Kitchen Mixer Help

It’s time for cake, or cookies, or whatever. You pull out Grandma’s special recipe read the directions, and freak out when you read that you’re supposed to mix the concoction for 500 strokes, by hand.

Rest easy though – no longer are we in the days of log cabins, homespun woolens, and hand-mixed cakes from scratch. Be it a good thing or a bad thing, we live in the modern world and have modern conveniences. We can make our cake from a mix, and mix our batter with an electric mixer. Unless you’re planning to give yourself a good workout on your arms, I’d recommend the Kenmore KMX10T Hand Mixer.

After reading the other review on this mixer and checking prices I decided to get this for my wife for Christmas since it was on sale and really seemed like best value out there. Unfortunately at home when we turned it on it sounded like it was going to self-destruct.

The mixer made a painful noisy racket even at the lowest speed and it got worse at the higher speeds. I think the noise is due to poor fitting gears inside. When the mixer was heavily loaded it got a little better but still intolerably loud. You would need earplugs to use this mixer indoors.

I always wanted something better than my old 140 Watt hand-mixer so I checked out the newest (300 Watts) of the hand-held mixers. The problem with those (at least to me) was that I’ve never seen one used to make bread, mix icing, and do anything other than mix a store-bought cake mixes. So who needs a new mixer if all you intend to do is mix the pre mixed cake mixes?

Well, I wanted to buy myself a mixer so I started to look for what I should buy. From checking a lot of places and watching TV, I had decided that I would buy myself a kitchen aid.

Now, you must take into consideration that I’m not a professional chef, I’m just a beginner who plans to learn more and more about cooking, especially pastry. I have not owned a mixer before, so I can’t compare this Kenmore mixer to any other mixers. All I can say is that I wanted a mixer and I went around looking.

I bought my 600-watt Kenmore mixer after burning out the motor on a Kitchen Aid 325-watt. I didn’t want to spend the $300-plus required to get a more powerful Kitchen Aid. The Kenmore was $5 cheaper than the 325-watt Kitchen Aid (and the Kenmore wasn’t on sale).

Because of my experience with Kitchen Aid I evaluated the Kenmore thoroughly. I mixed a double batch of bread dough — the same recipe and quantity that caused my Kitchen Aid to smoke. The Kenmore mixer kneaded it for 10 full minutes without even becoming hot. Of course it isn’t fair to compare the power of a 600-watt machine with the power of a 325-watt, so let’s compare features.

Product

KSM035

Key Features
Mixer Type
Stand
Speed Settings
16 Speeds

Other Features
Power Output
350 Watts
Bowl Size
4 quart (3.8 liter)

Miscellaneous
20722961

Details

350 watts of power and commercial style heavy gauge beaters and cookie dough hooks for easy mixing. Includes stainless steel mixing bowls. Electronic speed control and a retractable, auto rewind cord reel for easy use.

Reviews

Great mixer

Positive Lightweight. Retractable cord. Great speeds. Easy to use.
Cons: Bowl ha problems turning if ingredients are too thick. Cord is hard to retract sometimes.

Here is a copy of the email I received back from Sears Customer support:

Dear Mr. Pfeifer,

Thank you for contacting Sears.

The Kenmore KSM100 mixer contains plastic gears.

Greg Althoff

Sears Customer Care

webcenter@sears.com

1-800-349-4358

I think that says it all, folks. This is NOT a professional unit and I would recommend that prospective buyers take note of this when making their decision.

Product

KMX16E

Key Features
Mixer Type
Hand
Speed Settings
16 Speeds

Other Features
Power Output
220 Watts

Miscellaneous
37540603

Details

The Kenmore 16 Speed Deluxe Hand Mixer features a large LED readout, heavy duty Stainless Steel beaters, dough hooks, ballone whisk, and a convenient locking cord swivel for both left and right hand use. Includes electronic feedback speed stabilizer controls and 16 speeds to match the job at hand. Elapsed Time Readout up to 9:59 takes the guesswork out of mixing.