Well? Do you need a stand mixer?
It’s everyone’s wedding list star prize. Most regular bakers have or wish they had a stand mixer.
People get really sentimental about their stand mixers. They even give them names. I never understand this, if I gave the fridge or toaster a name people would think I was a weirdo but for some reason naming this particular kitchen gadget is perfectly normal.
My grandma had a vintage Kenwood mixer, very similar to the modern one above only hers was cream and navy.
She had the tiniest kitchen I’ve ever known and actually, very rarely used her mixer because she still did everything by hand.
Today many of us have small kitchens and the 18 inches of countertop space demanded by one of these creatures has to be well earned.
I’ve never owned a stand mixer but for a long time I fell into the trap of assuming I needed one.
When I did the photo shoots for my book, it was my own hand mixer which appeared in all the photos. I notice many baking books featuring a candy coloured Kmix or KitchenAid which indicates a lot of baking writers own them but I’m yet to be convinced I’m any better off with one of these than my ten year old Bosch hand mixer.
Reasons to buy a stand mixer:
- Style – they look the part
- Have your hands free to pour in extra ingredients
- You can wander off and do other stuff at same time
- Can get attachments to perform other tasks
- Fitted with a guard to stop stuff flying around
Why I get on perfectly well with a hand mixer:
- Full control how you mix – round the edges, a bit more here and there
- Faster to clean. If you have several bowls you only have to clean the beaters to be ready to go again.
- Can mix small quantities.
- Can use one beater at a time in the stick blender cup for really small quantities
- Can use over the hob in a saucepan i.e. to make marshmallow fluff or Italian meringue
- Can hide it in a cupboard rather than clutter up the worktop
- Can still have a free hand to pour in ingredients – especially if you secure the bowl with a non slip mat (works perfectly well for me)
- Portable. You could take it away from home if that way inclined.
- I already own a Magimix and bread machine which do all the other tricks like chopping and dough kneading between them
- (Actually my Bosch hand mixer has dough hooks anyway)
- Say it did break down, it’s a darn sight cheaper to replace – under £50 instead of several hundred.
Why worktop space matters
Now bear in mind, I have a reasonably large kitchen and am not short of space. Yet I still don’t like the idea of losing more counter space to a large gadget. You might think a stand mixer is essential if you do a lot of big baking jobs but actually, empty worktop space is equally necessary. The only big gadget I leave out is the Magimix – with the microwave and bread machine on another worktop opposite. But next to the Magimix is my big area for working on stuff. Even in my big kitchen it would be a squeeze to donate 18 inches of space to a stand mixer. And I say this as someone who bakes and cooks a lot.
I use my Magimix food processor to make large quantities of buttercream with a damp tea towel over the top which avoids mad icing sugar clouds all over the kitchen (and my glasses). I regularly use my Magimix to mix all-in-one method sponge batter – I did this for all of my cupcakes and cookie dough at the Appetite Food Fair featured in my recent 4th Blog Birthday post.
Having briefly used the Kenwood mixer above at two different events, I really can’t say I’m convinced it would make a worthy replacement of the hand mixer, food processor and bread maker combined. I’ve used KitchenAids at friends’ houses and have the same view of these. And if looks rather than function are your motivation, the Kmix looks much nicer than the retro model shown in top photo. Stand mixers can mix but don’t like small quantities. If you have to wash up whole bowl in-between every task (which would be a nightmare producing lots of stuff at once for big occasions) they might save labour in some ways but increase it in others.
So if you’ve been wedded to the idea of a stand mixer, ask yourself whether they’re worth it for mixing alone? If you already have a food processor to do whizzy stuff I reckon your money’s better spent on a hand mixer.
Today is, would you believe, my 40th birthday – which means it’s ten years since I received the Magimix for my 30th. I assumed at the time I’d buy a stand mixer soon afterwards but never got around to it. After the mega baking session last week, as with the intensive work for my photo shoots I managed perfectly well without one.
Which leaves me with a spare £400 to buy a designer handbag. Well you’re only 40 once. Plus they’re easier to carry.
Do you still think you need a stand mixer or have I put you off?
If you still aren’t convinced, read the mixer off post where we compared making meringues with stand mixers and hand held mixers.
Get a handbag! And happy birthday! X
Spot on! There are loads of kitchen gadgets I covet but my kitchen worktop space is far more important.
I have a Kitchenaid, it was a gift and I love the way it looks.
However, if I had to spend my own money I probably wouldnt have got one. It is lovely and for somethings it is a god send (meringues, pizza dough) but for most cakes/brownies/biscuits I still do it by hand.
I agree it is mostly a status thing. I’d rather buy a handbag.
From what I’ve talked about with Tweety friends today, I get impression I’d value a stand mixer if I made mostly larger cakes. I can imagine a mixer would look wonderful on my worktop but I would miss the worktop space.
I couldn’t imagine being without mine either! I have a breville one which is more powerful than a kitchen aid (no guard though) and cost just £50. My life is now divided into before stand mixer and after stand mixer! It is sooo useful and makes american recipes which involve 15 minutes of beating a cinch – no sore arms for me!
That’s really interesting. I have seen the candy coloured Breville ones, they look wonderful.
I’ve never really known life without a stand mixer, apart from my 4 years at uni. My mum had one, and I was always in awe of it and how convenient it was to just get up and walk away to tidy up a bit while the mixer did it’s thing. I must say I’m very very impressed that you’ve done all your baking without a stand mixer! I live in a small flat with a tiny kitchen and virtually no counter space, but would never sacrifice my pretty pink Kitchen Aid. There would have been no way that I could have baked 300 cupcakes in 2 nights with only my hand mixer. They’re amazing for beating big batches of fluffy buttercream. I do agree that they aren’t the greatest for small batches of things which is why I also regularly used my hand mixer – which I received as a wedding gift. Unfortunately my Dualit hand mixer has packed in after only 3 years, so I’m on the hunt for a new one.
I’ve not done 300 cupcakes in 2 days although I did manage all the stuff for the cake stall ok – that was 100 small ones and 100 minis plus all the cookies and fondant fancies. I do worry that if you walk away to “do stuff” that you could easily over mix?
Hand mixer is all I need too. Hope you had a great birthday.
I started out with a hand held mixer then, after a couple of years, got my kitchenaid – I won’t ever go back. It’s a huge bonus that you can leave it running while you get things from cupboards but – and I don’t think anyone’s mentioned this yet – if you have grip or dexterity problems (which I sometimes do) you can always bake regardless.
That’s very true – although I have found a non-slip mat underneath means I can grip the hand mixer with both hands and be confident the bowl won’t go flying.
I finally caved and got a hand held mixer a few months before I started my blog and it was a revelation, made making big cakes so much easier. I’ve been lusting after a stand mixer for years but have always thought they are too expensive and the flat we’re renting at the moment has quite a small kitchen. However I was recently given the opportunity to review a Bosch mixer and so far I’m impressed. I haven’t written about it yet though, need to bake more to fully test it!
A Bosch hand mixer? I can’t wait to hear what you think of it. I like that the beaters are very skinny and easy to clean.
I’ve had the hand mixer for a while and I love it, so light yet powerful. Just re read my comment and realised I meant to say I’m trying out a Bosch stand mixer at the moment. So far it’s done a good job with bread dough, have also just about managed to rearrange the stuff on my worktop so I haven’t lost much space.
Happy Belated Birthday, I hope you got that handbag 🙂 I’ve lusted after a stand mixer for a long time but finances preclude me from following it through with a purchase but I manage quite well with a hand mixer – you mentioned doing buttercream in your Magimix, what “blade” do you use? I would have never thought of doing it in there but of course it would make far less of a dusty mess of the kitchen if I did 🙂
Hi Claire, I use the normal blade. The icing sugar puffs out slightly but I cover the lid with a tea towel. I wouldn’t do buttercream any other way!
Thanks, I’ll have to try that next time I do buttercream, I love finding out stuff this way, as I said, I would have never thought of doing it that way!
My take on this:
http://deliciousdeliciousdelicious.blogspot.jp/2013/07/do-i-really-need-stand-mixer.html
Loved reading your opinions!
Thanks Mr P! I have just left a comment. I can see pros and cons of both types of mixer and probably it depends on what type of baking you do which you will find most convenient.
Sarah, I’ve been holding to your views even longer than you have! As I told Mr P at Delicious Delicious Delicious, I have mixed feelings about this subject. Let’s sum it up this way: I have been a serious baker for many (many!) years without benefit of a heavy-duty stand mixer and will likely continue as I’ve been. BUT, that said, if someone were to give me a Kitchen Aid Artisan (white) stand mixer, I bet I’d use the heck out of it! So if the good folks at Kitchen Aid are reading this, do drop me a line!
via Jean at Delightful Repast blog