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FTR: Anyone who thinks it's not possible to bake/cook without a stand mixer has led an indulged life. My grandmother never had a stand mixer and her baking was amazing. (Being British, she cooked everything to gray, but you got through it so you could get to dessert)
I never even had a hand mixer for a long time and I baked something just about every day. Bread, rolls, muffins, sweet rolls, cookies, cakes, pies. When I finally got a hand mixer, it was like I only did half the work. But I still kneaded the yeast dough by hand.
At Christmas, I have always baked 12 or 14 batches of cookies in addition to the other "special" holiday foods. All without a stand mixer. Bought one. Gave it away.
My opinions of stand mixers are definitely my own. Too expensive; too much counter space; storage hogs; PITA to drag out and put away. Anyone inclined to have a stand mixer is certainly entitled. I do, however, protest the idea that one cannot function without one.
I'm older now and I don't have to prove my baking skills - and I still don't want a stand mixer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ss20ts
Absolutely LOVE my KitchenAid stand mixer! I wouldn't bake without it! I make lots of cookies during winter and I'm not about to have my wrist fall off from mixing. It's also great for making bread dough. Whips up some amazing mashed potatoes, too! I have a KitchenAid hand mixer for things like cake mix and brownie mix. I rarely hand mix things like this. My wrists can't take it.
Stand mixers are a blessing, not an indulgence, for anyone with arthritis or tendonitis in their wrists, hands, and elbows. You have to have dedicated counter space for it though, because if it's kept in a cupboard, you'll never get it out to use it. I'm older too and while I don't need to prove my cooking skills to anyone, I wouldn't be able to do my holiday baking now without a stand mixer.
FTR: Anyone who thinks it's not possible to bake/cook without a stand mixer has led an indulged life. My grandmother never had a stand mixer and her baking was amazing. (Being British, she cooked everything to gray, but you got through it so you could get to dessert)
I never even had a hand mixer for a long time and I baked something just about every day. Bread, rolls, muffins, sweet rolls, cookies, cakes, pies. When I finally got a hand mixer, it was like I only did half the work. But I still kneaded the yeast dough by hand.
At Christmas, I have always baked 12 or 14 batches of cookies in addition to the other "special" holiday foods. All without a stand mixer. Bought one. Gave it away.
My opinions of stand mixers are definitely my own. Too expensive; too much counter space; storage hogs; PITA to drag out and put away. Anyone inclined to have a stand mixer is certainly entitled. I do, however, protest the idea that one cannot function without one.
I'm older now and I don't have to prove my baking skills - and I still don't want a stand mixer.
No one said it was impossible. For some people it actually is physically impossible to hand mix dough and batters. Some people have arthritis or Carpel Tunnel or other issues. Personally, my wrists physically can't take the 20 minutes it takes to mix a batch of butter cookies. Room temperature butter is a tough thing to cream with eggs and sugar. Especially when there's 2 pounds of it!
Entitled? Hardly! I bought mine KitchenAid Stand Mixer on clearance when a home store was closing. I've had it for over 15 years. Entitled would be if I had my own personal baker and KitchenAid dipped in platinum and covered in diamonds and a staff member whose sole job was to hand polish the mixer daily.
Sorry to hijack my own thread but I don't think this warrants a new thread: I just bought what's called a "Danish dough whisk", with wood handle and swirled metal head. The one I got is flat, but some pictures of this tool appear to suggest it's spacial rather than in a plane. What is it supposed to be like? (see pix below)
(and feel free to share your opinion of using this tool )
Sorry to hijack my own thread but I don't think this warrants a new thread: I just bought what's called a "Danish dough whisk", with wood handle and swirled metal head. The one I got is flat, but some pictures of this tool appear to suggest it's spacial rather than in a plane. What is it supposed to be like? (see pix below)
(and feel free to share your opinion of using this tool )
I have one of those dough whisks - the flat one. It's perfect for stirring muffin mixes, pancake batter, popover batter, and other mixes/batters where you don't want to beat it because it'll be tough.
I use my Kitchenaid stand mixer for most mixing. I also use my food processor for some tasks and my immersion blender for other tasks. I use the mixer for baking tasks; my food processor for smaller tasks or for tasks involving chopping; I use the immersion blender to puree hot foods.
I can't think of any time I mix with my hands. Even when I mix a big batch of cornbread dressing I will use a wooden spoon, not my hands.
I certainly knead biscuits with my hands though.
I really like my mixer and I can't think of any reason to not use it. I don't know of any negatives about it.
To those who took exception to my post about it being possible to cook or bake without a stand mixer, I bow to your physical incapability and accept that you may not be able to do without the appliance. I didn't mean to infer that everybody could handle tasks that require manual dexterity that they no longer have.
But for those not afflicted, I do not retract that quality meals can be made without a stand mixer. Until Ben Franklin flew his kite, nobody had a mixer of any kind. Except their own hands and the whisks and paddles and wooden spoons that were in every kitchen.
While I do not oppose the use of stand mixers I found it to be an unnecessary appliance in my own kitchen. And the lack of it in no way prohibited my ability to turn out whatever I needed to make.
I am fortunate that I still have full use of my hands that allows me, along with my handy hand mixer, to continue to bake mountains of Christmas cookies. They are for the most part gifts. I don't make yeast breads and rolls because living alone, I don't see the need to make more than I need to feed myself when I can buy just a couple of rolls at the bakery.
There's no replacement for a stand mixer when it comes to kneading dough. If you are capable and knead by hand that's an exception. There is a "power take off" on Kitchen-Aids for cheese graters and sausage makers etc. There is no question that a stand mixer is a must for some and a luxury for others. Finding room in ones kitchen counter space may always present a problem. Some make do with a handheld mixer which is fine. To each his/her own.
To those who took exception to my post about it being possible to cook or bake without a stand mixer, I bow to your physical incapability and accept that you may not be able to do without the appliance. I didn't mean to infer that everybody could handle tasks that require manual dexterity that they no longer have.
But for those not afflicted, I do not retract that quality meals can be made without a stand mixer. Until Ben Franklin flew his kite, nobody had a mixer of any kind. Except their own hands and the whisks and paddles and wooden spoons that were in every kitchen.
While I do not oppose the use of stand mixers I found it to be an unnecessary appliance in my own kitchen. And the lack of it in no way prohibited my ability to turn out whatever I needed to make.
I am fortunate that I still have full use of my hands that allows me, along with my handy hand mixer, to continue to bake mountains of Christmas cookies. They are for the most part gifts. I don't make yeast breads and rolls because living alone, I don't see the need to make more than I need to feed myself when I can buy just a couple of rolls at the bakery.
So you don't feel that there is a need for a KitchenAid. Good for you! Many people don't feel that way. Oh and by the way, many foods made today didn't exist when Ben Franklin was playing with his kite.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SATX56
There's no replacement for a stand mixer when it comes to kneading dough. If you are capable and knead by hand that's an exception. There is a "power take off" on Kitchen-Aids for cheese graters and sausage makers etc. There is no question that a stand mixer is a must for some and a luxury for others. Finding room in ones kitchen counter space may always present a problem. Some make do with a handheld mixer which is fine. To each his/her own.
Oh the attachments! How could I forget them!? I have several - sausage maker, meat grinder, slicers like a mandolin, pasta maker, ice cream maker, and there's others. I've used them all numerous times. There are certain things I wouldn't make without the KitchenAid.
So you don't feel that there is a need for a KitchenAid. Good for you! Many people don't feel that way. Oh and by the way, many foods made today didn't exist when Ben Franklin was playing with his kite.
Oh the attachments! How could I forget them!? I have several - sausage maker, meat grinder, slicers like a mandolin, pasta maker, ice cream maker, and there's others. I've used them all numerous times. There are certain things I wouldn't make without the KitchenAid.
Aha! I think I get it now. There is only room for one opinion here, despite the fact that the title asks for "cons" and despite the fact that I said "in my kitchen."
I never said "no one on planet Earth should be permitted to own a stand mixer". I was here because I found that my life and my cooking were just fine before I ever owned a stand mixer and after I gave away the one I did have.
Of course many people don't feel that way. That's what makes for discussion.
for me, I dont' use it often, but for creaming butter and sugar together, the stand mixer does a much better job of it than I ever did by hand. And I love the meat grinder attachment for it; there's such an improvement in taste from fresh ground chuck burger over pre-packed supermarket ground beef.
After that, I'm all over the immersion blender, what a great invention!
love the immersion blender as well, but it can not take the place of a mixer, hand or stand one. I know there will always be people who prefer their stand mixer for some things, but I just think they take up too much room for the few times one needs to use them. It is sorta like my 16 cup blender. I love it when it is canning time or Christmas cookie baking time, but I have to admit, for the two or three time a year I use it, I would probably be better off just giving it away. It takes up just about as much room as a stand mixer does.
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