Looking at Getting a stand mixer

[farmgirlwannabe]

I fried my mixer today. While I will go and purchase another hand mixer, I have been contemplating purchasing a stand mixer. DH told me that I had to "ask the girls first". He is so funny sometimes, but when I thought about it, who better to ask than all of you here. It's almost as if we all have our very own consumer reports crew at our fingertips.

 

I use my mixer quite a bit. Everything is cooked or baked from scratch.

 

So which one do you have? Brand? Model? Size? Any pros or cons of your mixer would be helpful.

 

Thank you!

 

Stacy

 

(Just to add, I do already have a non-electric hand mixer)

[Cat]

25 years ago, my mom bought us an Oster mixer set for our wedding gift. It has a mixer, blender, grinder, shredder, chopper/processors, and Hubby bought an ice cream attachment.

 

I love it, but they no longer make them, so when mine dies, I'm sunk. So far Hubby has been able to keep mine going by replacing the motor once.

 

I'm anxious to get some ideas, too!

 

 

 

 

 

[ol'momma]

I have a Kitchenaide - Proline (The heavy duty model). My Dad bought it for me nearly 13 years ago. I use it 4-5 times a week on average and it's still going like a champ. I mostly make bread, so it gets a workout with the heavy dough. I also use it for grinding sausage, making noodles, shredding, slicing and juicing... it's amazing what you can do with the extra attatchments! I understand you can even get a flour mill and grind your own grain with it!!

The drawbacks: It likes to spew flour all over the counter. It wieghs a ton. It takes up half the counter. And some of the attatchments are pretty spendy, as well as sorta hard to clean.

 

When it dies, I will replace it with as near as I can get to the identical machine.

[Violet]

I have a KitchenAid. Mine is cobalt blue. I have found it to be a wonderful mixer. I cannot remember the watttage on mine. I think it is 350, but not positive. Mostly I keep it in case I need to whip eggwhites and things that I can't really whip with the food processor as well.

I also have their electric handmixer, that I also love. I use it more than the stand one, just out of convenience.

I use my Cuisinart food processor a great deal more than even the mixer. It has a dough blade that I use for making bread dough, pizza crust, cookie dough, all sorts of things. I would not do without the Cuisinart. I have the shredding blades, and slicing blades except for one thickness. I plan to order it. I have had this Cuisinart for over 20 years. This is what I use for slicing, grating, chopping, etc. when I am canning. You all know how much I can !!

[ol'momma]

I have a KitchenAid. Mine is cobalt blue. I have found it to be a wonderful mixer. I cannot remember the watttage on mine. I think it is 350, but not positive. Mostly I keep it in case I need to whip eggwhites and things that I can't really whip with the food processor as well.

I also have their electric handmixer, that I also love. I use it more than the stand one, just out of convenience.

I use my Cuisinart food processor a great deal more than even the mixer. It has a dough blade that I use for making bread dough, pizza crust, cookie dough, all sorts of things. I would not do without the Cuisinart. I have the shredding blades, and slicing blades except for one thickness. I plan to order it. I have had this Cuisinart for over 20 years. This is what I use for slicing, grating, chopping, etc. when I am canning. You all know how much I can !!

I have a Cuisinart too. I'm just the opposite of you, Violet. I can only knead enough dough for 1 loaf of bread in it, and i prefer to do 2-3 loaves at a time. The biggest problem with it is that it's a dirty bugger to clean without a dishwasher. ..

I have the attatchments, but really, I run to the stand mixer a lot more often. I have better control with it, I think. The food processer can get away from me and instead of a fine chop, I end up with puree. You ain't kidding when you said that the stand mixer is the way to go for egg-whites. It takes the work right out of whipping! That said, the Cuisineart is a dream for making spreads and dips. In truth I use it a lot, too.

And I must note that while I am a great fan of my Kitchenaide, I know folks who have that that never use them. They honestly get by just fine with a cheap little hand mixer. Before you decide, take a long hard look at your personal cooking style - How often do you putter around the kitchen?

What tools do you use most frequently?

Do you bake a lot? Make big meals? Small meals? Casseroles, or 5 course dinners?

If you're just turning out an occasion a batch of brownies, a hand mixer should be fine. If you're like me and bake; can; cake decorate; grind sausage; then get a heavier duty toy.

LOL I bake so often that I have to share the goodies all over town. I'm told that certain indeviduals have threatened to bob my oven if I trash thier diets again...and others light up when the see me coming with a covered dish.

[BiscuitMaker]

I have a KA mixer that is 30 yrs old and I love the thing----however for my bread baking I bought a Bosch and it is outstanding, I make bread and I make four loaves at a time.That baby just wips it up in no time. It is made in Germany and it really knows how to knead dough. A friend is Mormon and she showed me how it works. My KA it great for cakes etc. but it really does not do bread dough. I have also read that the gears of the new KA are plastic.

I doubled a cookie batch the other day and I put it in the Bosch and it did great. Also I bought the one with the blender attachment and it is the best blender I have ever had.

[Deerslayer]

i have a kitchenaid--I WOULD NOT TAKE ANYTHING FOR IT!!!! This is what i would save if my house was on fire!!!!! LOL This is what all my children have told me they want for their wedding gift--we all love it very much--it is a wonderful timesaver--nothing is better than dumping the ingredients in while it is going--it is THE BEST THING I EVER GOT!!!

[farmgirlwannabe]

Wow. Now I want them all. Great input everyone. Thank you.

 

However....... I am even more confused now! I didn't realize that there were so many options. I have been looking them all up as you have been posting them.

 

Maybe if I give you a little more of an idea of my cooking style, one of these wonderful toys will stand out more as the one I should have (then again, maybe I need 2).

 

If it can be canned, I will can it. I have 2 dehydrators that get used frequently. I make 4-6 loaves of bread a week. I do cook large meals ahead and freeze them (just did 9 lbs of meatloaf). I make sauces and soups. I create things in the kitchen (sometimes just a mess).

Most of the time my hand mixer would just stay out because I used it so often.

 

I have no problem investing in a good machine - as long as it will be good for my purposes.

 

Thank you again for all of this input. I appreciate it.

[TJN66]

Im on my second kitchen aid stand mixer. I killed the first one making bread in it. I bake two loaves of bread a week with it and it bogs down with 6 cups of flour. Which is the capicity that it is set up for. I have the artisan model. When this one goes Im getting a bosch.

 

I dont think they make the newer models as well anymore. Plastic, cheap parts so they break and you have to buy a new one. Anyway...just my 2 cents

[Josephine]

I have a KA (the kind that the head lifts up). I got it back in 91 for Christmas. It's doing ok, for what I use it for, but the head wobbles a bit, and you can see on the paddle where it's rubbing against the bowl. BUT I have never had it serviced or cleaned, and I'm sure if I took it in it would come back fine. I really would like the one where the bowl lifts up; maybe subconsciously I'm hoping the old one will die if I don't take care of it and I'll have to get a new one!

[pinkroses]

I have the bigger kitchen add mixer mine is cobalt blue too.

I also have a kit that when you have it in under a door it rises up and is on a lever thingy

I haven't gotten it put in our new kitchen yet ; but I hope to soon

I have a work table on the island one side is the sink and dish washer

the other side is like a counter

but,

it is more like my work area.

it is fixed to where I can sit down and do most of my prep work cause I can't stand long

I am using that to put my mixer on until I can get it installed on the opposite side .

I too have their hand mixer and love it.

hugs sheila

[anitapreciouspearl]

the really important question is - DOES IT COME IN RED????

[Leah]

You might not like the KitchenAid with the lifting bowl. To get the bowl off, you have to disengage the beater and drop it down into the batter.

My MIL hates that part, and never wants another one.

[HSmom]

I have the Kitchenaid with the bowl lift function. My dh selected it because it's just plain mechanical. The head tilt model involves a flexible connection of wires between the stand and the head. He felt that was more likely to be damaged by repeated use, than the simple bowl lift mechanism. Leah is right, though, I often have to fish the beater out of the batter.

 

I use my KA for bread dough, pizza dough, and muffins. I also have the grinder attachment, which I use to grind meat and (pressure-cooked) bones for dog food. I have the METAL noodle making attachments (much different than the plastic noodle maker). Sometimes, when I'm using the noodle maker, I also get bread kneading in the bowl. The machine is easily able to keep up. OTOH, Darlene can tell you about how she burned out TWO Kitchenaid mixers - but c'mon, how many of us are as intense as Darlene? lol

 

Also, the Kitchenaid is Made in America.

[HazelStone]

I have the Kitchenaid with the bowl lift function. My dh selected it because it's just plain mechanical. The head tilt model involves a flexible connection of wires between the stand and the head. He felt that was more likely to be damaged by repeated use, than the simple bowl lift mechanism. Leah is right, though, I often have to fish the beater out of the batter.

 

I use my KA for bread dough, pizza dough, and muffins. I also have the grinder attachment, which I use to grind meat and (pressure-cooked) bones for dog food. I have the METAL noodle making attachments (much different than the plastic noodle maker). Sometimes, when I'm using the noodle maker, I also get bread kneading in the bowl. The machine is easily able to keep up. OTOH, Darlene can tell you about how she burned out TWO Kitchenaid mixers - but c'mon, how many of us are as intense as Darlene? lol

 

Also, the Kitchenaid is Made in America.

 

I have the Bosch Universal Kitchen Machine. Twice the wattage of a KitchenAid, but their advertised "12 lbs of dough" capacity is a dirty lie. A double batch of challah dough (6-ish pounds total) is almost too much to fit in the bowl though the motor just laughs at the load. Eventually I'll get the Messerschmidt grain mill that can fit on the machine. It is very good for a double batch of cookies though, and it's great to crack myself a beer while it's working on heavy whole grain bread dough. :-D No more tendonitis for me! I did consider a KitchenAid but the reviews I found was that while it CAN grind grain and do heavy bread dough, it runs the danger of overheating. I feed my mixer whole wheat flour far more often than egg whites, so I went with raw power. Which I'll need if I get the meat grinder attachment my husband is interested in.

[Jayceef]

Hey Stacy,

 

I have the KA Pro 600 with the 6 quart bowl. It is the lift model and I love it. I had an old Sunbeam mixer from my aunts estate sale a few years ago and the beaters were getting pretty bad on it. I splurged and got this one and wouldn't get anything different. Now with that said I don't really do bread dough in it I mix that in my bread machine given to me by DMIL. Dh has a meat grinder so we don't have one of those attachments. I do have the ice cream attachment and that is great to make some really awesome treats. Hope this helps. Good luck!

[pinkroses]

If you go to www.qvc.com

Yes , they have red.; also pink, lavender yellow etc.

I know they often run out of the colors that are more popular. hugs sheila

[The MacKinnon]

I have a KitchenAid "Artisan" series and I love it. Mine's cobalt blue, too. We got my DD a pink one (breast cancer fund raiser) for a wedding gift last May. Bed Bath & Beyond tends to have good prices and we had a 20% off coupon, so we got a decent price. Amazon.com has them too and occasionally Overstock dot com will have a deal on them. The "Artisan" is less expensive than the Proline, so as mentioned earlier you'll have to decide how much use you'll put it too.

 

It does come in RED (and orange, pink, yellow, lavender, pink, green, white yada yada yada)

 

Good luck and congrats in advance!

[farmgirlwannabe]

Wanted to say thank you to everyone for helping me with this. After much deliberation, I made my decision and ordered my mixer!

 

While I may kick myself later for not going with the Bosch, I felt at this point for me it would just be complete overkill. I ordered the KA Artisan 5qt. Though it comes in so many colors, I got the onyx. I fought myself over the color choice for quite a while (which is so unlike me). I always get black, but the cobalt almost won!

 

I will let you know how it is when it gets here! Thanks again!

[Ambergris]

I have two questions for most any appliance:

 

1) how noisy is it?

 

2) how difficult/dangerous/unpleasant is it to clean by hand?

[HSmom]

It's east to clean.

 

It's somewhat loud, but not terribly loud. Clear as mud?

 

 

[TurtleMama]

I've heard good things about Kitchen Aids, but I have a Bosch. I'm in love with it...750 watts!!!!!! Dude... that's some power. But I think you'll be just as happy with your new KA as I am with my Bosch...my sister has a red KA and it's been wonderful for her.

 

Have a TON-O-FUN with your new mixer when it arrives!!!

[HazelStone]

Watch those mixers! Mine almost went flying off the counter. My husband was trying to make bread by himself, cranked it up to the next gear, but left the dough "unbalanced" instead of spreading it down some in the mixing bowl first. Like an unbalanced washer, the mixer went walking off the counter, sent a couple things flying, and was halfway off the counter before noticed DH and dove for it.

 

It was sitting on one of those kitchen carts you can get from Home Depot. Reasonably sturdy but not quite as "anchored" as a regular counter and I think a little bit of "wobble" in the cart contributed to the Bosch Mixer Shimmy.

[farmgirlwannabe]

Just got home and there it was, sitting outside my door. I have my new mixer! Can't wait until I get to use it. Let you know how it is!

[farmgirlwannabe]

Okay. One hour later and I'm in love!

Bread - in the oven and my wrists and arms aren't hurting.

 

This mixer works like a dream. It kneads the bread better than I ever have!

 

Clean up is so easy. Wash the bowl and dough hook, wipe down machine and you are good to go.

 

As for noise - less noise than pressure canning! I was on the phone while standing right next to it, and the conversation went on without any problem.

 

It did start to warm up just a little after the 3rd batch of bread dough, but that is better than I expected.

 

Overall, so far, I give it a 10!