I use a hand blender to puree hot cream of broccoli soup and spaghetti sauce. Before I had an immersion hand blender, I would carefully ladle the soup or sauce from the pot to the large blender and then into a second pot - until I was done. Then I would have to reheat the soup or sauce before serving. This also resulted in a pretty big mess on the stove top and kitchen counter. Now I just stick the immersion hand blender in the soup or sauce, and blend away for about 30 seconds, and I'm done.

The first thing would be to find out if you can immerse it in hot liquid. This is the difference between an immersion hand blender and a hand blender. If your goal is to puree hot soup and sauces this is an issue.

A hand blender usually can only be used for under a minute, then you have to let it rest for several minutes. You can burn out the motor if you try to do more. The power range for hand blender motors is between 100 watts and 300 watts. Hand blenders are intended for those small jobs that you don't want to dirty your big mixer or blender for. Or as I described to puree hot soups.

I love to make a single-serving smoothie with it. If I'm making frozen drinks for several people, I do pull out the blender.

If you're looking for a powerful hand blender that can puree a thick cream of broccoli soup really fast, then the Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender is definitely a great buy for you.

It has a powerful 200-watt motor with a very sharp blade that will also blend batters and mix drinks. It's designed to be comfortably operated with one hand - doesn't matter if you're left- or right-handed. Cuisinart made it lightweight with a single push-button control. A protective guard keeps you from splattering yourself or your workspace. You can put the stainless-steel shaft in the dishwasher; and the easy-clean surface of the blender wipes off easily. A 2-cup beaker is included with the Cuisinart CSB-76 Smart Stick Hand Held Blender. Limited three-year warranty.

This hand blender packages takes the Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender that I described above and adds a whisk and chopper capability. So it's great to use, if you want to chop some parsley and nuts for garnish after you've made your broccoli soup.

You can only run the 200-watt motor for 50 seconds continually. But this is more than enough time to get most tasks done. You just need to realize that a hand blander is not a substitute for a fully-sized blender. It's for smaller jobs, when you don't want to have to stop and take out the large blender. Or it's specially designed to take on jobs like blending soup, when you don't want to have to ladle soup into the blender, smooth it and then pour it into another bowl, while you puree another batch.

In addition to the hand blender, you also receive a 16-ounce mixing beaker and 2-cup mixing container. Three-year limited warranty.

Ebay has a great selection of name brand blenders. You can see some of the KitchenAid and Oster hand blenders below. By checking any of these out, you can see all of the others available.

I use my immersion hand blender when I'm making spaghetti sauce. I either use fresh tomatoes or canned tomatoes to get the most flavor. But I have a husband that doesn't like big chunks of tomatoes in his sauce. So just before serving, I use my immersion blender to puree the entire pot. It takes about 20 to 25 seconds.

The KitchenAid Immersion Hand Blender comes with three different attachements. The first is an 8-inch long blending blade that is made to dip right into pots of soup or spaghetti sauce. The second is a wire whisk that is great for egg whites and batters. The third is a chopper for nuts.

A four-cup mixing beaker and drawstring storage bag is also included. One-year replacement warranty.

The Rival Ultrablend Blender is a simple and effective hand blender and just what this cooking appliance started out to be. It has two speeds and no extra parts for you to lose or break. Great for making baby food and smoothies.

However, you aren't supposed to immerse it in hot food, so if you want to puree soup or whip up hot milk for a latte, this isn't the hand blender that you're looking for.

With 100-watts of power it's a the low end of strength. But it could have a place in your kitchen depending on what your cooking habits are. And if you have other blenders available for hot food.

The Oster Hand Blander has lots of power, with a 350-watt motor. A 3-in-1 detachable rod system also lets you chop and slice. It's the only hand blender that I've seen with a slicer.

Perfect if you need to puree canned tomatoes for spaghetti sauce, want to whip up a smoothie.