How to Choose the Right Stand Mixer?

The range of stand mixers has exploded in recent years, especially since the 2020 lockdown, as baking has become popular and accessible to everyone, amateurs or professionals, and that's great!

But amidst all these options, how do you choose the right stand mixer? That's the question we've asked for you and we're here to help you answer it.

There are as many different models, brands, prices, and features as there are needs!

Indeed, the usage will not be the same for a professional, an amateur who bakes very regularly, or someone who wants to make a few pastries occasionally. But as soon as you cook, bake, or prepare bread and/or pastries, a stand mixer can quickly become indispensable.

The Criteria

We have listed the main criteria to help you make your choice.

-        Price / Range

Of course, this will be the first criterion to consider and the one that will interest us the most, as prices can vary from €100 to €1000, the difference is huge!

Depending on how often you use it, your choice should be on a higher or lower range.

For very regular use, we recommend opting for a mid-range or high-end appliance, priced around €300 but can go up to €600. Obviously, these models promise better longevity and more durability.

For more occasional use, "low-end" appliances, under €200, may be suitable, however, they remain fragile and despite less frequent use, you may still need to replace them fairly quickly.

-        Power

This generally goes hand in hand with the range and price, but from one model to another, the power levels are not the same.

For usage particularly focused on baking, kneading, pastry, etc., we recommend opting for a powerful appliance, that is, not less than 600W. Below that, it may be too fragile to ensure good results for all your preparations.

However, be mindful of the noise of your mixer, as depending on the power, it could exceed 80dB, and may cause headaches.

Do not hesitate to compare the technical specifications of different models and consider this criterion, which is no less important.

-        Capacity

This ranges from 1 to 5L in the stand mixer's bowl. Again, this criterion is related to the two previous ones. The required power will not be the same depending on the bowl's capacity.

You should therefore consider these two characteristics globally.

To give you an idea, a very large 5L bowl will allow you to make about 2kg of dough.

To go further and make your choice easier, you can visit this page from UFC Que Choisir, which offers a comparison of the main stand mixer models.

Get your whisks ready!