Favorite portable hand mixer????

13 years ago

Need to replace a 6 month old Hamilton Beach mixer that I hate! Slow speed is really turbo and guarantees me AND the kitchen are both covered in flour. Beaters (chrome plated) started being chipped & rusted immed. and now the plating is flaking off - yuk. Soooo, what hand-held mixer do you have that has both a good slow-speed and the higher speeds (don't need a lot of them: true low, med. & high would be fine) + only uses stainless wire beaters (no plating)? I see mixed reviews on Amazon for both Kitchen Aid and Cuisinart & I don't really want a $90 hand mixer. Thanks so much. Maybe specific model # might be best.

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Comments (14)

andee_gw
13 years ago
I received a Kitchen Aid for Christmas and I love it! It comes with both a pair of traditional beaters, and a "balloon" 1-beater that whipped egg whites in a jiffy. My only complaint is that the speed settings are digital, so if you stop it, you have to start at low, and then incrementally increase the speed to where you were. (But that's seemingly true of all digital life.)
annie1971
13 years ago
I've had Kitchen Aid hand mixers and like them very much. Back when things were expected to last forever, I had a very inexpensive hand mixer for years and it was a work horse. When it finally went, I bought a cheap GE; it went right away. I bought a Kitchen Aid and it lasted a good few years and would still be running if the connection for the attachments hadn't broken. Bought another Kitchen Aid; I don't see anything else on the market for the quality and money. Nothing's made to last these days. I didn't see the digital feature a problem (it's not a Ferrari, how fast do you need to go in a few seconds); but my new one is not digital; just push it to your desired speed and it's off). I don't know about the plating on the beaters; I put them in the DW with no problem. Get a Kitchen Aid; I think you'll be happy.
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dcward89 - I was expecting a fork :) crl_, blfenton, nightowl - Yes, that's what I'm looking for. Lily Spider - I usually do the same (whisk eggs with a fork). mayflowers - thank you for naming the spring whisk. I have one, and occasionally use it, but did not know what it was called. sjhockeyfan - I think it's a lot about the space/volume with which I have to work. For a smaller bowl of something fairly liquid which I'd like to blend quickly, my first inclination would be the egg beaters. (Perhaps the large KA is in use and I don't feel like assembling - and cleaning! - the hand mixer or immersion blender). Also, I grew up baking with my mom and using the egg beater at times, and it feels right. nightowl - the reviews on the oxo beater are quite good (and I do like oxo products), but I sort of wish it were all metal, and one piece. I checked Williams Sonoma, and they link to the same beater you show. The SS rotary egg beaters have mixed reviews. I'd love to find a good German or Swiss one - but searches are not turning any up. I appreciate the input from all, thank you!
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Cloud Swift
13 years ago
We got the 9 speed KitchenAid digital model with the regular beaters and ballon wisk. The 5 speed manual model would probably have been just as good - I don't need that fine grained a speed control, but the 9 speed was on sale for less than the other when we got it some years ago.
sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
13 years ago
Nuts how bad new appliances are made. I was given one as a gift so now use my ol' faithful in my studio to mix small batches of paint. New one died and ol' faithful is covered in paint...
I have been buying the old ones at yard sales for a buck here and there for work related needs. My husband loves this thing i put in his x-mas stocking a few years ago as he in the home baker...he just ordered another he loves it so....

Here is a link that might be useful: manual dough mixer
WalnutCreek Zone 7b/8a
13 years ago
My experience with a Kitchen Aid hand mixer has been great.
Lars
13 years ago
I have a Kitchenaid hand mixer, seven speed (I think) that I've had for many years, and it has served me well. I've probably had it 20 years, and so I cannot say whether the news ones are made as well, but I do have a KA stick blender that is fairly new, and I like it very much as well. It has a whisk attachment (the hand mixer did not) as well as a chopper attachment that I like using for mincing small amounts of something.

Check the wattage before you buy and get the one that has better wattage. Higher wattage will make it heavier, however.

Lars
User
13 years ago
I have the KitchenAid Professional 9 and I really like it. It has good speed control, sturdy, comfortable to hold.

For little jobs I use the Black and Decker Gizmo. I had a Handi-Mixer for many years, the battery finally died, this one is almost as good.

This post was edited by momj47 on Wed, May 29, 13 at 19:29
TobyT
13 years ago
Love my Cuisinart hand mixer. It is almost as powerful as my stand mixer. For me, that's a good thing. It's 220 watts.
Jane
User
13 years ago
I must have the same mixer as Lars. Kitchenaid seven speed. I've had mine since 1999. Still going strong.

~Ann
stir_fryi SE Mich
13 years ago
I have a 10 year old KA hand mixer. It has a very low (stir) setting that is wonderful.

I just wish the beaters were a little bigger...
cynic
13 years ago
When I moved out I bought a cheapie somewhere and it lasted about 25 years. Debated about buying a KitchenAid stand mixer and couldn't rationalize it and I'm glad I passed on that. Thought about a KitchenAid handheld but looked at them and could buy a bunch of the cheapies and couldn't see much difference. So I broke down and spent about $15 on one, came with the traditional beaters, the wire beaters like KA used and also a set of dough hooks that I thought I'd never use, but I use them a lot. I like them for meatloaf. Mixes nicely without packing it too much. 5 speed as I recall and going strong after 12 or 15 years. When you look at the complaints on the KA stand mixers I question if the handhelds are any better. It's a mixer. Certainly not a precision tool. Find something that'll do the job and I'm happy. I don't look for status symbols.
annie1992
13 years ago
I have an older Cuisinart which works just fine, I bought it used at a yard sale although it looked relatively new and was still in the box.

sleevendog, I have one of those, mine was a gift and was called a "Danish Dough Whisk". I'm glad you posted that link, it's far more expensive at King Arthur Flour's website!

Annie
arlinek
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you all for your generous responses; I now have a good idea as to what to look for!
compumom
13 years ago
One vote for the Cuisinart. I rarely use my KA mixer, but then again, I don't do much baking.

Favorite portable hand mixer????

Comments (14)

andee_gw

annie1971

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Favorite portable hand mixer????

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