Please spec me a stand mixer (eg: Kenwood K-mix, KitchenAid etc)

Richdog

Richdog

Richdog

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Fellow OCUK'ers,

I am wanting to get into the world of baking (bread dough, cakes etc) and I am looking for a good, well-made and suitably powerful mixer that will stand the test of time. I have been reading a lot of articles and reviews and the two brands that get mentioned the most seem to be the Kenwoods and Kitchen Aid's.

Models I have been looking at are:

  1. KitchenAid Artisan 150
  2. Kenwood kMix KMX52
  3. Kenwood Chef Titanium

All have good reviews.

Would be great to please get some feedback and recommendations from you guys to guide me on my way. Thanks! :)
 
My other half recently bought a K-Mix and couldn't get on with it (I forget the reasons) so returned it and got a Kenwood Chef Sense. She's very happy with it, the motor is very powerful, it feels well built and there's oodles of accessories available.
 
I've plenty of experience with Kitchen Aid's; they're pretty much a standard in restaurants. Good, reliable machines. Can't comment on the others though!
 
I have owned both the Kenwood and KitchenAid. My husband bought the Kenwood Premier Chef for me after lots of research. After 12 months I traded it in for a KitchenAid and haven't looked back (although he does remind me of this!). My comparison between the two is:

Kenwood was more powerful but felt more 'clunky' if that makes sense.
Kenwood was heavier and a bit of a pain to move around. It was actually so powerful that while kneading dough it 'walked' itself off the counter(!)
KitchenAid doesn't have as large a space between mixer and bowl when the mixer is lifted up - I would say the Kenwood is better for this (i.e occasionally I have to take the bowl off the KitchenAid to sieve something in)
KitchenAid is more aesthetically pleasing - if you plan to keep it out on the worktop then a KitchenAid looks a lot better imo.
A small thing is the position of the buttons - I prefer the positioning on the KitchenAid which feels more natural.
Kenwood came with more attachments as standard (but then it also cost more - I think it was £350 and my KitchenAid was £250 - the Classic version).

Hope this helps.
 
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Agree the Kenwood walks - I had thought that was par for the course for all machines.
You have to get a flexi-beater, at least with Kenwood, if you want to cream butter/sugar for cakes - the K attachment does not touch the sides.
The Kenwood has a nice food processor attachment, which is great for pastry, if you do not already have a seperate machine - which is added reason to give it permanent residency on work top.
Never tried dough in it though, typically use a bread machine(walks too), had read a lot that you can just find dough clings to hook and climbs up it.
(not that its a a reference but not sure I ever saw K'aid being used for dough on GBBO)
 
PlacidCasual said:
We bought an Andrew James not expensive robustly built it obviously lacks some of the design and aesthetic features of the ones you mentioned but very capable.
Click to expand...

I can't get that where I live, so not an option I'm afraid.

Dolly said:
I have owned both the Kenwood and KitchenAid. My husband bought the Kenwood Premier Chef for me after lots of research. After 12 months I traded it in for a KitchenAid and haven't looked back (although he does remind me of this!). My comparison between the two is:

Kenwood was more powerful but felt more 'clunky' if that makes sense.
Kenwood was heavier and a bit of a pain to move around. It was actually so powerful that while kneading dough it 'walked' itself off the counter(!)
KitchenAid doesn't have as large a space between mixer and bowl when the mixer is lifted up - I would say the Kenwood is better for this (i.e occasionally I have to take the bowl off the KitchenAid to sieve something in)
KitchenAid is more aesthetically pleasing - if you plan to keep it out on the worktop then a KitchenAid looks a lot better imo.
A small thing is the position of the buttons - I prefer the positioning on the KitchenAid which feels more natural.
Kenwood came with more attachments as standard (but then it also cost more - I think it was £350 and my KitchenAid was £250 - the Classic version).

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback, and good that you tried both. I can basically get the KA Artisan with a ton of attachments (worth in themselves a few hundred quid at rrp) for the equivalent of £495 https://www.galaxus.ch/en/s2/produc...480l-candy-apple-red-kitchen-machines-2737457

jpaul said:
Agree the Kenwood walks - I had thought that was par for the course for all machines.
You have to get a flexi-beater, at least with Kenwood, if you want to cream butter/sugar for cakes - the K attachment does not touch the sides.
The Kenwood has a nice food processor attachment, which is great for pastry, if you do not already have a seperate machine - which is added reason to give it permanent residency on work top.
Never tried dough in it though, typically use a bread machine(walks too), had read a lot that you can just find dough clings to hook and climbs up it.
(not that its a a reference but not sure I ever saw K'aid being used for dough on GBBO)
Click to expand...

The KA Artisan can do pastry though as well right? ALso dough should be no problem as long as it's not too dry.
 
- I did not think to mention that - at least with Kenwood, it is a myth that you can make pastry in the regular mixing bowl, need some cutting action - and I do not think Artisan has any significantly different implements
 
jpaul said:
- I did not think to mention that - at least with Kenwood, it is a myth that you can make pastry in the regular mixing bowl, need some cutting action - and I do not think Artisan has any significantly different implements
Click to expand...

I have seen people do short crust on Youtube with the KA or similar mixers, examples here...


Apparently ice water and keeping everything cold is the key!
 
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YMMV but as I implied BTDTGTTS - quality from that process is marginal (inadequate mixing, takes ages & meanwhile mixture is heating/spoiling)
and that was why I got the food processor attachment .. and the machine redeemed itself.
For home, making pastry by hand, as had always done previously, was better than trying to use main bowl.
Ingrediants weighed directly into FP and a few pulses - 1/2lb of pastry in <1min

( Given that mixers are in the 1KW motor domain, as food processors, they have a lot of umph versus many dedicated FP's.
Pasta extruder with the brass dies / mincer attachments are on my wish list ;) )
 
We've had a basic Kenwood Chef for a few years now and it's been faultless with plenty of oomph for dough etc. I'd not hesitate to buy another especially now we have a few of the attachments. It does go walkies but seems to grip better to our quartz worktop than the old melamine one we had.
 
we have a Kenwood KMC570 Chef Premier

powerful, great for making dough, also came with the creamer for making butter icing etc.
I have since bought the pasta roller for it for it and am sorely tempted to get the pasta extruder!

it feels solid and has a good hinge...we had a cheaper stand mixer with a weak hinge that moved when making dough, just wasnt up to the task

it might not be a looker but its a hard worker
 
Extensive article comparing the two - had reviewed it when I decided Kenwood - some interesting comments about relative power (675 KA vs 1000-1500 KW) and the last few recently added -

When the Kitchenaid came along and became so popular I felt it was more for the looks than the quality – a bit of a ‘big girl’s blouse’!!
Yes, I owned one – given to me, used it to ‘dress our kitchen when we were selling the house – and then I sold it
So, I was interested in your research and comments.
Am I wrong or is the KA for left-handed people? The speed control is on the blind side of the machine if you are right-handed! The control also seems a bit flimsy.
We are now considering buying a new mixer and will go for the Kenwood 330 or 336
Click to expand...
 
I struggled with the K-Mix for bread dough. The dough hook isn't as good shape as the Kitchenaid one. Like others have said, the K-Mix also won't stay put and is a bit of a liability! One thing to watch out for on the KA Artisan is the latch - if you overload the machine it'll shear out. I'd recommend one of the bigger machines (like the Hobart ^ in the video) if you want to mix bread dough regularly, because this happened quite quickly on my one.
 
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