The A - Z Of Mixer
Stand Mixers (High-End)
Thus,
when KitchenAid debuted the first stand mixer designed for home cooks in 1919, it caused a big stir. For
a switch.
As their relative cost has dropped considerably over the years, the appeal of stand mixers has only
even more ease and efficiency.
to timers with automatic shutoff and easy-to-use splash guards.
Given the dizzying range of features and still considerable cost of stand mixers, we shop carefully--
and
test exhaustively--before we commit. Our last round of evaluations singled out two winners, both
originally priced at around $400 (their prices have since changed). What made them stand out was their
Ability to perform a range of core tasks--to muscle through stiff bread dough as confidently as they beat
egg whites. But how do they stack up against newer machines that boast more power and (supposedly)
more convenience? And, more important, does the home baker need all that added bling? We ordered
Nine models, priced from nearly $230 to a jaw-dropping $849, to find out.
Attachment Disorders
All but one of the stand mixers came with three standard attachments: a whisk for whipping cream and
egg whites, a paddle for creaming and incorporating cake and cookie ingredients, and a dough hook for
kneading bread and pizza dough. However, every manufacturer designed its parts a little differently.
Whisks were bulbous or narrow and tapered, and they had as few as 10 tines and as many as 24; the
"fingers" within some paddle frames were Y-shaped while others were Z-shaped or even splayed in
Concentric arcs like a menorah; dough hooks were generally molded in the form of a C--think Captain
Hook's weapon--or as loose spirals. We assumed that one particular design within each category would
Prove to be the best, and in some cases it did. However, as we put each model through a battery of tests, we
Noticed that the relationship between the attachment and the bowl usually mattered more than the
design of the attachment itself.
Consider whipping a pair of egg whites. This test, which involves only a small quantity of liquid, made it
Obvious which bowls and attachments had been carefully designed together for maximum contact
between the whisk and the food and which hadn't. The best combination came from one manufacturer:
Its 7-quart model features a wide, shallow bowl that raised the whites relatively close to the attachment
and a 22-tine whisk, the outer layer of which featured elbow-bent tines that almost grazed the walls
When the whisk circled the bowl.
Conversely, whipping was a struggle for other machines because their bowls and whisks didn't align
closely enough for the whisk to engage all the whites. As a result, these machines took longer to whip
small quantities and in some cases left an untouched pool of liquid beneath the cloud of silky peaks.
The same principle of bowl-to-attachment proximity applied when we used the paddles to cream
together butter and sugar. In most cases, the lateral reach of these flat beaters wasn't enough to grab
food that had clung to the sides of the bowl, forcing us to regularly scrape down the unincorporated
portions of the batter and remix. Only one mixer came with a beater that specifically addressed this
Problem: an extra "scraper" paddle with silicone extensions that continually swiped the sides of the
bowl. As a result, it reduced the need to scrape, shaving minutes off mixing times. (One maker sells
scraper blades separately; we tested included attachments only.) What's more, this maker's paddle, as
Well as those included with all three mixers by another manufacturer, featured a distinct design
advantage: the aforementioned Y-shaped webbing inside its frame. Because the angles between the
"fingers" are relatively wide, cookie dough didn't become clogged in the crevices as it did with the
sharper-angled Z-style paddles that came with another maker's models, particularly the smaller one.
Thus,
when KitchenAid debuted the first stand mixer designed for home cooks in 1919, it caused a big stir. For
a switch.
As their relative cost has dropped considerably over the years, the appeal of stand mixers has only
even more ease and efficiency.
to timers with automatic shutoff and easy-to-use splash guards.
Given the dizzying range of features and still considerable cost of stand mixers, we shop carefully--
and
test exhaustively--before we commit. Our last round of evaluations singled out two winners, both
originally priced at around $400 (their prices have since changed). What made them stand out was their
Ability to perform a range of core tasks--to muscle through stiff bread dough as confidently as they beat
egg whites. But how do they stack up against newer machines that boast more power and (supposedly)
more convenience? And, more important, does the home baker need all that added bling? We ordered
Nine models, priced from nearly $230 to a jaw-dropping $849, to find out.
Attachment Disorders
All but one of the stand mixers came with three standard attachments: a whisk for whipping cream and
egg whites, a paddle for creaming and incorporating cake and cookie ingredients, and a dough hook for
kneading bread and pizza dough. However, every manufacturer designed its parts a little differently.
Whisks were bulbous or narrow and tapered, and they had as few as 10 tines and as many as 24; the
"fingers" within some paddle frames were Y-shaped while others were Z-shaped or even splayed in
Concentric arcs like a menorah; dough hooks were generally molded in the form of a C--think Captain
Hook's weapon--or as loose spirals. We assumed that one particular design within each category would
Prove to be the best, and in some cases it did. However, as we put each model through a battery of tests, we
Noticed that the relationship between the attachment and the bowl usually mattered more than the
design of the attachment itself.
Consider whipping a pair of egg whites. This test, which involves only a small quantity of liquid, made it
Obvious which bowls and attachments had been carefully designed together for maximum contact
between the whisk and the food and which hadn't. The best combination came from one manufacturer:
Its 7-quart model features a wide, shallow bowl that raised the whites relatively close to the attachment
and a 22-tine whisk, the outer layer of which featured elbow-bent tines that almost grazed the walls
When the whisk circled the bowl.
Conversely, whipping was a struggle for other machines because their bowls and whisks didn't align
closely enough for the whisk to engage all the whites. As a result, these machines took longer to whip
small quantities and in some cases left an untouched pool of liquid beneath the cloud of silky peaks.
The same principle of bowl-to-attachment proximity applied when we used the paddles to cream
together butter and sugar. In most cases, the lateral reach of these flat beaters wasn't enough to grab
food that had clung to the sides of the bowl, forcing us to regularly scrape down the unincorporated
portions of the batter and remix. Only one mixer came with a beater that specifically addressed this
Problem: an extra "scraper" paddle with silicone extensions that continually swiped the sides of the
bowl. As a result, it reduced the need to scrape, shaving minutes off mixing times. (One maker sells
scraper blades separately; we tested included attachments only.) What's more, this maker's paddle, as
Well as those included with all three mixers by another manufacturer, featured a distinct design
advantage: the aforementioned Y-shaped webbing inside its frame. Because the angles between the
"fingers" are relatively wide, cookie dough didn't become clogged in the crevices as it did with the
sharper-angled Z-style paddles that came with another maker's models, particularly the smaller one.
Comments
Post a Comment