Essentially, a stand mixer is an extra pair of big, beefy arms in your kitchen. Use it wherever you could use a helper to do a mixing task while you busy yourself with another part of the recipe at hand. It's more efficient and better at evenly combining ingredients than a human could ever be; it cuts down on your prep time; and it's built to last. (Yes, as a professional cook, I actually own two stand mixers: the everyday 5-quart KitchenAid Artisan, and the big, badass 7-quart Pro Line version with 1.3 horsepower under the hood.)A basic stand mixer comes with three blade attachments: a beater, a whisk and a dough hook. Which one you want to use depends on your desired outcome:For home bakers and professionals alike, a sturdy stand mixer is key. The appliance is adaptable enough to whip up everything from airy layer cakes to stiff bread dough, and it cuts down on the time and effort of mixing by hand. What's more, many stand mixers include accessories to tackle other kitchen projects, like from-scratch pasta, DIY ice cream, and freshly squeezed juice.The first decision you need to make in order to choose the right mixer is which of the two main types to go with