Kitchen Mixer Help

GREAT MIXER! - KitchenAid 250 Watts K45SS Classic Stand Mixer I received this mixer as a present about 13 years ago. I have never had any problems with the mixer, I would have ...

A True Classic! - KitchenAid 250 Watts K45SS Classic Stand Mixer I drooled over pictures of this mixer in the cooking catalogs I got every few months. Then finally I worked up the...

I actually own the RRK45, which is essentially a refurbished K45SS. It cost around $160, which is a very good price for a heavy-duty stand mixer, let alone a KitchenAid.

I’ve used KitchenAid products for years, and I have always liked their mixers. I previously used a KSM90, but this one is plenty good enough for anything I’m realistically going to do.

I’m sure there must be plenty to say about mixers, but I can’t think of much. It’s solid, heavy, is powerful enough to mix the thickest doughs I’ve tried, and just plain works. I’ve only had this one about 4 months so I can’t comment on the longevity very well, but my previous KitchenAid products have been quite robust.

The speed selections are great, and the stir setting is quite close to “stir”. A minor feature is that the speeds aren’t truly stepped–you can set the speed control between steps if desired. (Ok, not a big deal, but a nice to have.)

The only drawback is with the lock-fit mixing bowl. It’s got this funny doohickey on the bottom that locks it into the mixer. On the one hand that’s a feature, because it means the bowl wont move around. The drawback is that you can’t heat anything in the bowl, or use an alternate bowl–not horrible, but it can be an inconvenience, and makes using the mixer more painful for small jobs (ones that are usually better done by hand anyway).

The only other minor drawback I’ve found is cleaning. It’s mostly easy to clean, but there’s a spring along the beater shaft that can get sugar and flour stuck in it, and it’s occasionally difficult to get everything out. Also, the bottom of the mixer has a few crevices along the edges that occasionally collect powdery stuff (sorry, but my bread doughs want to throw flour once in a while…)

One handy suggestion is to get a small rack with hooks and mount it on a wall close to the mixer–I use mine to hold the beaters and other mixing-related paraphernalia like a spatula and spoon.

In summary: if you’re looking for a real mixer, I haven’t seen anything significantly better out there, especially not at this price. There’s no sense in investing in a cheaper stand mixer, as you’ll just end up wishing you’d gotten a heavy-duty mixer like the KitchenAid.

On the other hand, if you truly only ever use your mixer for doing cake mixes and such, a hand mixer with a stand is probably a better choice–it’s cheaper and will do just as good a job of mixing, and won’t occupy a lot of real estate on your counter.

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nagemp - KitchenAid 250 Watts K45SS Classic Stand Mixer

Only mixer I’ll Own - KitchenAid 250 Watts K45SS Classic Stand Mixer