A Guide to Purchasing a Hand Mixer
Like so many appliances in our kitchens nowadays, a mixer can spare you a lot of time and effort. They can blend, mix, and whip at such speeds and quantities of food, that it would be quite a challenge to get the same results with just a mixing spoon or whisk! They’re also excellent for aerating, like when you want to prepare whipped cream, mouse, cake icing, or beaten egg whites.
A hand mixer is convenient when you want to conserve countertop space, or if you don’t have a place to store away a stand mixer. Also, a hand mixer gives you more mobility, allowing you to mix in any bowl or pot if necessary (unlike a stand mixer, which comes with a mixing bowl). And there are also cordless hand mixers and wand mixers, for even greater freedom in the kitchen.
We’ll go over some of the features of the best hand mixers, and what to look for to help you decide which one is right for you!
FAQ
What is the difference between a hand mixer and a wand mixer?
A hand mixer is a handheld tool that has two beaters that attach to the main body. A wand mixer is a handheld tool that has a single mixer attached to the main body.
What types of attachments are there on a hand mixer?
There are typically two different attachments on a hand mixer: the beaters and the dough hooks. The beaters are used for mixing ingredients together, while the dough hooks are used for kneading dough.
Should I get a hand mixer or a stand mixer?
You can employ either a stand mixer or a hand mixer in many mixing jobs. Stand mixers are usually for professional cooking projects, where you’re required to prepare large amounts of food or a large batch of dough. They can have as many as 10 different attachments, making them much more versatile than a hand mixer. And there are certain tasks, like kneading dough for bread, where a stand mixer is superior to a hand mixer. You’d have to hold the hand mixer for around 10 minutes to make sure that the dough is properly mixed! A stand mixer also frees up your hands and lets you do other things while it does the mixing for you.
But, in some ways, a hand mixer has its advantages. Stand mixers are much more expensive than hand mixers, easily costing as much as $220 and up! Also, hand mixers take up less space both on the countertop and in your cupboard. And you can use them for smaller mixing jobs, where a stand mixer will not be effective.
Types of Hand Mixers
Looking over the Best Reviews Guide of the best hand mixers, we see the following options:
-
Traditional Hand Mixers: Traditional hand mixers have two intertwining rotating blades. They can come with a number of attachments for beating egg whites or preparing dough as well. They are available in both corded and cordless varieties. An example is the Mueller Electric Hand Mixer.
Mueller Electric Hand Mixer
-
Wand Mixers: Although they can also be used to mix dry and wet ingredients, wand mixers are more for blending, chopping, and pureeing. A big advantage is their smaller, more compact size, both while working and when storing them away after use. But there is some overlap in the functions of a hand mixer and a wand mixer. For example, the Mueller Ultra-Stick 9-Speed Immersion Hand Blender has attachments for whisking and frothing milk as well, just like a hand mixer.
Mueller Ultra-Stick 9-Speed Immersion Hand Blender
What reviewers say
Here are some of the impressions of customers regarding their choice of hand mixers:
-
Weight: One advantage of the stand mixer is that you put the ingredients in the bowl, flick a switch, adjust the speed, and you are free to do other things. On the other hand, a hand mixer requires you to hold the mixer in the bowl the whole time. That being so, it’s important that a hand mixer be lightweight so that you don’t get tired of holding it in place. The Braun MultiMix Hand Mixer was one of the lighter products we reviewed, weighing only 2.2 lbs.
-
Slow start feature and speeds: People like the slow start feature on some hand mixers. This avoids ingredients splashing out when you turn the mixer on. Also, a mixer with a greater number of speeds will offer you more versatility when mixing.
-
Display: Some people prefer a digital display of the mixer’s speed, as in the Cuisinart HM-90S Power Advantage Plus Handheld Mixer. Also, it’s clearer to the user when using the push-button control than if you have to dial the speed.
Cuisinart Power Advantage Plus Handheld Mixer, showing the display
Important Features
Here are some tips and features of hand mixers that may help you make a decision:
-
Types of attachments: Your mixer will come with a variety of attachments. For example, the KitchenAid 9-Speed Hand Mixer has 4 attachments, which are (from right to left in the picture) a standard beater, a balloon whisk, a blending attachment, and spiral dough hooks:
KitchenAid 9-Speed Hand Mixer
-
-
Standard beaters: These are for general mixing jobs when you need to mix wet and dry ingredients, such as mixing flour and eggs to make cake batter. In the Dualit 4-Speed Professional Hand Mixer, the standard beaters are with flat blades.
-
Dualit 4-Speed Professional Hand Mixer Standard Blades
But the Black & Decker Helix Performance Premium Hand Mixer uses helix beaters so that the beaters overlap to mix the ingredients more efficiently.
Black & Decker Helix Performance Premium Hand Mixer
-
-
Balloon whisk: This is ideal for whipping up egg whites into a froth because the delicate wires of the whisk introduce air into the egg whites. It’s also the go-to tool for preparing icing or whipped cream.
-
Typical Balloon Whisk
-
-
Spiral dough hooks: These are designed for kneading dough, whether it’s for bread, pizza, or pastry. It works by pulling up the dough from the bottom of the bowl, much like a person ascending a spiral staircase.
-
Spiral Dough Hooks
-
-
Blending attachment: There is also a single blending attachment for preparing smoothies or shakes.
-
KitchenAid 9-Speed Hand Mixer’s blending attachment
-
Storage compartment: Some mixers have a convenient storage compartment where you can pack away the various attachments. For instance, in the Cuisinart Power Advantage 9-Speed Hand Mixer, the mixer clicks onto the storage compartment, so that you can take it and the attachments with you wherever you go.
Cuisinart Power Advantage 9-Speed Hand Mixer
-
Cordless models: There are cordless models that use rechargeable batteries, such as the KitchenAid Cordless 7-Speed Hand Mixer. It charges up sufficiently in 10 minutes for you to be able to prepare a cake! It will allow you to move around the kitchen, instead of being chained down to an electrical outlet.
KitchenAid Cordless 7-Speed Hand Mixer
-
Swivel cord: If you choose a corded model, it’s better to get a mixer with a swivel cord. It’s especially important for left-handed people, who prefer to move the cord out of the way of their stronger hand when working.
Final Verdict
We examined some of the best hand mixers available on the market. We took note of the various attachments, storage features, particulars about changing speeds, and corded vs. cordless models. It should be enough info for perfect results, no matter what you’re preparing!
