#So You Got a KitchenAid For Christmas – Now What To Do With It?

If you are lucky enough to have been gifted with (or have purchased yourself) your first KitchenAid Stand Mixer, you’re probably really excited to use it, but you may not know quite where to start. Never fear, we’ve put together the ultimate guide to using the KitchenAid mixer, explain what each of the attachments are for and we also highlight some of the accessory options you can pick up in the future for even more fun in the kitchen.

What Do Those Speeds Mean Anyway?

Seeing 10 speeds on a machine can seem a bit daunting, but the unnumbered/in-between speeds are for fine tuning, so the ones you really need to pay attention to are as follows:

Stir Speed:

You should always start with your mixer on this speed and amp up from there. Whenever you are adding flour to the mixture this speed should be used, otherwise you will be engulfed in a cloud of flour. This is also a good speed to use if the directions tell you to “stir until combined”.

Speed 2: Slow Mixing

What should be slow mixed? Heavy batters like cheesecakes and mashing things like bananas or potatoes. If you’re baking biscuits or any type of baking that involves cutting in fat, use this speed. Thin pancakes and crepes should be mixed with this speed so the batter doesn’t spill everywhere!

Speed 4: Mixing and Beating

If you are whipping up a batch of cookies or other medium-heavy batters, this is the setting for you. Use this speed to add sugar to light mixtures, like egg whites. If you are using a cake mix and the instructions call for medium speed – this is it.

Speed 6: Beating and Creaming

When making a batter that has you cream a fat into sugar, this is the speed that should be used. If you are making a batter and it says to whip it, use speed 6. This speed should also be used to finish up batters that tell you to mix them well.

Speed 8: Fast Beating and Whipping

Speed 9: Fast Whipping

The top speed is used for the same things as speed 8, but it gets the job done a little faster. Because the ingredients are whipped at such a high speed, you should only use this speed when whipping small amounts; otherwise your mixture will go flying!

What Do the Attachments That Come With My KitchenAid Do?

Flat Edge Beater

Wire Whip

Dough Hook

Not surprisingly this hook-like shaped attachment is used for making heavier dough like bread. The dough hook helps out with the kneading process when making yeasted dough. It helps save time, because a dough hook can made dough smooth and elastic in a fraction of the time it would take to produce the same results kneading by hand. Emile Lagassee has a great rustic Italian bread recipe. Speed 2 is the typical speed when using a dough hook.

What Attachments and Accessories Should I Get?

Pasta Roller

Pasta Extruder

Ravioli Maker

Food Grinder

Sausage Stuffer

There is a renewed love for charcuterie lately and the sausage stuffer add-on works with the food grinder attachment so that you can produce both small sausages and large links in your very own kitchen. Your entire family will go crazy for these Thai Chicken Sausages from the Australian KitchenAid website. Use speed 4 with this attachment.

Vegetable Purées and Strainer