Mueller Ultra-Stick vs Hamilton Beach 59765 Immersion Side-by-Side Comparison

In this test, the Hamilton Beach produced an acceptably smooth puree, but the outcome wasn’t any better than those produced by other immersion blenders we’ve found for under $40. It was blended evenly but we still noticed a lot of tiny veggie chunks left behind after straining.

Despite being a low-priced blender, the Mueller Ultra-Stick wasn’t any slower than the others we tested. It took about 30 seconds to yield two servings of pureed soup packed with carrots, pumpkin, and parsley.

That said, it wasn’t so good at drawing ingredients toward its blades, so we needed to move it around for an even blend. Moreover, it sucked tightly to the pot’s bottom, which didn’t cause as much spatter as the Cuisinart, but did cause small scratch marks on our cookware’s surface. It also made it very challenging for us to stir with the blending wand.

Our Mueller soup’s texture was acceptable but not the silkiest; there were still several large chunks of veggies left behind.

Of all the blenders we tested, this Hamilton Beach took the longest to complete this task. It was such a poor performer that had a very hard time processing frozen fruits and couldn’t entirely liquefy kale. In the end, we were left behind with a lumpy icy drink and worse still, a bunch of large noticeable fibrous pieces remained unprocessed.

To ensure this portable machine can do the work of a full-sized blender for making smoothies, we designed this specific test for it. We would award it corresponding points if it could create a homogeneous mixture of just kale and frozen fruit. Disappointingly, we found that the Mueller Ultra-Stick isn’t great at blending solid fruit and leafy vegetables. 

In this task, it had a very hard time breaking up the ingredients. This caused it to demand up to 1 min 15 secs to finish the test. 

And although the Turbo mode is intended to give the blender ​​an extra boost at max speed, we noticed the speed increment wasn’t enough to make any difference. Our smoothie came out pretty smooth, but there were many unprocessed chunks of mango. It was also a bit grainy due to a mass of tiny leafy bits. For about $35 more, you can upgrade to the better Braun MultiQuick-5.

As this blender shouldn’t run for longer than 60 seconds at the time to avoid damage, we took a break after 30 seconds. In the meantime, we used a spatula to dislodge the food that lodged in the blade guard.

Making mayonnaise with this blender’s whisk attachment was a total failure. Even when we added the oil very slowly to the yolks, there was no way that the blender could form a proper emulsion. Instead of a smooth spread, we ended up with a watery mess. As such, we awarded it no points for this test.

Although the Mueller’s whisk attachment has thin, floppy wires, it got the job done in less than two minutes. That was 10 seconds faster than the Braun, whose whisk is more sturdy and springy. It was nearly as fast as the high-end Vitamix and handily beat the cordless KitchenAid by a full minute.

It was also easier to clean. For the most part, its mayonnaise tailings rinsed off easily under our running tap. Using the blending shafts, on the other hand, caused the food to get clogged in the blade housing. As such, it was very challenging for us to scrub off the residuals on the blade’s backsides.

Using this Hamilton Beach to make nut milk may not be such a good idea: In our test, it left us with a coarse grind and couldn’t pull all the ingredients into its blades without our intervention. That’s why we had to constantly stir with the blending wand to ensure everything was incorporated. This also meant that, due to the machine’s poor head suction, we would end up getting splattered with smoothie every single time our hand moved. 

At certain points, the almonds somehow even got stuck in the blade guard’s holes, requiring us to stop and dislodge them. This remains the most frustrating blending experience that we’ve ever had.  

Grinding raw nuts shouldn’t be a challenging task for any hand blender. However, our Mueller couldn’t perform any worse, though part of the reason is due to our blending jar — its small size caused the liquid to overflow all over the countertop every single time we moved the blender. So if you intend to use this blender to prepare watery drinks, it’s best to use a bigger container. 

None of the blenders we tested could avoid suction, but the Mueller’s was so strong that it was hard to stir or withdraw the wand, and when we lifted it up the container came with it. These things caused the liquid to easily overflow.

Not only that, but this blender didn’t grind finely enough for a creamy drink. Our almond milk was drinkable, but quite watery and not as sweet as others.

Surprisingly, this blender’s whisk attachment did a good job of stiffening the egg white. When beating, it provided enough force to stretch out the egg’s proteins which then bonded with each other and formed a stable network around the tiny air bubbles created through the beating action.

However, strengthening that network for a good stiff peak can be a lengthy process. The Hamilton Beach took more than one minute - compared with others, that's longer than the average. Having to spend a few more minutes blending is no big deal, but the prolonged operation will cause the motor to overheat, thus impairing its durability and your cooking enjoyment. 

Before we began this test, we presumed that all the whisk attachments would perform well at  beating egg-whites, though some may be more efficient than others. Surprisingly, Mueller's performance proved us wrong.

First, it had an advantage over the blending wand in incorporating enough air into the egg whites, allowing the egg-protein to form a stiff, airy foam. What was until its motor seriously overheated several times, requiring us to let it stop and cool down. This issue didn’t regularly occur with the other blenders, and spending so long with the Mueller was tiring.

Even worse, after this test the whisk attachment had lost its original bulbous shape. The strands of looped wire were all out of their initial order, which would impair its performance in the next emulsifying and beating tasks.