Breville BSB530XL All In One Processing Station and Immersion Blender, Brushed Stainless Steel

Update after owning for 1.5 years: I still like this and use it daily. It slices, shreds, blends and mashes very well. I have started making colloidal oatmeal and the food processor (s-blade) can't do it. I don't know if it lacks the right design or power, but it does not get it nearly fine enough. I have still made soups, hummus, pesto and more in it with no problems. Also, I said you can attach a mixer to the whisker gear and mix batters. After taking to others who have this, I learned my mixer is not standard sized and standard mixers do not fit on this.Original review: I have owned this for a few weeks, and I have used all of the features at least twice. Each has met or exceeded my expectations. I run a child care center from home, so I bought this to simplify the prep work since I make all of our meals from scratch. It has not disappointed. The first thing I noticed is that all components are well made. Both plastic and steel parts are thick and solid and I'm not concerned about it falling apart. The blades are all VERY sharp, as the instructions caution on almost every page. I set the s-blade down after washing it and my son tried to scoot it over on the counter. He didn't even realize he'd been cut until he saw blood, it's so sharp. The stand that holds it all together for storage is good, but it would be better if it held the whisk. You're supposed to set the whisk on top of everything else, which doesn't keep it in place. Everything else stays in place very well. Some reviewers have talked about the motor overheating, but mine has never even felt warm.I've had never used an immersion blender before this, so I'm still figuring it out, but I can make smoothies and milkshakes pretty well with this. It creates a better consistency than my full size blender and it allows my kids to customize their smoothie orders, since I can use it, rinse it (unplug first!) and dip it into a new mixing cup. I also made a smooth and creamy broccoli cheese soup with this, and my family loved it.The food processor replaced several small, manual kitchen gadgets for me. I barely use a knife and board now, since the slicing blade and bowl are so easy to assemble and clean. I've sliced and shredded a wide variety of veggies and all have come out perfect. I realized I love this machine when I got sick and made myself veggie soup (6 different veggies) with about 5 minutes of prep time.The potato masher works very well for rustic mashed potatoes, which is how I like them. I used the creamy setting just to review it, and I would rate it 7 out of 10 for smoothness.This whisk whisks just as it should. My favorite thing about it is that the whisk detaches from the spinner, and a mixer can be attached. Breville does not discuss or recommend this in the instructions, but it works. I've been using it for mixing muffin, cake and brownie batters. The lowest setting is still fast, so I'd never use this for anything that needs gentle mixing.For my budget, this was quite an investment but I have a Breville juicer (which was a gift) so I figured it would be of really good quality. It is, and I'm glad I bought it. I would gift this to friends for weddings or housewarming parties.

I love this thing! It's so easy to switch from slicing carrots, to dicing onions to mashing potatoes with the immersion blender. Very compact, does not take up much room on my countertop and I do leave it out. My old food processor was HUGE and I left it put away and for that reason, I never used it. I use this little thing all the time! Works great!

I had my mother's hand-me-down, hefty Cuisinart food processor for more years than i care to mention. It still worked, but the thought of fetching this heavy thing from a cabinet was sometimes too much to bear. She also gave me an ancient Braun immersion blender that behaved like a giant magnet on any bowl or pot whenever it came in contact with the bottom. Both were heavy, with limited accessories, and neither will probably ever die.But i yearned for a lighter processor and when i found this all-in-one device with so much functionality i knew my old devices would be headed out to Goodwill. Sorry mom.The all-in-one parts sit atop a stand that keeps all the accessories together and easily accessible. Every aspect seems sturdy, though truly only time will tell. The processing bowl's 6 cup capacity large enough for my needs as a simple home cook, the blender motor powerful enough to handle anything i've tried to process. The variety of attachments are meeting all my needs. When using the processor bowl you'l find the feeder in the lid is actually 2 parts that can accommodate both larger and smaller foods. To date, this Breville has easily kneaded pie and pasta dough, riced steamed cauliflower, mashed potatoes, whipped cream, sliced veggies (the designers were clever and added a method to adjust the size of the slices), made sauces velvety and apples saucy, blended smoothies, and aerated eggs for light, fluffy omelets. It even helped me make my grandmother's signature chopped liver. And never once has the immersion blender acted like a giant magnet. Well, maybe a small one.One size never fits all, but for me the innovation in the plastics, motor and design make for a single excellent appliance that allows me to more easily prepare meals for family and friends.

I bought this because it has a variable speed. I had one like it when I lived in Europe and loved it. When I moved back I couldn't find one like it. I finally broke down and upgraded to this immersion blender. This is light and convenient. I like that it has a stand that houses all of the parts in one place. It has so many parts to it I find myself using it quite often. Here is my take on each of the parts:Chopping bladeI like this for a smaller food processor. Sometimes I don't want to get my full size food processor out. This does not chop as evenly as the full size model but it is adequate for day to day.Grater and SlicerThese work reasonably well but there is a spring in the mechanism so sometimes the food can slip down out of the shoot and spin between the lid and the blade. I find that if I don't put too much pressure it works the best.RicerThis is great for mashed potatoes! I didn't expect it to work so well but it saves me having to get out my food mill.WhiskThis works fine. I use it for whipped cream or to whisk a salad dressing primarily. It isn't sturdy enough for a batter in my opinion.Immersion StickThis works well. The head is oval shaped and bigger than standard but it works fine for me. I like that it is designed so air can move under the blade and it doesn't such down to the bottom of the pan. I use this for soups primarily. I like being able to thicken a soup and add body by pureeing some of it and leaving some of it chunky.