We selected the best-selling hand blenders from the most popular brands available at key retailers. Blenders come in a range of materials, but mainly with plastic or metal shafts. Metal shafts are preferable as they are less likely to stain than those with plastic. This is because the blending shaft is the part that gets dirtiest, and if you are blending lots of soup for instance, you might find a metal shaft remains in better condition over time. What accessories are available? Not everyone is on the hunt for a hand blender with lots of bells and whistles, but we still tested every attachment they came with, so we can tell you which ones are the best. Splash guard Usually sold separately, these fit over a bowl, with a hole for the hand blender to pass through. It helps prevent splashes from going on to your work surface.

The best are comfortable to hold, even with reduced hand strength, the worst vibrated a lot and were uncomfortable to keep hold of after a minute or so. WashabilityWe hand-washed each blender's main attachment to see how easy it was to remove residual food and liquid. Our testers assessed each hand blender's build quality. The best had casing that didn't flex when pressed, premium materials such as rubberised grips and attachments that felt secure and solid when attached to the main handle.

In testing, the blender, as well as most of the attachments worked like a dream. We were able to julienne and finely slice vegetables in seconds, and the powerful blender produced creamy dips, sauces and soups, even when using tough ingredients. The only real downside was the French fry blade, which didn’t produce the result expected, even when carefully following instructions. We also tried each hand blender with Cambridge simulation gloves , which simulates reduced hand mobility, to see which ones are more comfortable to use for people with limited dexterity or strength.Those with difficult-to-reach crevasses or blender heads that couldn't be removed were the worst products we tried. The best hand blenders were easy to rinse out and clean by hand. Build quality It doesn’t stop there, though. Many hand blenders do much more than just blending thanks to their rich array of attachments that whisk, beat, slice, dice, mash and more. These multitasking machines take up less space in your kitchen and require much less washing-up than the likes of a jug blender or food processor. The worst hand blenders left us with chopped nuts and herbs of a variety of sizes, lumpy mash and us wondering if the egg whites would ever reach stiff peaks. Ease of use

Whisk An attachment to incorporate air into a mixture. Good for whipping up egg whites, cream cake mixes and batters.

Log in/register

We made soup, houmous and smoothies with each hand blender, running each ran for the same length of time, on the highest setting. We were impressed at how lightweight this blender was, especially considering how cumbersome some cordless kitchen gadgets can be. It also comes with a mini processor, jug and whisk attachment included in the box, making the price tag a little more palatable. It’s expensive, but you are paying for cordless convenience. Higher power (wattage) means the blender should spin faster. There is some advice that talks about the different amount of power you need for different foods, but our thorough testing has found no real correlation between the power of a hand blender and the results you get. We blended mayonnaise for three minutes, noted how easy to was to keep holding the blender and how much the handle warmed up. The best hand blenders produced silky-smooth foods with a consistent texture. The worst left lots of chunks behind and our hands tingly after use from the large vibrations. Endurance