Modern kitchens always have a stand mixer on their countertop. These are very interesting pieces of kitchen equipment that can help you whip up some fantastic desserts. To think that these are engineering marvels is just half the story. They are wonderful pieces of art, too, fully capable of transforming your otherwise boring kitchen into something with pizazz. Unfortunately, they can be bulky and can present a number of issues that most newbie owners of stand mixers may have not fully anticipated before purchasing one. However, with a little creativity and an open mind, you can apply these top hacks to make the most of your stand mixer.
Store Stand Mixer Attachments in Cool Ways
There are a number of ways in which you can store the attachments of your stand mixer. This is especially true if you’re the kind of home cook who would like to expand your collection of tools that will make life a lot easier in the kitchen.
First, you can use the stand mixer bowl to store the different attachments. This is perhaps the easiest, most convenient, and most practical approach to keeping your things. The stand mixer bowl is often large enough to accommodate the various blades, scrapes, spatulas, and what have yous that come with your unit. The best thing about this is that you will have everything you need right in one place. The downside, of course, is that you won’t get to showcase your collection of stand mixer attachments.
Now, if that is the case, then the second method of storing these attachments might be a better idea. You’ll need to flex some of your muscles, however. Hang the attachments on hooks. You can go simple or fancy. You can go for something that can be fixed with screws or one with double-sided adhesive tape. You can mount these on your backsplash so you’ll have ready access anytime. You can also place the hooks on the inside of your cabinet doors, but then this will defeat the purpose of showcasing your collection.
Alternatively, you can make your very own stand mixer attachment stand. Arrange and mount several dowels on a piece of wood. These will serve like hooks. You can also put them in a tall glass jar. Put some decorative elements on the jar and you’re done.
Shred Pork and Chicken Using the Stand Mixer
We always think that the stand mixer is only good for our baking needs. We bet you didn’t know that it can also be used to shred pieces of meat especially chicken and pork. This is one hack that is perfect for those who simply cannot have enough of pulled pork or even shredded chicken.
Toss warm cooked pieces of meat into the stand mixer bowl, preferably boiled. You can use the paddle attachment to slowly break the meats apart. Start on a low speed. Once the meats are starting to break apart, you can increase the speed.
Now, if you want to speed things up, it is often a good idea to purchase additional stand mixer attachments like shredders and slicers so you can shred almost anything, not only pork and chicken. Some attachments can also slice, allowing you to shred or slice cheese, fruits, nuts, and even vegetables. Technically, with the right attachment, you can turn your stand mixer into a food processor.
Use a Handy Towel to Manage Mess
Your stand mixer is a very powerful tool that can send a mixture of dry and wet ingredients flying across the room and ending up on your kitchen walls, the sides of your refrigerator, the surface of your stove, and anywhere else. There are plenty of hacks that you can institute to minimize mess. Some owners claim that the use of a shower cap can be used as a protective cover over the stand mixer and keep the ingredients well within the mixer itself.
But did you know that there’s an even easier solution to this mess? Get a clean towel and drape it over the stand mixer, making sure to cover the bowl as you are adding and mixing ingredients. Even if you manage to set the speed at the highest level, you won’t have any of your ingredients flying across the kitchen. It’s a very simple hack and one that is sure to make cleaning afterwards a real walk in the park.
Be Creative When Moving the Mixer
Unless you are into strength training, moving your stand mixer can be a very challenging prospect especially for small-framed home cooks. These kitchen appliances can weigh several pounds and will thus require strength to move from corner of your countertop to another. Most also come with rubberized feet that create suction on the surface of the countertop. This makes sliding the mixer a bit difficult, not to mention leaving rubber streaks on your countertop.
To solve this, you may want to place your stand mixer on a piece of folded dish towel. Alternatively, you can also place it on a tray, a placemat, or even a cutting board. These items can make moving your stand mixer a lot easier and definitely worry-free.
Invest in a Silicone Scraper Blade
Most stand mixers come with either a coated beater blade or a regular metal blade. As you mix your ingredients, there is a tendency that they will get splattered and stick to the wall of the mixer bowl. As such, you will have to switch off the mixer and use a spatula to scrape off the ingredients. It is a time-consuming process and can definitely take the fun out of preparing your dish.
A better solution is to get a silicone scraper blade that is a lot similar to your rubber spatula. This attachment can really come in handy as it both mixes your ingredients and scrapes the ingredients off of the wall of the bowl. Get something that is dishwasher-safe to complete the nifty hack.
Chill the Bowl and the Attachments before Whipping Cream
Whipped cream is best if it is smooth and fluffy. Unfortunately, it can be tricky whipping cream using your stand mixer as the cream may lose these characteristics if you don’t know what you’re doing.
To get smoother and fluffier whipped cream, try this hack. Place your beater attachment and stand mixer bowl in the freezer for about an hour before you start whipping the cream. The cold temperature of the bowl and the beater can help maintain the stiffness of the cream, preventing it from turning liquid. The cold temperature also plays an important role in the formation of bigger and more air bubbles in the whipped cream. Additionally, cold temperature allows fat to cling better onto the bubbles and onto itself so you get more volume and more bounce to your whipped cream.
Invest in Additional Attachments and Bowls
We already mentioned that most stand mixers come with one or two attachments. If you are a weekend baker, then perhaps this set of attachments will suffice. However, if you’re the type of home cook who simply cannot stay away from making delicious baked goodies or even the shredded meats we mentioned above, then it would really make things a lot easier if you also invest in a number of different stand mixer attachments.
You can get a dough hook for kneading heavier pastries and different kinds of dough. A balloon whisk may also come in handy for creaming, whisking, and whipping ingredients. A flexi-beater is like the silicone spatula that we mentioned above. You can also try a mini chopper, a slicer or grater, a slow juicer, a meat mincer, a pasta maker, and many more. Many of these specialty attachments only work on specific models of stand mixers, however.
Get an extra stand mixer bowl, too.
Keep the Mixer’s Cord Out of Sight
You don’t want the electric cord of your stand mixer to be an eyesore on your countertop. You can purchase a cord bundler to help you organize the power cord a lot more efficiently. Alternatively, if you have extra rubber bands at home, you can use these to bundle up your power cord and neatly tuck it behind the stand mixer. It’s a pretty simple hack, but one that can save you plenty of real estate space on your countertop.
Liven Up the Color
Does the color of your stand mixer bore you? Or perhaps you have simply outgrown the color of the stand mixer that you bought. You might be tempted to purchase a new stand mixer with a different color, but hold that thought. A better solution is to apply a different color on some components of your stand mixer. You’ll need spray paint and painter’s tape to accomplish this task, plus lots of patience. The good thing about this hack is you can have your own custom stand mixer.
The stand mixer is a venerable appliance in any modern kitchen. Applying some or all of these hacks can help you make the most out of your stand mixer ownership.
Sources:
- How to Use a Stand Mixer – wikiHow
- Kitchen Appliance Tips – howstuffworks
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