When making several of our recipes, or baking in general, you may see the recipe advises the use of an electric mixer. But what’s the big deal with skipping out on the electric mixer and just using a hand mixer or whisking by hand, right?...Wrong! There are actually several pros and cons to using a stand up mixer, a hand mixer, and whisking/folding by hand. After doing a bit of research on crafy.com and consulting our in-house test chefs, Karen and Sandy, we got down to the bottom of which device is best for each baking situation.
So the first option is a stand-up mixer. Karen suggests using this for nearly any recipe because it’s so much more powerful and quicker. Key benefits include: it’s not as messy due to no splashing and you have the ability to multi-task and work on something else while your ingredients are mixing. The downfall to using this type of mixer is that they are a bit bulkier so they tend to take up more space and they can be a bit harder to clean.
Your next option is an electric hand mixer; which is like the younger sibling to the stand up, and can handle most of the same recipes. These are better when it comes to cleaning up afterwards, and although they aren’t as powerful as a stand-up mixer they are still quicker than mixing by hand. Some downfalls: these aren’t really good for recipes that contain thicker ingredients, they also require a bit more arm strength, and you can’t walk away as you’re the one doing the mixing.
Your last option is mixing by hand. Shockingly there are recipes that actually benefit from hand mixing. This technique is best for any recipes that require you to fold in any ingredient or requires “light whisking”. According to our very own Sandy, she says nearly all of our savory dips are best when done by hand because you can taste all the ingredients a bit more.
So next time you’re following a dip mix recipe, and we suggest a mixing technique, remember that there is a true method to our madness. Visit us on Pinterest for more recipes, and feel free to try all these techniques to figure out which one works best for you.
-Happy Mixing!