Stand mixers ...

[Usually Curious]

Any opinions on Kitchenaid 6qt vs. Cuisinart 5.5 qt stand mixers? I found a Cuisinart on craigslist for $100 EUC. I've been holding out for a 6qt Kitchenaid, though.

What say ye?

[Arduinna]

I have both, I bought my kitchen aid back in the early 90s and just got my cuisinart stand mixer a couple months ago. The kitchen aid stand mixers started having problems because KA switched to a plastic gear box which resulted in a lot of mixers stripping the gears and burning out the motors, you can read about this in many Amazon reviews of the KA mixers. Another thing I prefer on my cuisinart mixer is that that meat grinder attachment has a metal housing, whereas my kitchen aid one is plastic and eventually cracked.

Cooks Illustrated tested stand mixers back in 2008 and the cuisinart 5.5 qt won the test.

[mamadelbosque]

I have a KA Pro 600 (I think... its the pro model, I know for sure). and I love it I read reviews when I bought mine saying that KA had switched back to all-metal gears after soo many complaints from users w/ the plastic gear boxes...

[akmeg]

I'd love to hear what everyone uses their stand mixer for, and how often does it get used? Dh said I could get one, but since I've lived without one for so long, I'm wondering if I would use it regularly.

[reneeisorym]

I bought a KA not really sure I would use it very often either. Now I dont know how I lived without it. I tackle making things (like yeast bread recipes and fluffy meringues) I would have never tried before. I use it all the time!

[laura-belle]

I upgraded from a KA Artisan to a KA Pro Series last Xmas and am happy with it. I have heard the same thing about KA going back to the metal gear boxes, but I haven't taken mine apart to check .

I use mine 2-3x a week; it is the only appliance currently granted a spot on my counter. I make bread, cookies, meringues, the mix for meatballs...I'm sure there's more but I'm spacing on it right now. I will say that I really don't like the bowl shape on the current KA pro mixers--both my artisan and the old 6qt one that my mom has did a much better job of scraping the sides and mixing. I've never used the Cuisinart line so I can't compare the two.

[akmeg]

I think you guys might be talking me into one. I'm going to watch for a super deal one of these days and get me one! I bake bread usually twice a week, and cookies or some other sort of baked good at least once a week. All weekend I've been thinking of what I could use it for.....now I think I need one!

[Arduinna]

I use mine for grinding meat every two weeks or so because we buy in bulk, grind and then freeze whatever we aren't using right away. Other than that, I bake pretty often. I actually prefer my food processor for most of my bread kneading though, so I just use the stand mixer for cakes, frosting, cookies, quick breads and the like.

[LemonPie]

Costco has a $50 off coupon on this Kitchen-Aid model right now.

DH got me the red one for my birthday earlier this year, and it was an upgrade the standard white/4qt KA. I love it.

[coyotemist]

I have a KA pro, got by without it for years, but now use it several times a week. Hubby got it off of ebay, it works perfectly, I LOVE it!

[GardenStream]

I use mine once or twice a week. I use a grain mill attachment to grind the flour and then I use the mixer to make and knead the dough. I also use my food strainer attachment all the time during canning season. I even used it to juice rhubarb to make wine in the spring.

I got my KA professional about 8 years ago and it was a refurbished model. That's also how I got most of my attachments. Factory Refurbished Kitchenaid

[HollyBearsMom]

Love Love Love my KA mixer. Mine is about 15 years old and still works like a charm. I probaly use it at least once a week.

Intersting to note that the new ones are getting bad reviews. Thats too bad since I think they make (made?) a great product line.

[babygrant]

I have a kitchenaid professional. I was watching them at the stores here and they are $499.99 plus taxes and we just couldn't afford it. I bought mine on ebay for $239.99 with free shipping! It was a store display so it hadn't ever been turned on. I love it!!! I use it at least 3 times a week. So easy to clean and I am planning on getting some attachments!

This is the guy I bought mine from (this is of the red KA pro, but if you click on his other auctions it will show the others) http://cgi.ebay.com/KITCHENAID-PROFE...item4154224478

[babydanielsmom]

I love my KA mixer. My Dh got it for me for our 10th anniversary> I've been using it to make bread, rolls, brownies...and now I'm hungry

[Shantimama]

I love having a KA mixer. I use it for making bread dough and just about everything that needs mixing when I bake. My hands hurt a lot of the time now and aren't as strong as they used to be. I need them to be working for everything else I do so I let the mixer take care of everything it can!

[AllyRae]

I have a KA professional--I've had it for about 3 years now.  I *love* it!!!  I've put it through the ringer and it still works really well (I do a lot of gf/ef/df baking, which can be tough on any mixer because it's just a different consistency from normal baking). 

[CherryBomb]

I have a KA artisan and I love it. 

[nolansmummy]

I have a kitchen aid, (this one) and i'm in love with it, seriously. I have wanted one since i was probably 14. I bake a lot, and the kids love helping. I make icing, bread, dough, cookies all sorts of things. I would love to get an attachment set, but right now i just have what it came with. Dh got it for me last year for our anniversary/valentines day present. Its red.

[akmeg]

Can all of the Kitchenaid series handle large batches of bread dough?  I was looking at the difference between the Classic, the Artisan, and the Proffesional mixers.  I think the heaviest thing I would want to mix would be bread dough and I'd love to be able to do up to 5 or 6 loaves of bread at a time.  If I don't need to shell out the money for the professional, I'd happily buy the artisan instead, and even the classic if it would work for what I want.  Any thoughts?

[LemonPie]

Originally Posted by akmeg 

Can all of the Kitchenaid series handle large batches of bread dough?  I was looking at the difference between the Classic, the Artisan, and the Proffesional mixers.  I think the heaviest thing I would want to mix would be bread dough and I'd love to be able to do up to 5 or 6 loaves of bread at a time.  If I don't need to shell out the money for the professional, I'd happily buy the artisan instead, and even the classic if it would work for what I want.  Any thoughts?

I've had a classic and upgraded last year to a Professional HD (475 Watts, 5 qt bowl).  The classic could handle *maximum* two loaves worth of bread dough, and that was pushing it.  I often had dough climbing up the collar of the hook and the motor would be noticeably chugging.  I haven't done more than 3 in my current, but it handled the load of 3 really well.  I could have *maybe* pushed it to one more loaf's worth.  The motor had no trouble with the kneading.