Desire

I have been very busy testing the entire Desire Collection range of Russell Hobbs appliances. I have used quite a few appliances by Russell Hobbs in the past, in particular, during a competition they ran around Christmas to test their Allure products and come up with some recipes using them. I have to say, I was impressed by the quality overall and so it is nice to be able to have a play with the Desire range, too. The great news is that Russell Hobbs have also kindly offered a second set of products, so I will be hosting a 3-part giveaway for my Fabulicious Food! readers starting today with the Desire Food Processor. The appliances within the Desire range are matt black with red accents. The Desire Food Processor and Jug Blender has a 600W motor.

Space in my kitchen, as in most, is limited, so it is important to me to find products that do the job I want them to do, whilst taking up the least amount of worktop space.  The Desire food processor comes in three main pieces with the following features –

• The main body (matt black) with a manual dial at the front.
• Two interchangeable top pieces – the food processor (with red accents) and a 1.5 litre capacity blending jug (with a red bottom and lid).
• In addition to this, you also get a number of accessories, such as a slicing disc, coarse grater, fine grater, a mixing blade that can be used for dough and a creamer that can be used for sponge cakes.
• Two speed settings and a pulse function.
• A small manual including two recipes.

Desire Blender

The jug blender is pretty standard – it will allow you to crush ice, blend soup and make dips or sauces such as pesto, easily.  The lids fits on very securely, as it has a thick layer of rubber around the lid, which I particularly like as it is safe for the kids to stand and have a go at without thinking that the lid will blow off. The jug blender has been a definite winner in our house – “Yay, Mummy, now we can make milkshakes every day!” In actual fact, it is great for a quick and healthy breakfast smoothies and it gets us well away from the temptation of sugary cereals. I have also used it to make a quick Hollandaise Sauce to coat some fresh British Asparagus. The only thing I have noticed is that in full speed, the blender jumps around a little. There are suction feet on the bottom – make sure they are stuck down!

Ren’s Recipe

Strawberry, Banana, Pear and Chocolate Milkshake/Smoothie

What you need –

10-12 fresh strawberries, hulled

2 ripe pears, peeled, chopped

1 banana, peeled, sliced

1 teaspoon hot chocolate powder

Handful of ice cubes

250ml whole milk

How to make –

Throw all the ingredients into a jug blender, blend until smooth, serve and drink immediately.

Desire Food Processor

Aside from the jug blender, you get a second 1.5 litre capacity processing bowl, also with a safety lock lid, though not rubber lined as with the jug blender.

With the discs in place, you can finely slice, shred and blend. You do get a little pusher piece so that you can push any pieces down the tube safely without putting your fingers anywhere near the blades.

There is a creaming disc that you can use to thicken cream, beat eggs and to cream eggs and sugar together to make cakes. I have found that this is fine when using the all-in-one method. But otherwise, use it to cream your butter and sugar together first, then your eggs and then simple mix your flour in with a spoon – otherwise the whisking action will be too harsh. I made one of our family favourites – Nigella’s Marmalade Pudding Cake – in it and it worked a treat. In fact, lots of Nigella recipes call for you to throw everything into a mixer, so this does the job perfectly.

It is also great for making quick summer salads – a great one is Polish classic carrot and apple salad (Surówka) – 3 carrots, one apple, a handful of sultanas, a teaspoon of lemon juice and a sprinkle of sugar and salt. The grater blades are fairly easy to interchange and once in place will shred and grate very quickly.

Overall Impression

All in all, the mixer isn’t too clunky in size, but I have found with food processors that you have to have space to keep them out on the work top otherwise they barely get used. Leaving mine out this week, we’ve used lots more fruit and have made smoothies every day for breakfast. Tonight, we’ll be having homemade pizza using the dough tool.

There is a Jug Blender on its own within the Desire Collection range, but for the sake of an additonal £17 if not less, you would be better off buying the Food Processor which comes with a Jug Blender as well as the Food Processing Bowl.

I was a little disappointed that there weren’t many recipes to try – just two in the manual – and the two links suggested in the book to follow to get more recipes don’t seem to link to any more…

Giveaway

Thanks to Russell Hobbs, I have one Desire Collection Food Processor to giveaway. Here’s how to enter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Discloure: I was sent the Russell Hobbs Desire Collection range to test/review along with a second set to giveway. No incentive was given to write a positive review. All opinions are my own. No monetary compensation was received in order for this product to be featured on Fabulicious Food!

Come back tomorrow for Part Two of the Russell Hobbs Desire Review and Giveaway!