The hand blender, or mixing wand, has enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity since its invention in the 1950s. And rightly so: This astonishingly simple appliance is incredibly versatile with a minimum of accessories, and—unlike a stand mixer—it’s always within reach and, above all, can be used right at the stove and in pots. As a result, it is also one of the few household appliances to have made the leap from home kitchens to commercial kitchens.

The ESGE hand blender was invented and first manufactured in the mid-1950s by the precision engineers at ESGE Bamix in Thurgau, Switzerland. The original remained far superior to all imitations. The current professional model features an extended drive shaft, making it suitable for use even in slim and tall containers. The extremely high-speed (up to 22,000 rpm), 300-watt motor is designed to effortlessly handle even five minutes of continuous operation at maximum speed. The metal shaft that drives the attachments is a high-precision component with minimal tolerances. The tools are made of stainless steel and are automatically and precisely centered by a patented mechanism when attached, so they can hardly ever become misaligned. Even under heavy use, the “magic wand” thus has a long service life: Devices more than 20 years old are still being sent to the manufacturer today for maintenance and repair.