Parker mixing bowls

The Difference Between Hand held and Stand Mixers

Do you absolutely love being in the kitchen and cooking food from scratch? If so, then you might want to invest in either a hand held or stand mixers to add to your appliances. The decision in which you would like to purchase can be tedious if you do not know what to look for. You do however need to know the difference between a the two since they are not the same at all. Learning the difference only takes a few short minutes.

I do want to point out that mixers and blenders are two different types of appliances and should not be confused. Blenders are used to cut up, blend, and liquefy food and drink items with the help of a sturdy, sharp blade. Mixers on the other hand do not use a blade at all instead use a variety of mixing tools depending on which you decide to purchase.

Hand held mixers are used more in kitchens that are small and have little counter space. They are also much cheaper than the stand mixers, which makes that a definite plus for those who are on a budget. Uses usually have to do with beating cake mixes, eggs or even mixing mash potatoes. Although they can perform many tasks, stand mixers perform much more.

Hand held mixers are also available at most available retail store in the appliance section. They come in many different colors and can either be battery operated or electric. They also usually have three set speeds, low, medium and high with no confusion for use in the kitchen. They also either come with one or two mixing tools that are always detachable and easy to clean.

Hand held mixers are usually used for specific kitchen use since they do only have three speeds, low, medium and high. Most uses for hand held mixers are for blending cake, whipping eggs, blending thin batters, and even making pudding. Hand held mixers are very easy to clean up after as well. Just take off the mixing tools, rinse and put the other part away. Another advantage to using a hand held is the size in which the mixing bowl has to be, it's your choice, no need to worry about that.

Now if you have a huge kitchen with lots of counter space, this is definitely the choice you should make. However they are a lot more expensive, sometimes running into the hundreds of dollars, but the sturdiness and different options you have are well worth the buy. Another plus with the stand mixer is that it comes with either one or two mixing bowls, and two different mixing tools.

Speeds vary when you buy a stand mixer. You can have speeds that range from 1 to 15 depending on what brand you do decide to you buy. Kitchen Aid usually has 15 speeds to choose from. A few years back these specific mixers only came with either push button or dial controls. Now today the newer ones have digital screens to make life a little bit easier. You can also set the timer just in case you need to leave the kitchen.
If you are going to go with a name brand, the usual accessories that come with name brand are a standard size 5 quart mixing bowl, a standard mixer, and a dough hook. If you need other accessories for your stand mixer, many are available either separately or you can buy a bundle of them, which is usually less expensive. Luckily you will not be forced to buy a bland looking stand mixer since it does come in a wide variety of vibrant colors as well as stainless steel for those who love the contemporary look.

Purchasing your new toy cannot be done at any store. Large department stores in the mall, house ware stores and online stores are some of the places you can find them. Buy a brand that you know is dependable such as Kitchen Aaid, their appliances have been around for many years, you can be sure you will get the best of the best tool.

See our many styles, name brands and colors of quality mixers all at reasonable prices. And for all your cooking needs from knives and cutlery to dinnerware go to Kitchenwareinc.com