Tuesday, August 03, 2010

How do I know that I'm a cooking geek? Let me count the ways:

1.) When the motor on my stand mixer noticeably started to go the other day, my first thought was not "damn. I don't want to have to replace this", but rather, "Woohoo! Now I have an excuse to upgrade!" My only problem is the size of my kitchen.

Really, I only need one proof.

4 comments:

Amy said...

So how essential do you find your stand mixer? I keep wavering about getting one, not convinced that it won't end up gathering dust and taking up counter space.

Steve said...

It depends on the person and situation, really. I use mine more than any other small appliance. I find that it just makes a lot of things simpler - turn it on, let it mix, and all but forget about it til everything's done. For batters and such it may not be particularly important, but I find it useful, and it's indispensable for bread dough. The Kitchenaid models are pretty much considered the gold standard (though from what I understand Cuisinart's new ones are every bit as good), and are durable enough to knead heavy doughs. Cleanup isn't any worse than for a hand mixer, and both Kitchenaid and Cuisinart (I think) can be fitted with a variety of attachments extending their utility - my personal favorites being the pasta roller, ice cream maker, and meat grinder (though the latter for the Kitchenaid is a little weak if you're grinding a lot of meat).

Amy said...

Yeah, I have a breadmaker right now that I use for the dough-mixing (I don't bake the bread in it any more because I don't like the shape of the loaf or the hole left by the paddle). When it goes to the Great Appliance Cupboard In The Sky, I think its replacement will be a stand mixer. I have to admit all the attachments and doodads are the real draw, especially the pasta and sausage makers.

Steve said...

I find that the attachments are a bonus that extend the versatility and save space (my sister's ice cream maker, for example, doesn't take up a whole lot more room than my attachment which is just a bowl with a liquid core + a paddle), but when you add it together with the other attachments it starts to add up.

I've played around with my parent's bread maker, and while it's decent, I have the same issues you do, plus the "set it and forget it" mentality actually works against me with it, since half the time it doesn't seem to rise (making bread in the desert that is Calgary can be challenging at times).

If you've got a decent hand mixer, and a bread maker that you're waiting to kick the proverbial bucket, it probably wouldn't hurt to wait a little longer to buy, and I agree that your replacement should definitely be a stand mixer. Still, knowing you, I suspect that if you were able to find a good deal on one (garage sale, clearance sale, etc), you could probably find more frivolous things than that to spend your money on.