Stand Mixers

[GaryM]

I've decided that we need a stand mixer. I've also decided that it should be a KitchenAid.

The question is, which one?

There are two main types, the ones where the heads tilt up and back to remove or replace the bowl, and the kind where the bowl is cranked up and down to allow access. I believe the tilt kind is lower in price.

I'm more interested in the advantages and disadvantages of each.

They also come with different motor wattage ratings. The ones I've seen so far range from 275 watts to 325. The higher wattage motor should provide more power, or it could just be less efficient. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Any ideas?

[Bird]

Gary, they actually make them both more and less powerful than the 275 to 325 you mentioned. The cheapest ones are what Walmart and Sears sell; $200 and 250 watt. I'm not sure if they have any of the $240 and 300 watt ones or not. Those are 4.5 qt. bowls and tilt head. Bed Bath and Beyond sells ones that are a step or two up; the Artisan series; $300 and 325 watt; 5 qt. bowls and tilt head. Best Buy also sells some of the more powerful ones.

Earlier this year, I spent a lot of time researching these things and still can't claim to know a lot. I do know that the Artisan series comes in a wide variety (27) colors while many of the other models do not.

Now I have no experience with the bowl lift models so they might or might not be better. But what I did on 5/28/07 was to contact the company on the Internet and bought a "refurbished" Artisan mixer for $189 instead of the $250 they used to be and $300 now. It came with a 6 month warranty instead of the one year warranty, but otherwise, I cannot tell it isn't new. And I see they still have them at the $189 price at http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/produc...CH=refurbished

I wouldn't say we use it a lot, but we have made quite a few loaves of bread, several batches of chocolate chip cookies while I was tweaking my recipe until I got just the texture and taste I was looking for, banana puddings, and lots of biscuits. I make up batches of biscuits, freeze them in pie pans, then put them into ziplock bags. My wife doesn't eat breakfast; only a banana, so I can get 2 frozen biscuits out of the bag, pop them in the toaster oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, and . . . . well, you get the idea.

And then your timing is interesting because I just went to Bed Bath and Beyond day before yesterday and bought the food grinder attachment, ground up some of the turkey leftovers and made myself a couple of turkey salad sandwiches.

The only thing I don't particularly like is the fact that you can only use their stainless steel bowls and those bowls are $50 at Bed Bath and Beyond (of course you hope you never need another one).

And yes, I rounded all dollar figures up one cent except the $189. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

[GaryM]

Thanks Bird, I looked at their web site and it appears that the bowl lift models are "heavy duty" and recommended for bread dough and stuff like that. It appears that the bowls are larger too.

I think the tilt top is what I'll end up with. Color will probably be white.

I saw some at Target last week. Tilt top and IIRC, a 300 watt rating. I think it was just under $200.

I could use the grinder attachment when I make my chili. I buy chuck or arm roast and grind it up.

[Bird]

Yep, Gary, I think the bowl lift models are supposed to be heavier duty, but also cost more. Sometimes bread or cookie dough will quite noticeably put a load on ours, but so far it handles it OK. I think their website shows retail of about $64.95 for the food grinder, but I paid $49.99 plus tax at Bed Bath and Beyond. I've only used it so far that one time. I ran a few pieces of onion, then a hard boiled egg, and then cooked turkey through it, but I read a number of "reviews" before I bought it and it seems that most folks have been happy with them.

[GaryM]

I currently use one of the old hand cranked grinders that clamps to the edge of a table. My dogs loved it when I used it because some of the meat never made it into the bowl but fell on the floor.

I think the mixer may wait until next month because I stopped by the local gun shop last night and plan to return tonight.

So maybe no rush on the mixer. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[egon]

Gun shop ehh; does that mean fuel for the grinder? [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Bird]

Gary, my youngest daughter still has my Mother's old hand cranked, clamp onto the table, food grinder that I grew up using from the time I was big enough to remember. I sure ran a lot of chickens, jack rabbits, and pears through that thing.

[GaryM]

Egon, I'm a shooter, but not a hunter. I have no objections of any kind regarding hunting, and have been know to take a rabbit or squrrel from time to time, but hunting as a sport holds no interest. My main interest is competitive pistol shooting, particularly International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA). This shooting "game" involves shooting various scenarios based on possible defensive situations. Lots of fun! [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Scoring is based on elapsed time with time added for poor hits or misses. So lowest score is the winner. Kind of like golf only with more noise!

Bird, that sounds a lot like the one I have. Used to belong to my Mother in Law. Keen Kutter is the brand name I think. I use the coursest plate to grind meat for chili. Works really nice. If I'm in no hurry I usually just cut the meat into pieces about the size of the end of your pinky finger.

[Pat]

I have inherited the Sunbeam Mixmaster that my mom had from as far back as I can remember. It is a tiltback with a selection of bowls and accessories. It has a meat grinder accessory and a citrus juicer accessory. This thing is a getting to be a real antique but works fine. It must be about 60 years old or thereabouts. I too look at the HD Kitchen Aid versions and think, gee, one of those would be nice but so far my HD bread machine and old Sunbeam Mixmaster are taking care of business. Hopefully, if I succumb to the attraction of the Kitchen Aid I will be able to understand how to operate it or the instruction manual will actually instruct.

I have a food processor that has never been plugged in. The manual is NOT INFORMATIVE and never having had one before it isn't obvious to this casual observer how to use it. I might just gift wrap it and give it so someone who could use it. Then if I find one with a REALLY GOOD manual, I could get that and be ahead of the game.

Although it is possible that more Watts is just due to less efficiency, in the same brand it is more likely to be a more powerful motor. If I do get one it will NOT be one of the lowest powered units. If low power was good enough my old Sunbeam would get 'er done and I wouldn't need the Kitchen Aid.

Pat

[Bird]

Gary, the food grinder attachment for the KitchenAid stand mixers has two grinding plates that, as you would expect, are called "fine" and "coarse". In my opinion, it would be more accurate to call them "fine" and "super fine". [img]/forums/images/icons/ooo.gif[/img] I wish there was another much more coarse plate.