Buying Guide: Juicer Mixer Grinder
A mixer grinder along with a juicer has become necessary appliances in almost every Indian household today. From pureeing and mincing to grinding and grating ingredients, you can do a variety of tasks with these kitchen devices. They help finish cooking faster by saving time and effort put into manual work.
Types of Juicer Mixer Grinder
Mixer
A mixer is a device which is driven by gears and is used in cooking to mix ingredients together - usually in a semi-liquid state. Mixers aid in making purees, vegetable pastes for curries and batters for cooking. There are two common types of mixers - Stand mixers and Hand mixers.
A stand mixer is used for mixing hard ingredients together. The motor in a stand mixer is powerful and facilitates easy mixing. They are used for making batters, kneading dough and whipping cream.
A hand mixer is a handheld version of the stand mixer. It has a less powerful motor and is usually used for mixing semi-liquid ingredients together. They can be used with any type of bowl and are usually used as an eggbeater.
Grinder
A grinder is a machine which is used to grind substances into a powdery form. They can be used to grind both dry and wet substances. Cereals, lentils and spices are the common ingredients which are powdered using a grinder. It is important to note that a grinder is more powerful than a mixer.
A coffee grinder is used for grinding roasted coffee beans into coffee powder. They are ideal for both commercial and domestic use. The more you grind the beans, the more uniform the powder becomes.
Meat grinders are used to grind all types of meat which includes pork, chicken, mutton and beef. Since grinding of meat is hard, the motor in these devices are powerful. They are ideal for both commercial and domestic use. Parts of a meat grinder are detachable to facilitate easy cleaning.
Mixer Grinder
A mixer grinder is essentially a mixer with a grinder combined. They are used to do things like mixing, blending and grinding of different food ingredients. Mixer grinder comes with at least two different jars - one used for wet sauces and another for making dry powders. The jars are made of stainless steel with the wet jar being larger than the dry jar.
Juicer Mixer Grinder
A Juicer mixer grinder is a device which can perform the process of juicing, mixing, blending and grinding. It is a mixer grinder with the additional functionality of juicing. The machine has a heavy duty motor to take care all preparation needs. There are 3 jars that usually come with juicer mixer grinders. They are made of stainless steel or polycarbonate material.
How To Choose A Juicer Mixer Grinder?
Let us throw some light on the Technical Specification aspect to know further:
a. Wattage
Wattage defines the power of the motor. Higher the wattage a device has, more powerful motor can grind heavier loads. Ideally, 550 to 600 watt device is optimum for domestic use especially suitable for Indian grinding needs. Do keep in mind anything more than 500 watts could be just extra noisy. In order to prepare urad dal batter or tough grinds in bigger batches: go with a 600 Watt machine & if you need to prepare 2 litres in 1 go; buy a commercial mixer i.e. above 750 to 1000 watts.
b. RPM (Rotations/Minute)
Higher the Rotations or Revolutions per minute of the blades, more powerful is the motor. More Rotation per minute translates into more quantity of ingredients processed in lesser time. But, there are some downsides to higher RPM which includes heat and noise increase. Therefore, higher the speed, higher the heat & RPM; although this decreases motor life overall. As an estimation, the blades rotate at a speed of 15000 rpm
c. Rating in Minutes
Rating in Minutes defines the continuous operation time that is recommended for a Mixer Grinder to work. It usually is 30 minutes - with 5 minutes on and 3 minutes off repetitions. Be ensured to never run the appliance continuously without giving the motor a break. It may lead to cavitations or fast depreciation rate of the blade, motor or the machine. Machine may get overheated at certain cases that can cause internal damages that can cost huge.
2. Branding and Service
The brand of a product is as important as the after-sales service. You can be compromised on the support & service if you pick a product based only on its brand. More often brands let you down in terms of service. A proper study of the product before purchase will lessen the chances of making this mistake. Make sure that the product you buy has service centers locally. The ready availability of spare parts like rubber gaskets and blades should also be a deciding factor.
3. Design
A small and sleek device which is handy will be a good choice for a small house in a city. A slim tower design or L shape design is ideal & stable choice for domestic use. The problem with a badly designed device is that it overheats quickly. However, the slim tower design has its own merit that itâs a less hassle to clean.
4. Safety
Check out the safety aspects like earthing and cutout, safety power cables. Manufacturers can compromise on the quality in order to make the prices reasonable. This leads to tearing of power cables and electric shocks.
5. Overload Protection
Overload protection is mandatory and you must check for it. There are times when you may overload the device a little bit and this can cause problems like a motor burn out. An overload protection will give a circuit breaker which breaks the circuit in case of excess load. Therefore, special relay known as a circuit breaker is provided, that works like common fuse in the house. This works the same way as a common fuse in your house.
6. Quality
The quality of body, blades and jars are important in deciding which product to buy. A jar that doesnât fit in properly and/or are wobbly is not a sign of good quality. Make sure that the appliance you buy has sturdy blades and tight jars.
Tips On Using A Juicer Mixer Grinder
1. Avoid adding hot ingredients into jars as this may damage the blades and the jar walls
2. Add adequate water and run the machine while making purees.
3. Make sure that the deviceâs socket is well earthed to avoid shocks.
4. Allow air inside the jar lid to escape before switching on the machine. You can wait for 5 seconds to let the air escape.
What do you use the Kitchen Aid Mixer for?
Baking
It simplifies the baking process. It helps in preparing batter for cakes, cookies and more.
Whipping
Helps in making whipped cream, making frosting, whipping egg whites or creams and more
Dough
making pie dough, making bread dough, atta dough, pasta dough, pizza dough Snacks: making mashed potatoes, mixing cheese balls, appetizers that are cream-cheese stuffed/based.
Juices & Smoothies
Helps in making whipped cream, making frosting, whipping egg whites or creams and more
