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kitchen aid mixer

post #1 of 23
7/7/08 at 10:03pm
Thread Starter 
Ok i'm saving up for a kitchen aid mixer and I am just wandering are they worth it or should I just get a cheaper stand mixer? If this helps I dont nead bread I just mix cake of very thick consistencies!!!!please help:crazy:
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I may be only 14 but my future is pastries
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post #2 of 23
7/7/08 at 10:15pm
i LOVE my KitchenAid! i would recommend the 5 quart version. i find that the 6qt bowl is a lil too big for the home cook. not only are they gorgeous, but they are sturdy, reliable, easy to use... basically, my KitchenAid is my reason for living. .....

... they have attachments now for freezing ice cream, making pasta, grinding meats for homemade sausage. they are well worth the price. .. i've only seen one KitchenAid death so far, and this poor mixer was abused at work and was not for a professional kitchen.... have i convinced you yet?
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post #3 of 23
7/7/08 at 10:51pm

go for it

Kitchen aids are the best on the market IMO they are sexy grunty workhorses and these days you can get them in different colours
i would definatly buy one , if i didnt already have 2 almost as great mixers. totally worth the $$$ss
when life hands you lemons, make lemon gelee, lemon meringue pie, or any other dessert your heart desires

www.theunknownchef.com
www.theunknownchef.co.nz
www.shoebridge.co.nz
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post #4 of 23
7/8/08 at 7:23am
Don't get a cheap stand mixer. This is common advice for any tool--be it a power tool, or mechanic's tools, or kitchen equipment--if you want to use it more than once.
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post #5 of 23
7/8/08 at 9:27am

kitchen aids--don't get a cheap mixer

I went through bunches until I got one, and I never needed another. Unlike food processors, the KA doesn't heat up the dough. I use it mainly for bread. The only thing it really doesn't do is pastry, where you cut in the fat into the flour--but I think that is best done by hand (with a pastry cutter) anyway.
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post #6 of 23
7/8/08 at 10:27am
There's cheap. And there's inexpensive. They're not necessarily the same.

When buying a KA you have to first consider how you will use it. F'rinstance, I have an antipathy to tilt-head mixers. And I use my stand mixer primarily for bread. So it was a no-brainer: the Pro-600 was my obvious choice.

However, being as bread isn't part of your requirements, and if a tilt-head mixer meets your comfort level, then the Artisan is all you need. It will do the job just fine, at considerably less cost than one of the pro models.
They have taken the oath of the brother in blood, in leavened bread and salt. Rudyard Kipling
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post #7 of 23
7/8/08 at 10:49am
Can't disagree with anything that's been said so far. I've had my KA for 14years now. Been thinking of upgrading to the 6qt though. Some of the things we do here like pizza dough, the 5qt is just too small. Don't get me wrong though the 5qt is very adequate for the home it's just that I'd prefer to get the whole batchs of dough in the bowl and not just half.

By the way.....You may not be preparing bread at the moment but you can't say that you won't wish to try it in the future. If you're going to invest the money in a mixer, maybe upgrading to the 5 or 6qt stand mixer may not be a bad idea. Better than having to go out and get a second mixer in a couple years.:roll:
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post #8 of 23
7/8/08 at 12:08pm

6 qt

I agree with the 6 qt. You won't burn it out on doughs. You can get them for as low as $299, but the 5-quart I've found for under $200, which is fantastic. There is a new beater design made by a third party that cuts beating time and sweeps the bowl almost clean. Fits 5 and 6 quart.
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post #9 of 23
7/8/08 at 1:51pm
i use it for all my rubbed doughs.
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post #10 of 23
7/8/08 at 1:53pm

rubbed dough

how do you process pie dough (rubbed) or biscuit?
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post #11 of 23
7/8/08 at 2:04pm
add dry ingredients into bowl first. then you add your cold cubed butter. mix on slow speed until butter is desired size. slowly add your wet... just like you do by hand... just easier!
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post #12 of 23
7/8/08 at 2:17pm
so Jessiquina you would use the dough hook for this ? or would you use the paddle and do you just mix till a breadcrumb texture
when life hands you lemons, make lemon gelee, lemon meringue pie, or any other dessert your heart desires

www.theunknownchef.com
www.theunknownchef.co.nz
www.shoebridge.co.nz
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post #13 of 23
7/8/08 at 2:27pm

thanks

The cut method looks as if it would work! I might try the whisk attachment. I imagine the colder the butter, the better.
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post #14 of 23
7/8/08 at 2:38pm
Just use the paddle attachment. What you need to watch for is overworking when the liquid is added. Mix just until incorporated and then pull off mixer and finish by hand.

My mentor--an amazing French pastry chef!-- used to do all his scone and pastry dough on a Hobart. The key is to keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn't get overmixed.
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post #15 of 23
7/8/08 at 2:41pm
Oh--and yes the butter needs to be cold.

Forgive me, Jessiquina for answering a question that was directed to you!
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post #16 of 23
7/8/08 at 3:03pm
im sure she wont mind and thanks for that , im going to have to try it it sounds great
when life hands you lemons, make lemon gelee, lemon meringue pie, or any other dessert your heart desires

www.theunknownchef.com
www.theunknownchef.co.nz
www.shoebridge.co.nz
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post #17 of 23
7/8/08 at 4:13pm
Thread Starter 
yes and thank you
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I may be only 14 but my future is pastries
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post #18 of 23
7/8/08 at 4:18pm
Thread Starter 
thanks all of you i think i am ganna do it i am going to get one
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I may be only 14 but my future is pastries
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post #19 of 23
7/8/08 at 4:28pm
Hello..

The Pro 600 is the only way to go.. Great machine. :smiles:

Don't forget to feed the pig...

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post #20 of 23
7/8/08 at 5:23pm
no worries!

yes, use the paddle.... you might bend up your wisk attachment with that method!!!

we even make biscuits for 200 ppl in our 30qt mixer. its easy to over mix that way, but it beats doing it by hand!
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post #21 of 23
7/8/08 at 5:50pm
jessiquina do you just do it to breadcrumb stage
when life hands you lemons, make lemon gelee, lemon meringue pie, or any other dessert your heart desires

www.theunknownchef.com
www.theunknownchef.co.nz
www.shoebridge.co.nz
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post #22 of 23
7/8/08 at 6:15pm
I love my KA appliances. It makes short work of many things I have to do using just my paws...
Bill and Izzie: Proud parents of a soldier.
Looking back on all the mistakes I've made in my life, all I can say is I've gotten a lot of miles out of stupid.
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post #23 of 23
7/8/08 at 6:43pm
certain recipes call for different sized butter chunks. some call for pea sized. some call for bigger chunks like half walnut size.
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