I Tried KitchenAid’s Most Popular Stand Mixer Attachments — These Are the 4 I Think You Should Buy

One among my first huge kitchen-related presents ever was a stand mixer. It was again after I was a university freshman and my mother discovered a brand-new KitchenAid Classic on Craigslist and received it for me. I liked that mixer a lot — and even insisted on bringing it with me after I interned in New York Metropolis each summer season for 4 years (in a special sublet condo every summer season).

Final 12 months, I truly broke my stand mixer (it was my fault — and I’ll spare you the small print of the story!). So I invested in a brand new KitchenAid. And since I used to be feeling so awful about breaking my outdated mixer, I made a decision to get my new mannequin just a little something-something: an attachment for rolling and cutting fresh pasta. As a result of I like pasta … and I knew I’d have even extra enjoyable with my mixer if I might use it to make my favourite meals.

Reader, let me simply let you know, I like this attachment so, a lot (extra on this under!). Which received me pondering: What’s the take care of KitchenAid’s different attachments? How effectively do they work? I received my arms on a number of the hottest choices and put them to the check. Right here’s what I discovered.

Word: A KitchenAid consultant instructed me that whereas they couldn’t present actual figures on their hottest attachments, these are those followers love “primarily based on shopper engagement.”

Like I mentioned earlier than, I like this attachment. I used to have a guide pasta machine that I needed to safe to my countertop — or else it might wobble after I turned its crank. This pasta attachment (which is secured into the hub of the stand mixer) takes a ton of the work out of constructing fresh pasta. It comes with a curler (for thinly rolling out sheets of pasta dough) and two cutters: one for fettuccine and the opposite for spaghetti. It’s simple, enjoyable, and environment friendly and I like that you would be able to feed a sheet of dough by the curler with one hand and catch it with the opposite, which isn’t almost as simple to do with a guide attachment. I’ve used it with nice success on gluten-free pasta dough, too. For making your personal pasta at house, that is completely well worth the funding.

If you wish to grind your personal meat for meatballs, burgers, meatloaf, and sausages, that is the software for you. It contains fine-grinding, medium-grinding, and coarse-grinding plates, in addition to two sausage-stuffer tubes and a sausage-stuffer plate. I used it to grind rooster thighs, following these instructions for cubing and freezing the meat previous to grinding. It really works extremely effectively — and so rapidly! And the ensuing meat is evenly floor and excellent for meatballs. Whereas the attachment does have elements which can be hand-wash solely, the meals pusher, cleansing brush, and sausage elements could be cleaned within the top-rack of the dishwasher. I just like the stainless steel version — as a result of you’ll be able to chill it, which helps maintain the meat from gumming up on the grinder head. Nevertheless, it’s additionally out there in a plastic model that’s half the worth.

I used to be actually enthusiastic about this one and used it to make chocolate ice cream as quickly as I might. Like quite a lot of different at-home ice cream makers, the attachment’s freeze bowl must be frozen for a very long time earlier than churning (15 to 24 hours is a protected guess — in case you shake the bowl and listen to ANY slushing round, maintain it within the freezer longer). Not like different KitchenAid attachments that go into the hub of the mixer, this one goes on the backside and works with the mixer’s beater shaft. I did discover the paddle design a tad troublesome and finicky to connect to the stand mixer, however these instructions and the guide actually helped. The ice cream it makes, although? Scrumptious and creamy and completely churned in about half-hour.

I exploit this to spiralize zucchini and summer season squash and am impressed by the lengthy, twirling strands of zoodles (zucchini noodles!) it makes. It comes with spiralizing, slicing, coring, and peeling blades and may deal with a complete bunch of fruit and veggies — like apples, beets, and candy potatoes. The blades are labeled, however it did take some trial and error to search out the proper blades that produced the shapes and spirals I needed. And America’s Take a look at Kitchen noted it wasn’t capable of deal with butternut squash of their testing (though I do assume it might work effectively with a smaller — say, honeynut — squash). That mentioned, it labored very effectively and in case you’re seeking to spend money on a spiralizer, that is nonetheless a great, slightly hands-free choice.

Do you might have a favourite KitchenAid attachment? Inform us about it within the feedback.