Using a blender to cut in butter

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

Quoted message said:

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 hidden]>

Quoted message said:

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 hidden]> wrote in message
news:whtLf.20156$HU.4743@trnddc04...

Quoted message said:

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 said:

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 hidden]> wrote in message
news:whtLf.20156$HU.4743@trnddc04...

Quoted message said:

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.

Quoted message said:

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 hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

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 said:

"Dr. Edward Warren" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

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 said:

"Dr. Edward Warren" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

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 said:

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall said:

"Dr. Edward Warren" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

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