# Stand mixer or food processor ?



## dmm1976 (Oct 29, 2013)

Which do you use most? I want to invest in one or the other . I'm leaning towards food processor simply because it seems more versatile but those mixers come with so many attachments. Can't afford both. 


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## Kristinemomof3 (Sep 17, 2012)

I have both, I use my KA mixer more than my KA food processor, but I use them both often.


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## unregistered358895 (Jul 15, 2013)

I also use my mixer far more than my food processor.

BUT, I love my food processor, too.


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

I also have both but use the food processor more.


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## dmm1976 (Oct 29, 2013)

The only thing a mixer can do better then a food processor would be bread and cake batter? I'm sure there r tons I'm not thinking about since I don't have one . I don't bake cakes hardly ever and figure I can hand mix that... And cookie dough. Would a food processor be good for grinding meats? That's another reason I would give a point to the mixer cuz of the grinder attachment. Unless I could just buy a seperate grinder. I'm stressing way too much about this . 


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## unregistered358895 (Jul 15, 2013)

I use the mixer for doughs,sure. But also for mixing up big batches of dips and whatnot. Whipped frosting, whipped cream cheese, etc. I'm also learning about using the mixer to churn butter.

I used the food processor all the time when my baby was still eating baby food. Now I use it mostly for making pastes to use as filler for reipes (I have a great cookbook that helps you hide vegetables in other foods), to make home-made salsa, and things like that.

Both are very useful for a variety of things, but what do you see yourself using them for? If some of the stuff is universal between the two, I'd choose the one that you will use more day to day.


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## unregistered5595 (Mar 3, 2003)

dmm1976 said:


> The only thing a mixer can do better then a food processor would be bread and cake batter? I'm sure there r tons I'm not thinking about since I don't have one . I don't bake cakes hardly ever and figure I can hand mix that... And cookie dough. Would a food processor be good for grinding meats? That's another reason I would give a point to the mixer cuz of the grinder attachment. Unless I could just buy a seperate grinder. I'm stressing way too much about this .
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Homesteading Today


Yes a mixer is better for breads but not necessarily better for pie crusts or cake batter.
Food processors can cut up meat finer and finer but there will be no sausage stuffer attachment on a food processor while it may be available on an attachment for a mixer.
I have both, I say get a good food processor, later if you still want a mixer you can get one--?? maybe?

I use a food processor everyday. Cheese spreads, spice grinding, dehydrated tomatoes and peppers grinding, garlic grinding and herbs, chopping veggies for stews and soups, gazpacho, pie crusts, shredding and slicing carrots, cabbage, peppers...the list goes on.

I use the mixer for making bread, nougat candy, marshmallows, whipping egg whites, grinding meat and stuffing sausage. You can replace these things with a hand mixer, hand kneading, and a manual grinder/stuffer.

Good luck on your decision.


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## Molly Mckee (Jul 8, 2006)

I don't like the way my food processor grinds meat. I use my Kitchen aid mixer. I use both all the time. I make everything from scratch, and they save me a lot of time. They are tools, just like pliers and hammers. I'd save for both, or see what kind of sale I could find.


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## unregistered358895 (Jul 15, 2013)

Very lightly used mixers & food processors also turn up on Craigslist at low prices very often. There are lots of new brides out there who get them as wedding presents and don't know what to do with them.

Sad for them, great bargain for you.


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## unregistered5595 (Mar 3, 2003)

I just finished a successful barter on the barter board for another food processor--for garlic and soap, so ask around. Good advice Timberrr


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## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

We have and use the food processor more than a mixer. We only have a cheap hand mixer, not the KA kind. It's because of how and what we eat that makes the processor the better choice for us. Much of our food is fresh and requires dicing and chopping. Our old hands aren't always up to all that knife work. As for grinding meat the butcher does that for us. 

We did recently break over and get ourselves a smoothie maker. This thing is pure gold for old people that have gentle needs for old teeth. 

http://www.goldviolin.com and enter shake and take smoothie maker in the search box to bring it up. It's the greatest invention since lye soap.


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

I also have both and use them all the time! 

But, for putting up food the processor wins. if you dehydrate food or make pickles you will love the slicer. When I made relish this summer everything went in that Cuisinart. You can grate big blocks of mozzarella and freeze it shredded. You can whiz up a block of parmesan (at least in a Cuisinart, I killed my Kitchen Aid motor doing this). My mother always made dough in hers with the dough blade. 

For the most part I use the mixer to my butter/olive oil mixture, mix chicken or egg salad and pizza dough. I have the meat grinder attachment, but haven't used it lately. The veggie strainer attachment was great for tomatoes this fall. 

So now that I wrote this all out, I'd vote for food processor first, then save for a stand mixer! But it does depend on what you do the most.

Oh, and pesto, the processor make pesto in seconds. And grinds nuts beautifully.


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## peteyfoozer (Nov 23, 2012)

I too have both, but use the stand mixer more often, as I use it for bread, butter, meat loaf, cakes, cookie dough, whipped cream and other stuff. THe FP I use mostly to grind nuts, make pie crust or chop onions. It all depends on what you need the most. If I didn't make all our own bread and butter it would probably be a toss up


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## semimoonman (Oct 31, 2012)

We have both, and if I had to pick, I'd go with the stand mixer. Here's why:
- I can use the Kitchenaid as a motor for other projects (meat grinder and food strainer)
- The stand mixer can handle far, far tougher loads that a hand mixer (bread, whole grains, large batches, etc), works much faster, and needs much less attention.
- An immersion blender does most of the stuff a want a food processor to do anyway.
- Kitchenaid mixers are available refurbished from manufacturer at a significant discount but with the same warrantee (when my refurbished stand mixer broke 11 months after I bought it, Kitchenaid sent me a new one for free and a box to send the broken one back in).


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## Raeven (Oct 11, 2011)

Another here who has both, and I throw my vote to the food processor. I use mine for shredding, slicing, mixing, emulsifying. I do also make most of my own baked goods and bread, so the mixer gets a good workout as well. But for sheer versatility, the food processor wins. I can make pasta and some small batches of bread dough in the food processor. The mixer does not offer the same versatility back. 

In the end, it obviously depends on how YOU cook! Do you do a lot of baking? The mixer might serve you better, then. Do you make a lot of chopped salads, sliced potatoes, salad dressings? Then the food processor may be the better choice. That's the analysis you need to make before choosing.

Best of luck to you in your decision!


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## bgraham (Jun 30, 2005)

I, too, have both.

I currently use the food processor much more. Actually, I use it everyday.

I have all the attachments for the mixer. Grain grinder, meat grinder, pasta maker, etc. but just don't currently use it very much.

Totally depends on how you are going to use it.

I would recommend buying whichever at a Black Friday sale. I know Macy's sale this year includes 40% off all blenders and the Cuisinart Food Processor (doorbuster $68.99). They also have a $350 kitchenaid stand mixer for $199.


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## DW (May 10, 2002)

I have both but use the mixer more esp w/grinding wheat & mixing bread. My hubby got our KA cheap at Kohls for a xmas gift. He had to open a charge but it was a DEAL.


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## dmm1976 (Oct 29, 2013)

Thank you all for your replies!! So here's what I decided to do: I bought a vintage crank meat grinder ( can't wait til it gets here) cuz I really want to start making my own ground beef and sausages. That's mainly why I was deciding between the mixer and the processor. I also want to save on my electric bill tho. I will continue to hand mix all my doughs and things and may get a vintage food mill for processing jams. Your advice got me thinking about what I really wanted to use these appliances for and I realized I didn't need a fancy expensive piece of equipment. I have the time and I enjoy doing things the d fashioned way. So I'm going to start collecting old kitchen gadgets and trade electricity for elbow grease. Maybe in 20 or 30 years when I am older I will go for the easier route but for now I'm gonna enjoy myself  thanks again homesteading friends! 


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## susieneddy (Sep 2, 2011)

We have both and I think you need both of them. I was making some Hudson Bay bread yesterday. I used the food processor to grind/chop the oats and walnuts down. I had to use the mixer because when all of the ingredients are added it is a coarse dough that the food processor can't handle


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