Do You Really Need a Stand Mixer?
I love my KitchenAid madly, but I’d be lying if I said it’s because I can’t live without it. This is a family heirloom passed down to me from my great-grandmother to my mother; judging by the model number, she turns 50 this year. I’ve moved it across the continent twice — from upstate New York to Oregon and back to Pennsylvania — and at least half a dozen times within the city of Portland. But I use it a maximum of three times a year, usually when I wake up one day with a sudden fixation on the puff pastry.
This is the cold and harsh truth about stand mixers: They do one thing better than anything else – butter-based biscuits, especially those frozen with Italian or Swiss meringue butter cream. Literally everything else can be done with another device. Butter-based cakes, my favorite kind, can be whisked together in one bowl. Using a table mixer, kneading the enriched bread dough is not difficult , but no less than during long-term storage in the refrigerator. Regular yeast dough for bread or sourdough does not need to be kneaded at all . The cookie dough gathers in the food processor much faster , as does the American-style buttercream frosting; hand blenders make awesome whipped cream ; The best pie dough machine is your own fingers.
If you’re having trouble getting oily, fluffy tortillas and meringues , you probably won’t need a stand mixer – and even if you think so, try a hand mixer first . They are not that strong, but they are cheaper, easier to shop, and more than capable of getting a job. When – or if – you burn out your first motor, it might be time to splurge on your dream KitchenAid.