Kitchenaid Stand Mixers

[Porthos]

One word: Mayonnaise. Home-made mayo is super easy with the whip.

Our 6 Qt KA gets its major workout in December when my DW bakes enough cookies for 35 plates. Our 5 Qt KA that we purchased in 1981 was still going strong when we ugraded to the 6 Qt 2 or 3 years ago. The 5 Qt is put away and will be given to someone down the road.

[Wholemeal Crank]

I have the incredibly efficient Whisk-A-Bowl that does a terrific job on egg whites.

Had completely missed the release of that, looks terrific. Putting it on the shopping list.

[emmalish]

My KA is the only mixer I have – I don't have a hand mixer at all – so if I'm making a lot of cookies, cakes, marshmallows or fudge, it gets a lot of use. That said, even when it's not getting a lot of use, it stays on my counter. I don't have the space to spare, but I just love the way it looks.

[lesliec]

[font="Trebuchet MS"]'Acculturation'. What a lovely word. I like you, Mr Shaw.

Try a pavlova (here, about halfway through the post). Nothing like a stand mixer for getting a big one of these suckers fluffy.

[annachan]

Marshmallow! Can't imagine using another machine for that.

[FrogPrincesse]

I just bought a Kitchenaid stand mixer a few weeks ago. I do quite a bit of baking and, while a handheld mixer is fine for cakes and whipping egg whites, I got really tired of creaming butter and sugar by hand for cookies. Now I can make large batches without any pain.

Also, I was pleasantly surprised by the first pie crust I made in the stand mixer - it had a great texture, very flaky. I don't regret my purchase.

I use the meat grinder attachment so it's multi function. And I plan on buying the pasta roller & cutter attachments soon to replace my old pasta machine.

[Fat Guy]

I worry about overmixing things like cookie doughs. Is that an irrational fear?

[andiesenji]

I worry about overmixing things like cookie doughs. Is that an irrational fear?

Not so much. Most cookie doughs are mixed in such a way that there is not much gluten development.

[FrogPrincesse]

Overmixing as in dense/tough cookies? I have not experienced that.

With typical cookie recipes, most of the mixing happens between the butter and the sugar, a step greatly facilitated by the stand mixer. The flour is usually added at the end and there is little mixing required at that point.

For the pie crust, I was very worried about overmixing and really did not think that it would resemble what I make by hand. However by stopping as soon as crumbs were formed and finishing by hand, I got results I was very happy with.

[Deus Mortus]

For the longest time I have wanted a KA mixer, but sadly here in Holland I haven't been able to find them for less then 400 euro's and I just don't have that kind money, but as such I have had endless dreams of what I would do when I finally find one for an affordable price.

• Any Batters
  
• Egg Whites
  
• Doughs
  
• Pasta
  
• Grinding meat
  
• Making Ice Cream with the chilled bowl
  
• Laughing at the inferior cooks who don't have one
  
• Filling Sausages
  
• Candy Making
  
• Slowly Caressing it as I fall asleep with it huddled against me
  

[djyee100]

The KitchenAid mixer is a godsend if you bake. It does the hard work of kneading dough, beating egg whites, and creaming butter and sugar. It does those tasks better than I do by hand. I've worked with the sausage and pasta attachments, on other people's machines, and those attachments can be handy for those foods.

I think there's a danger of overmixing on any machine, and I've known people who have baked tough cakes because of overmixing. I don't know about cookie doughs, though, since I've never done any comparisons on mixing times. I wonder if the nature of cookies hides the fact that they are tough (tougher?) from overmixing.

For butter-based cakes and cookies, my system is to use the KitchenAid to cream the butter and sugar well, slowly beat in the eggs until just incorporated, then finish the batter or dough by hand--alternating liquid and flour, and stirring with a spoon. No overmixing that way. For a stiff cookie dough I will use the mixer at slow speed, until almost all the flour is incorporated, then finish by hand.

If you want to use your KitchenAid mixer more, start with bread. It's fun, it's rewarding, the dough is alive with yeast, and the bread smells great when it's baking.

[Snadra]

Marshmallow! Can't imagine using another machine for that.

Let me know when you're next coming to Sydney and you can teach me how to make marshmallows on mine!

I do love my KA - for one thing it just looks cool in the kitchen. But it's made it possible for me to make more complicated cakes,better cookies and the occassional italian-meringue based buttercream. Lately I've been making the Ciabatta out of The Bread Bible, which can only be done in a mixer and it's been a revelation. A thousand times better than any ciabatta I can easily get my hands on here (seeing as I'm not willing to spend hours travelling across Sydney to get my hands on one).

However, I still don't feel like I'm getting 'full worth' out of it - I really need to use it more. One of my problems is that I've been unwilling to spend money on any attachments as they're so pricey. In fact, they're so expensive I am close to wishing I had been given a Kenwood Chef instead of a KA, even though they're not as pretty.

[Deus Mortus]

Marshmallow! Can't imagine using another machine for that.

Let me know when you're next coming to Sydney and you can teach me how to make marshmallows on mine!

I do love my KA - for one thing it just looks cool in the kitchen. But it's made it possible for me to make more complicated cakes,better cookies and the occassional italian-meringue based buttercream. Lately I've been making the Ciabatta out of The Bread Bible, which can only be done in a mixer and it's been a revelation. A thousand times better than any ciabatta I can easily get my hands on here (seeing as I'm not willing to spend hours travelling across Sydney to get my hands on one).

However, I still don't feel like I'm getting 'full worth' out of it - I really need to use it more. One of my problems is that I've been unwilling to spend money on any attachments as they're so pricey. In fact, they're so expensive I am close to wishing I had been given a Kenwood Chef instead of a KA, even though they're not as pretty.

That is actually something I have been wondering about, everyone and their mother have KA's, what are the added bonuses on a KA that you don't get on things like a Kenwood? Or are they the same, minus the looks and brand name?

[Snadra]

However, I still don't feel like I'm getting 'full worth' out of it - I really need to use it more. One of my problems is that I've been unwilling to spend money on any attachments as they're so pricey. In fact, they're so expensive I am close to wishing I had been given a Kenwood Chef instead of a KA, even though they're not as pretty.

That is actually something I have been wondering about, everyone and their mother have KA's, what are the added bonuses on a KA that you don't get on things like a Kenwood? Or are they the same, minus the looks and brand name?

I used a hand-me-down +30-year old Kenwood Chef for a few years (the gears eventually gave out and it wasn't worth the expense of having it repaired) and frankly, I'm not sure there was a huge difference between it and the KA (although someone who has deeper experience of the two may have a more considered opinion). The mixing action was great and it was even a bit quieter than my KA. There are also quite a few attachments available for the Kenwood, though may be not as many as for the KA.

Considering you are in Europe, wouldn't you also have access to Bosch mixers? I saw one on a local Bosch-sponsored cooking show (not the universal mixer, but I can't find any details on it) and it looked quite powerful and had a slightly different action to the KA/Kenwood.

[Deus Mortus]

I have seen them, but they are generally even more expensive then the KA ones and don't seem to have quite as many attachments, especially not having the pasta attachment breaks the deal for me.

[jsmeeker]

Make pizza dough.

Use it when you make chocolate chip cookies. Or most any cookie.

Whip cream with it.

What I like most about the machine is that it's hands free. You can let it run and do other tasks. Like cleanup. I have no attachments for mine, though I keep thinking about a meat grinder attachment for it.

[annachan]

Marshmallow! Can't imagine using another machine for that.

Let me know when you're next coming to Sydney and you can teach me how to make marshmallows on mine!

Sure thing. As I recall, it's really easy in the KA. Off the top of my head, it's just whipping egg whites in the KA. Sugar mixture cooked on stove till a certain temperature, then slowly add to the egg whites and let that whip in the KA for about 10 minutes. And you get marshmallow!

If I have to replace my KA here, I'll definitely get a Kenwood Cooking Chef. That way, I won't even have to cook the sugar on the stove as I can do so in the machine.

[Special K]

I make two gross of cookies almost every Sunday, and it's a snap with the KA mixer - goes very quickly. It helps to have one of the new silicone paddles, as runwestierun and others have mentioned. Also, extra bowls come in handy. Oh, and a convection oven, six half-sheet pans, ready-cut parchment paper and six stackable cooling racks. I'll have to time myself this weekend.

I'm glad yours is already out on the counter. Mine went unused when it was hidden away in a cabinet. Having it always out and handy makes it really easy for me to "just do it." Plus, the kitty loved to play in it when she was little, as you can see by my avatar.

[MissAmy]

My sweet boyfriend got me a Kitchen Aid as a housewarming gift when we moved in together. I love it. I use it to bake bread, make cakes and cookies for get-togethers, mix meatloaf, lots of stuff. I really want the meat grinder attachment so I can start making things out of my copy of Carcuterie I got for my birthday.

[andiesenji]

I'm bumping this up to let anyone who has a KA 5-quart bowl lift mixer that I just listed a new steel bowl WITH the copper liner on ebay. 

 

Just in case anyone is interested and either needs an extra bowl or really wants a copper liner.  

I've priced it very competitively, compared to others currently listed - (199.00 and 225.00 just for the copper liner).

[captainyee]

This is a great tool...kind of reminds me of a Hobart N50 which costs almost $2k.

[lindag]

I've had my KA since the mid 70s (Hobart-made) and it is still going strong, I hope it goes forever - I love that thing!

I bought a Magic Mill DLX in the 90s and thought about selling the KA.  I'm sure glad I didn't.  While I used the DLX for a couple of years I returned to making smaller recipes and started again using my KA.  The DLX has been tucked in a closet ever since.

[Hassouni]

I'm considering one of these in the semi-near future (like, months, rather than weeks or years), and I was wondering - whats the verdict on Artisan vs Pro lines?

[lindag]

I'm considering one of these in the semi-near future (like, months, rather than weeks or years), and I was wondering - whats the verdict on Artisan vs Pro lines?

Mostly it will depend on what size recipes you make.  If they're smaller, I'd go for the 5-qt. tilt head with glass bowl.

Mine is the 5-qt. lift and I like that too.

They go all the way to the big 7-qt.  While I love it, it's just too big for my kind of baking.

[andiesenji]

Mostly it will depend on what size recipes you make.  If they're smaller, I'd go for the 5-qt. tilt head with glass bowl.

Mine is the 5-qt. lift and I like that too.

They go all the way to the big 7-qt.  While I love it, it's just too big for my kind of baking.

I used one 5-qt bowl lift (KA Hobart) for 30 years, gave it away and it is still working.  I bought one of the newer ones, not Hobart, burnt out the motors in two on stiff doughs, so got a DLX then more recently bought one of the 6-qt bowl-lift mixers which works fine for most stuff but I still use the DLX for really large batches of dough or for really stiff doughs like pumpernickle or some really dense cookie doughs. 

 

If you need something that will fit into a compact space, the tilt-head will slide under most overhead cabinets.  For me it doesn't have the capacity that I like and also when you have to scrape down the sides mid-way through mixing, it is more difficult to work around the beaters. 

(I saw this illustrated recently on America's Test Kitchen, when Bridget had to scrape down the sides of the bowl while using a tilt-head KA and it appeared very awkward.)