A blender that blitzes food and then cooks it? HO PEI YING made soups, congee and drinks to see if this dual appliance was a good buy.
A blender that blitzes food and then cooks it? HO PEI YING made soups, congee and drinks to see if this dual appliance was a good buy.
WHAT IT IS
The Philips Avance Collection Cooking Blender HR2099/90 combines ingredients for dishes in its 2-litre glass jug, and then cooks and heats them up, too.
You can control the cooking time (5-60min) and temperature (low, medium and high) manually, or use one of its automatic programs: Asian Soup, Pureed Soup, Bean Milk and Porridge. It beeps when your food is ready.
As a blender, it has four speed settings to blend juices, smoothies and sorbets or grind rempah, as well as a Pulse/Ice Crush function.
WHAT I MADE
Soups My pumpkin soup turned out velvety. In my kimchi soup, the spicy paste blended well with the chicken stock while the tofu, leeks and carrots weren’t too mushy – just how I like them.
Chicken Congee I popped stock, pre-soaked rice, boneless chicken and dried scallops into the jug and pressed Porridge. It blended everything, then cooked it for 30min. I liked that there were still small chunks of chicken and scallops in the otherwise smooth congee.
Soya Bean Milk It was hot, fresh and aromatic. However, I had to strain it a couple of times. Banana Smoothie My bananas were not fully blitzed. And I had to stop the machine a few times to push the ice cubes towards the blades for a proper crushing.
WHAT I LIKED
• It was super convenient to make soups and congee, which turned out delicious. And I could cook for four to six people with this.
• The jug’s wide mouth made it convenient to add ingredients.
• The 40ml measuring cup, detachable from the lid, allowed me to easily add ingredients, like thickening starch or more stock.
• The non-skid base kept the Philips Avance Collection Cooking Blender firmly on my counter top.
WHAT COULD BE BETTER
• The manual could be clearer on the cooking programs and temperatures for dishes. I burnt my rempah because I cooked it on the high setting. I later learnt that I had options; the heat settings were 60, 80 and 100 deg C.
• When I transferred my dishes from the jug, some ingredients were still stuck in between the blades, like the tofu and chicken. It was also hard to clean out leftovers from the underside of the blades.
VERDICT
The appliance’s no-supervision- needed convenience is great when you need comfort food fast.
Philips Avance Collection Cooking Blender HR2099/90, $499, is available at major department and electrical stores.
