Many recipes might require you to puree certain ingredients together in a blender before moving on to the next step, but what do you do if you don’t have a blender?
As useful as a blender can be, not everyone has one at home or has one powerful enough to puree food properly.
Today, you’ll learn how to puree without a blender using three different options, plus answer some common questions related to blenders and pureeing.
You’ll soon be able to finish those recipes with ease, even if you don’t want to go out and buy a blender!
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How to Puree Without a Blender: Step-by-Step
There are plenty of ways that you can puree ingredients without a blender, and here are three of the best and easy ways.
1. Mortar and Pestle Technique
The first way that you can puree something without a blender is to use a mortar and pestle.
It is the best method when you are planning to make between one tablespoon and ½ cup of a puree; more than that can be very difficult.
For example, turning garlic into a puree with a mortar and pestle would be double.
Here are the steps that you should follow:
- Using a chef’s knife, finely chop the ingredient as small as you possibly can.
- After its chopped, lay your knife across the chopped ingredient and push down with the palm of your hand to smash it more.
- Move the ingredient into the mortar.
- Using the pestle, make a circular motion until the food is fully pureed.
This technique takes a lot of effort, but it is enjoyable and rewarding to use a mortar and pestle.
In a way, it will feel like you’re really connecting with the ingredients, and many chefs say that it is the best way to make a truly delicious and memorable meal.
2. Sieve or Food Mill Version
When you need to puree a lot more ingredients, such as when making tomato sauce or a soup, you will want to use something that has a larger capacity than traditional mortar and pestles.
In most cases, using a fine-mesh sieve or a food mill is a good option.
A food mill can smash the ingredients through tiny holes to puree it to a smooth, consistent texture.
Using a fine-mesh sieve will take more work since you will need to replicate the motion of a food mill without the efficiency.
By using a spoon to push the ingredients through the sieve a few times, you can get the same type of finish as you would with a food mill.
The video below shows how to use a food mill, as well as a comparison on how to use a manual mill sieve for pureeing applesauce:
Both the sieve and the food mill method take a lot of time to complete compared to a blender when pureeing.
That said, you can still get a similar result if you have patience when using these tools.
3. Using a Blender-Like Appliance
If you don’t own a blender, you may own another appliance that can do the same kind of work for you.
Many kitchen appliances overlap in what type of things they can do, so you can always use one of these appliances instead:
- Food processor
- Immersion blender
- Hand mixer
- Stand mixer
Though these might not perfectly replicate the blender to make a puree, you can use them successfully.
In some cases, you might have attachments for other appliances that can replicate the experience of using a blender.
For example, many food processors come with varying blades that can be swapped out.
One of those blades might be able to mimic a blender more successfully than others.
Pureeing Without a Blender FAQs
1. How Do You Puree Without Electricity?
Are you trying to get things ready when you don’t have access to electricity? Don’t worry; you can still puree without electricity.
Using the mortar and pestle method or the hand mill method explained above, you can easily make a puree.
Both of these methods rely more on physical actions rather than electric-powered appliances to make the purees, so you do not need to worry about whether or not you have power.
2. Can I Use a Mixer Instead of a Blender?
You can use a mixer instead of a blender in some situations.
To understand when you can switch the two, you should first understand how the two appliances typically differ.
Blenders use very high shear rates to liquefy rapidly anything you put inside it.
On the other hand, mixers use lower shear rates to mix ingredients completely without destroying them or turning them into mush.
Based on these differences, it should make sense why you can make pancake batter in either appliance while trying to make bread dough in a standard blender would be futile.
If you want to make something completely pulverized, using a mixer won’t give you the same results as using a blender.
If you simply need to combine multiple ingredients to an even consistency, the mixer should work.
2. What Can I Use if I Don’t Have a Blender?
If you don’t have a blender at home, there are many different appliances that you can use, such as:
- Immersion blender
- Hand mixer
- Stand mixer
- Food processor
- Mortar and pestle
- Food mill
- Grater
- Grinder
- Potato ricer
The choice of which appliance or tool to use will depend on what you are trying to accomplish.
If you’re trying to make something that is liquid-heavy, using a hand mixer, immersion blender, food processor, or stand mixer will be your best bet.
If your mixture is thicker, the other options might work, as well.
Don’t Be Afraid
Now that you know how to puree without a blender, no recipe with pureed ingredients will intimidate you again.
Using the tips and information gathered here today, you’ll be able to replicate the same technique without the appliance.
Blenders can be useful, but they aren’t a requirement if you don’t have one right now.
Don’t be afraid and keep cooking!