A mixer is a kitchen appliance intended for mixing

Mixture

In chemistry, a mixture is a material system made up by two or more different substances which are mixed together but are not combined chemically...

, folding, beating, and whipping food ingredients. Mixers come in two major variations, hand mixers and stand mixers.

A hand mixer, as the name implies, is a hand-held mixing device. The modern electrically powered type consists of a handle mounted over a large enclosure containing the motor, which drives one or two beaters. The beaters are immersed in the food to be mixed. A simpler manually-operated type, which preceded electric mixers and is still used today, consists of a handle with a hand-operated crank

Crank (mechanism)

A crank is an arm attached at right angles to a rotating shaft by which reciprocating motion is imparted to or received from the shaft. It is used to change circular into reciprocating motion, or reciprocating into circular motion. The arm may be a bent portion of the shaft, or a separate arm...

 on the side, geared to two beaters. The handle is held with one hand and the crank is turned with the other, turning the beaters.

A stand mixer is essentially the same as a hand mixer, but is mounted on a stand which bears the weight of the device. Stand mixers are larger and have more powerful motors than their hand-held counterparts. They generally have a special bowl that is locked in place while the mixer is operating. Heavy duty commercial models can have bowl capacities well in excess of 100 quarts (95 L

Litre

pic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre...

) and weigh thousands of pounds, but more typical home and light commercial models are equipped with bowls of around 4 quarts (4 L). A typical home stand mixer will include a wire whip for whipping creams and egg whites; a flat beater for mixing batters

Batter (cooking)

Batter is a semi-liquid mixture of one or more flours combined with liquids such as water, milk or eggs used to prepare various foods. Often a leavening agent such as baking powder is included to aerate and fluff up the batter as it cooks, or the mixture may be naturally fermented for this purpose...

; and a dough hook for kneading

Kneading

Kneading is a process in the making of bread or pasta dough, used to mix together the ingredients and add strength to the final product. Its importance lies in the mixing of flour with water. When these two ingredients are combined and kneaded, the gliadin and glutenin proteins in the flour expand...

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In 1870, Turner Williams of Providence, R.I., invented the first hand egg beater. The first electric mixer was invented by Herbert Johnston in 1908 and sold by the KitchenAid

KitchenAid

KitchenAid is a home appliance brand owned by Whirlpool Corporation. The company was started in 1919 by The Hobart Corporation to give restaurants a countertop alternative to their industrial sized mixers. The first model weighed 69 lbs. Each unit is still assembled by hand in Greenville, Ohio...

 division of the Hobart Manufacturing Company

Hobart Corporation

The Hobart Corporation is a manufacturer of commercial equipment used in the foodservice and grocery industry. The company manufactures food preparation machines for cutting, slicing and mixing, cooking equipment, refrigeration units, warewashing and waste disposal systems, and weighing, wrapping...

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Older models of mixers originally listed each speed by name of operation (ex: Beat-Whip would be high speed if it is a 3-speed mixer); they are now listed by number.

Mixers should not be confused with blenders

Blender (device)

A blender is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, puree, or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender jar with blade at the bottom, rotated by a motor in the base...

. Blenders contain sharp blades and typically operate at higher speeds that chop, liquefy, or otherwise break down larger food items. A mixer is a much slower device without sharpened blades.