Cons of stand mixers or hand mixers ? (health, pancake, peanut butter)

[Leisesturm]

Originally Posted by snowmountains

For mixing, do you prefer using your hands, or a hand mixer, or a stand mixer? Are there any issues with hand mixer or stand mixer that make you to prefer just using your hands?

Literally your hands? There are many things that are impossible to mix properly by hand. Meatloaf can be mixed by hand, a cake or pie... no. But a hand mixer can do most things nearly as well as a stand mixer. I have both. The hand mixer is pretty much limited to smoothies and such. Pies and cakes go into the stand mixer which makes it easy to add things with one hand while turning the bowl with the other. My stand mixer is CHEAP. I'd love a Kitchen-Aid but my Oster keeps going. It has a nice glass bowl that I swear weighs more than the actual mixer part does. But it does the job. Bread goes in the bread machine!!

[Lbjen]

I have both. I use the stand mixer to make most things but sometimes the hand mixer is more convenient or practical for what I'm making. I would not want to make Swiss meringue buttercream in a hand mixer because I'd have to hold the thing for a good 20 minutes, but a cake I made recently required several ingredients to be separately whipped and then combined, which would have been a lot more work if I'd had to empty the bowl each time.

[snowmountains]

Thanks for sharing. I never owned one, and I hate to have stuffs taking up the space but either get little used or gives more troubles than use, e.g. cleaning afterwards. I see some hand mixers with good reviews cost only $15, but they all have negative reviews mentioning this or that problem. I think literally hand mixing/kneading is good exercise . If I ever wants to buy a hand mixer, what should I be looking for in the features and qualities?

[steiconi]

I've broken several hand mixers making cookie dough; I won't even bother without a stand mixer.

So I currently have THREE stand mixers--a vintage one from the '70s, and two identical modern ones; I bought one, the beater broke, so they sent me a whole new mixer. Go figure.

I only use one (a new one), and keep it in a cabinet under the counter where it's easy to bring in and out as needed. I also have a hand mixer; not sure where it is, since I haven't used it in 5 years or so.

[Threestep2]

SO bought me a KitchenAid about 15 years ago. She is in use every day. Of course I can make bread dough, pasta, sausage, ... by hand but after three batches of bread dough my fun meter is somewhat pegged out. Nothing on the counter here but the coffee maker.

[Electrician4you]

We have one of those fancy mixers. Wife used it once. My wife uses a hand mixer. $300 sitting on a counter collecting dust. I may get $50 for it today

[Gerania]

I use a spoon or a whisk when I can so I don't have to get anything else out. I have a hand mixer and a processor. I've never had a convenient place to keep a stand mixer.

[Debsi]

I have a stand mixer, and I love it the few times a year I want to make a whole bunch of cookies.

It's really, really good at mixing. It's also huge, heavy, and somewhat of a pain to clean. I keep mine in a cabinet, so I have to lift it to the counter when I want it. I would keep it on the counter, but my cabinets are too low for me to slide the monster underneath.

For a smaller job I don't want to do by hand, I have one of those immersion blenders with a mixer attachment. It's not as good at the mixing jobs as the old-fashioned double-beater hand mixers, but since I'm trying not to own any more kitchen appliances, my immersion blender does the trick.

For something simple like mixing pancake batter, I use a bowl and a whisk.

[gentlearts]

There are only the two of us now, so I never use my stand mixer, only my hand mixer. Back in the day, when I had lots of company and some kids at home, I used the stand mixer a lot. I also had a separate cupboard, with a pop up shelf for the stand mixer which it don't have now.
If you want to make easy bread dough, do a lot of scratch baking, shred a bunch of veggies for salad, or even make fresh pasta, then you will enjoy a kitchenaid mixer. For most everyday tasks, a hand mixer is fine.

[marino760]

There's only one of me and I use my stand mixer at least once every week or two for different things. It's especially great for mixing cake and cookie batters. I love the fact that I can walk away from it for a few minutes while it mixes and get other things ready. One of my favorite things to do is find new cake recipes and try them out. It's at least 3 times faster than a hand mixer for most things, especially hard to mix things like cheesecake. Beating egg whites or whipped cream is a breeze and fast.
Cleanup is easy. I just take the bowl and rinse it and then put it in the dishwasher. It's turned out to be one of the best purchases I've made and I've had it for maybe 6-7 years. BTW, I don't have any of the extras for it like the pasta maker.