Under construction
One of my most used kitchen gadget! Though I must say some of the attachments are a waste of space. Stay tuned as I will try to describe all the attachments which apparently have 34 functions.
Feb 15
I bought a Philips Avent Combined Steamer and Blender despite Hubs protest when I was weaning Ethan 3 years ago. I am glad I did as I think it’s an awesome gadget. It makes superb nutritious food for baby and non babies with just a flip and a couple of knob twisting!
After making Ethan’s baby food (3 years ago), the gadget was not kept in the dark in the corner of the kitchen…NO SIREE! The Combined Steamer and Blender is frequently used to steam veg for the family and to make good portions of soup without boiling the ingredients to oblivion. I have even used it to make fruit lollies for Ethan. Right now the gadget will be used to make Ewan’s baby food. Definitely well worth parting with your money for this.
Product information for the Philips Avent Combined Steamer and Blender
It has an in-built powerful steamer and bender whereby the compartment can be used to steam fruits veg, meat, fish when attached on one end and when flipped on the other end the food can be chopped or blended using a pulse function. (Note all this done whilst the food is hot and steaming without the need of transferring anything, how awesome). It does do what it says on the label. Very compact, easy to use and clean.
Technical specifications | |
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Frequency | 50 – 60 Hz |
Power | 400 W |
Voltage | 220-240 V |
Safety Classification | Class 1 |
Safety | Safety lock system for lid and bowl detection |
Capacity | 800 (solids)/450 (liquids) ml |
Speed | 1 |
Water tank volume | 200 ml |
Cord length | 70 cm |
Colour/finishing | White/Green |
Weight and dimensions | |
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F-box dimensions | 193 D x 243 W x 344 H mm |
Number of F-boxes in A-box | 2 |
Product dimensions | 16.50 (round base) 30.8 (height) cm |
Product weight | 2 kg |
Material | |
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BPA-Free | Yes |
Pros
Compact, easy to use, easy to clean convenient
Cons
Pricey, have to be careful when flipping the compartment straight after steaming as water can leak out from the little ‘steaming’ hole, and its HOT (a given really). Although the main food compartment is easily cleaned, I find that the water compartment (compartment where water is added to creat steam) can be quite dirty and difficult to clean.
My Verdict
To me, all Pros no Cons (ok I did write some Cons, but I can overlook them cos its brilliant).
To me, only one real down side is that it is a little pricey approx 80 GBP. But hey, looking at the bright side, some food processors cost more. Compact easy to use, easy to clean and makes delicious food. I can definitely taste the sweetness of mushy carrots and peas which is a sign that most of the nutrients are retained whilst cooking in this superb gadget.
Dec 13
Since posting pictures of my homemade bread on Facebook and on this website, I have had tones of request from friends and family asking me to disclose my ‘bready’ secrets especially the brand and model of the breadmaker that I am using. Well here are my ‘secrets’:
Secret 1: I use TangZhong to make bread
Secret 2: I use my breadmaker to do the hard work (mixing and initial kneading and proofing)
(now it’s not a secret anymore!)
Review on my bread maker:
My initial criteria for a breadmaker, 1) cheap and 2) makes bread (not asking for much). I was surfing the internet and found the Argos Value Range Breadmaker to fit the bill, so I decided to give it a will.
Product information for the Argos Value Range Breadmaker (White)
When baking a loaf in the machine, the machine leaves a large hole on the bread (hole caused by the kneading hook) and bread pan produces a non conventional ‘vertical ’rather than ‘horizontal ’loaf. Although these are listed as cons, it doesn’t really bother me.
I have baked bread from my own recipes and using pre mixed flour (mainly Hovis). I have also used the breadmaker to do the initial mixing and first proofing of the dough before I shape the dough to make buns to be baked in the oven. Whichever method I used, our homemade bread tasted delicious, definitely better than shop bought breads. This breadmaker comes with a recipe booklet, I have tried some of the recipes, it’s not bad, but I understand that it may not float everyone’s boat. The recipe booklet provides measurements in cups and spoons rather than in metric measurements, again it doesn’t bother me as baking is not an exact science and we love the TangZhong breads (recipes posted on mywebsite).
The size of the bread loaves are relatively smaller than the shop bought bread, and can feed 2-4 people for 1 to 2 days, so you will have to make fresh loaves daily or every 2 days for feed a family of 2 to 4. This is not a bad thing, surely you can’t complaint if you have fresh bread so often. This is when the 13 hour delay timer comes in useful. All you have to do is chuck in all the ingredients, set a time delay for the bread to be ready when you wake up in the morning for breakfast!
My verdict
I find that this breadmaker is value for money and makes good bread….it does what it says on the label!
I must admit, I have yet to try to make pasta, jam or cakes with this machine, may give it a will in the near future. Right now we are hooked on bread, and with its current track record of making delicious bread, I would definatelly rank it a 5 star and highly recommends it.