No electricity? No problem! Suppose you live in or plan to travel in areas without electricity. In that case, a hand crank food processor is a godsend unit that grants you the ultimate convenience of blending healthy and tasty foods or beverages with the power of your hands.
Below, we review the most popular manually operated blenders you can get today to make your healthy drinks.
Our Best Hand Crank Blender Picks:
1. GSI Outdoors Vortex Blender
This blender is perfect for those who live in an off-grid cabin, want to go offsite camping or live in areas with no electricity. It’s is the only 100% genuinely hand-operated blender commercially available. It will let you blend your favorite fruits, veggies, and other foods in the middle of nowhere.
Don’t think that this hand-operated blender is less powerful than an electric unit. It offers you a powerful 2-speed gear system, enabling it to easily and quickly crush through ice and frozen fruits, letting you blend smooth, delicious drinks without electricity.
It presents you with a 1.5-liter pitcher that you can trust to make more than enough smoothies for you and your family. The pitcher hassle-freely fits in the base. During operation, this blender will produce less noise compared to your regular plugin blender.
The hand-cranked blender offers you exceptional durability. Its pitcher and lid feature Lexan resin construction, which makes it relatively indestructible and long-lasting. It’ll hold up to the toughest without breaking down. Not to forget, the resin is also easy to clean.
GSI even offers you a 100% lifetime warranty against any manufacturer defects that might come with your blender. It’s all the assurance you need that this is a quality blender worth your money.
Highlighted Features:
- A powerful 2-speed gear system
- Compact and lightweight blender
- 1.5l-iter pitcher capacity
- Made from virtually unbreakable resin
- Lifetime warranty against all manufacturer defects
Hand Crank Blender Alternative
As mentioned above, GSI outdoors vortex blender is the only 100% manually-operated blender commercially available. The unfortunate scarcity of these blenders on the market leaves you with not many options.
We noted, however, that hand-cranked food choppers can make a good alternative for these blenders if you still want something that will let you make your favorite drink when staying in areas with no access to electric power.
An added benefit of these choppers is that they incorporate other valuable functions that will come in handy in your kitchen or when out there camping.
With that said, here are the two impressive choppers we found for you (Hint: They come with a blending capability)
2. Ultra Chef Express Food Chopper
We have picked this hang crank vegetable chopper as an excellent alternative to a manually operated blender because of its multi-function capabilities. It boasts a 7-in-1 design, and you can use it to chop, whip, mix, shred, slice, BLEND, julienne, and even juice!
This fantastic food chopper will produce perfect results easily and quickly. It doesn’t require you to have any special skills or strength to start using it. It comes equipped with a large crank, making it safer, easier to control, and more durable than the competition. It also makes it easier for you to use to get your desired results.
It offers you precise, manual operation that lets you quickly achieve the consistency you want. Spin it a few times to get large chunks. You spin it a few more times to get smaller pieces. And if you’re going to puree the food, keep on spinning.
Probably the top feature that makes this chopper a darling for many people revolves around its super-sharp blades. The blades feature surgical stainless steel, so they won’t easily bend or rust and ensure even chopping or blending.
Other notable features include an anti-skid base, handle, and spout. It has a tremendous 5-cup bowl capacity, which places it above most of the choppers on the market. The bowl is clear, so you can easily see what’s going on inside.
Highlighted Features:
- Surgical stainless steel blades
- Equipped with an anti-skid base
- 5-cup bowl capacity
- Oversized crank for more effortless operation
- Made with 100% BPA-free parts
- 100% satisfaction guarantee
3. Tenta Kitchen 3.2-Cup/800ml Hand Crank Food Processor
Tenta Kitchen manual food processors also make an excellent hand-powered blender alternative. It incorporates a fruit blender option and is manually operated, so you don’t need to plug it in to make your favorite smoothie.
The hand crank food chopper offers you a larger volume—up to 800ml or 3.2 cups—large enough to chop anything you throw at it.
It provides a good grip hand crank that feels comfortable in your hands to ensure easy usage. The food processor has a non-slip suction base, which lets you swing the crank more easily without using a lot of force.
We also like that this food chopper comes with an airtight (waterproof and dustproof) cap to keep your food materials clean and fresh. Thanks to its smooth appearance and ability to be taken apart, cleaning this unit is hassle-free and fast.
Keep in mind that all the components used to construct this food processor are made from food-safe and heavy-duty materials to ensure safe use and long-lasting service.
Highlighted Features:
- Features fruit blender capability
- Made of heavy-duty & food safe parts
- It offers you a large (800ml) capacity
- Non-slip suction base for easy cranking
- Good grip hand crank
What to look for before buying?
The criteria for choosing a hand crank blender are slightly different from that of a regular plugin blender. Here are the key features to look out for:
Durability
The first thing to look for in a hand-operated blender is the material used to construct it. The ideal material should be rugged plastic or resin to withstand regular use and last longer. The plastic should also be BPA-free to make it safe for you.
As for the blades, they should also consist of durable materials. Stainless steel is the best option as it’s rust-free and long-lasting.
Ease of use
Because you’re using your hand to work the blender, you need to ensure you pick a unit that’s easy to operate. You don’t want to end up with something that requires you to put in a lot of effort to make it blend your fruits, veggies, and other food items.
Blenders with a multi-speed design significantly ease your workload. Models that come with a comfortable, oversized hand crank also make the operation easier.
Capacity
The capacity of a hand crank blender refers to the number of cups it can produce at a time. The size usually ranges from two to eight cups. A larger capacity model will let you blend more food at a time but might be too bulky to carry with you or for your counter space.
A smaller capacity will require you to do more chopping to make enough drinks for everyone.
Additional features
Though not a must-have, a blender that allows you to do more than blend your favorite foods is more convenient for you. Look for multi-purpose units that let you combine, mix, whip, mince, chop, dice, slice, shred, etc.
Blenders with more blades are usually more versatile and will let you do more than just blending. A unit with a non-skid base will boost its stability for even easier operation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can a hand operate crush ice?
Yes. A manually operated blender can easily crush through ice, just like the eclectic units. However, the ice cursing capabilities will depend on the blender.
We suggest that you look for a blender with a multi-speed system due to its excellent crushing capabilities. Sharp blades are an added advantage.
Q: Is a hand-operated blender tiring to operate?
Not really. If you invest in a tremendous manual blender, with its hand crank optimized for user-friendliness, then using it should be effortless for you. With strong arms and a firm grip or a stable table is all you need to operate your blender easily and quickly.
Final Verdict
Living in or camping in areas without electricity shouldn’t stop you from bending your favorite foods or smoothies. All you have to do is get a great hand crank food processor that allows you to blend your fruits and veggies with your muscle power.
This guide has equipped you with all the info you need to make a more informed decision for a hand crank blending machine.