Pastry Blenders of the Past

I have used 4 pastry blenders in my kitchen career, beginning when I studied the art of pie-making at my mother's elbow as a child. Her pastry blender was wooden-handled with small nuts at each end used to attach a U-shaped wire assembly to screw in the handle. It worked really well, and washed easily in the sink, but the wooden handle sometimes doled out splinters to unsuspecting pastry chef wannabe's. Ouch! My first ownership of a pastry blender was the same type as Mom's. Over time, the nuts holding the wire assembly in place loosened and required tightening before, during and after each use. Five years ago I picked up an all-stainless pastry blender at a Pampered Chef show, featuring the blending end made up of four blade-like pieces, with a slight curve up toward the handle -- more blade touching the mixing bowl. High-tech? New and improved? Sign me up! The idea of the PC model is great. But, in my experience, pastry dough clings to it for dear life and it's hard to clean. I went back to my old standard, loose nuts and all.


OXO to the Rescue!

When doing a quick run-through of a kitchen gadget store in between errands one day, I chanced to see the OXO Good Grips Black-Handled Pastry Blender. Picked it up without a second thought, finished my errands, went home and made a pie.

While you'll actually have to do some of the work required to blend your pastry ingredients, the OXO Good Grips Black-Handled Pastry Blender offers some excellent features that you won't find on any pastry blender on the market today.

Good Help Isn't Hard to Find

As with all the other OXO cooking tools I've brought into the fold, the OXO Good Grips Black-Handled Pastry Blender meets and beats my expectations. As with the other products in their line of kitchen tools, OXO has taken an old favorite and improved upon the form which, in this pastry blender's case, also improves the function.

Like the OXO 6-Inch Potato Masher (see mind-full review, "OXO 6-Inch Potato Masher Makes "Short" Work of Mashing, Mixing and Cleaning Up), the OXO Good Grips Black-Handled Pastry Blender is a traditional model re-engineered with exceptional OXO style.

The pastry blender retains the "it ain't broke so don't fix it" feature of six narrow, U-shaped wires that make up the blending end. They are sleek, stainless steel, sturdy and ever-so-slightly flexible. The basic, horizontal handle is the "GoodGrip" stuff, made of Santoprene, a processed rubber. Same concept as an old model pastry blender handle, but a larger size and much more comfortable grip.


Look Ma! No Loose Nuts!

Yea, I know . . . "but a few screws loose", you're thinking.

The OXO Good Grips Black-Handled Pastry Blender does not have any visible nuts and bolts holding it together. Yippee! On either side of the cushy handle is a plastic end cap embossed with the "OXO" name, and the blender wires seem to just flow into/out of these end caps. I've tugged, pulled and even pounded mine to test for strength here . . . Consumer Reports would do better, but I don't have all that expensive testing machinery in my kitchen. The end caps will not pry off, either. All of this for $10.50!


Care and Feeding

The OXO Good Grips Black-Handled Pastry Blender is dishwasher safe, though if you make pastry goods often, you know that shortening/butter/lard may hang on a little harder to a baking implement. I just wipe my pastry blender wires with a towel, just in case, before putting it in a drawer. The OXO pastry blender can hang from a hook or peg if you like, or it tucks into a drawer or cabinet nicely. The rubber handle needs no special care.


Gift-Giving Material

Yes, yes, yes, this would make a great gift. I have four people on my Christmas list already who would benefit from this handy, redesigned classic. Anyone who makes pies, tarts, quiche or other flaky-crusted baked good would make good use of one of these.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): $10.50