KitchenAid Stand Mixer: An Investment For Your Kitchen

A stand mixer is an incredibly useful tool in the kitchen when it comes to cooking and baking. Trying to find the best one for you can be difficult as there are many different brands, models and bells and whistles. Follow these tips and take a look at some of the models that I find to be the best to help you in your decision. A quality stand mixer is an investment and will last years-it may even become one of your most used tools in the kitchen. Mine certainly has!

Questions To Ask Yourself

1. How often do I prepare foods that require using a mixer?
2. What types of foods do I prepare? (Cakes, cookies, breads, dips, etc)
3. In what quantity do I prepare these foods? (1 dozen cookies vs 6 dozen cookies at a time

Answers

1. If you prepare foods that require using a mixer more than 2-3 times a month, I would definitely recommend investing in a quality stand mixer versus a hand mixer or a lower-quality stand mixer. Over time you will save yourself money, time and hassle.
2. If you are preparing cakes, cookies, meringues, frostings, whipped creams, heavy dips and breads, a stand mixer is the way to go.

• I understand that a hand mixer works just fine for baking a cake,however, your heavier batters such as cookies, frostings and dips aregoing to require more power to blend. Over time, using a hand mixer forthese foods will put too much strain on the motor and eventually burnthem up (trust me, I've been there-more than once!)
  
• Second, trying towhip enough air into egg whites by hand or with a hand mixer takes alot of time. With a stand mixer, simply attach the whisk and let'errip. A perfect, glossy meringue is ready in minutes-while you are busyputting the lemon filling in the pie shell!
• Unless you plan to make bread `100% by hand, a stand mixer is the only way to go. Using the bread hook, you can mix the dough and knead it all in the bowl. When I make bread, I use the hook to blend the ingredients together and get all of my flour incorporated and then turn the dough out to knead by hand. It is much easier and much less time consuming than trying to incorporate all of the flour with a wooden spoon. Some hand mixers offer dough hook attachments, however, you run into the problem of too much dough for too little power. I have not seen a bread recipe with a small enough yield for a hand mixer to handle.
  

3. Looking at the quantity in which you prepare foods is going to determine how large of a mixer you are going to need. If you are preparing 1 batch of cookies, 1 loaf of bread and small quantities of other foods, a smaller model will work for you just fine. A 4.5 quart bowl is the absolute smallest I would go. If you're doubling recipes frequently or making large batches of foods, the 5 or 6 quart models are the best. Personally, I would opt for the 6 quart. You can always do small jobs in a big mixer, but can't do big jobs in a small mixer.

Now, on to brands and models. I am biased and will tell you so up front. I absolutely 100% prefer Kitchenaid over other home-model brands. I have never in all of the years I have been cooking and baking burned up, damaged, broken or otherwise rendered useless a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer. I have, however, burned up a few other brands and have had friends and relatives burn them up as well. When I say "burned up" I mean the job we were doing was too much for the mixer to handle. It usually results in poorly mixed recipes, a rank smell from the grinding gears and a dead mixer. It's frustrating for that to happen when you're in the middle of trying to make 8 dozen chocolate chip cookies for a school party-shop wisely and it won't happen to you! Compare the brands and models in the table below to help make your decision.

As you can see, you can get a stand mixer from all over the price range. If you're going to do light duty mixing, a smaller, cheaper mixer will, most likely, work out for you. Keep in mind, though, that even if you purchase a mixer that is a little bigger than what your everyday needs are, you will be well prepared for holiday cooking and baking and other special occasions. Also, keep in mind the versatility of the machine you choose to purchase. Kitchenaid mixers can be used with attachments from juicers, grinders and pasta rollers to ice cream makers; making it a very versatile tool in your kitchen.

It is in my opinion that this is a machine that you get what you pay for. Paying a little extra today will save you in the long run. For every $60 mixer that gets burned up, your $250 mixer will last a lifetime and pay for itself. Look at your stand mixer as an investment, put as much thought and consideration into its purchase as you would any other investment.

In case anyone is wondering, I have a Kitchen Aid 5 Quart Pro with pasta presses and ice cream maker. My mom has a Kitchenaid Artisan and 6 Quart Pro.