Using a blender to cut in butter



C

Chris

Guest
This is a dumb question, but has anyone ever used a blender to cut butter
into flour, as for pie pastry, scones, etc? I usually use my food
processor, or two knives, but my friend is wondering if a blender will work.
I doubt it will, and I don't feel like experimenting, but just thought I'd
ask. Ya never know!!

Thanks,
Chris
 
On Thu 23 Feb 2006 06:26:52p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Chris?

> This is a dumb question, but has anyone ever used a blender to cut
> butter into flour, as for pie pastry, scones, etc? I usually use my
> food processor, or two knives, but my friend is wondering if a blender
> will work. I doubt it will, and I don't feel like experimenting, but
> just thought I'd ask. Ya never know!!
>
> Thanks,
> Chris

Not likely.


--
Wayne Boatwright o¿o
____________________

BIOYA
 
On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 01:26:52 GMT, "Chris" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>This is a dumb question, but has anyone ever used a blender to cut butter
>into flour, as for pie pastry, scones, etc? I usually use my food
>processor, or two knives, but my friend is wondering if a blender will work.
>I doubt it will, and I don't feel like experimenting, but just thought I'd
>ask. Ya never know!!
>
>Thanks,
>Chris
>
Not only do I think the mixture would wind up overheated, even if you
could get it all combined, but how in heaven's name would you get it
out of the jar?

Boron
 
"Chris" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:whtLf.20156$HU.4743@trnddc04...
> This is a dumb question, but has anyone ever used a blender to cut butter
> into flour,

How would you get the stuff to keep on going into the blades, rather than
quickly pile up, poorly mixed, on the sides of the jar.

And you wouldn't want to open the top and scrape while running, or you'd get
a cloud of flour blown out into your kitchen as well as risking a mangled
spatula or worse.

Now maybe a hand blender wand, might work.
 
Chris wrote:
> This is a dumb question, but has anyone ever used a blender to cut butter
> into flour, as for pie pastry, scones, etc? I usually use my food
> processor, or two knives, but my friend is wondering if a blender will work.
> I doubt it will, and I don't feel like experimenting, but just thought I'd
> ask. Ya never know!!
>
> Thanks,
> Chris

Blender, no. FP, yes. Plus, a FP is absolutely the best way to get
fresh bread crumbs perfect every time. (In my mind, the only way.)

The hand-held pastry blenders (they look like a mezzaluna with wires
instead of a blade) are fast and easy and cheap. If your friend
doesn't have a FP and doesn't want to buy one, get him one of the
hand-held thingies. They work perfectly.

N.
 
It is actually a mistake if you seek a tender flakey pie crust. The flakes
and the tenderness come from the large, pea-sized chunks of fat (Crisco,
butter, lard, etc) that remain in the final dough. If it is blasted into
ultra fineness with a machine, then it will be tough and hard. I learned
this the hard way and I now always make my pie dough by hand with a 6 wire,
handheld pastry blender. I add a little more fat than the recipe calls for
to make it extra tender and flakey. Afterward iyt needs deft minimal
handling as well, but I roll mine thin enough to read my rolling mat
through,
I hope this helps,
Edward Warren

"Chris" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:whtLf.20156$HU.4743@trnddc04...
> This is a dumb question, but has anyone ever used a blender to cut butter
> into flour, as for pie pastry, scones, etc? I usually use my food
> processor, or two knives, but my friend is wondering if a blender will
work.
> I doubt it will, and I don't feel like experimenting, but just thought I'd
> ask. Ya never know!!
>
> Thanks,
> Chris
>
>
 
"Dr. Edward Warren" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> It is actually a mistake if you seek a tender flakey pie crust. The
> flakes
> and the tenderness come from the large, pea-sized chunks of fat (Crisco,
> butter, lard, etc) that remain in the final dough. If it is blasted into
> ultra fineness with a machine, then it will be tough and hard. I learned
> this the hard way and I now always make my pie dough by hand with a 6
> wire,
> handheld pastry blender. I add a little more fat than the recipe calls
> for
> to make it extra tender and flakey. Afterward iyt needs deft minimal
> handling as well, but I roll mine thin enough to read my rolling mat
> through,
> I hope this helps,
> Edward Warren
>

Thanks for this tip. I've never been satisfied with a pie crust I've made.
It's usually been 'pulsed' in a fp.
Wonder if others get a good pie crust from using the food processor.
Thanks,
Dee Dee
 
Dee Randall wrote:
> "Dr. Edward Warren" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>It is actually a mistake if you seek a tender flakey pie crust. The
>>flakes
>>and the tenderness come from the large, pea-sized chunks of fat (Crisco,
>>butter, lard, etc) that remain in the final dough. If it is blasted into
>>ultra fineness with a machine, then it will be tough and hard. I learned
>>this the hard way and I now always make my pie dough by hand with a 6
>>wire,
>>handheld pastry blender. I add a little more fat than the recipe calls
>>for
>>to make it extra tender and flakey. Afterward iyt needs deft minimal
>>handling as well, but I roll mine thin enough to read my rolling mat
>>through,
>>I hope this helps,
>>Edward Warren
>>
>
>
> Thanks for this tip. I've never been satisfied with a pie crust I've made.
> It's usually been 'pulsed' in a fp.
> Wonder if others get a good pie crust from using the food processor.
> Thanks,
> Dee Dee
>
>
I use a fp and do the pulse thing using both crisco (flakey part) and
butter (flavor part) and ice cold water and have gotten very good
results, as least thats what people tell me.
 
Dee Randall wrote:
> "Dr. Edward Warren" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > It is actually a mistake if you seek a tender flakey pie crust. The
> > flakes
> > and the tenderness come from the large, pea-sized chunks of fat (Crisco,
> > butter, lard, etc) that remain in the final dough. If it is blasted into
> > ultra fineness with a machine, then it will be tough and hard. I learned
> > this the hard way and I now always make my pie dough by hand with a 6
> > wire,
> > handheld pastry blender. I add a little more fat than the recipe calls
> > for
> > to make it extra tender and flakey. Afterward iyt needs deft minimal
> > handling as well, but I roll mine thin enough to read my rolling mat
> > through,
> > I hope this helps,
> > Edward Warren
> >
>
> Thanks for this tip. I've never been satisfied with a pie crust I've made.
> It's usually been 'pulsed' in a fp.
> Wonder if others get a good pie crust from using the food processor.
> Thanks,
> Dee Dee

You can get excellent results by just pulsing a few times instead of
blasting the mixture into smithereens. No problem.

N.
 
Dee Randall wrote:

>
> > handheld pastry blender. I add a little more fat than the recipe calls
> > for
> > to make it extra tender and flakey. Afterward iyt needs deft minimal
> > handling as well, but I roll mine thin enough to read my rolling mat
> > through,
> > I hope this helps,
> > Edward Warren
> >
>
> Thanks for this tip. I've never been satisfied with a pie crust I've made.
> It's usually been 'pulsed' in a fp.
> Wonder if others get a good pie crust from using the food processor.

When making pie crust, it is absolutely essential to leave the lard in little
chunks. That is what makes pie crust nice and flaky. Some people here have
reported that they have good results using a food processor. I have not. I
always make pie dough by hand. I have a large fork that I use to cut in the
shortening. It is important to work the dough as little as possible. You can
use a FP, or who can work the dough to death, roll it and re-roll it and still
have a pastry of sorts, but it won't be light and flaky.
 
Nancy1 wrote on 27 Feb 2006 in rec.food.cooking

>
> Dee Randall wrote:
> > "Dr. Edward Warren" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> > > It is actually a mistake if you seek a tender flakey pie crust.
> > > The flakes
> > > and the tenderness come from the large, pea-sized chunks of fat
> > > (Crisco, butter, lard, etc) that remain in the final dough. If it
> > > is blasted into ultra fineness with a machine, then it will be
> > > tough and hard. I learned this the hard way and I now always make
> > > my pie dough by hand with a 6 wire,
> > > handheld pastry blender. I add a little more fat than the recipe
> > > calls for
> > > to make it extra tender and flakey. Afterward iyt needs deft
> > > minimal handling as well, but I roll mine thin enough to read my
> > > rolling mat through,
> > > I hope this helps,
> > > Edward Warren
> > >
> >
> > Thanks for this tip. I've never been satisfied with a pie crust
> > I've made. It's usually been 'pulsed' in a fp.
> > Wonder if others get a good pie crust from using the food processor.
> > Thanks,
> > Dee Dee
>
> You can get excellent results by just pulsing a few times instead of
> blasting the mixture into smithereens. No problem.
>
> N.
>
>

The 'rule' is to push pluse not more than 10 times so the butter doesn't
get too small or melt.

--
-Alan
 
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