Black & Decker Kitchen Wand Review

About the Black & Decker Kitchen Wand

Although this appliance may look like your typical immersion blender, it boasts far more capabilities—taking it from a "one-in-a-while" tool to an everyday workhorse.

The 4-in-1 Kitchen Wand model we tested comes with five attachments: an immersion blender, food chopper, hand mixer, can opener, and mixing cup. But there's an even wider set you can opt for—the Kitchen Wand 6-in-1 multi tool set includes the immersion blender, along with a whisk, milk frother, wine opener, can opener, and salt and pepper grinder attachments.

Since this is a cordless handheld appliance, it also comes with a charging dock that's easy to plug into the wall and rest your Kitchen Wand on when it's not in use. And the top of the handle will display how much battery life is left in the machine via three lit-up segments.

What we like about the Black & Decker Kitchen Wand

It's conveniently cordless

Although we love having an immersion blender at the ready for tasks like blending soups, sauces, and single-serve smoothies, the cord can often get in the way. It can be tough to find a nearby outlet in kitchen spaces, and dropping the cord in a messy liquid is an inconvenience we know all too well.

The Kitchen Wand doesn't have that problem. You can take it anywhere—from the stovetop to the countertop—without having to worry about messing with clunky cords. It's also extremely comfortable to hold and use, even for long periods of time, thanks to its lightweight build and ergonomic handle.

It features several speed options

The speed dial at the top of the Kitchen Wand offers five different speeds for ultimate customization in every task. We found this was especially helpful when using the immersion blender and hand mixer attachments, which often call for a variety of speeds depending on the recipe you're working with.

It comes with several handy accessories

The main lure of this product is that it can replace several appliances in your kitchen with one space-saving tool.

Beyond its obvious immersion blender capabilities, you can transform this tool into a milk frother, whisk, can opener, hand mixer, spice grinder, wine bottle opener, and food processor, without having to monopolize your cabinet space.

The 6-in-1 set even comes with handy storage bins to keep all the accessories organized, so that you'll know exactly where to find them when you need them. You can also use the storage case to bring your set with you if you're traveling for the holidays (and don't want to cook without your Kitchen Wand).

It's easy to clean

The convenience of this appliance doesn't end when you're finished cooking. Many of the accessories—like the food chopper bowl, beaters, and whisk—are dishwasher-safe. And even the hand-washing attachments, like the immersion blender, we found to be extremely easy to clean (without dangerous exposure to blades).

What we don't like

Charging can be a hassle

Although we love the cordless convenience of the Kitchen Wand, it does have its downsides. During testing, we had to face the reality of the battery dying in the middle of a partially blended batch of butternut squash soup.

And because this appliance doesn't accept batteries, it will need to be returned to the charging dock when the battery dies—which could leave you in an unfortunate situation while you're cooking.

Just be sure to keep your eye on the battery life with this appliance and charge it after every use to ensure you don't get stuck with a half-blended smoothie or soup.

The blender struggles with tough ingredients

When we tested the Kitchen Wand head-to-head against our favorite immersion blenders, we noticed its shortcomings with blending more difficult ingredients.

Although the food processor attachment broke down basil leaves and walnuts for pesto, some larger pieces were left behind; we had to manually scrape leftovers down in order to get the ingredients to fully combine.

And the food processor attachment had trouble breaking down frozen fruit and flaxseeds in our smoothie-making test.

Less difficult tests, though, like whipped cream and butternut squash soup, were handled easily by the Kitchen Wand.

Should you buy the Black & Decker Kitchen Wand?

Yes, if you prioritize versatility and cord-free blending

This appliance is a fantastic space-saving machine that can tackle a variety of everyday kitchen tasks. Even though it has a tendency to struggle with certain foods compared to other immersion blenders we've tested, it can manage a much wider range of tasks than its competitors.

If you're looking for more of a heavy-duty immersion blender to help with more basic tasks, though, consider our winning GE Immersion Blender.