Thunder Stick Pro is a kitchen boat motor for me.
Written: Jun 18 '02 (Updated Jun 20 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great product, endless possibilities, powerful.
Cons: Could use a larger beaker.
The Bottom Line: The Thunder Stick Pro really makes a difference overtime with use. Use it for making whatever you like, it's between the difference of freshness and preservative loaded.
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| lavoisier's Full Review: Thane Thunderstick Pro Mixer |
When I was going to the grocery store to just buy more peanut butter, salsa, mayonnaise and whip cream, I discovered that buying all of these occasional and everyday items are really costly and that they tend to spoil much faster than expected. Not to mention that I don't use these all the time and after a period of heavy use, it tends to be ignored for a long time, until the next time I open it and guess what, it got moldy. Then I told myself that there must be a way to really make these delicacies without paying high prices and buying chemical preservatives. So until recently, there hasn't really been a way to really make these seldom used food items without really buying bulky and expensive appliances that are only served for one purpose. But then it's no more, when the Thunder Stick Pro came around recently in an infomercial. At $60, plus tax and S&H; this was one of the best deals that have ever been offered through television.
Using the Thunder Stick Pro
After about 3 to 4 weeks from ordering the Thunder Stick Pro (it takes longer due to the cross border shipping to Canada), I received the Thunder Stick Pro package, which has everything that I've seen to be offered from the infomercial. But to prove that this thing really works, I tried the whipped cream (not really whipped cream) like what they did in the infomercial and literally in seconds in about 30 seconds of aerating an eighth of a cup of skim milk by moving the unit side to side and up and down, I have turned lifeless skim milk into a full cup of whipped cream. As a result, the Thunder Stick Pro stood well with the infomercial promises. Then I tried making a small amount of mango salsa with mango, tomato, onion, jalapeno peppers and lime juice, the same amazing reaction with the salsa as I tried it with some tortilla chips, and it's much better than the store bought salsa, which is definitely loaded with additives, preservatives and chemicals. With making just whipped cream and mango salsa alone, the Thunder Stick Pro has definitely proved itself to be one of the best small appliances along with being one of the most useful for the kitchen use.
Aerator Blade
The aerator blade commonly referred, as the "A" blade is a flat blade that is specifically designed to replace your countertop air mixer. This blade allows you to pull the air into the food article say egg whites to make meringue, as the air is being pulled in, it thickens and stabilizes the mixture or element. Because the unit is capable of spinning at 20000 rpm, I can easily pull the air in quickly and easily. But remember, as you're pulling the air in, agitate the Thunder Stick Pro side to side and up and down for the best results. With this blade, I can even take instant coffee mix and water and whip it into a thick gourmet treat. Try that with an ordinary mixer, it just doesn't work.
Blending Blade
With this blade, known as the "B" blade in the infomercial, it is designed to replace your countertop blenders or even one of those handheld blenders that aren't "Thunder Stick". With this blade, you can blend smoothies or protein drinks, low fat salad dressings or even make your fresh mayonnaise. But the best part with this blade is making mayonnaise. With fresh mayonnaise, I know what's in it and the taste is so much more than just store bought mayonnaise. This mayonnaise is great for aioli, sandwiches and even simple salads. I just simply have an egg and pour the oil all into a beaker, container whatsoever and it's that easy before you whip the egg. While I'm whipping the egg, I let it whip for about 10 to 15 seconds and start agitating the Thunder Stick Pro to complete the mixture when there is no trace of oil leftover. Unlike conventional methods of making homemade mayonnaise, the mayonnaise made with the Thunder Stick only takes about a minute and a half, whereas the conventional method takes around 10 minutes (if you successfully stabilized the mixture without curdling).
Chopping Blade
With the chopping blade, commonly referred as the "C" blade in the infomercial, is designed to chop, crush and chew food articles. It's even powerful enough to crush ice, so I can use if for an ice bed for my shrimp or snow cones; yet delicate enough to really chop something to make salsa or peanut butter, almond paste, cashew butter. In the summer time, I can even use this blade to make gazpacho or even make something like ice cream with frozen fruit and cold cream, make mixed berry banana milkshakes or even Grand Marnier (brandy based liqueur flavored with orange peel) flavored chocolate ice cream. But of course it doesn't replace your double boiler or Bain Marie to melt the chocolate.
Grinding Accessory
The grinding accessory allows me to even replace my mortar and pestle in the kitchen too as it is handy and much easier to clean. The blades that go with the grinding accessory can grind coffee, hard cheeses like Parmesan, and even spices as hard as star anise and cloves, yet delicate enough to really grind nuts or baking ingredients. With this, you don't need the blade for the machine, but just the main shaft and the unit.
Meat Grinder
This blade here is a bonus, and it's designed to really grind meats that are full of grains and fiber. It allowed me to cut through raw or cooked meat such as beef briskets, which can be tough to cut, unless proper cooking is used for the briskets. But of course, this blade is ideal for luncheon spreads, making your own chicken, turkey, egg, lobster, tuna or even beef salad for sandwiches.
Food Processor Attachment
This food processor attachment is another one of those promotional bonuses that allowed me to really make food preparations much easier as well. With this, I can shred veggies for my broth, whether veggie, chicken, beef, or even making demi glace. Because it's in a container, I can really not worry too much about spilling any of the food contents whatsoever.
What do I think?
For about $99 when they originally sold these units, it has sold over 1.5 million of these since then, because many people see that they can have dessert every night of the year with this, yet still lose weight. At this price, it certainly pays for itself over the long haul. It certainly has done it for me too, since I no longer need to spend money on store bought mayonnaise, whipped cream, salsa, ice cream (occasional) and on those things that I can't even find in a supermarket at all. Since they've lowered the price to $60 on the infomercials, it pays itself even faster than ever before. With the exchangeable blades and removable shaft, it really makes it a much better deal too in addition to easier cleanup, than those conventional kitchen small appliances. I would really recommend this if they would like to prepare your fresh mayonnaise, salsa, ice cream and even whipped cream without the fuss. But what I would really like to see here is a larger beaker, which the current beaker could only have the capacity of making just one serving of milkshakes.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
lavoisier
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Member: Hugh Jazz
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Reviews written: 180
Trusted by: 26 members
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