Breville Control Grip BSB510XL

The Breville Control Grip BSB510XL is pricier than the budget-friendly Cuisinart Smart Stick CSB-76 (*Est. $35) -- but if you plan to use your hand blender frequently, or blend tough items like frozen fruit, experts and owners agree that the Breville is a worthy investment.

Performance

Strong enough to purée frozen fruit, versatile enough to whip cream. Few hand blenders are capable of crushing ice and pulverizing hard, frozen fruit -- but reviews say the Breville Control Grip BSB510XL can do it all. In one hand-blender comparison test, the Breville was unsurpassed at combining frozen fruit and yogurt for smoothies. In the words of one Amazon.com customer, it "powers right through frozen strawberries, cherries and blackberries."

Another Amazon.com reviewer (who also has a video review on YouTube) says, "I've been making smoothies and sauces like a mad woman ever since I bought this machine." She does note that using the chopping bowl to crush ice is more efficient than using the regular wand.

Silken soups are another hallmark of a good hand blender -- and again, the Breville aces the exam. It earns the highest possible score for puréeing soups in one test, and owners say it does the job without splashing soup out of the pot. "I received it just before Christmas so I was able to use it for a plethora of tasks from mashed potatoes, homemade salsa, whipped cream, salad dressing, gravy and butternut soup," one Amazon.com reviewer shared. "I am extremely happy with it. It does everything that it claims to do."

The Breville also comes with two attachments. Users say the whisk attachment does a great job of beating eggs and whipping cream. And the chopper bowl has its own blade that owners find handy for chopping veggies. An Amazon.com customer described her experience: "I was able to make a dynamite frozen dessert with this blade, using completely frozen raspberries and a thick canned coconut cream. Everything came out completely blended."

Ease of use

A comfy grip, mess-free blending and easy cleanup. Owners almost unanimously say the Breville Control Grip BSB510XL is easy to use. It gets its Control Grip name from its unusual grip: You wrap your whole hand around the top of the blender and the big, ergonomically curved On button is located directly under your trigger finger. You simply squeeze to start blending. One BedBathandBeyond.com customer who can't use many manual kitchen tools because of hand pain says the Control Grip is extremely comfortable to use.

The Breville's oval blade guard is designed to keep the blender from suctioning to the bottom of a pot, as other hand blenders are prone to do. A YouTube reviewer notes that the oval guard won't fit into some cups, but overall she finds the Breville "extremely easy to use." Other owner reviews at Amazon.com mention additional design touches like the rubber rim around the blade guard (so it won't scratch nonstick cookware) and Breville's trademark O-shaped electrical plug that makes it easier to unplug.

According to owners, the chopper and whisk attachments are easily interchangeable. The blender wand attaches directly to lids for the chopper bowl and mixing jug, so you blend in an enclosed container -- preventing contents from splattering all over the kitchen. Owners say, however, that the Breville has no splattering problem, thanks to well-designed blade guard and variable speeds.

The chopper bowl lid doesn't lock, so you have to be diligent about holding it down tightly while blending to prevent liquid from leaking out the edges, says a YouTube reviewer. She also complains that while it has rubberized feet, it isn't sticky enough to stay put on the counter. However, the chopper bowl fits perfectly into the mixing jug, which has a handle, making it "much more secure and easier to use."

The chopper bowl holds 25 ounces (about 3 cups) and the blender jug has a generous 42-ounce capacity, so "you can make a decent batch of sauce without it going all over the place," says one Amazon.com reviewer. The BPA-free containers have lids, so you can store them directly in the fridge.

Most users agree that cleanup is simple, but a few say it requires significant hand strength to detach the shaft from the motor housing-though an Amazon.com reviewer says his 6-year-old daughter managed it easily. All parts, except the motor housing and chopping-bowl lid, are dishwasher safe.

Appearance

Long, sleek and manageable. At about 16 inches long, the Breville Control Grip BSB510XL is fairly large, for a home immersion blender -- but reviews say this makes it handy for reaching the bottom of a big pot. This hand blender weighs in at just over 2 pounds, well under the 3-pound comfort limit established by some experts

The Breville has a sleek design, with a black handle and a shaft covered in white plastic (*Est. $70) or brushed chrome (*Est. $100) (the white plastic version does not include the whisk attachment). Several owners say the Breville feels like a high-quality, durable tool. A couple users complained that the interior piece connecting the blades to the motor is made of plastic -- but only one reports that this piece broke. Another user says the chopper-bowl lid melted in the dishwasher, but other users say Breville clearly labels the dishwasher-safe parts (this lid isn't one of them) and have had no dishwasher damage.

The bottom line

Powerful blending, easy cleanup and a comfortable grip make the Breville Control Grip BSB510XL the best hand blender you can buy for home use.