Farberware Mixer Attachments: Which Ones Do You Really Need?

Have you ever stood in the kitchen section of a store surrounded by all the mixer attachments and wondered: Which of these do I actually need? If you own a Farberware stand mixer, you’re probably familiar with the basic accessories it came with – the flat beater, wire whisk, and dough hook. These likely handle most of your basic mixing needs. But Farberware also offers a range of optional attachments that can expand what you can do with your mixer. From slicing and shredding fruits and veggies to grinding meat to making homemade pasta, these accessories can take your recipes to the next level.

But with so many attachments available, it’s tricky to figure out which ones are worth investing in. You want to maximize the functionality of your mixer without going overboard on unnecessary add-ons.

In this detailed guide, we’ll walk through the most useful Farberware mixer attachments. We’ll explain what each attachment does, what types of recipes and tasks it’s designed for, and help you determine which accessories are nice-to-have vs. must-have attachments. Read on to find out how to get the most out of your Farberware mixer!

A Brief History of Farberware

Before diving into mixer attachments, let’s provide some background on the Farberware brand. Founded in 1900 by S.W. Farber, Farberware started out making nickel-plated copper cooking utensils. Over the decades, the company gained a reputation for quality, durability, and innovation in its products.

Today Farberware is a staple of kitchens everywhere, with a wide range of appliances and tools designed for home cooks. Their stand mixers, in particular, are a trusted kitchen workhorse beloved for their power and versatility. With a 500-watt motor, you can rely on a Farberware mixer to thoroughly knead dough, whip meringues, and breeze through all kinds of recipes.

Of course, the mixer comes with a few standard attachments like the flat beater, wire whisk, and dough hook. But for cooks who want to move beyond basic mixing, Farberware offers a range of optional attachments that can maximize what you can do with the mixer. Let’s look at some of the most useful Farberware mixer attachments to consider.

The Basics: Flat Beater, Wire Whisk, and Dough Hook

First, let’s quickly review the core mixing attachments that come standard with every Farberware stand mixer:

Flat Beater

This flat, rectangular paddle is ideal for mixing dense batters and frostings. The beater is designed to thoroughly incorporate ingredients while minimizing air pockets. Use the flat beater when mixing things like:

• Cake batters
• Cookie dough
• Quick breads like banana bread
• Thick frostings and buttercreams

Wire Whisk

The wire whisk attachment excels at whipping air into light mixtures to increase volume and create fluffiness. It’s perfect for:

• Whipping cream
• Whisking egg whites into peaks
• Emulsifying vinaigrettes and sauces
• Aerating batters for sponge cakes and soufflés

Dough Hook

The dough hook efficiently kneads and develops gluten in yeast doughs. Use it for:

• Bread dough
• Pizza dough
• Yeast rolls and buns
• Sweet doughs like cinnamon rolls

For most basic mixing tasks like stirring cake batters or whipping up cookie dough, these three standard attachments have you covered. But if you want to expand the functionality of your mixer, read on for some of the most versatile attachment upgrades.

Paddle Attachment: A Versatile Mixing Must-Have

One of the most useful attachments to consider is Farberware’s mixing paddle accessory. This flat, flexible paddle expands the capabilities of your stand mixer well beyond the flat beater.

The paddle attachment is designed with a nonstick coating and flexible edges to thoroughly mix batters.

The paddle is ideal for mixing dense batters that you want to keep smooth and lump-free. The broad, flexible paddle head scrapes the sides and bottom of the bowl thoroughly. This prevents ingredients from getting stuck to the sides of the bowl.

The paddle attachment also features a silicone nonstick coating. This prevents batters and doughs from clinging to the paddle. The smooth, seamless design also makes it easy to clean.

Here are some examples of what you can use the paddle attachment for:

• Cake batters – works well for thicker batters like carrot cake or red velvet cake. The paddle keeps the batter smooth without over-aerating it.
• Quick breads – use it for muffin batters, banana bread, zucchini bread, and more.
• Frostings and buttercreams – it thoroughly mixes in powdered sugar and any liquid ingredients.
• Cookie dough – use it for baking thick cookies like chocolate chip or peanut butter.
• Pie dough – the paddle fully incorporates the butter into the flour for flaky crusts.

The paddle isn’t good for super thin batters or whipping air into things. But for many batters, it delivers better results than the flat beater.

Reviewers on Amazon praise the Farberware paddle for efficiently mixing thick batters while staying easy to clean. Many bakers say they reach for the paddle almost as often as the standard flat beater and dough hook.

Considering its versatility, the paddle attachment is a great first accessory to get. It expands the functionality of your stand mixer for lots of recipes.

Turn Your Stand Mixer Into a Smoothie Maker

If you regularly make smoothies and shakes, then a mixer blender attachment is extremely useful. This accessory fits onto your stand mixer, allowing you to blend and puree right in the mixer bowl.

A blender attachment allows you to blend and puree ingredients in the mixer itself.

The vertical blender works similar to a normal blender, with stainless steel blades that pulverize fruits, veggies, ice, and more into smooth liquids. But it has some advantages over a regular blender:

• Quieter operation – With the blender enclosed in the mixer bowl, it operates much more quietly than the high speeds of a normal blender.
• Built-in spout – The attachable spout makes it easy to pour out blended smoothies, batters, dressings, and more.
• Powerful performance – With 600 watts of power, it blends efficiently even with tough ingredients like ice and frozen fruit. The adjustible speed gives you precise control.
• Space saving – It takes up minimal counter space since it attaches right onto your existing mixer.

You can make all kinds of things in a mixer blender attachment beyond just smoothies:

• Milkshakes
• Baby food purees
• Salad dressings and marinades
• Nut butters
• Mayonnaise and aioli
• Sauces like tomato sauce or pesto

It does have some limitations compared to a full-size blender. You’ll need to stop the machine and scrape down the sides periodically when blending thicker mixtures. And you’ll still want a regular blender for very large batches.

But for small-batch blending tasks, a mixer blender adds a whole new set of capabilities to your stand mixer. If you have limited kitchen space, it can be a great alternative to owning both a blender and mixer.

For avid smoothie makers, the convenience of whipping up a berry smoothie or green juice drink without dirtying another appliance makes the blender attachment well worth the $60-100 price tag.

The Must-Have Attachment for Bread Bakers

While the standard dough hook that comes with your mixer works great for basic yeast doughs, the dough hook extension attachment is a must-have for avid bread bakers.

The dough hook extension has a larger spiral design to thoroughly knead larger batches.

As the name suggests, this accessory extends the reach of your mixer’s dough hook to more efficiently knead large batches of stiff dough.

Here’s what sets it apart from the regular dough hook:

• Larger design – The wider and deeper spiral shape allows more dough to be mixed at once. It also provides greater surface area for kneading.
• Stronger motor – With more torque, it can power through dense or stiff doughs without straining the mixer’s motor.
• High capacity – You can knead up to 2 pounds of bread dough or 3 pounds of pizza dough with the extension hook.

This makes it ideal for recipes like:

• Artisan breads with high-hydration dough
• Enriched bread doughs like brioche
• Thick whole wheat and multigrain doughs
• Bagels and pretzel dough
• Pizza dough

The sturdy metal spiral design efficiently kneads dough without tearing it while still allowing for gluten development. Reviewers praise how well it handles large batches of dense dough that would overwhelm the standard hook.

For any home baker who likes to experiment with artisanal bread recipes, the dough hook extension is a must-have accessory. You’ll be amazed at how much easier it makes kneading dough for those bakery-style loaves.

Take Your Baking Creations to the Next Level with a Food Grinder

Avid bakers can take their recipes to new heights with a food grinder attachment. This accessory fastens to the top of your stand mixer and allows you to grind dry foods into fine powders and pastes.

A food grinder attachment expands your options for making homemade baked goods.

With a food grinder, you can make your own:

• Ground meat
• Breadcrumbs and panko
• Pie fillings
• Hummus and bean spreads
• Spice blends
• Nut butters
• Homemade sausages

The vertical grinder design allows ingredients to be gravity-fed down into the grinding plate. It comes with plates with different sized holes to achieve the desired texture, from a fine powder to a coarse grind.

Benefits of the food grinder include:

• Powerful 500-watt motor
• Quieter than standalone grinders
• Easy to switch out grinding plates
• Large hopper holds ingredients
• Convenient tray catches processed food

While you can buy pre-ground meat and spices, there’s nothing quite like tailoring the texture exactly how you want it. The grinder attachment allows you to easily grind just what you need for each recipe.

If you do a lot of baking, grinding your own ingredients from scratch can take your homemade breads, sausages, nut butters and more to the next level. The grinder attachment may be one of the more specialized accessories, but it’s invaluable for an avid cook interested in maximizing homemade ingredients.

Other Noteworthy Attachments

In addition to the must-have attachments we covered already, Farberware offers some other mixer add-ons for more specialized tasks:

1. Citrus Juicer

This handy attachment presses fresh citrus fruits like lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruits to extract juice. Much easier than juicing by hand!

2. Shredder/Slicer

Grate, shred, and slice fruits, veggies, and cheeses with several interchangeable cones and blades. Great for salads, coleslaws, and garnishes.

3. Can Opener

Open cans safely with no sharp edges. Clamps onto can and then cuts the lid out. Much easier than using a manual opener.

4. Pasta Maker

Take your homemade pasta game to a new level! Roll and cut dough into spaghetti, linguine, lasagna sheets and more.

These more specialized attachments expand your stand mixer’s capabilities for juicing, prepping produce, and making Italian favorites. Evaluate which types of tasks you regularly do in the kitchen by hand that could be made easier with one of these add-ons.

Choosing the Best Attachments for You

With so many attachment options available, it can be tricky to decide which ones are actually worth getting for your needs and budget. Here are some tips for choosing the right Farberware stand mixer attachments:

• Consider what you cook regularly – Focus on accessories for recipes you make all the time like breads, smoothies, or ground meat. Don’t buy attachments for one-off recipes.
• Read reviews – Check ratings and reviews for each specific attachment model before buying. Quality can vary so make sure it performs well.
• Look for sales and bundles – Attachments are pricey bought individually, so shop sales and bundles. It’s cost-effective to get 2-3 at once.
• Start with versatile basics – Opt for attachments with broad functionality first, like the paddle and dough hook extension, before specialized add-ons.
• Buy as you need – Get 1-2 key attachments upfront, then purchase others later on if you find you’re lacking a certain function.
• Shop authorized retailers – Make sure to buy from legit retailers so you receive genuine Farberware attachment models that fit your mixer.

Focus on purchasing the attachments that suit your cooking style and fill functional gaps in your mixer’s capabilities. With the right add-ons, you can take your culinary creations much further with your Farberware stand mixer.

Key Takeaways: Must-Have Farberware Mixer Attachments

To recap, here are some of the most versatile and useful Farberware mixer attachments worth investing in:

• Paddle attachment – The nonstick paddle mixes dense batters thoroughly without aerating. Great for cake mixes, breads, and more.
• Blender – Turn your mixer into a smoothie blender to easily make shakes, dressings, and sauces.
• Dough hook extension – Knead high-capacity batches of dense doughs with ease. A must for avid bakers.
• Food grinder – Grind your own meats, spices, nuts and more with customizable textures. Ideal for maximizing homemade ingredients.

Take time to evaluate your baking habits and kitchen needs. Choosing accessories suited for your recipes and cooking style will ensure you get great value from these investments. Master new techniques and recipes with attachments that allow you to get the most out of your Farberware stand mixer!

Let us know in the comments about your favorite Farberware mixer attachments and how you use them! Happy baking!