Kitchenaid Mixer

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lessthanthree

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I have always wanted a stand mixer, and finally got one for christmas! My new goal is to use it once a week, but we are also trying to do Paleo for at least a few months. I'm guessing I'm going to have to get a bunch of attachments to make my own protein and veggie heavy dishes, as opposed to bread and cookies :) It's like the gift that keeps on giving.
 
I'm sure you will find plenty of ways to use your mixer, I absolutely love mine and use it all the time. Have you heard about the chicken shredding trick using the flat beater attachment? It's genius! If you have a recipe that calls for shredded chicken, cook your boneless, skinless cuts of chicken however you like, then throw them into the mixer bowl, using the flat beater, turn the mixer on (low, otherwise chicken will go everywhere) and in no time (literally, less than a minute, maybe even less than 30 seconds) you will have completely shredded chicken. It's so much quicker and even cleaner than chopping that chicken up with a fork and a knife on your cutting board!
 
My two KA Stand Mixers..jpg



I've had my slightly smaller KA K-45SS for 29 years and the slightly larger 5-qt KA K-5SS for 8 years, and never once have I thought about shredding chicken that way!

Live & learn, I guess!! Hah!! :) :wink: :eek:
 
Shermie, How do you like your larger mixer compared to the smaller one? The one I currently have is a little over 10 years old and starting to slow down. I've considered the larger one in the past, but it wouldn't fit under my cabinets. I've recently rearranged some things and now I have space for it should I decide to go that route. Do you think it's has benefits or does it perform about the same as the smaller?
 
The main difference between the two machines is power & size.

The smaller one has a 250-watt motor & a 4.5-qt bowl. The larger taller machine has a 325-watt motor & a 5-qt bowl.

But power, I've been told, is not in the motor, but in the torque coming from the transmission that drives the planetary action. My larger machine is no longer in production. The 6-qt models, I think, have replaced it, and from what I've been seeing and hearing, those machines are more likely to be particularly troublesome.

The problem is in the transmission (gearbox machinery). The gears heat up and strip, causing the machine to not spin the beater - in THIS case, the dough hook. Though they are said to be able to make a full batch of dough, they can't. Over time, the machinery conks out, and the user is left with a broken mixer!

My larger one almost died when using the optional meat grinder! Blood had backed up into the machinery, crippling the machine for a while and it wouldn't work!! But after a while, the mixing power came back and the mixer was fine. :eek:
 
Thanks, Shermie! That's great information. I'm glad the power came back, having meat blood backed up and stuck in the machinery could have been horrible! That's interesting that the issue with the larger models has been with the dough hook, that's where I've noticed sluggishness with mine too. I always assumed my dough was too heavy or dense. That could very well be the case in general but I'm glad to know I'm not alone.
 
You welcome!

All of which brings to mind that Whirlpool, even though the co boasts that the KA Pro-600 and others in its class or higher, has an all-metal transmission in the housing, the gears themselves could still be cheaply made, to which we all know, will strip and fail in time.

It boasts also, that the machines have a metal housing, but actually, it is the inner workings that really make the difference between good solid construction and crappy
workmanship. Then when you call them to tell them that your mixer is acting up, they literally blame YOU for the problem, saying things like; "Oh. You used too much flour in the dough," or "You processed the dough too long," or "You used the wrong speed." Or; You're using the wrong flour."

Anything to try to take the heat off themselves, point fingers at you, when all you're trying to do is use the machine like it is supposed to be used. And even though the gearbox was changed from a plastic one to a metal one, the gears themselves are still the culprit behind the machines failing so prematurely.

That the KA Pro-600 is only capable of mixing cake & bread batters, not cookie or bread dough! :eek:
 
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This so-called 'changing of the guards", if you will, has been going on for many years with certain companies. That is, co's selling appliance divisions to other co's. It is nothing new.

But notice that when this happens, the product that once had integrity, respect and pride is no longer reliable, dependable, nor is the quality there any more.

Cases in point;

1. Frigidaire - a division that was once owned by General Motors who made the pulsating-type washers, was sold to what was known back then as White Consolidated industries, now is sold again, this time to Electrolux, was quite dependable & reliable when GM had the division. Most of their stuff, especially their washers now, are junk!

2.Tilia, a co that once made the FoodSaver brand food vacuum sealers, was sold several years ago to the Jarden Corporation. Before that happened, those machines were very reliable. Now they're nothing but a piece of junk!

3. Hobart, a co that makes commercial appliances for the food service industry, as we all know, once had the KA division. When it was sold to Whirlpool, the once trusted and highly reliable KA stand mixers took a vicious beating and a serious downfall, and are no longer what they were years back when Hobart made them. Luckily, I bought one of the last of the Hobart-made KA mixers, and it still is working very well to this very day!

4. Maytag - a brand name that was once so highly regarded as making the "Cadillac" of washers & dryers, is another co that has fallen by the wayside when they changed the inner workings in their washers. I once had a Maytag washer & dryer for nine years, and never had any trouble with either of them!

5. Cuisinart; a co that was once adorned for it's food processors (I had one - the DLC-7Pro), they were once French made by RoboCoup. Then they were made in japan. Still good back then! Then Conair bought them out, and now their are so many dissatisfied owners, saying the they would never buy Cuisinart food processors again!!

But in recent years before Whirlpool's bid to buy Maytag, there were numerous complaints from dissatisfied owners, saying that their washers were nothing but junk!
Maytag had hit rock bottom, and the co was about to become extinct until Whirlpool agreed to rescue the co from certain death.

So, as I said, this thing with co's selling their divisions to other co's has been going on for years, and you don't know what quality you're getting unless you do your homework and do some research online first. Otherwise you could end up with something that is nothing but a piece of junk. :eek:
 
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I am right there with you, Shermie. It seems quality and even customer service is nowhere near what it used to be. It's a shame really, but I think it goes along with this becoming such a disposable society. I'm definitely one who does her homework before making any major purchases, and even with the research I've still be disappointed in end-products. That being said, I have had some great products and customer service too, so it's almost case-specific anymore (and oftentimes it ultimately depends on the customer service rep on the other end of the phone as well!)
 
Most of the co's that made & sold reliable equipment about 45 or so years ago, are NOT that same today as they were back then.

That is why I won't look to KA for another stand mixer. The KA Artisan is said to still be pretty reliable. Anything above that, consumers are taking a serious chance. :eek:

I want a machine that comes with a 6-qt work bowl, and KA is not the one! So I decided that I want to try the Bosch Universal Plus stand mixer. It has a large capacity 6.5-qt tough durable high-impact plastic work bowl, a large dough hook and a French-style double whipper. A stainless steel bowl is available as part of the many optional accessories that can be bought separately!!

It is said to have an excellent track record for durability, reliability & longevity, and that the failure rate is pretty low! It as been adorned for years by gourmet cooks & bakers alike! :wink:
 
Shermie,
We had a Food saver. The vacuum pump went out on it. Customer service said no it didn't. You were using the machine wrong. I told them exactly how I was using it and they said yes you should not have done more than 3 bags a day. It lasted less than 3 months. Needless to say we didn't get a replacement.
 
Cinisajoy said:
Shermie,
We had a Food saver. The vacuum pump went out on it. Customer service said no it didn't. You were using the machine wrong. I told them exactly how I was using it and they said yes you should not have done more than 3 bags a day. It lasted less than 3 months. Needless to say we didn't get a replacement.
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I'll try any other brand before I go back to getting a Foodsaver machine. They are nothing but pure junk!!!

All of the ones that I had were plagued with the same problem The heater strip failed too prematurely! :mad:
 
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Cinisajoy said:
So we couldn't vacuum and you couldn't seal. That screams junk.
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Yes it does!!

Sometimes the ones that I had in the past wouldn't vacuum either.
Tilia no longer makes FoodSaver units. Jarden Corp owns the company now, and I strongly believe that since this "changing of the guards", if you will, took place, their machines have become so damn unreliable!

So what were you supposed to do, just use it once a day to keep the heating strip from crapping out prematurely? I would not recommend those junk units to ANYONE!! :mad:
 
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