Kitchen Aid Mixer - Worth it?

Raymond Lin

Raymond Lin

Raymond Lin

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Wish i was in a Ramen Shop Counter
I want one, talk me out of it, tell me they are bad and there are better and cheaper alternatives.

(do they ever go on sale?)
 
Sorry, but I can't! We bought one about 10 years ago and it hasn't skipped a beat. It weighs a tonne and I can imagine we'll still have it in another 4 decades, it just feels like the kind of machine you could and would repair, solid metal etc.

If you bake (or want to bake) or anything else mixing-related they're fantastic. It makes the best Yorkshire pudding batter and meringues!

We've never used any of the weird/fancy nozzles like the ice cream maker or sausage maker or whatever, just the plain whisk and dough mixer.
 
Russinating said:
Sorry, but I can't! We bought one about 10 years ago and it hasn't skipped a beat. It weighs a tonne and I can imagine we'll still have it in another 4 decades, it just feels like the kind of machine you could and would repair, solid metal etc.

If you bake (or want to bake) or anything else mixing-related they're fantastic. It makes the best Yorkshire pudding batter and meringues!

We've never used any of the weird/fancy nozzles like the ice cream maker or sausage maker or whatever, just the plain whisk and dough mixer.
Click to expand...

Baking as in cakes and cookies, not so much but making dough for Gyozas, or even try my hand at nikuman (steamed bun). Those are my jam.

I made Gyoza on the weekend but it feels like I can speed up, less messy with a mixer. I’m also looking into the Artisan version for the more powerful motor because I plan to make bread dough.

The pasta accessory might be good too, then I can make my own noodles for ramen!
 
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I can't comment on how good they are, but I know when I worked big-box electrical, we used to infrequently (but it did happen) sell the ex-display models. Either because the store was reconfiguring and we didn't need it, or we had stopped that particular colour/combo of features or whatever. I don't remember any other time they went on sale.

People also used to rave about the Kenwood as an alternative. We did stock Magimix Cuisinart but no one seemed to bite on those.
 
Kenwood kmix is better. Picked mine up from the kenwood outlet which is local to me.

Never make my gyoza skins in it though, always do that on the worktop.
 
Artisan here and it's not skipped a beat in 2 and a bit years, made all sorts of cakes, doughs and ice cream and even with the thickest of stuff it just ploughs on. Got ours in black Friday sale 2019 and they do occasionally come up. Put an alert on hukd as all the deals are captured there.
 
I have 2. Well, now I have one and the ex wife has one. They're great. The thing I find with them is that even if things do stop working (mine needs the speed switch replacing inside) but they're very serviceable. It's like they're built for commercial stuff so makes it easier to not throw away, but instead fix and it will live forever.
 
20% off if you have a blue light card/similar.

It's always tempting, but I'm not sure I'd use it to its full potential.
 
Plainly they're expensive and the question is do you need a stand mixer in your life? We asked the same question nearly 10 years ago. We bought a much cheaper Andrew James and we're happy with it. It doesn't have that Country Living cachet of a Kitchenaid but is works well. We use it enough that if and when it breaks we'll buy a more expensive model.

When we were looking at these a few years ago there were some comments that the modern motors and couplings weren't as strong as the older machines. But not working in retail I can't comment if that is still an issue.
 
We had nothing but problems with our KitchenAid something-or-other. The motor packed up on the first one and the replacement also had a faulty motor which had pretty much zero torque.

The KitchenAid went back for a refund and we got a Kenwood Chef which has been excellent. Zero problems with it other than buying attachments is a bit of a lottery because I'm too stupid to double check that the attachment in question works with our model of Chef.

We (read that as my other half) make the vast majority of our bread products and following a whipped cream accident we make our own cultured butter too.
 
yes I went kenwood chef (classic) too - especially for food processor option (KA ones drive is a bit contrived) for pastry&like, higher power motors too (KA says their direct drive needs less power) - needed flexi-beater for the bowl, for creaming.
- might not be as art-deco, but always stands on top , used at least once a week.
if I was regularly doing bread (as opposed to bread machine) , maybe go for more powerful titanium.

earlier discussion V please-spec-me-a-stand-mixer-eg-kenwood-k-mix-kitchenaid-etc
just realised the chef originally looked like the kitchen aid does now.
 
We do a lot of baking and I bought my wife one of the cheaper plastic bodied Kenwood Chefs about 10 years ago on the basis we’d see how much we used it and buy a KitchenAid when it broke. Long story short, we use it loads and it’s still going strong now. We have a load of accessories so imagine we’d stick with Kenwood if it broke. It struggles with large quantities of dough but that’s going to be an issue with any domestic stand mixer.
 
I mentioned this thread to my other half last night and she reminded me that her parents still have a Kenwood Chef they were given as a wedding gift in 1976. In recent years it hasn't seen an awful lot of use, but it is still working fine.
 
200sols said:
Kenwood kmix is better. Picked mine up from the kenwood outlet which is local to me.

Never make my gyoza skins in it though, always do that on the worktop.
Click to expand...

We have a Kmix after our old Kenwood’s motor quit after 15 years of sterling service. Herself recons the Kmix is more flexible and controllable than the old one.
 
just to add to the mix ;) they are fantastic, but i got the cheapest mixer from amazon £80, lasted 9 years, with lots of Bread and cake making, on my second mixer £108 from amazon again 2 years in to that and still going strong with weekly use.
 
Kenwood Chef Titanium owner - very happy. Think 15 years old now. Used at least 3 times a week for bread, and also used frequently for food processor / cakes etc.

I looked at the alternatives, I think at the higher end all of the perform in a very similar way. May come down to cost / accessories / look (most important? ;)).
 
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