The Bottom Line
Giving you the ability to grind meat, fruits, vegetables, bread and hard cheeses, the KitchenAid Food Grinder Attachment (compare prices) will make your KitchenAid stand mixer even more versatile than it already is.
Pros
- Grinds 2 1/2 pounds of meat in 10 minutes.
- Cheaper than buying a standalone grinder — but only if you already own a stand mixer.
- The grinder itself is expandable with various separate attachments and accessories.
Cons
- Requires a KitchenAid stand mixer.
- Plastic body is sturdy enough, but won't last forever.
Description
- If you own a KitchenAid stand mixer, the Food Grinder Attachment lets you grind meat, fruits, vegetables, bread and cheeses.
- The grinder body, "worm," ring and food pusher are dishwasher safe. The metal blade and grinder plates require hand-washing.
- Comes with two grinding plates — one for coarse grinding and one for fine grinding.
Guide Review - Food Grinder Attachment for KitchenAid Stand Mixer
If you own a KitchenAid stand mixer, the Food Grinder Attachment (compare prices) is one of the most versatile accessories available — so much so that it actually has a number of attachments and accessories of its own.
I used the Food Grinder to make my own ground beef. Initially I was somewhat put off by the fact that pushing the cubes of meat into the hopper (using the food pusher tool that comes with the grinder) required what seemed an excessive amount of force.
But that turned out to be my own fault. I'd failed to read the instructions specifying that the mixer should be turned to Speed 4 for grinding meat. I had it on the slowest speed, which undoubtedly made the task more difficult than it needed to be. Despite this, though, the grinder still performed admirably, churning through 2½ pounds of beef chuck roast in about 10 minutes.
The grinder is also expandable with a separate fruit and vegetable strainer accessory that lets you make things like applesauce, baby food, jams and chutneys. And if you're into making your own fresh pasta, there's a separate pasta maker for making macaroni and round noodles like spaghetti. There's even a separate sausage stuffer kit available.
If you're looking for a tool with basic food grinding capabilities, but you don't have a KitchenAid mixer already, I wouldn't run out and buy one just to use the Food Grinder. Then again, it's almost unimaginable that someone who's into food and likes to cook wouldn't have a KitchenAid stand mixer.
I used the Food Grinder to make my own ground beef. Initially I was somewhat put off by the fact that pushing the cubes of meat into the hopper (using the food pusher tool that comes with the grinder) required what seemed an excessive amount of force.
But that turned out to be my own fault. I'd failed to read the instructions specifying that the mixer should be turned to Speed 4 for grinding meat. I had it on the slowest speed, which undoubtedly made the task more difficult than it needed to be. Despite this, though, the grinder still performed admirably, churning through 2½ pounds of beef chuck roast in about 10 minutes.
The grinder is also expandable with a separate fruit and vegetable strainer accessory that lets you make things like applesauce, baby food, jams and chutneys. And if you're into making your own fresh pasta, there's a separate pasta maker for making macaroni and round noodles like spaghetti. There's even a separate sausage stuffer kit available.
If you're looking for a tool with basic food grinding capabilities, but you don't have a KitchenAid mixer already, I wouldn't run out and buy one just to use the Food Grinder. Then again, it's almost unimaginable that someone who's into food and likes to cook wouldn't have a KitchenAid stand mixer.
