# I don't need a Kitchenaid stand mixer **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 29, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970 "2008-11-29T20:22:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/121 "2008-12-05T21:31:05Z")
Drum roll, please… Photos of [before and after](http://www.flickr.com/photos/22378132@N06/?deleted=3011260500)with the new spatula beater. You have to start at the bottom right, as I couldn’t figure out how to rearrange the photos. The before photos were taken after I had beaten the butter and sugar together for about a minute with the original beater. The after photos were taken after about ten seconds with the new beater. The consistency photos are of the final creamed product, which is pretty impressive. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/122 "2008-12-05T21:40:17Z")
How’s it clean up? Is the internal skeleton well and truly covered by the silicone, or are there seams or openings for inevitable bacterial growth? ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/123 "2008-12-05T21:41:26Z")
[My Kitchenaid](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v140/gigglesthebloody/?action=view¤t=wilcokitchenaid.png) arrived yesterday (we added the **Wilco** sticker to make up for lack of flames). So, I decided to [make some sugar cookies.](http://pics.livejournal.com/pepperlandgirl4/pic/0000sadf) ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/124 "2008-12-05T21:55:30Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > [My Kitchenaid](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v140/gigglesthebloody/?action=view¤t=wilcokitchenaid.png) arrived yesterday (we added the **Wilco** sticker to make up for lack of flames). So, I decided to [make some sugar cookies.](http://pics.livejournal.com/pepperlandgirl4/pic/0000sadf) Shiny! A word of advice from the grandmother of Kitchen-Aids. See that bowl like area of the base, under where the actual bowl is? Yeah, that spot tends to collect moisture, get banged by your bowl, and after about half a century, starts to rust where the enamel’s been worn away. No biggie, just cultivate the habit of wiping it dry when you’re done using the mixer. I’m assuming that the whole shebang’s still made of iron, of course. If they’ve made it with plastic or aluminum or stainless, then nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/125 "2008-12-05T21:58:14Z")
I also don’t need to make fluffy mashed potatoes every week or so. We certainly don’t need an appliance that would happen to be the most-used thing in our kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/126 "2008-12-05T22:29:28Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > How’s it clean up? Is the internal skeleton well and truly covered by the silicone, or are there seams or openings for inevitable bacterial growth? Most excellent question. The wings are sealed to the skeleton, and I was able to get all of the residue cookie dough off by rinsing with hot water. The only problem (which is not really a problem), is that there is a hole in the center where the blade attaches to the mixer. I found a bit of cookie dough up in there, but it’s an easy cleanout. The package has a claim that this can cut mixing time by up to 50%, and I believe it. I had creamed butter in no time at all, and it thoroughly mixed all the other ingredients without problem and in quick order. This thing is the shiznit! ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/127 "2008-12-06T04:27:49Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > [My Kitchenaid](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v140/gigglesthebloody/?action=view¤t=wilcokitchenaid.png) arrived yesterday (we added the **Wilco** sticker to make up for lack of flames). So, I decided to [make some sugar cookies.](http://pics.livejournal.com/pepperlandgirl4/pic/0000sadf) Pretty! Put it away, you don’t really need it. You especially don’t need to soften a brick of cream cheese and beat it with a stick of softened butter until smooth. That’d be useless. Especially if you got crazy and threw an egg and a teaspoon of vanilla in there and creamed it all up willy-nilly. You certainly wouldn’t want to add a box of devil’s food cake mix in, which would be the death of most mixers anyway, it’d be total silliness. Rolling them into donut-hole sized balls, sprinkling p.sugar over them and baking at 350 for 10 minutes, using a baking sheet you can slide right off the pan to let them cool completely, nah, you don’t want to do that at all. Really. Just say no. ---
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/128 "2008-12-06T07:22:03Z")
> [@ChiefScott](#): > > I still don’t own a “harvest gold” circa early 80s KA mixer. > > And in addition to not making cakes, brownies, cookies and meatloaves, I’ve never, ever made small batches of spackle in it for wall/ceiling repairs. > > Never, ever. lol I don’t cook much (though this thread has gone out to a few) but I fucking laughed out loud at the spackle!!! I just might not need one!!! ---
**Author:** ![Nan\_Sequitur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Nan\_Sequitur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nan_Sequitur)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/129 "2008-12-07T02:06:25Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Isn’t a tenterhook one of the attachments on the deluxe KA model? Yes. Yes, it is. But I am so appliance deprived, I can only pretend to have tenterhooks of my own. Nevertheless, I don’t need a KA mixer. I was doing just fine making mashed potatoes tonight. When I stepped away from the mixing bowl (which requires diligent monitoring, or it starts to make decisions on its own) for exactly two seconds to shut off the microwave, potatoes were flung out of the bowl in the loveliest arcs of spirograph-esque plumes. Quite spectacular, really. So, if I had a Kitchen Aid, I would not be able to enjoy free form potato art on the floor. And countertop. And refrigerator. AND my clothes and hair. Some people call it a kitchen disaster… I call it performance art. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/130 "2008-12-07T02:24:59Z")
> [@Nan\_Sequitur](#): > > Yes. Yes, it is. > But I am so appliance deprived, I can only pretend to have tenterhooks of my own. > > Nevertheless, I don’t need a KA mixer. I was doing just fine making mashed potatoes tonight. When I stepped away from the mixing bowl (which requires diligent monitoring, or it starts to make decisions on its own) for exactly two seconds to shut off the microwave, potatoes were flung out of the bowl in the loveliest arcs of spirograph-esque plumes. Quite spectacular, really. So, if I had a Kitchen Aid, I would not be able to enjoy free form potato art on the floor. And countertop. And refrigerator. AND my clothes and hair. > > Some people call it a kitchen disaster… I call it performance art. Two words: [potato ricer](http://www.oxo.com/OA_HTML/xxoxo_ibeCCtpOXOPrdDtl.jsp?a=b&item=46689). Squooze them into a bowl with butter and milk, mix with a fork or hand mixer: Done! ---
**Author:** ![Nan\_Sequitur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Nan\_Sequitur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nan_Sequitur)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/131 "2008-12-07T02:39:02Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Two words: [potato ricer](http://www.oxo.com/OA_HTML/xxoxo_ibeCCtpOXOPrdDtl.jsp?a=b&item=46689). Squooze them into a bowl with butter and milk, mix with a fork or hand mixer: Done! Chefguy, it seems unnecessarily cruel to deprive my friends and family of their little amusements. But I’m sure I could find some ingenious way to make myself ridiculous using a simple manual potato ricer… hmm, maybe I’ll try it. Thanks. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/132 "2008-12-07T04:25:35Z")
I replaced my seven-year-old Heavy Duty model with a Pro 600 earlier this year. About two months after we got it, it was kneading a batch of bread just like usual when it suddenly started making a godawful noise. It still ran, but it wouldn’t stop making the noise and it was at half-power at best. I called KA’s customer service line and was shocked to reach a very nice lady who appeared to be a native English speaker. She asked me a few questions and listened to the noise over the phone. She put me on hold for about a minute to speak with a supervisor and then came back to take my address. Less than 48 hours later I came home from work to find a brand-new identical mixer sitting on my front porch; I was told to put the old one in the box and FedEx would be back for it in a week or so. So you DEFINITELY don’t want to buy from a company that offered such a ridiculously pleasant and helpful customer service experience. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/133 "2008-12-07T21:29:54Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I’ve had no problems with mine. Supposing you wanted to have some delicious fresh pasta for lunch. How would you make it? ---
**Author:** ![truthbot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@truthbot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthbot)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/134 "2008-12-08T01:46:28Z")
If, and only _if_; you had a KA with the pasta roller that you _most expressly don’t need_ you would make a simple egg pasta. You would first blend the eggs, water, salt and flour with the paddle attachment until well blended. Then pop in the dough hook and knead it for a few minutes. You would then let this hypothetical “dough” rest for about 20 minutes in the fridge. Then you would pop on the pasta roller, starting at the “1” setting and roll the dough through increased settings until you got the pasta the thickness you desired. You then switch the roller for the cutter, and feed the sheets of pasta dough through it. My God! You’ve just spent the better part of 1/2 hour making fresh pasta. You hussy! And you don’t even have to clean the attachments afterwards, nor call them the next day. Harlot. Then, you have to spend about 4-5 _whole_ minutes watching the fresh pasta cook in boiling water. Who has time to _boil_ water? What a waste of time! If you wanted an extruded pasta, like macaroni or such, you would order the pasta plates to accompany the grinder attachment that you also don’t need. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/135 "2008-12-08T03:24:00Z")
> [@tygre](#): > > However, I did enjoy SELLING KA mixers when I worked for a department store. I could make half my daily goal selling one of the delixe models 🙂 I was coming in to say that - like you didn’t tell me when I didn’t get my 1970s, cream-coloured, Hobart-made (metal gears, bitches!) K45S for $86.00. Including shipping. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/136 "2008-12-08T14:07:44Z")
> [@Queen\_Tonya](#): > > You especially don’t need to soften a brick of cream cheese and beat it with a stick of softened butter until smooth. That’d be useless. > > Especially if you got crazy and threw an egg and a teaspoon of vanilla in there and creamed it all up willy-nilly. > > You certainly wouldn’t want to add a box of devil’s food cake mix in, which would be the death of most mixers anyway, it’d be total silliness. > > Rolling them into donut-hole sized balls, sprinkling p.sugar over them and baking at 350 for 10 minutes, using a baking sheet you can slide right off the pan to let them cool completely, nah, you don’t want to do that at all. Hmm…that sounds like something I won’t be making for the office for Christmas. If I had, would they come out as flat cookies or still in a ball shape? (Just to know what I’m missing, you understand.) ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/137 "2008-12-08T15:32:45Z")
> [@lunar\_elf](#): > > Flames would be cool… I want to paint racing stripes on mine. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/138 "2008-12-09T05:14:41Z")
> [@Queen\_Tonya](#): > > Pretty! > > Put it away, you don’t really need it. > > You especially don’t need to soften a brick of cream cheese and beat it with a stick of softened butter until smooth. That’d be useless. > > Especially if you got crazy and threw an egg and a teaspoon of vanilla in there and creamed it all up willy-nilly. > > You certainly wouldn’t want to add a box of devil’s food cake mix in, which would be the death of most mixers anyway, it’d be total silliness. > > Rolling them into donut-hole sized balls, sprinkling p.sugar over them and baking at 350 for 10 minutes, using a baking sheet you can slide right off the pan to let them cool completely, nah, you don’t want to do that at all. > > Really. Just say no. It’s a good thing I have no urge to make this recipe. Otherwise I would have to tell you just how easily my KA creamed the butter and cream cheese, and how it didn’t even break a sweat when I added the cake mix. Furthermore, I would then have to tell you just how good (and cake like) those cookies are. But since I have no urge to make this recipe, I don’t have to do any of those things. ::: DING!::: ooops, excuse me, the timer on the stove just went off, I have some [del]cookies[/del] err baked potatoes in the oven. Baked potatoes, yeah that’s the ticket, I have baked potatoes in the oven. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/139 "2008-12-09T06:35:23Z")
The baked potatoes you made would go really well with the [del]cheesecake[/del] chicken I just made. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970/140 "2008-12-09T06:52:07Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > So, **Rick** and **jellyblue** and **WhyNot** , where should I send these hypothetical cookies to? Because they can’t stay around here at my place. > > For very long. ARRRGHHH!!! I was robbed! Like Sally in the pumpkin patch on Halloween! The stupid site ate my thread subscription and I just find this TODAY!!! To console myself, I must not go make a batch of eggnog meltaways in my hypothetical KA cobalt blue mixer that I don’t have. _sob_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-need-a-kitchenaid-stand-mixer/474970.md?page=8)