We Tried KitchenAid's New Cordless Appliances

In an ideal world, your kitchen is chock-full of well-placed electrical outlets with available sockets. The reality for a lot of people (like me!) is that you’re lucky to have a place to plug in your coffee maker and your toaster, and you might have to maneuver around your stand mixer when you want to plug in your immersion blender. For this reason I was eager to try the newCordless Collectionfrom KitchenAid. The collection, which finally makes it possible to pace frantically while chopping onions (don’t say 2020 gave usnothing), features a hand mixer, an immersion blender, and a food chopper—and it has certainly changed my ingredient preparation process for the better.

I wasn’t acutely aware of just how beholden I was to the outlets in my kitchen before I tested these tools. As a force of habit, I suppose, I had come to accept that all of my mixing had to be done on the left side of the sink, whereas food processing was generally done on the counter next to the stove. If I needed to check a recipe, I had to be sure to strategically place my tablet or computer or constantly move back and forth between the appliance and my technology.

Freed from the confines of cords and plugs, I am suddenly using counter space in my kitchen that had only worked before for storage. Now my appliances go where I go, instead of vice versa. Now who’s in charge, mixer?

All three of the tools in the set are powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which takes about two hours to go from zero to completely charged. There’s a battery indicator light to clue you in that you’re running out of power, but I’ve generally been able to get through a week’s worth of consistent use before needing to plug in again.

Using this set, I realized that your basic hand blender and hand mixer are both fundamentally changed by the addition of a battery and the removal of cords. I didn’t realize how frustrating (and dangerous) it was to have cords draped over my burners while I tried to blend a sauce until I was presented with the opportunity to eliminate those cords altogether. And now that I’ve been spoiled, there’s no going back.

The hand blender comes with four-point stainless-steel blades to quickly purée and liquify ingredients into hummus, smoothies, and soups. To control the thickness, there’s a trigger that allows you to set different speeds and a safety switch that prevents you from accidentally revving up the motor and creating a mess. Thebutternut squash bisqueI made with the blender turned out delightfully creamy; I was able to move the appliance around my soup-filled stockpot without worrying about accidentally unplugging it. To protect your pots from the blades of the blender, the device comes with a pan guard as well as a blending jar, which is ideal for smoothies. The eight-inch blending arm detaches from the rest of the device for easy, safe cleaning (in the dishwasher, if you so choose), so you don’t have to worry about accidentally turning the appliance on while caring for it (or accidentally getting water in the battery).

The hand mixer boasts seven speeds (though I wouldn’t recommend moving while using the high speeds forwhipping creamand egg whites) and doesn’t need to rest on a bowl because it’s designed to stand on its own. I’ve appreciated the soft start feature, which brings the beaters of the mixer up to speed in a slow and controlled way to prevent splattering.

To my surprise, I’ve been a particular fan of the cordless chopper, an appliance I never thought I would need. Generally speaking they’re clunky and seem a bit superfluous, but I’ve found the KitchenAid cordless version to be particularly helpful. I loathe chopping onions (or, really, the aftermath ofchopping onions, whereupon my hands smell like onions for what seems like weeks), and I’ve found that I can quickly and easily delegate this onerous task to the KitchenAid cordless chopper with its five-cup capacity and two speed settings. Unlike a blender or most food processors, these speed settings dictate the resulting size of your chopped ingredients, allowing for a more precise cutting experience. That said, this cordless chopper also mixes and purées.

The lithium-ion battery is powerful enough to chop a wide range of vegetables (I’ve even used it on root vegetables) and can also make quick work of proteins (you can, for example, create ahomemade sausagefilling with the device). On a full charge, the chopper is able to make easy work out of 40 onions, though if you’re short on time (and low on battery), you need only charge the appliance for 10 minutes to make it through ingredient prep for dinner.

如果你有一个巨大的厨房和足够的空间ountertop alliances and plenty of access to outlets, perhaps the freedom allotted by the cordless KitchenAid space isn’t worth the money. But if you’re working with limited kitchen space or frequently find yourself limited by outlet placement in your kitchen, these cordless tools certainly allow for greater flexibility in your cooking routine.

KitchenAid Cordless Hand Blender

$100$80at Amazon

KitchenAid 5-Cup Cordless Chopper

$80at Amazon

KitchenAid 7-Speed Cordless Hand Mixer

$100at Amazon