline slice, box grater, and so on. So, now that you know how to blend without a blender, you can start making your meal with no hitch, even when your blender is faulty.
