1. Thickening soups. Soups made of  vegetables and meat in a broth (such as beef stew) may seem a bit watery. You don’t have to add cream to thicken them. Use a hand held immersion mini blender to puree even just some of the ingredients; this will thicken the broth and do wonders for the soup’s color and texture.
2. Making pesto. The darling of pasta, pesto is a simple blend of basic, pine nuts, olive oil, and sometimes other flavorings. Use a mini food processor style blender to make a fresh batch on the spot.
3. Salsa. Simply add chunks of tomato, onion, and your favorite pepper to have quick, fresh salsa on hand, even in single servings!
4. Whipped cream. Immersion mini blenders often come with whisk attachments, allowing you to whip up fresh whipped cream in no time.
5. Powdered sugar. Did you know that powdered sugar is just regular sugar cut very very fine? Use a mini blender to grind up regular sugar; it’s easy, cheap, and saves space in your drawer.
6. Salad dressing. Why buy salad dressing when you can blend your own? Throw some oil, vinegar, and seasons into a mini blender and you have fresh, emulsified dressing in seconds.
7. Chop nuts. Durable mini blenders can grind and chop tough things like nuts, so they’re instantly ready for salads, baking, and other recipes.
8. Smoothies. If you always make too much smoothie or milkshake in the full blender, use the mini blender for a more appropriate size.
9. Hummus. This classic blend of garbanzo beans and tahini is exceptionally simple in a mini blender. Dip with pita chips and enjoy!
10. Chopping. Mincing onion, garlic, and other soft vegetables is a breeze in a mini blender. Don’t was time (and tears) –just throw in some chunks and you’ll have tiny pieces in no time!

These are convenient products for a number of reasons. For one thing, it is simply easier to use a blender that is the right size for what you are blending. You wouldn’t use an extra large mixing bowl to blend a few teaspoons of dried seasoning. Similarly, you don’t need a 14-cup food processor to blend together a cup of salad dressing.

The by product of using a mini blender for mini tasks is that you are not left to wash huge dishes for a small task. A 1.5 cup blender bowl is much easier to wash out than a 14 cup bowl.

Also size related, a mini blender takes up much less space in your pantry or on your counter. Say you regularly blend up a small batch of salsa or pesto, or a single meal’s worth of salad dressing. It is a pain to constantly lug your full size blender out just for these things, but it also takes up more space on the counter than you’d like for keeping it there all the time. A mini blender works well either way: it takes up minimal counter space, and is easy to take out if you would prefer keeping it in the cupboard.

Another benefit of mini blenders is that they come in a couple different styles. While the mini food processor style is simply a small version of the larger food processor (such as a Braun food processor), the immersion mini blender actually serves a purpose all its own, which larger blenders cannot replicate. It allows you to blend food (namely soups, sauces, and gravies) in the same vessel you cook it in; no need to transfer it to a separate pitcher or bowl, and much easier to clean up!

If you need to blend moderate or large amounts of food, it is probably more worth your money to get a full size blender. But even so, a mini blender is great to own in addition to a standard sized blender. Or if you have small kitchen space or a small budget, you can buy a mini blender and blend larger recipes in multiple small portions.

There are several different styles that make up the mini blender market. Here are a few of the most popular:

• Mini food processor/blender. This is more often a food processor, but people often refer to it as a “mini blender” so we will address it here. Food processors can often hold quite a bit of food, with at home models built as big as 14 cups. But mini food processors can come as small as 1.5 cups, so that you can blend small batches of spices, or oils for a salad, without dirtying a huge appliance.
• Immersion blenders. These hand held blenders are quite small. Instead of pouring your food into a blender, you simply immerse this hand-held appliance into the blow or container than already houses the food. Excellent for soups in particular, this simplistic style of mini blender is easy to use, quick, and very easy to clean up.
• Non-electric “mini blender” bottles. A portable alternative ideal for smoothies and health shakes, these bottles give you the option of blending your beverage on the go without electricity. Often a durable plastic bottle with a wide mouth for easy drinking, blender bottles usually have a solid wire ball inside that smashes and blends the contents when you shake the bottle.

These are three different ways that you can blend food or beverages, all for very different purposes, without the use of a full size, traditional blender. Most of these will not work to replace such a blender, but can be a great alternative in certain uses.

The premise is simple: look at what people use already, figure out what they want changed, and combine the two for a better product.

The mini blender bottle starts with the plastic sports bottle that most people put their shakes and smoothies in to take them on the go. (It only takes one cold spill in the car to stop taking a smoothie in an open glass or cup.) So we know that portability (and a secure closure) are important.

The second thing is the convenience of making the smoothie. As mentioned at the beginning of this post, lugging a full size blender out every day can be a pain, not to mention time consuming. People want to have daily smoothies without devoting extra time to it.

The mini blender bottle is a combination of these two needs. It combines a sturdy plastic sport bottle (with a wide lid and secure seal for drinking and shaking) with an internal blending tool. This tool is nothing fancy—it’s not even electric—it’s usually a sturdy, stainless steel ball. Shaking the bottle will jumble the ball around, causing it to break up bits and evenly distribute your different ingredients into a blended smoothie.

This makes it easier to get that shake without using extra time or equipment. You will probably find that some shakes or smoothies will work well in the mini blender bottle, while others will not. You should not count on this bottle to crush ice like your full size electric blender can. However, it should have no trouble mixing juices, yogurt, and soft fruits. It should also do a good job of making sure that protein powders and other vitamins do not clump up, but are well mixed in. Then, you just drink your smoothie in the very dish that blended it –no extra cleaning!