Here is a follow-up to my original post from about 7 weeks ago. We bought the Cuisinart and so for so good. We have used it for various tasks...the same sorts of things that we had previously used our Kitchenaid, before the demise of the gear box. I will attempt to tell you the things I like about it and the things that I don't.
First, off it is a heavy machine, similar to the Kitchenaid so it stays in place. Again,my wife likes the way it looks and so do I. I know that really doesn't matter in the broad scheme of things, but we still like it.
The bowl is very deep and the beaters do a reasonably good job of clearing the sides of dough or whatever. The bowl attaches completely different than the Kitchenaid. Very securely in fact, almost too securely. It twists on the bottom. It can be difficult to twist off. My wife has some difficulty with it as do I. You have to twist very hard and very quickly or the entire mixer moves. The kitchenaid has the advantage there, but you can take the bowl off of the Cusinart without removing the beaters. Advantage Cuisinart. That it is possible because the Cuisinart tilts back. Sounds silly, but with the Kitchenaid you can slowly raise the beaters with the lever while they are running and they will somewhat clean themselves as they will whip the mixture on the sides of the bowl. I know, maybe not the safest thing to do, but it works! Because the Cuisinart tilts and it will still run as you tilt it and the beats will still throw the mixture off, helping to clean them. However, the mixture will not remain inside the bowl, which is not good! Advantage Kitchenaid. Also the Cuisnart when tilted in the upright position hits the top of my upper cabinets when the mixer is on the counter top. I have to scoot it so the front of the mixer is as close to the front of the counter as it will go. In this respect it actually takes up more counter space than the Kitchenaid because you cannot use the space behind the mixer very effectively. To me, it means I can't set ingredients etc., in front of the machine. Advantage Kitchenaid as I just don't have as much work space as I need as it is.
The spill guard/pour spout is worthless on the KItchenaid. The one on the Cuisinart works very nicely and I actually use it. It snaps down and keeps stuff from flying out and you can actually add ingredients without making a mess. Advantage Cuisinart.
The Cuisinart has more speeds and seems to run faster than the Kitchenaid on high, which is rarely used by me but still a factor. Advantage Cuisinart. The Cuisinart has a timer which I never thought I would use but I have used it a couple of times and it is useful.
I know this is an unusual review as I have not covered, power, capacity and your other basics, but that information is readily available from the manufacturers sites. The things I have wrote about are the things that I noticed. Hopefully they will be helpful to someone.
I have made bread and pizza dough and various other things and it is running fine and so far handles big load without any difficulty. Of course so did the Kitchenaid till it broke. For now I like the Cuisinart and am happy with my purchase. If I was buying one today based on what I currently know, I would buy the Cuisinart. Primarily because the Kitchenaid didn't last. But the proof in the pudding will be how long the Cuisinart lasts. That is yet to be determined but I will keep you posted.
