The Pros and Cons Of A Stand Mixer?

The Pros and Cons Of A Stand Mixer?

There are many kitchen tools and gadgets that tempt the home chef. None of them is quite as tempting as the stand mixer. Yet is a stand mixer all it’s promised to be? Is it really worth the expense, and lost counter space, to add another kitchen appliance to your home? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of buying a stand mixer.

Pro – Bread Baking Made Easy
If you do a lot of baking then a stand mixer takes much of the hard labor out of the process. This is particularly true when you’re making bread. A stand mixer can literally knead the dough for you and turn out perfect loaves.

Con – No More Counter Therapy

Many people enjoy the process of kneading the dough – it helps them get their stress out. It requires focus, finesse, and some good old aggression. If you buy a stand mixer to knead the dough for you, well, you may need to sign up for kickboxing class to make up for the lost interaction.

Pro – They Do Much More than Knead Bread

Stand mixers actually perform a number of tasks. Many of them come with attachments so you can not only whip eggs to perfectly formed peaks, you can also grind meat, and make pasta. They can turn your humble kitchen into a four star restaurant without requiring additional work from you.

Con – They’re Expensive
Stand mixers alone can cost several hundred dollars. Now start adding on some of those awesome attachments like a meat grinder or a pasta maker and you’re looking at thousands of dollars spent.

Pro – You Look, and Maybe Feel, Like a Professional Chef

With a stand mixer you can multitask in the kitchen. You can have your mixer kneading bread while you’re making a top notch Carbonara sauce. It’s a great way to pull together a multi-course meal with less effort.

Con – They’re Not Dishwasher Friendly

In general, you have to clean every piece of your stand mixer by hand. And with all those moving parts it can be a challenge to get into the nooks and crannies. So while you may save time cooking, you may lose much of what you saved during clean up. Of course if you have someone else clean up the kitchen it’s all good.

Finally, they’re huge and they take up a godly amount of counter space. However, like a toaster oven, when an appliance can be used for more than one purpose it deserves a special place on the counter.

Before you buy, spend some time evaluating how often you would realistically use your stand mixer. If you’d only use it one every few months to make cupcakes, a hand mixer is a less expensive and less bulky option. However, if you know that you’d use your stand mixer a few times each month then it may very well become your favorite kitchen appliance.

Something to think about!

~ Leanne♥