KitchenAid mixers - The dog's knees, or all hype & no trousers?

[db]

i've coveted a kitchenaid mixer for some time now, thanks to being constantly subjected to various people rubbing themselves into a frenzy with them on the myriad cooking programmes that now seem to be filling the schedules on my telebox..

thing is, now i've come to buy one, i'm starting to wonder if they're all they're cracked up to be, or just the subject of some incredibly successful marketing hype.. for every positive review on amazon, there is another one saying "yeah, they're ok, but the [alternative_make] is cheaper and much better quality," or similar..

the kenwood kmix, for example, gets some very good reviews on amazon - yet it is cheaper, has a larger capacity, offers more control, etc.

what are people's experiences? does anyone have a kitchenaid mixer, or any kitchenaid products for that matter? what about alternatives?

 

[Glam]

We used to use something almost identical to the style in the kitchen at work. Used it for almost everything. Quite a workhorse. I'd love one, but haven't exactly got the room.

 

[db]

We used to use something almost identical to the style in the kitchen at work. Used it for almost everything. Quite a workhorse. I'd love one, but haven't exactly got the room.

yeah, i'm defo getting something of that ilk - it's just that everyone and their dog bangs on about kitchenaid ones, with many claiming that they are much better than cheaper competitors and worth the extra money, so i was wondering if there was any truth to this!

 

[Gramaisc]

I have a Kenwood Chef, a man's mixer, a serious device - robust and easy to clean.

Mine are the old 700 series and accessories are widely available at the boot sale for a few bob when people realise that they're never going to use that wedding present, after all.

 

[Glam]

Yet another I would love to have, but our kitchens round here are too small to store them. I could make Andreas Rex a lemon drizzle anytime he wanted if I had 1 of them.

 

[Gramaisc]

Yet another I would love to have, but our kitchens round here are too small to store them. I could make Andreas Rex a lemon drizzle anytime he wanted if I had 1 of them.

Chuck out all the crap that you don't use and get a 700 Chef from the boot sale for fifteen quid - you only need half a cupboard. I've got three - a good one, one for spares (that I've never needed) and a Chef Major that I just had to get, because I'll never see another.

I do still want an A731 Wheat Mill, if you ever see one.

 

[My Name is URL]

What do you use them for.... looks like something to mix cakes in, but is that it?

 

[Gramaisc]

What do you use them for.... looks like something to mix cakes in, but is that it?

As it stands, it will mix cakes, dough, etc. There are many attachments available for various other tasks, mincing, liquidising, slicing, grating, etc.

The base unit is a power module for the other items that can be added as required.

 

[Carole]

I have the same one as Gram, a Kenwood Chef.

My mum had it second hand and then it got passed on to me so its about 50 years old.
I was gutted when the bowl broke just before Christmas but was thrilled when I found a replacement bowl on e bay.

I make cakes all the time (hubby says it like living with Mary Berry!) and I cant make them at all without my trusty Kenwood. I also use the attachment liquidiser to make soups. But that is all I use it for , cakes and soups.

I do have a food processor as well but I never actually use it, its too much of a faff.

 

[tek-monkey]

My food processor has a sort of whippy attachment, but I've only ever used it to cut onions really.

 

[age'd parent]

I have a food mixer chopper thingy in the shed, it's safety is taped down and there is a hole cut in the side of the bowl and a sheet of plastic glued to the base, there is a block of wood stuck to the one side so it works at 45 degrees and drops the contents out of the side.

 

[Gramaisc]

Does it smell of cider?

 

[monkey bidness]

My food processor has a sort of whippy attachment, but I've only ever used it to cut onions really.

I have a vision of you standing at one side of the kitchen, holding an onion at arms length, while your whippy gadget on the other side makes like Indiana Jones ...

 

[age'd parent]

Does it smell of cider?

Well it did smell of apples, but I do wash it out after use!

 

[tek-monkey]

I have a vision of you standing at one side of the kitchen, holding an onion at arms length, while your whippy gadget on the other side makes like Indiana Jones ...

That would be a rather awesome way to cook