Making marinades - best tools for this?

The_Morrigan

Hi all,

I've just recently started an overhaul of my diet and I'm cooking and experimenting a lot more with ingredients. One or two of the recipes I have acquired of late require me to blend ginger and chili etc to make marindaes but the blender I have just circulates the ingredients rather than blend them down to a paste.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a processor or blender that can do the job?


Mods apologies if this is in the wrong place, please move if necessary.

Mrs Fox

Granite pestle & mortar you can get in the Asian shop for about €20 or so. They last a lifetime. Pounds as fine or as course as you want.

Mrs Fox

Or...

You can just use the blender you have -- It's difficult to get them into a paste when you're blending a small amount, so you either you add a bit of liquid of some sort -- water, oil or vinegar, or, you blend a huge amount of the ginger and chillies, it will eventually turn into paste in larger quantities.

The_Morrigan

Mrs Fox wrote: »

Or...

You can just use the blender you have -- It's difficult to get them into a paste when you're blending a small amount, so you either you add a bit of liquid of some sort -- water, oil or vinegar, or, you blend a huge amount of the ginger and chillies, it will eventually turn into paste in larger quantities.

Even with liquid it doesn't work, I've the same problem with soups. Probably time to replace it.

Mrs Fox

The_Morrigan wrote: »

Even with liquid it doesn't work, I've the same problem with soups. Probably time to replace it.

Probably. If you do make sure to get one made of glass rather than plastic, since you're planning to blend chillies. It won't stain and it won't leave odor of previous blend. Last thing you want is your fruit smoothie tasting of chillies.

Alun

You won't be able to make marinades or pastes like that with a traditional large blender, like you say it'll just fling the garlic, chilli and ginger round in circles rather than finely chopping them.

What you need is a small blender designed for the purpose, like this one for example, http://www.moulinex.com/Products/Choppers/moulinette.aspx I have an older version of the same thing I've been using for years to make marinades and pastes. You can also use it for chopping large quantities of herbs as well.

You'll still need to roughly chop the ingredients into slightly smaller chunks first, give them a couple of short whizzes, scrape the bits off the side into the centre (I got a little mini spatula just for that purpose with mine ) add a very small amount of water, a teaspoon or so, and then repeat until you get the consistency you want.

oscarBravo

In Lidl today: http://www.lidl.ie/cps/rde/xchg/SID-D8C14005-3174AC71/lidl_ri_ie/hs.xsl/index_34486.htm

I have one, and can recommend it.