Kitchen Mixer Help

KitchenAid 325 Watts Artisan KSM150PS Stand Mixer Key FeaturesMixer Type StandSpeed Settings 10 Speeds Other FeaturesPower Output 325 Watts...

KitchenAid 325 Watts Artisan® (KSM150PS) Hand/Stand Mixer Key FeaturesMixer Type Hand/StandSpeed Settings 10 Speeds Other FeaturesPower Output 325 ...

I chose to buy a KitchenAid because of the name reputation. I specifically chose the Artisan 5-quart because it is the largest KitchenAid stand mixer that still has a tilt-back head, which was something I wanted. The price wasn’t that much higher than the smaller KitchenAids, and I wanted the biggest motor I could get, after reading some reviews of the smaller ones that mentioned overheating.

MUCH BETTER THAN MY PREVIOUS MIXERS:

I’d only ever used little hand-mixers and Sunbeam stand mixers, and was a little dubious about being able to mix batter properly with a single paddle. This turned out to be no problem at all — cake and muffin batters mix thorougly and more quickly than with a dual-beater mixer, with less spattering. The dough hook mixes dough more smoothly than a food processor, and since speed is adjustable, the dough doesn’t get overworked. The egg-beater attachment makes the best whipped cream I’ve ever had, and works just fine for meringues.

The motor is strong enough for everything I’ve tried, and 5 quarts is enough to make most foods in multiple batches at once. I’ve filled it fairly full with thick mixtures and not had any problems.

The paddle, dough hook, and even the egg-beater are all quite easy to clean, which is nice. They’re not dishwasher safe, though.

MINOR GRIPES:

The splatter shield isn’t that useful — it does have a pouring spout, but ingredients can stick to the spout, and if the ingredient in question is, say, baking powder or salt, it could throw off the recipe. (Note: I tend to be extremely fastidious about exact ingredient amounts.)

When making tough dough, despite the weight of the mixer, it can still jump a little on the counter. (Make sure you’ve locked the head down if you’re working with tough dough.) It also did get warm when I made three batches of calzone dough in a row, but it was still mixing well at the end.

As I mentioned before, I stopped using my food processor for dough when I got the KitchenAid, since the texture is easier to control. The one problem is that the dough hook can leave a small pile of dry ingredients at the bottom. This isn’t a big problem, especially with the tilt-back head — you just turn it off and tilt it back, and reach under and half-heartedly knead the bottom layer of dough into the dry stuff. But it is something to note, since I’ve never had that problem using a food processor.

Finally, the thing is heavy. This is good for cooking, but not necessarily good for storing. If you can’t leave this mixer out on the counter, I’d recommend you don’t buy it. It is quite attractive, and available in a variety of colors, so if you do have the counter space, it makes a handsome addition to the decor.

As the previous reviewer mentioned, the tilt-up head does mean that you can’t use a cold/hot water bath. I’ve just put the bowl in the fridge in lieu of a cold-bath, which worked well enough for me. If you do need a cold/hot water bath on a regular basis, look at the bowl-lift models.

WHAT I’VE SUCCESSFULLY USED IT FOR:

I’ll list what I’ve made with it so far, to put this review in perspective:

Dough for calzones/pizza. Pierogi dough (similar to pasta dough). Full-fledged pound cakes. Double batches of scones, muffins, and other sweet quick breads (double batch = 4c flour). Triple batches (6c flour) of baking-powder biscuits. Whipped cream, meringues, soufflee batter. I haven’t made any yeast-bread dough in it, since I already had a bread machine.

ADDED NOTES:

The(metal) bowl with a handle is dishwasher safe, the beaters aren’t. (They’re pretty easy to wash, though.) The mixer comes with a few recipes, but I haven’t tried them. What I did appreciate is that there’s a short section on adapting your recipes to the mixer. Finally, a closer reading of the manual pointed out that I should be able to adjust the beater height to catch those last bits of dry ingredients. Mine came with a splatter shield, which is nice, although a little clunky, but no other accessories.

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