by Melinda on April 10, 2011
Okay, now you’ve decided you want to buy a hand mixer, here are the things that determine what is the best hand mixer for you:
What tasks can it handle?
When you’re buying a hand mixer, I think it’s clear that you aren’t baking all that often and you’re not trying to mix heavy stuff like bread dough. A good hand mixer will be able to do things like whisking eggs (thin liquid), beating cream, mixing cake batter (thick liquid), and maybe even mixing cookie dough (light solids) if it is powerful enough. Check the power of the hand mixer, 175-watt to 220-watt is decent.
How much control do I have over the mixing?
You really don’t want a hand mixer that has only three speed settings – low, medium, high. Although that seems pretty straightforward and easy to use, sometimes you need that slight change in speed that will make mixing so much smoother. A good hand mixer should have at least 5 or 6 speeds, while a better hand mixer will have 7 to 9 speeds. You don’t want a hand mixer with 16 speeds either, because it is rare that you’ll get to use all of them.
6-speed hand mixer: Hamilton Beach 62695N
9-speed hand mixer: KitchenAid KHM9PWH
Is it comfortable?
Now this might sound like a strange question but if you’ve held a hand mixer for extended periods like I did, you know you need to ask this. Find a hand mixer that is light in weight but doesn’t compromise in quality of its motor and parts. The handle should provide a stable and firm grip for your hand. Ergonomic designs like a slanted handle for wrist-comfort or an open-end handle for bigger hands are nice advantages. If you’re left-handed, check whether the cord comes out on the right side of the mixer, because that will get in the way and become rather annoying.
Ergonomic handle designs: KitchenAid KHM9PWH and KitchenAid KHM7T
Best hand mixer for left handers: Cuisinart HM-70
Is it easy to clean and assemble?
Basically you only need to clean the beaters and give the body a wipe, but find a hand mixer that detaches the beaters with an easy push of a button so that you don’t have to struggle with it every time. Beaters that don’t have a rod in the middle are a lot easier to clean than those that do. The body of the hand mixer should also be as streamlined as possible to wipe off easily.
That’s about it for a good hand mixer. The best hand mixers may also have a reasonable period of warranty and helpful customer service just in case. Choose wisely! Find out what are my top picks for hand mixers here: Best Hand Mixer
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by Melinda on August 5, 2010
Baking is fun when you’ve got a sturdy and reliable mixer to use. Sometimes I even do two baking projects at one time, for instance on that day when my sister held a party for her one-year-old’s birthday, I made her a large batch of cookies and a banana chiffon cake.
I prefer to use a stand mixer for the average job, but for quick and light mixing I go for hand mixers. Before I start talking about my best mixers and what they can do, here are some tips to share which you won’t find in the regular recipe.
Tip #1 Save time
Turn on the oven to warm it and get the pans ready ten minutes before you finish mixing everything. This you can do while the mixture is being beaten in your best stand mixer and you’ve got your hands free. After the mixing is done you can then immediately pour the mixture into the pans and pop them into the oven. The batter is as fresh as it can be and you save 15 to 30 minutes of time.
Tip #2 Ingredients
Preparation always take up the most time, I feel. Take out the butter, eggs and other ingredients from the fridge to sit in room temperature at least an hour before the time you plan to start.
If I need to cream the butter and sugar I’ll pop them into the mixer and run it first before I start measuring other ingredients, because creaming takes the longest.
Always make sure the flour gets sifted with a fine sieve together with the salt (if recipe requires it), so that you don’t get any lumps in the batter. Any other powdered ingredient such as baking powder or cocoa powder goes through the sieve before mixing as well.
Tip #3 Perfect taste and texture
Always cream the butter and sugar until the sugar is fully dissolved. And how do you know it has? When the color has gone lighter and the texture is creamy, use the spatula to dip into the depths of mixture and take it out, then use your forefinger and thumb to rub some of the substance together. If you can see or feel any remnants of sugar, it is not perfectly creamed.
Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl from time to time so that you get an even mixture. The better you can cream the butter and sugar, the better the taste and texture of the end result.
All right, that’s all for now. I will be writing more mixing and baking tips when I have the time. If you’re looking for the best mixer, check out my mixer reviews. 
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by Melinda on July 31, 2010
Stand mixers sometimes come with attachments you can use for different jobs, and those who want extra accessories can buy them online too. KitchenAid and Cuisinart have plenty of fancy attachments you can get for your mixer. I personally prefer KitchenAid ones, because they can be used with any model of KitchenAid mixer, and some of them are useful too.
How do you choose? Not all of the attachments are cheap to buy, so I would advise practicing as much care as you would when buying the mixer itself. Think about whether you will be using it often.
Standard
The standard ones usually come together with the mixer.
Wire whisk – For beating eggs or other stuff that needs incorporating air into.
Flat beater – To beat anything from cake and cookie batters, biscuit or non-yeast bread dough, pastry, meatloaf or mashed potatoes.
Dough hook – For heavy-duty pizza, pasta and bread dough mixing only. Even so, only the really powerful and heavy mixers can mix a dough properly without jumping off your kitchen countertop. Try the KitchenAid Professional 600 Mixer.
Extra
Extra attachments can be bought and turn your mixer into something else (while still being capable of mixing, of course).
Meat grinder – I have this one and I love making all kinds of sausages, meatballs and meatloaf with it. Ham and turkey sausages, anyone?
Ice cream maker – A dasher and a freeze bowl will make you some lovely homemade ice cream if you don’t already own a more sophisticated ice cream maker.
Pasta rollers – Like to make your own pasta? Get pasta rollers to cut the pasta and make those unbeatable homemade pasta to go with the meat balls you made with the meat grinder. Do find out whether they are easy to clean before buying though.
Spare beaters – All shapes and sizes of beaters and whisks can be bought as a spare in case your original one broke. Some can scrape the sides of the bowl while turning as well.
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by Melinda on June 11, 2010
How do you choose the best stand mixer? Here are the main points I think you can consider:
What tasks can it handle?
You’d want to know whether it can mix cake batter, or bread dough, or cookie mix. How do you know? Check the power of the mixer. Stand mixers generally have power from 250 watts to 800 watts. If you only bake the occasional cake or cookies, a basic stand mixer of 250-watt is quite sufficient. A more regular baker will want to look at 350 to 500 watts. Any wattage over that is suitable for the heavy bread baker because bread dough is thick and tough to knead with a stand mixer that doesn’t have enough power.
Basic stand mixer: KitchenAid K45SS Classic Stand Mixer – 250-watt
Heavy duty stand mixer: KitchenAid Professional 600 – 575-Watt
Powerful stand mixer: Cuisinart SM-55 Stand Mixer – 800-watt
Is it heavy? Is it too big?
The size and weight of the mixer is a rather important aspect when choosing a mixer. We want a mixer that doesn’t rival with elephant in weight, and yet still have enough stability to not tumble around when the mixer is in operation. Choosing a mixer which is modest in size also makes storage a breeze, instead of having to allocate a huge space for it.
How much batter can I make in one batch?
Check the capacity of the mixing bowl. Getting too small a mixer is such a blast because you’ll have to do everything twice (measuring stuff a second time gets on my nerves) and the precision is lost. But a mixer that is too big won’t do either, because you’ll have a hard time trying to get an even batter (imagine scraping the sides all the time because of splattering).
Basic bowl capacity: KitchenAid K45SS Classic Stand Mixer – 4-1/2-Quart
Large bowl capacity: KitchenAid Professional 600 – 6-Quart
How much control do I have over the mixing?
One of the mistakes I made when I bought my first mixer, was it had as many buttons as a space shuttle and only my teenage son knew how to operate it. When looking for a good mixer, you would want a mixer that is easy to learn and straight forward. You’d want a mixer with at least 6 speeds and a slow start option to prevent puffing up the floury ingredients. Some mixers offer special custom speeds and modes for special preparation foods. Make sure you know if such additions are necessary and if it will add on to the cost of the mixer.
Will it mix evenly?
The more quality mixers have a rotating spiral action designed to let the mixing action get as close as it can to the sides of the mixing bowl. That way the batter is mixed evenly without you having to scrape the sides to the middle every time.
Is it easy to clean and assemble?
This is one of the most important factors for me! The mixer must be easy to clean and re-assembled after cleaning. Having a mixer that doesn’t attach and detach smoothly can result in a huge hassle just to get the mixer cleaned after each use. The body of the mixer must also not have many nooks and crannies to attract dirt and flour particles that float around when you pour ingredients.
I recommend this easy to clean stand mixer: Cuisinart SM-55 5 1/2 Quart Stand Mixer
What else can it do for me?
Most stand mixers now have very convenient features such as timer, splash guard, overload protection, and locking tilt-head. Standard attachments are usually the whisk, the dough hook and the beater. Some even have vegetable/meat grinder, and pasta or sausage maker. All these may or may not add to the price and you will have to decide whether you need these or not. If you are not sure you want these now but may want to buy attachments later on, this stand mixer is a good option: KitchenAid Artisan Mixer.
How long will it last?
Stand mixers are usually not cheap so you will want it to last as long as possible. Choose a good brand or make that is sturdy and has great reviews on the durability and customer service. Also look out for a good warranty offered by the company.
Well, I hope you can find the best stand mixer, because a good mixer will make baking so much more fun and trouble-free. Do check out my recommendations here: Best Stand Mixer – Top Picks
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by Melinda on May 15, 2010
Well, i have to say, these days, we consumers are spoilt for choice. I remember back in the days where I would watch my mother mix all sorts of food with either her hands, or the one and only choice of food mixer in the market. Now, there are dazzling arrays of choices for us to choose from, with variety ranging from motor speed, color, design, specific purposes and functions. I know that it seems rather confusing and daunting at first to pick a mixer that suits your needs; after all, I was hopelessly lost when I first stepped out to purchase my first mixer.
5 Essentials Points For Buying A Best Mixer
However, after years of experience, here is my personal guide of points that perhaps you would like to observe when looking for that perfect mixer for you and your family:
- Power
- Size and Weight
- Controls and Speed
- Durability
- Cleaning and Assembly
Power
Mixers these days typically have motors ranging from 175 watts (which are handheld mixers, like the Cuisinart 7-speed hand mixer) to powerful 750 watt stand-up mixers. Usually, for home use, a mixer that falls between the range would do fine as we wouldn’t want food splattering all over because of having TOO much power.
Size and Weight
The size and weight of the mixer is a rather important aspect when choosing a mixer. We want a mixer that doesn’t rival and elephant in weight, and yet still have enough stability to not tumble around when the mixer is in operation. Choosing a mixer which is modest in size also makes storage a breeze, instead of having to allocate a huge space for it.
Controls and Speed
One of my mistakes I first committed when I bought my first mixer, was it had as many buttons as a space shuttle and only my teenage son knew how to operate it. When looking for a good mixer, you would want a mixer that is easy to learn and straight forward. A must (at least), is a mixer with 6 speeds and a low speed option to prevent splattering. It is to note that certain models offer special custom speeds and modes for special preparation foods. Make sure you know if such additions are necessary and if it will add on to the cost of the mixer.
Durability
The last thing you want to see, is your brand new mixer falling apart piece by piece into the mixture, resulting in a ruined mixture, ruined mixer and a ruined dinner. A mixer is a kitchen device which will (definitely) get heavy usage, thus, the durability of parts is vital. The mixing blades shouldn’t bend, break or come apart easily. After all, the mixer isn’t a little puppy that should be given extreme care.
Cleaning and Assembly
Last (but definitely not the very least!), the mixer must be easy to clean and re-assembled after cleaning. Having a mixer that doesn’t come apart (in a good way) easily or re-assemble easily can result in a huge hassle just to get the mixer cleaned after each use.
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by Melinda on April 6, 2010
I have use a lot of mixers, some of them are good and some of them are not that durable.
Anyway, if you cook a lot, you must have at least one mixer at home. I have used my mixer for mixing, beating, folding and whipping food ingredients.
In the market now, there are two kinds of popular mixer: hand mixer and stand mixer.
Best Mixer
I use stand mixers more compared to hand mixers, so I’m going to start sharing more about my experience in picking the best mixer from stand mixers first.
How Does a Stand Mixer Look Like?
Well, here is a photo of the stand mixer:
How About Hand Mixer?
All mixers are really easy to operate, but how about easy clean up? This is something we going to look into when we pick the best mixer.
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