How to Buy: Mixers

Stand Mixer Basics
Stand Mixer Essentials
Hand Mixer Basics

So, you're getting ready to mix it up. Before you buy, you'll want to determine what mixing tasks you have in mind. A hand mixer will fluff eggs and whip cream just fine, but for a bread dough demanding 8 cups of flour, you're going to want the muscle and the countertop stability of a stand mixer. By the same token, hand mixers are convenient for the occasional small task that demands a bit more than whisking. Serious chefs usually opt for a stand mixer: after all, when you do a lot of mixing or blending, it's nice to be able to use both hands and then walk away while the machine completes the task.

Price and power establish the hierarchy among stand mixers--that, and name. Who hasn't heard of KitchenAid? On the other hand, who hasn't heard of Black & Decker? That's right, the company that makes power tools for the garage workshop has slipped into an apron, too. And then there's Kenwood, from England.

The mixing bowl should be big enough to satisfy your greatest whims. Most models fall somewhere between a 4-1/2- to 7-quart capacity. Do you want the ability to be a one-person bake sale or whip up a couple of loaves of bread for the family? Larger models can accommodate up to 23 cups of all-purpose flour--enough for seven loaves of bread at a time. And the mixer motor should be big enough, too. The low end, with 250 watts, supplies plenty of power for standard home cooking, but bakers with rigorous kneading requirements should look for models with 325 on up to 650--or even 800--watts.

·Bowl access: Some mixers have heads that tilt back for easy access to the bowl. On others, you must lower the bowl and remove the tool from the head for access.
·Splash guard: This device makes it easy to add ingredients to the bowl while the mixer is in operation. Splash guards keep ingredients in the bowl and off the kitchen wall.
·Standard tools: A whisk, a dough hook, and a flat beater--these are the basics.
·Attachments: A stand mixer is really just a big motor. If you plan to do more than beat, whip, mix, and knead, you should determine which attachments (a meat grinder, for example) will work with the mixer you have in mind. Some accessory options include a sausage stuffer, citrus juicer, pasta maker, slicer/shredder, and food strainer.
·Weight: If your mixer isn't going to live out on the counter, consider its weight and height. If you have to suffer to pull it out of its hiding place, you probably won't use it as often.

A good hand mixer will cost you anywhere from about $30 to $90. It may well take care of all the blending tasks you'll ever encounter in your kitchen, and it fits in a drawer. Even if you also have a stand mixer, you'll find a hand mixer convenient for smaller tasks.

Be sure to select a hand mixer that actually stands up with the beaters elevated off the counter, but avoid the temptation to buy dough hooks--they look like long, overgrown corkscrews and do not work well. (Go with a stand mixer if you're a baker.) A hand mixer's single whisk attachment, however, is like a magic wand: you may find it difficult to stop at whipped cream and sail right on to the land of butter. Be careful.

Schuyler Ingle's columns on food and wine have appeared in numerous U.S. publications, as well as on his own Web site. He lives with his wife (and business partner) and their children on an island in Washington.