KitchenAid Mixer question/help...opinions?

cafarrie

Happy Monday!  I have questions for all you ladies that have or have used KitchenAid mixers.  As they are super expensive, we did not register for one when we got married, but planned to use any registry rewards/gift cards we got to purchase one ourselves.  Well, we got enough in rewards/gift cards to cover the cost of one (super exciting!!!) and I know they will be on sale on Black Friday so I'm starting to do a little research on what model to get?  My choices are KitchenAid Classic Stand, KitchenAid Artisan, or KitchenAid Pro 600 (bowl lift model).  Are there major pros/cons for the bowl lift vs. head tilt models?  Major differences between the 3 models?  Stainless or glass bowl?  Difference in attachments for any models?  Favorite attachments to get also?  

Really any insight will be useful, and it's hard to decipher all the specs online when I've never used on before!!!!!!

ETA:  Is it worth it to spend money on one of these mixers? Do you all use them often enough to make it worth the money?

southernbelle0915

I have the head tilt one and really like it. Just makes things easier/less messy. The attachments I use most are the standard one it comes with and the whisk. Otherwise, meh. I just don't use them enough to make it worth it.

flyingfoxes

We have the tilt head one, because Kohl's had it for crazy cheap last holiday season.  The only issue I have with it is I think the motor is a little weak, it sometimes sounds like it's struggling with thick dough like sugar cookie dough.  For mashed potatoes it's perfectly fine.  It all comes down to what you're going to use it for and how often. 

One accessory I wish it came with was the whisk with the built-in spatula to scrape the sides.  That's on our registry!  Oh - and we like the lid that keeps things from flying everywhere when you kick that sucker on high.

penguin44

My parents have the pro 600. It was my grandmother's. It has all metal parts, and my dad has actually taken it apart to clean/grease the gears. It has lasted over 50 years.

The artisans have plastic gears and a smaller motor. It really depends on what you plan on doing with it. I want one for bread making. I plan on getting the highest power model. I think its the pro 800.

The bowl lift is more difficult to handle than the head tilt model. So if you want something easy to use and don't plan on making any heavy batters, the artisan is a good choice.

I read probably thousands of reviews on both. That's why I decided against both options.

Also, the last few years Kohls has had great deals on the kitchenaids.

MrsMack10612

I have the bowl lift one. Mine is about 10 years old.  When my husband was doing the research on which model to get, he learned that the tilt style motors are not as powerful and therefore do not work as well with the different attachments

THe bowl lift style has more power and you can get more bang for your buck with the attachments.

amelisha

If you are a home cook and don't do a ton of larger-scale baking, I don't think spending the extra money on a bowl-lift model is necessary at all. I looked into it but the difference in capacity and power isn't significant enough to make a difference for most people's day-to-day cooking unless they're doing commercial-type stuff or I guess have a large family or something.

I have the Artisan and it's more than sufficient for my needs, and I use it pretty much daily and occasionally do some larger projects like all-day pasta making or 36 dozen cookies or whatever.

I have a stainless and a glass bowl, and I use the glass one unless I want to freeze the stainless one first. The glass one lets me see if everything at the bottom is properly incorporated and has the spout thing to pour from.

As far as attachments, I have a bunch. The food processing (chopping/shredding/etc), meat grinder, the long pasta, the flat pasta sheet roller, ice cream...and I use them all. It's allowed me to eliminate a TON of kitchen tools. I don't even have a food processor any more, just the KitchenAid attachments. I'd advise you to look at what you use day to day in your own kitchen and see if any of those things could be replaced by a KitchenAid attachment. That said, the long pasta one is very difficult to clean so it wouldn't be my top recommendation, and you can get very easy to use hand churn ice cream makers (like the classic Donvier ones that you only have to turn a couple times every few minutes) much cheaper than the KitchenAid ice cream attachment.

sarawifenow

I have the Artisan and I LOVE it. It is the tilt head one that PPs are talking about. I have had no issues with the power behind it and have used it to make cookies, cakes, mashed potatoes, pizza dough, bread dough...you name it!

 

We also have the meat grinder attachment and we really like it. I don't know if love it the right word, but definitely like!

themuffinman16

The scraping dough blade is a must! Your ingredients will incorporate much better, and you will wonder why they never thought of it sooner. I can't wait to get the ravioli press attachment, someday

emmaaa

I have the Artisan and it suits me well. I don't do a lot of heavy duty baking where I need a super powerful motor.

I have a glass and metal bowl. I like the glass one for most things because you can see through it to be able to tell if anything is left to be mixed. I like the metal one if I'm mixing something I want to stay hot/cold, it holds the temperature better.

LadyMillil

I have the artisan as well. I bake quite a bit in the winter (cookies, cupcakes, pizza dough, bread) and the artisan suits my needs. I have the pasta maker attachment which I love, the shredder/slicer/meat grinder which I rarely use, and the ice cream maker which I love. I can't make ice cream as often as I would like because the bowl takes up a lot of room in the freezer and I don't have a lot of freezer space. I only have the metal bowl because DH is a dropper and I'm worried about him breaking a glass one when he washes dishes.

JCbride2015

I have the Pro 550 (bowl lift model).  I love that thing and use it constantly.  I didn't pick it out myself as it was a gift, but I've found that the motor stands up to very heavy cookie dough and bread dough, no problem.  We have the ice cream maker attachment and have used it a few times with great results, but it does take up a lot of room in the freezer.  We registered for the pasta making set and I'm really excited to use that, but it will probably be a special occasion item.

amelisha

LadyMillil said:

I have the artisan as well. I bake quite a bit in the winter (cookies, cupcakes, pizza dough, bread) and the artisan suits my needs. I have the pasta maker attachment which I love, the shredder/slicer/meat grinder which I rarely use, and the ice cream maker which I love. I can't make ice cream as often as I would like because the bowl takes up a lot of room in the freezer and I don't have a lot of freezer space. I only have the metal bowl because DH is a dropper and I'm worried about him breaking a glass one when he washes dishes.

This is a good point. My roommate needed stitches when he shattered my first glass bowl.

wandajune6

I have the bowl lift variety. My parents bought it for me as a gift 6 or 7 years ago and my dad researched models to get one that has metal workings. I've never had problems with the motor and love the bowl scraper attachment.

I go through phases of use. Ultimately, when I'm living in a place where I have easy access, I use it all the time. When I have to pull it out of a cupboard or shelf to use the machine, I never use it. They're heavy and take a lot of counter space so take that into account.

mrsjhodge

I have the bowl lift 600 model, and love it.  We use it for grinding meat (a lot), and heavy mixing and it hasn't failed on anything I've challenged it with.

cafarrie

You guys are awesome, thank you!!!!!  I wish I could say precisely what I think i'll use it for most, but since i've never had one I'm just not sure.  

larrygaga

Oh this thread is good!!! I'm registering for one as well, and I mostly want to use it for baking. 

Can we talk about colors as well? The ones they come in are so adorable but I think I should get black or white because I'm not sure what my kitchen will look like if/when we buy a house. Right now everything in my apartment is black and tan and cool colors. 

charlieyankee03

We don't have a KitchenAid mixer, we have a Cuisinart one. But I absolutely think a stand mixer is worth the cost as long as you have the space to store it. 

We use ours at least once a week. FI loves to make bread (THIS book is awesome for recipes) and we use it for baking all sorts of deliciousness. 

ETA: Since we already have a stand mixer, we didn't put one on our registry. However, we did register for a pasta maker and meat grinder attachment. So that could be a cheaper option you could offer your guests.

plainjane0415

I have the artisan and I LOVE IT. FI got it for me as a Christmas present 2 years ago, and I love it for any and all baking..

The color he got me isn't really a color, I know that makes perfect sense, but it's like a dark grey and the surface of it feels like a cast iron skillet... It's super cool and looks so industrial.. I love it.

JCbride2015

@larrygaga mine is red and in five years I have never gotten tired of it.  I think it's a classic color.  I tend to buy kitchen stuff in red, yellow, or blue so it all works.

Meanwhile I have major lust for the copper Kitchenaid.  But since I don't have $800 to burn on replacing my perfectly good red one, I'll just settle for drooling.

larrygaga

I loved the one that was a cream color but you can only get it online. I'm registering online so that works out there. I think I know who would buy it if someone did buy it(because they bought my sister's and my cousin's, it was a group gift) and I also think they would be able to go online. I really just wonder if nobody would get the specific color i choose because you have to get it online, or if I should just go with black?

I plan on buying it if I don't get it, because I really gotta have it. lol. 

amelisha

Mine was a gift from my mom and she chose red, which is all right with me as our apartment's kitchen is all stainless everything with red cabinetry and white counters. When we buy a house, I plan to do white with navy and pale blue accents, so a couple of red things in there will go with the overall nautical kinda colour scheme I've planned.

But you can totally repaint them. There are great tutorials online and if I didn't have a red kitchen I would definitely consider going hot pink with it.

kvruns

I got myself the red Artisan tilt mixer years ago and love it. I have the metal bowl, because it came with it. I would like a 2nd bowl since I bake a lot although I'm nervous the glass one would be heavy - any possibly get chipped. The blade with scraper is nice too and good to have a second beater. To be honest I think if you're not someone who bakes a lot it might not be worth it. They're a lot of $$ and I think some people get them just to have it sit on the counter and look pretty. But if you think you'll use it then you won't regret it

JoanE2012

I have the Artisan and love it.   I got mine at Kohl's with a 30% off coupon, a $30 rebate from KitchenAid, and I got Kohl's cash too.  It was a great bargain!

beethery

@larrygaga I got the cream-colored one at Target a couple of years ago. Worth checking into sometimes.

IMathlete

I registered for, and received, the Artisan. I am constantly amazed by how helpful it is and how much I can use it for. It gets about weekly use right now, but with the holidays approaching, I'll use it much more. I had registered for the glass bowl model, but received the stainless bowl, so I will probably buy that later. I did get the scraper blade, which I love.

FiancB

I have the Artisan. Absolute game changer when it comes to baking. I'd love to get attachments, especially the pasta maker, but haven't yet. 

cafarrie

Awesome, thank you everyone!  I'll probably go with black, silver/stainless/metallic grey, or red depending on which colors are available in which models.  Definitely getting it at Kohl's or Younkers depending on who has the better deals on Black Friday!!!!

hellosweetie1015

I WANT ONE Y'all are gonna have to stop talking about these because I'm bad with the impulses and really want one already.

I don't think we're registering, but if we DO I AM ASKING FOR IT and if we don't I AM BUYING IT. FI and I cook enough that it would get used weekly. Plus I would totally be that fancy house that made a different cake or cookie or miscellaneous sweet-treat every weekend with it. 

larrygaga

hellosweetie1015 said:

I WANT ONE Y'all are gonna have to stop talking about these because I'm bad with the impulses and really want one already.

I don't think we're registering, but if we DO I AM ASKING FOR IT and if we don't I AM BUYING IT. FI and I cook enough that it would get used weekly. Plus I would totally be that fancy house that made a different cake or cookie or miscellaneous sweet-treat every weekend with it. 

I agree with an am doing everything you said, lol! 

I once stayed at this house that had a half a million dollar kitchen and then just kind of whatever lower-middle class rest of the house. I figured that would be my house.

Not half a million dollars, but my kitchen quality will surpass every other room quality. 

Sugargirl1019

I have the Artisan Pro or whatever, it is a 5 quart glass bowl with the head tilt. I got it in the shimmery white, not plain stark white. I went with a neutral color so it could stay on our countertop and not clash. I don't have any attachments yet.

beethery

(btw at the macy's one day sale tomorrow, stand mixers are 40% off)