Stand Mixers 2002 – 2011

[David A. Goldfarb]

The power rating is related to the amount of dough it can handle, and in general with a KitchenAid, if the machine can use the spiral dough hook, it can handle more dough.

Those ratings in terms of cups of flour depend to a certain degree on the flour and type of dough. For instance, a pasta or bagel dough is heavier than a typical white bread dough, so if the machine can handle a medium weight dough with 6 cups of flour, it may only handle a heavier dough with 4 cups of flour before it shuts down due to overheating (it happened a few times with my previous KitchenAid) or before the gears strip, if the mixer doesn't have a cutoff switch.

Then the larger motor will come with a heavier gear system and spiral dough hook, so it's a package.

There are other very nice mixers out there, some better if you only want to use it as a mixer, but the attraction of the KitchenAid for me is the range of accessories produced over a long period of time.

[janeer]

I bought my standard-size Kitchen Aid in 1975 when you had to drive to a restaurant supply in a sketchy neighborhood and pay a fortune for it to find one. It is avocado gold, pretty much your choice for a home (non-floor) machine back in the day When bigger, more powerful machines came out, I almost traded it in for a Kenwood but never did, and it is still going strong. I invested in a second bowl to make life easier. The machine gets a little hot once in a while, and can move around a bit on the counter, but no biggy. That said, I find I use my Cuisnart (much more up-to-date and large capacity) more and more for almost everything--all pastry, most bread dough,most cookies, most cakes. Of course, there is nothing like the KA for egg whites. So if a cake involves egg whites I generally make the whole thing in the mixer. I end up making more savory things with the mixer now, it seems.

[IndyRob]

Dried bread dough can develop a death grip on stainless steel.

A brief soak and it should rub right off.

I think you'd need to see the immense ease with which the dried dough comes off a plastic bowl. No brief soak. No soak of any sort. No rubbing whatsoever. Just an upending, maybe a smack, and a rinse.

Edited September 10, 2010 by IndyRob (log)

[prasantrin]

That said, I find I use my Cuisnart (much more up-to-date and large capacity) more and more for almost everything--all pastry, most bread dough,most cookies, most cakes. Of course, there is nothing like the KA for egg whites. So if a cake involves egg whites I generally make the whole thing in the mixer. I end up making more savory things with the mixer now, it seems.

For how long have you had your Cuisinart? I was itching to buy one when they first came out, but there weren't a lot of reviews from users for them, and the most common comments were along the lines of "A friend had one and thought it felt cheap and flimsy, so he returned it."

I'm still sort of drawn by them, though. (And do you have the 7qt or the 5.5qt model? Do you have any of the attachments? If you do, what's your opinion of them? So many questions. . . )

[dougal]

...

But now the Kenwood is back and stands proudly, if perhaps wastefully, beside the KitchenAid. In retrospect it was superior in every practical way but one. It has a plastic bowl. Plastic bowls can absorb fat which could kill your egg white whipping efforts. However, I also found that plastic bowls (whether by the same fat absorption, I'm not sure) can be a real boon with bread doughs.

...

So, I don't know if such an option exists today, but I think it would be worth finding out if interchangeable bowls are an option.

No idea what US availability might be, but Kenwood bowls can be found in Stainless, Plastic and a pyrex-like milky Glass. The current, twin-handle stainless bowls are expensive (roughly £65/$100 retail in the UK), but good-condition older ones (without handles) go for about 1/3 of that on eBay UK.

All same size (ie Chef-size or Major-size) bowls from over the years should be interchangeable for mixing purposes (but do check the height adjustment on each of your beaters), but that certainly doesn't extend to bowl lids, and might not extend to bowl accessories like the "Colander & Sieve".

Edited September 10, 2010 by dougal (log)

[paulraphael]

The KA dough capacity ratings are simplified to the point of being useless. 11 cups of flour? 9 cups of "specialty flour"?

You could make a high hydration dough with 30% more flour than the mixer's rating, and have no problems. You could also stall the mixer with a lesser amount of extremely dry and stiff dough. You really just have to use your senses. Watch the machine, listen to it, feel the back of it for heat. It's easy to tell when it's humming along vs. when it's laboring.

Some cases of people wrecking their machines come from defects, but I'm guessing most come from simple lack of attentiiveness. I know of a number of people who have demolished mixers (including professional models) by trying to cream frozen sticks of butter. You might as well throw bricks into the bowl ...

[pastryelf]

Realizing that I had not spoken directly to Kitchenaid myself but just relied on the remarks of others, I contacted the 800 number. I was told that they have a shipping option where for $32 (+tax) roundtrip, you can send your broken mixer to their repair shop in Ohio. There they check the machine out and let you know how much it will cost to fix. For what I described, which I believe to be a stripped gear (machine makes all the right noises but nothing moves) they estimated the repair to cost anywhere between $45 and $165 and then they will ship it back for that $32 I already paid. They do call to tell you what the repair estimate is, so if the repair doesn't work financially you don't have to go through with it. Although in that situation they will charge you a $25 diagnostic fee. I authorized them to charge my card if the repair was $100 or less, figuring that was what I felt like paying to fix it. That way they will just do the repair and ship it back which expedites the process. The total turn around should be between 3 and 4 weeks. They warranty the replacement parts for a year, and the labor for 90 days.

This all seemed reasonable, which surprised me, considering what I had read on other posts here on eGullet and on the web. And that is why I am writing this out. Wanted others in my situation to have some current frame of reference. The thing that sold me was the $32 round trip shipping option. I was afraid I would have to pay at least $100 just to ship the damn thing, as it is rather heavy.

If my experience is vastly different from this I will post again.

Thank you all for all your advice.

Albest

[vice]

Dried bread dough can develop a death grip on stainless steel.

A brief soak and it should rub right off.

I think you'd need to see the immense ease with which the dried dough comes off a plastic bowl. No brief soak. No soak of any sort. No rubbing whatsoever. Just an upending, maybe a smack, and a rinse.

Absolutely agree. I was just commenting that of all the hard to clean things one might encounter in the kitchen, dried dough really isn't that bad regardless of the surface.

[Mel Z]

I'd like to hear from current KA users as to which model they picked any why...I'm a Cuisinart owner and I love it to death, but my sister is heartset on a KA (and her birthday's coming up). She does a heavy amount of baking for the average household cook--cookies, cakes, and breads--but only a bit of catering work. I think the 5Q capacity would be plenty, but can someone help me figure out all the different lines that KA offers and what would be best? Artisan, Professional, Heavy Duty, Classic? I've used the bowl lift models in some of my baking classes but never actually checked what line they are...

Thanks for the help!

[Porthos]

We started with 5 qt lift bowl in 1981. While it is still in good working order we replaced it (and put it away for now) at Christmastime 2008 with a model 610 professional so that our Christmas Cookie baking would go more easily. Some of the doughs gave the 5 qt a real workout. The 610 handles the tasks with power to spare. I've also used it to make multiple loaves of Irish soda bread at a time and it performed well. It also turns out the the whisk for a 610 has eleven wires compared to the model 600's whisk with six wires.

[Stephanie Brim]

Will the 610 whisk work with the 600?

[Porthos]

Will the 610 whisk work with the 600?

Check this thread.

[Stephanie Brim]

Awesome! Thanks. I guess I'll be replacing the other whisk soon then.

[magdelinewest]

The Kitchenaid Pro 600 is decent but the Pro 5 Plus seems to have more oomph for some reason. You won't go wrong with either.

[kalypso]

The Kitchenaid Pro 600 is decent but the Pro 5 Plus seems to have more oomph for some reason. You won't go wrong with either.

I would agree with this, it also has fewer problems. I've owned a Pro 5 for about 8 years now and haven't had a bit of problem with it and it get regular use. It's fair sturdier and more durable than the artisan line. It doesn't have the tilt head feature, which is a pain for adding ingredients but it does a great job otherwise

[andiesenji]

I thought I had mentioned this in a post on this forum but can't locate it so here it is.

I saw this on a local TV news show and the cook/chef raved about it so much that I just had to order one.

Whisk-A-Bowl

I am very glad I did as it does a terrific job on egg whites and I have been beating a lot lately (made a schaum torte that takes a dozen egg whites) and having this work more rapidly than the standard wire whisk is a great help.

I have the 6-qt 'Pro' bowl lift but also got one for my old 5-qt, for which I have the copper liner.

I'm really impressed with the way this works. It also whips heavy cream extremely rapidly, and in a third less time than usual. (also at lower speeds than is needed with the regular whisk.)

[prasantrin]

You did post it over here. I only know because I read that post just this morning and looked up the product. I'm hoping to finally get a mixer this year, so I hope to get one of those whisks, too!

It's good to have the info about that whisk in different threads, so anyone can find it!

eta--it's good for egg whites and whipped cream, but can it also be used for beating eggs and sugar together when you need it to be voluminous? Or would a regular whisk be better?

Edited December 19, 2010 by prasantrin (log)

[andiesenji]

You did post it over here. I only know because I read that post just this morning and looked up the product. I'm hoping to finally get a mixer this year, so I hope to get one of those whisks, too!

It's good to have the info about that whisk in different threads, so anyone can find it!

eta--it's good for egg whites and whipped cream, but can it also be used for beating eggs and sugar together when you need it to be voluminous? Or would a regular whisk be better?

I have the "scraper" type flat beaters for creaming butter and sugar and mixing cake and cookie batter. Absolutely no need to stop and scrape the sides of the bowl.

[HKDave]

...

But now the Kenwood is back and stands proudly, if perhaps wastefully, beside the KitchenAid. In retrospect it was superior in every practical way but one. It has a plastic bowl. Plastic bowls can absorb fat which could kill your egg white whipping efforts. However, I also found that plastic bowls (whether by the same fat absorption, I'm not sure) can be a real boon with bread doughs.

...

So, I don't know if such an option exists today, but I think it would be worth finding out if interchangeable bowls are an option.

No idea what US availability might be, but Kenwood bowls can be found in Stainless, Plastic and a pyrex-like milky Glass. The current, twin-handle stainless bowls are expensive (roughly £65/$100 retail in the UK), but good-condition older ones (without handles) go for about 1/3 of that on eBay UK.

All same size (ie Chef-size or Major-size) bowls from over the years should be interchangeable for mixing purposes (but do check the height adjustment on each of your beaters), but that certainly doesn't extend to bowl lids, and might not extend to bowl accessories like the "Colander & Sieve".

Better a late response than never... Kenwood stand mixers were most recently sold in the USA under the DeLonghi name; that's the company that has owned Kenwood since 2001. For parts and accessories for the stand mixers in the US: http://www.delonghi-accessories.com/models.asp?cat=223 I don't see the bowls listed, but they would be the first people I'd ask. US tel 800-865-6330.

[cbread]

... I know of a number of people who have demolished mixers (including professional models) by trying to cream frozen sticks of butter. You might as well throw bricks into the bowl ...

For the prices on many of these machines, maybe I should be able to toss bricks in.

[sabg]

i finally the money for my mixer and attachments...i went out to get my kitchen aid and just want to be sure i am getting what i need without over buying...i want a mixer and want to be able to grind meat and mae pasta...i have the hand grinder for both but have some hand issues so want it to as easy as poss...i saw a ka 575 watt 6 qt for 389.00 at brandsmart..they said the r always the best price...it comes with a mail in ice cream attchment rebate

[ojisan]

The KA meat grinder is OK, but the sausage stuffer is worthless. The pasta extruder is also worthless, but the pasta roller attachments are supposedly OK except for the price.

[eternal]

I have to disagree. I stuff sausages with the KA without problem. What do you find useless about it?

I've never owned any other mixer so I can't comment about how it compares to others but we've been very happy with our KA. Have had it for 10 years and works like a charm. We have the smaller model so maybe sometimes it would be nice to have something bigger but I'm actually not sure we've ever needed more space.

We have the meat grinder and sausage stuffer, the ice cream maker and the pasta maker (3 attachments - sheet, spaghetti and linguini) which is expensive but very high-quality. We now quickly make pasta on a regular basis. I dig the KA.

[mgaretz]

I love my KA. If you told me I had to give up all but one of my kitchen electrics, I would be keeping the KA. I haven't used the sausage stuffer, only used the grinder occasionally but I use the pasta rollers all the time!

[ojisan]

I have to disagree. I stuff sausages with the KA without problem. What do you find useless about it?

There is an informative discussion on sausage stuffers here: http://egullet.org/p1117371