Shopping for a Mixer & Waffle Iron

[G0ldengirl68]

Note: Forgot an important part, I am baking for one, but have a freezer as well, so don't want to make huge portions as for a family

I would love to have some recommends, mainly because I went out before my diagnosis and bought a hand-mixer that I really liked, but rarely used. Now I am getting into baking Keto, or low-carb and realize a hand mixer is really cumbersome for me to use.

What do you use, if you bake, and I can tell you I am a "middle of the road" shopper. I can't go super high in price, but I won't go super low. I'll list one link to a mixer I spied this a.m. and you can give a review on that one if you like, thumbs up or down.

Then, there is a Waffle Iron, and I don't care for the big'uns for Belgian I haven't look for one of those yet. I do like the look of the type of beaters that are sort of pumpkin-shaped.

What do you think, and thank you in advance for any guidance! I want to head into home-made products, just starting out, and don't know how far I'll go with it yet, one day at a time The biggest issue is not knowing all I need, until I'm actually using the thing. So maybe some pros and cons of the different things you've learned about these tools for baking?

Here's the ling to the mixed I kind of like:
https://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-63391-Speeds-Attachments/dp/B07FRY18VM/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=kitchen+mixer+for+baking+with+extra+bowls+and+attachments&qid=1615309088&s=home-garden&sr=1-8&th=1

 

[MrsA2]

We are mostly in the UK, not so sure of US availability
I was a prize winning baker arghh and haven't needed to use my big mixer at all since diagnosis. Keto cakes tend not to need the same amount of 'creaming' and, due I assume to cost of ingredients and portion size, tend to be quite small so I manage with a cheap hand mixer from ASDA (Walmart)
Most other things just need a quick mix so I do that by hand. I occasionally use my food processor for grating, or a more thorough mix if needed

My waffle maker is a recent purchase from Lidl. Again nothing fancy or large. It has changeable plates and can act as grill.

These days a 7" pan gives me 16 portions,, which get frozen and eaten one at a time. By which time I am bored of that cake and am desperate to have soemthing different
Waffles I make 6 at a time and freeze just 4.

I really don't do the bigger, bulkier bakes and makes anymore. In fact I struggle to get through all the lovely recipes I read.

 

[TeddyTottie]

If you can find one, I’d go for a waffle iron with removable plates, just makes your life easier. I have a tefal one, not sure that they make it any more but they may make something similar. And I have a kenwood stand mixer, because... nostalgia mostly. But it is excellent too.

 

[G0ldengirl68]

We are mostly in the UK, not so sure of US availability
I was a prize winning baker arghh and haven't needed to use my big mixer at all since diagnosis. Keto cakes tend not to need the same amount of 'creaming' and, due I assume to cost of ingredients and portion size, tend to be quite small so I manage with a cheap hand mixer from ASDA (Walmart)
Most other things just need a quick mix so I do that by hand. I occasionally use my food processor for grating, or a more thorough mix if needed

My waffle maker is a recent purchase from Lidl. Again nothing fancy or large. It has changeable plates and can act as grill.

These days a 7" pan gives me 16 portions,, which get frozen and eaten one at a time. By which time I am bored of that cake and am desperate to have soemthing different
Waffles I make 6 at a time and freeze just 4.

I really don't do the bigger, bulkier bakes and makes anymore. In fact I struggle to get through all the lovely recipes I read.

Thank you @MrsA2

I will be starting out with "not so big" but I feel getting something I can do larger jobs is what I may need. I really enjoy the baking, and so do want something I can handle a bigger job. I'm finding making more of a recipe and freezing it will really be nice rather that baking little bits at a time. I have good days and bad days as many of us experience, so when I get the energy I want to bake up a bunch

I appreciate your input, and if I want to whip up something quick I have my hand mixer, and a nice blender as well. What I'm noticing is a lot of brands I've never heard of. Cuisinart "sounds" good and very out of my price-range. I guess I am not "middle of the road" after looking more into mixers. I think under a 100 dollars would be best for me.

 

[G0ldengirl68]

If you can find one, I’d go for a waffle iron with removable plates, just makes your life easier. I have a tefal one, not sure that they make it any more but they may make something similar. And I have a kenwood stand mixer, because... nostalgia mostly. But it is excellent too.

Thank you @TeddyTottie I've found the older models are the best. We are getting more expensive and less quality these days imo. Yes, removable plates for sure for that waffle iron!

Holy Moly!! This must be built like a tank! Have you had a long time @TeddyTottie ?
https://www.amazon.com/Kenwood-KMM0...rds=Kenwood+Stand+Mixer&qid=1615312539&sr=8-3

 

[TeddyTottie]

Thank you @TeddyTottie I've found the older models are the best. We are getting more expensive and less quality these days imo. Yes, removable plates for sure for that waffle iron!

Holy Moly!! This must be built like a tank! Have you had a long time @TeddyTottie ?
https://www.amazon.com/Kenwood-KMM0...rds=Kenwood+Stand+Mixer&qid=1615312539&sr=8-3

Mine is relatively new, maybe 10 years old, which is just a baby in Kenwood years! They are notorious for just going on and on. But my grandmother bought one for my mum when I was a little girl and I grew up with that thing, she had it for 20 or 30 years. The design is very little changed, a real British icon, hence the nostalgia. My mum made exquisite pastry, but in fact she just followed the recipe in the Kenwood book and let the machine get on with it. Before diabetes I (or rather my Kenwood) made exquisite pastry too....

 

[G0ldengirl68]

Thank you again @TeddyTottie I wish I knew what my grandmother had for a mixer, I know she had one, and when she passed away, my mom got it but didn't use it ;( My grandmother bought may have got hers while she was still living in her home-town of Victoria BC. She was a wonderful cook/baker, and my mom and dad met while they both worked at a bakery in Portland Oregon. All made the best piecrusts, cakes, cookies etc. Of course I am biased

 

[TeddyTottie]

Thank you again @TeddyTottie I wish I knew what my grandmother had for a mixer, I know she had one, and when she passed away, my mom got it but didn't use it ;( My grandmother bought may have got hers while she was still living in her home-town of Victoria BC. She was a wonderful cook/baker, and my mom and dad met while they both worked at a bakery in Portland Oregon. All made the best piecrusts, cakes, cookies etc. Of course I am biased

Ah my grandmother didn’t have a mixer, she was proper old-school Northern English working class, brought up her siblings when her parents died and worked in a paper mill well into her 70s. Her husband was gassed in WWI and an invalid for years before he eventually succumbed to the effects. My mum was the late addition, 10 years between her and her sister, and I suspect my gran’s darling.

She was very proud when my mum became a teacher, and she used to save and spend her pension on occasional gadgets for my mum to make her life as a working mother easier. I think she thought my mum had a busy life, working and raising us (hah, she probably spotted that my dad was somewhat useless, she was a canny woman), and did not stop to consider that her own life had been unbelievably tough. Or, perhaps she did, and knew what a difference a few modern conveniences would have made to her. My gran died when I was 11, I wish I had been able to talk to her about her life. A remarkable, humble, intelligent woman.

Sorry, I’ll stop derailing the thread now!

 

[G0ldengirl68]

Ah my grandmother didn’t have a mixer, she was proper old-school Northern English working class, brought up her siblings when her parents died and worked in a paper mill well into her 70s. Her husband was gassed in WWI and an invalid for years before he eventually succumbed to the effects. My mum was the late addition, 10 years between her and her sister, and I suspect my gran’s darling.

She was very proud when my mum became a teacher, and she used to save and spend her pension on occasional gadgets for my mum to make her life as a working mother easier. I think she thought my mum had a busy life, working and raising us (hah, she probably spotted that my dad was somewhat useless, she was a canny woman), and did not stop to consider that her own life had been unbelievably tough. Or, perhaps she did, and knew what a difference a few modern conveniences would have made to her. My gran died when I was 11, I wish I had been able to talk to her about her life. A remarkable, humble, intelligent woman.

Sorry, I’ll stop derailing the thread now!

Well, my family is not known, in any way, to be proper