The blender is a fixture in nearly every kitchen. These handy appliances were first introduced in the 1920s and the basic design has changed little since then. There's just no improving on these simple, yet incredibly useful machines.

You'll find two basic types of blenders on the market. These types are traditional and immersion. The blender in your kitchen is most likely a traditional blender. This style has a base which contains the motor and a pitcher shaped piece with blades at the bottom.

This pitcher or jar is called a carafe and is usually made of plastic, glass or stainless steel. A lid is fitted on top of the carafe during use to prevent splashes.

The other type of blender is the immersion blender. This style consists of a slim base which is attached to a long shaft (usually made of metal) which has a mixing blade at the end.

As the name suggests, the mixing blade is immersed in the ingredients you're mixing rather than being stationary with the ingredients being added on top of it. The blade is placed and then started.

Immersion blenders are made for different uses than are traditional blenders. These blenders are not intended for heavier work such as crushing ice. They also don't usually include any sort of container for the ingredients to be mixed in.

There are other appliances which are designed to perform functions which are similar to those performed by blenders. Food processors and mixers can do some things which are similar to those done by a blender, but there are some differences between these appliances.

A mixer is ideal for increasing the volume of a batter by aerating the mixture. A food processor is excellent for jobs like kneading heavy dough (bread dough, for example) as well as chopping dry foods and shredding vegetables and cheese. A blender is not well suited for these applications - it simply isn't designed to do the same things as these other appliances.

These appliances are not meant to replace one another, since all three are made for different purposes; many people have all three in their kitchen. Depending on what you need to do, one or the other appliance will be best suited for the job.

You might want to use an appliance which includes both a blender carafe and mini-food processor with chopping blade to fill both functions.

Blenders come in a wide variety of styles and prices. The price usually depends on the type and material of container, the speed, wattage and any other features the appliance offers.

If you're looking for something lightweight and compact, there are cordless blenders available. These blenders can be charged on a station, much like a cordless phone; once charged, they can be taken even outdoors or anywhere else you'd like to do some blending.

Personal blenders are another compact style of blender. These are very small blenders which are only powerful enough to blend one serving at a time. These extremely portable blenders can be taken anywhere - they're small enough to fit in a standard automobile cupholder!

If you need something a little more powerful; actually, make that a lot more powerful, then you'll want to get an industrial strength blender. These are the style of blender used by restaurants and caterers for larger-scale applications. These appliances can liquefy produce or blend large volumes of ingredients in a matter of seconds.

There are blenders available in any size and style you could possibly need, though all of them basically work the same way. There's just no improving on a classic, it seems!

Shop for discount brand name blenders at Amazon.Com below:

	Oster 6812-001 Core 16-Speed Blender with Glass Jar, Black List Price: $73.13 Sale Price: $39.95 Used From: $36.99 Average Rating:
	16 Speed Black Blender

	Hamilton Beach 51101B Single-Serve Blender with Travel Lid, Black List Price: $21.99 Sale Price: $13.25 Average Rating:
	* Take your drink to go * Use the travel lid to drink from * Great for fruit smoothies, icy drinks, shakes, and more * Stainless steel blades * One touch blending * Easy storage * Less cleaning * Single serving size

	Hamilton Beach 54615 Wavestation Express Dispensing Blender with 48-Ounce Jar, Black List Price: $32.99 Sale Price: $21.44 Used From: $15.99 Average Rating:
	Equipped with 500 watts of power, this countertop blender works great for liquefying frozen fruit, whipping up creamy smoothies, making pureed soups, and more. Its revolutionary WaveAction blending system continuously forces the mixture down into stainless-steel ice-crushing blades for thorough blending from top to bottom--every time...

	Oster BPST02-B Professional Series Blender, Black List Price: $169.99 Sale Price: $49.95 Average Rating:
	The Beehive Professional Series Blender is the ultimate bar blender machine. It is a must have for those who enjoy entertaining and being king of the bar. The black matted fingerless print base finish helps give it that rugged but reformed classic Oster design...

	KitchenAid KSB560OB 5-Speed 56-Ounce Blender, Onyx Black List Price: $129.99 Sale Price: $70.25 Average Rating:
	KitchenAid Blenders combine outstanding performance, durability and an easy to clean design to perform everyday kitchen tasks from making smoothies to pureeing vegetables for soup, to crushing ice and making pesto...