Stand mixers are a valuable secret weapon for quickly whipping up a simple cake batter, effortlessly beating egg whites for a show-stopping pav, or easily kneading dough for a homemade loaf or tart.
But they can be so much more than just handy baking assistants. With a little know-how and some extra attachments, your stand mixer can take care of a range of kitchen jobs – which means you could effectively replace several appliances with just one.
“The new generation of high-end stand mixers are designed to be multipurpose appliances, spruiking extra attachments that can help you achieve professional results with everything from shaving ice and making juices to churning homemade ice cream and making your own pasta,” says CHOICE kitchen expert Fiona Mair.
But before you’re completely sold, keep in mind that these extra attachments can cost up to $300 each.
Some attachments can be very bulky, so you’ll also need somewhere to store them
CHOICE home economist Fiona Mair
“And some of the attachments can be very bulky, so don’t forget you’ll also need somewhere to store them, even if your stand mixer is out on the bench permanently,” says Fiona.
If you think that a stand mixer and accessories could be worth the price and kitchen space, we’ve put together a list of some ways you can use your stand mixer that you might not have considered.
Which stand mixer features or accessories do you really need?
“When choosing a stand mixer, think about what you’re realistically going to use it for and how often you’re going to use it,” says Fiona.
“While you might be tempted by fancy accessories, I’d recommend looking for one that already has the essentials: a balloon whisk, a dough hook and a scraper beater.”
Look for a stand mixer that comes with a balloon whisk, a dough hook and a scraper beater
Fiona Mair, CHOICE kitchen expert
A scraper beater has a rubber blade covering the beater attachment that scrapes the bowl during mixing. This helps avoid having to stop the machine during operation, lifting the motor and scraping the mixture that’s been pushed to the sides of the bowl.
“The beater is handy for a number of tasks, such as mashing cooked vegetables, combining mince with other ingredients for meatloaf and meatballs, and making smooth guacamole,” Fiona says.
“It’s especially helpful if you’re making larger quantities, and if you don’t have a blender or food processor.”
“Also look for a mixer with a bowl capacity that suits the quantity of batters and doughs you’ll be mixing up. Bowl sizes on different models can vary from 3.5 litres up to 7 litres,” says Fiona.
“If you’re spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars on a stand mixer, it’s also great if you have the space on your bench top to keep it on display to maximise its use.”
When we test stand mixers, we give them scores based on how well they whisk, beat and knead. Read the CHOICE stand mixer reviews to help you choose the right one for you.
If you fancy skipping store-bought and have the time and energy to make your own pasta, a stand mixer attachment can help you achieve your pasta-making dreams.
There are various pasta-making attachments available for stand mixers. Image credit: Kenwood.
Many high-end stand mixer brands such as KitchenAid, Kenwood and Smeg have various attachments or accessories available that can help you cut and roll pasta.
After using the mixer bowl to knead the dough, attach the pasta-making accessory to cut silky lengths of spaghetti or fettuccine, or to make your own ravioli.
These attachments don’t come cheap, though.
The KitchenAid Three-In-One Pasta Roller and Cutter attachment retails for $299, the Pasta Roller is $159, and the Gourmet Pasta Press is a whopping $399.
Kenwood pasta attachments are each designed for a specific type of pasta, so if you want to make fettucine, spaghetti, and ravioli, for example, you’ll need to buy a separate attachment for each one. They come in at $199 each, which is a pretty hefty investment if you want to make a few different types of pasta.
If you want to buy pasta attachments for the Ankarsrum mixer, you’ll also need to buy one for each type of pasta. They’re $179 each.
Smeg accessories range from $149 for a spaghetti cutter through to $299 for a pasta roller and cutter set, and Breville’s the Pasta Chef attachment costs $269.
If you don’t already own a food processor or you’re wanting to consolidate your appliances, you could consider a variety of different “slice and dice” attachments for your stand mixer.
The KitchenAid Stand Mixer has a Food Processor attachment that costs $399 and promises to slice, dice, shred and julienne. Other stand mixers have various attachments available to help you prepare, chop or even spiralise vegetables.
“If you’re looking to reduce the need for multiple appliances, these attachments can be handy,” says Fiona. “But they are bulky – they’re basically using the stand mixer’s motor to operate, and are connected to outlets positioned on the motor head.”
A mincer or grinder attachment can help you create a wide range of foods from scratch, such as burgers or sausages. Image credit: KitchenAid.
Grinding and mincing meat
For keen cooks who love to make everything from scratch, many of the high-end (and a couple of the cheaper) stand mixers have grinding attachments available, which means you can mince your own meat or seafood to make things such as sausages or burgers.
They often come with different grades so you can mince meat at different textures based on your preference.
But again, they’re not cheap.
The Smeg Multifood grinder attachment is $199 while the KitchenAid metal meat grinder will set you back $229. Kenwood’s food mincer attachment is $149, and the Breville the Grinder Chef is $189.95.
Some of the high-end stand mixers have an ice cream bowl attachment available. Image credit: Smeg.
Making ice cream or sorbet
A number of stand mixers have ice cream maker accessories for making things such as ice cream, sorbet and frozen yoghurt.
“It’s essentially an insulated bowl that you replace your standard mixer bowl with, and you can churn your ice cream right into it using the beater attachment,” says Fiona.
Remember that you need to have enough freezer space available to fit the bowl in your freezer, and you’ll need to freeze the bowl for a minimum of 15 hours before mixing up your ice cream.
While whipping up butter from scratch might seem like too much work, a balloon whisk can make the job far simpler than you’d imagine.
And your efforts will be rewarded not just with fresh butter, but also with buttermilk – perfect for cakes, scones, pancakes and even marinating chicken.
Fiona’s homemade butter recipe:
Ingredients
600mL pure cream
¼ tsp salt (optional)
2–3 litres chilled water
Method
Insert the whisk attachment on your mixer.
Pour cream into the bowl.
On medium speed, whip the cream until clumps form and the buttermilk liquid starts to separate. (Approximately 15 minutes.) The liquid will start to splash; reduce splashing by placing a clean cloth around the bowl or use a mixer splash guard.
Strain the butter and reserve the buttermilk for scones, pancakes, cakes or marinating chicken.
Once strained, place the butter into a bowl and pour over half of the chilled water. Squeeze the butter, rinse away any excess buttermilk, and repeat this until the liquid is clear.
Add the salt to the butter and knead to distribute. (Or salt can be added to the water with the last rinse to give a subtle salty taste.)
Place the butter on a sheet of baking paper and use a spatula to form it into a circle and gently flatten to 4cm thick. Wrap the butter in baking paper and then foil, and store in an airtight container.
In case mixing, whipping, grinding, slicing and turning out fresh pasta wasn’t enough, some stand mixers now come with a heating element that expands their food prep repertoire even further.
There’s also a $2499 Kenwood model that can heat up to 200°C, allowing you to also make soup, steam vegetables and stir fry. We haven’t tested this model yet so we can’t comment on how effective these functions are.
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Pru Engel is the Audience and Engagement editor at CHOICE. Her job is to ensure as many Australians as possible know about the great work we do at CHOICE.
She works closely with our testers and experts to find the gems of information in our data and research that will resonate with Australian consumers and help them make the best decisions, whether they're purchasing an air fryer, looking for a new mattress or trying to find the cheapest car insurance. She also helps to drive meaningful change for consumers by collaborating with our Campaigns team on content covering issues such as grocery pricing, product safety and scams.
Prior to CHOICE, Pru worked as an editor at many of Australia's leading food and lifestyle titles.
Pru has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Journalism) from the University of Technology, Sydney.
LinkedIn
Pru Engel is the Audience and Engagement editor at CHOICE. Her job is to ensure as many Australians as possible know about the great work we do at CHOICE.
She works closely with our testers and experts to find the gems of information in our data and research that will resonate with Australian consumers and help them make the best decisions, whether they're purchasing an air fryer, looking for a new mattress or trying to find the cheapest car insurance. She also helps to drive meaningful change for consumers by collaborating with our Campaigns team on content covering issues such as grocery pricing, product safety and scams.
Prior to CHOICE, Pru worked as an editor at many of Australia's leading food and lifestyle titles.
Pru has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Journalism) from the University of Technology, Sydney.
LinkedIn
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