Well, I bought a stand-mixer

I’ve been meaning to for a long time, but they’re expensive. I actually went to Bed Bath & Beyond just to look at blenders. And since they’re by the mixers…

BB&B has their 20% off coupons, and there’s a $30 mail-in rebate plus a subscription to Food & Wine. Still, I was just looking. I liked the blue one. They didn’t have any in stock. (You know, just in case I wanted to get one in the next couple of months.) The guy checked the computer, and it looked like there was one store in the state that had two. It’s either popular, or they might be discontinuing the blue. I ended up ordering it. The salesman waived the shipping (which I thought was weird – why would there be shipping to the store?). Turns out it’s being shipped to my house.

As it happens, I mistakenly bought bread flour last time I bought flour.

Nice! What brand?

It’s gotta be the KitchenAid

I want one, too - I haven’t justified the expense or the storage space yet. Soon, soon…

Ooooh, pretty!

I got myself one by Cuisinart this Christmas, and I have to say, so far it is serving me admirably. Lots of bread, cookies, random other baked goods.

Now you need to buy a Beater Blade (and a meat grinder, and a pasta roller, and a pouring shield, and a…)

I wanted a KitchenAid so badly…and waited for years because of how pricey they are. But I found that it if you watch the sales closely you can sometimes get a really good deal on one. And I love it so much, and use it all the time…I forget how much money it was. :slight_smile:

Now storage in my tiny kitchen with no counters is another story…but I made room for it to live in one spot and sacrificed other appliances so that I could keep it there.

Aye, that’s the one. :slight_smile:

I really, really need to remodel my kitchen. There’s not enough counter space, and there’s not enough cabinet space. (Plus I hate the sink, and I wouldn’t mind a dishwasher, a new stove, and a propane cooktop.) But it’s going to be a while before I can do that, so I’ve been thinking of pulling out the chop saw and building a new counter/cabinet along one wall.

Cook’s Illustrated preferred the Side Swipe. :slight_smile:

Definitely want a pouring shield, especially if you have a drop-bowl rather than a tilt-head version!

It has a cover with a chute on it.

What I really need is an extra dough hook. Because, you know… Arrrrrrrrr! Shiver me timbers an’ walk me plank! We be headed to Floridarrrrrrrr!

I love my kitchenaid! You gotta get the ice cream maker attachment! That thing is freaking awesome!

I rather like my stand mixer. Fudge is where it really shines. I can put the fudge into it far hotter than I could handle in a mixing bowl with a spoon and start beating sooner. I get the best fudge that way.

Congrats, Johnny.

I’ve been **seriously **thinking about getting a Kitchenaid. I currently have (and my mother before me) a Sunbeam basic stand mixer. It’s fine. But that’s all. Just fine. It comes aparts for storage (the mixing apparatus separates from the stand) and while it’s working the beaters turn individually but don’t move, if that makes sense. The spinning beaters make the bown spin. I think that’s the main difference with a Kitchenaid – the beater not only spins, but it also rotates, while the bowl stays in place, right?

Can anyone here suggest a Kitchenaid model? Is there a bowl size that you’d recommend over another? There are models where the head & beater tilt up, while others where the bowl is raised & lowered to the beater. Here’s your chance to express your opinion!

(sorry if this is a hijack!)

Not at all! :slight_smile:

I bought mine on sale at Macy’s in Guam (only relevant because it explains the next part ;)) so I had no real choice of models. I could buy what they had, not buy one at all, or pay outrageous shipping and wait even longer to order one from the mainland. So I can’t really give opinions on various models (but am very happy with mine whichever it is…). But one thing I would suggest, if you have the option is to get a bowl size larger than you think you need. I am not sure if I have the largest or next to largest, but I am constantly wishing that it were just a tad bigger.

I use mine a lot to make bread dough, and I like to make bread in double or triple batches…it would save time if I could do a double batch in one bowl.

And I might be in the minority but I dislike the pour shield and just skip it altogether. That might be a side effect of my no counter space issues though. I have my mixer on a little piece of counter between the stove and refrigerator (about 12 X 18 inches) and the pour shield makes it awkward for me…I end up spilling more with it in place than without it.

I’m going to be in the market for a stand mixer after my kitchen is finally done.

The 2 big brands for quality machines over here seem to be Kitchenaid (starting at around 400 euros for an artisan KSM 150) and Kenwood (starting at around 200 euros for a KM 264, or 300 for a KM 266, though there’s a huge range in price for Kenwood machines).

Has anyone used both brands, and are there big differences in quality?

ETA: I’m planning on doing more bread etc.

ETA2: all of the machines mentioned have around 4.5 liter / 5 quarts bowls.

Yes, the beaters do both spin and rotate/“orbit” around the bowl. It’s supposed to make sure to incorporate the ingredients better, but I find that you still get a lot of unmixed ingredients sticking to the bottom and sides and left unincorporated, so I bought the SideSwipe, which I linked above. It replaces the beater that comes with the mixer.

I got mine as a Christmas present from CostCo; it’s pretty much this model or close. 475 watt motor, 5 quart capacity, drop bowl (rather than tilt-head). It’s called the Professional HD, and this model is a CostCo exclusive.

Go to the KitchenAid website and check out the models there. (The CostCo model is slightly better than their Professional 5.) I would avoid the ones with the lower wattage ratings on the motors. I’ve read that the cheaper models have some motor parts inside that are plastic, which will wear out faster. You also want a more powerful motor to handle tougher jobs - burning out the motor on a thick batch of fudge or double-batch of bread dough would be awful.

Tilt-head makes it easier for some people to put ingredients in. I prefer the drop-bowl because mine fits right under a kitchen cabinet, on the narrow counter, and there wouldn’t be room to tilt the head up. Also, you will probably still end up putting ingredients into the bowl while it’s running with either model type, so you may find yourself in a similar position as drop-bowl owners even if you do have a tilt-head model.

I believe my bowl is a 5 quart, and it is a tilt head (and its bright red - I love that color). My MIL has the raise bowl kind, and looking at it, I don’t think she can mix stuff and add stuff all at once. I could definitely be mistaken, but it sure looked like there wasn’t much of a gap between bowl and the head. I’ve never asked, cause I love mine plenty! But her’s is a 7qt bowl I believe.

I use my bread machine for making bread dough since I have too much of a draft to allow the yeast to rise. She uses hers for making bread a lot, so the larger bowl was important for her.

Both of us: you can have our mixers when you pry it from our cold dead hands, and maybe not even then! :wink:

You can. Having the pouring shield helps, or you can just drop it in the side after the beater head has passed by.

Someday, my pretty, you will be mine. Of course, my arms will get all weak and noodly once I stop beating batters all the time.

ETA: Uh, I was talking about the mixer, not Dolores. I have no designs on making Dolores mine.