Mixing ingredients is an essential part of the cooking and baking process. Whether you are making your famous pasta from scratch or baking your partner’s favorite cake for their birthday, you will need to mix ingredients together.
You could do this by hand, but thankfully there are hand and stand mixers to make life a bit easier.
Easier, at least, until you have to decide which mixer to use. Sometimes it can seem difficult to decide between using a hand mixer or a stand mixer.
Hand mixers and stand mixers essentially perform the same functions, but there are definitely times when one is better to use over the other.
Below we will explain which mixer is best for a variety of every-day cooking and baking situations.
Hand Mixers
Hand mixers are great for “anything that requires more effort or force than you could achieve with a standard whisk.”
They typically have two removable beaters, which you can easily exchange for different accessories — such as a dough hook or a whisk — to fit your individual baking or cooking needs. Modern hand mixers have a motor inside the handle.
You can either plug the mixer
Stand Mixers
Stand mixers have the same mixing capabilities as hand mixers. Just like hand mixers, stand mixers have removable beaters, so that you can change out the attachment depending on your cooking or baking needs.
The three most important attachments are the whisk attachment, dough hook, and the paddle attachment. Stand mixers have a mounting base for a bowl, which is
Size of the bowl — and thus the amount of liquid able to be mixed — varies by model of
Related : 10 Creative Uses Of Hand Mixers Other Than Mixing Cake Recipes
Hand Mixers and Stand Mixers
Hand mixers and stand mixers perform the same essential functions. Both types of mixers have multiple attachments that allow you to perform different mixing functions.
The majority of mixers come with three primary attachments: a wire whip, a flat beater, and a dough hook. The wire whip can be used to whip air into ingredients, such as whip cream and whipped egg whites.
The flat beater can be used for combining ingredients, such as cake mix, cookie dough, batters, and frostings. The dough hook can be used for kneading dough.
There are a variety of additional attachments that you can purchase for your mixers. Mixers benefit from the flex edge beater add-on. This attachment has a flexible silicon edge that scrapes the sides of the bowl while it spins.
If you are mixing things like butter or cream cheese, which tend to stick to the bowl, then the flex edge beater will save you time scraping the side of the bowl later.
There are even two different types of pasta attachments for stand mixers, which include the roller and the cutter.
The roller allows you to choose the thickness of your pasta, while the cutter allows you to slice the pasta into flat, even strips.
You can also attach juicer and strainer attachments to stand mixers. With such attachments, you can have freshly-squeezed juice or smoothies at your fingertips.
Hand Mixers vs. Stand Mixers
There are many reasons to choose a hand mixer over a stand mixer. One of the main benefits of a hand mixer is the price; hand mixers tend to be less expensive than stand mixers.
Besides being more affordable, hand mixers generally allow for a very quick and easy cleanup.
Because of their small size, they only take up a minimal amount of space in your kitchen. On the other hand, stand mixers are large and heavy, and they take up a lot of space.
Hand mixers are better for quick tasks, such as whipping cream or egg whites.
Unlike stand mixers, hand mixers are not fitted to a particular mixing bowl, so they can be used with whatever mixing bowl is more convenient to you.
Depending on your needs, there are also many reasons to choose a stand mixer over a hand mixer. Stand mixers typically have much more power than hand mixers.
Because of this, they are better for more heavy-duty mixing. They can get the job done and at a much faster pace. This can also be beneficial when you have a multitude of tasks to complete during the cooking or baking process.
Instead of wasting extra time with the extreme labor associated with some mixing duties, you can leave a stand mixer to do its job while you go about your other kitchen duties, leaving the mixer for several minutes at a time. The large size of the mixing bowl that goes with the stand mixer helps avoid splashing that could occur from mixing.
If you like a bit of flair then a standing bowl may be a better choice for you, since stand mixers are more likely to come with add-ons, such as timers, automatic stop, and other programmable settings.
Conclusion
There are many benefits to both hand mixers and stand mixers. Which mixer you get really depends on what your personal cooking and baking needs are. If you need a mixer for simple, quick tasks, then you might be okay with just a hand mixer.
If you want a mixer with all the bells and whistles, then you might prefer a stand mixer, which allows you to complete more heavy-duty mixing with minimal effort on your part.
If you cook and/or bake on a regular basis, then you should consider investing in both a hand mixer and a stand mixer.
