Immersion blenders

A stick blender purees in the pot you cooked in. That is the point of it. The spray happens when the blade can see the air.

Keep the head under the surface before you press the button, and keep it there until the blade has stopped. Tilt the pot rather than lifting the blender. A tall saucepan works better than a wide frying pan, because the head stays covered.

The whisk attachment whips cream and egg whites. The chopper bowl is a small processor with its own blade. Those parts do not share a fitting you can guess: match the piece to the shaft you have. Unplug before you pull either of them off. The button is easy to bump while you are twisting a blade.

The shaft is sealed, but the joint under the blade still holds soup. Rinse it while it is warm. If you stand the blender in a jug of water and run it, do not let the motor body go under the waterline. Only the metal shaft is meant to be wet.

For a large batch of hummus or a dough, a processor bowl is the better tool. For ice, use a jug blender.