Talk me out of buying a KitchenAid

vernplum

vernplum

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Been toying with the idea of getting a KA Artisan or Mini recently. I want to grind my own meat (I have a hand-grinder right now that always clogs) and make pasta (q.v. semi-disastrous manual ravioli making session) so I need the attachment functionality, plus, although I'm not a prolific baker, I guess I could put it to use making pizza as well as pasta doughs, pastries, etc.

A store near me has an offer of USD $530 for the Artisan and they will throw in the metal meat grinding set (about USD $220 list) as part of the deal.

Should I do it? Any other pros and cons to consider?

Pros:
  • Fresh hamburgers, meatloaves, sausages, pasta, labour saving on dough making...
  • Nice shiny new gizmo may inspire me more.
  • Attractive bundle deal.

Cons:
  • Takes up quite a bit of space and I don't have counterspace for it to be out all the time. It will need to be stored (and it weighs a sh*t ton).
  • Pasta maker add on costs about USD $150. That will take a long time to amortize the cost.
  • How often will I really make sausages? if I thought pasta-making was messy, that's even worse.
  • 1 yr warranty only.
  • I got a butcher nearby who can grind meat on demand.
 
I have a KA stand mixer. I've had it 25+ years, still going strong. I use it a couple of times a week at least.

I don't have any of the attachments. I had the meat grinder one but ended up giving it away because I never used it.

I use it primarily for bread, but I also use it for cakes (and frosting), cheese balls, mashed potatoes, whipped cream, whipped egg whites, dips, and a few other things that are escaping me at the moment.

I'd say (having experienced this myself and watched others make the same mistake), a less powerful, less expensive mixer is fine, if all you're doing is mixing up brownies and whipped cream and the like, but if you think you'll ever want to do any bread doughs, you need a more powerful machine, and the KA Artisan is generally considered a good entry-level machine for that. Doughs will work a machine pretty heavily, especially a stiff dough, and you need a machine that can churn through that for several minutes if kneading. Those less powerful, less expensive ones really struggle with that.
 
I have the Kitchen Aid Stick Blender Kit and find it very useful for many purposes. It's one wonderful virtue is that it is very quiet when running.
 
If you plan on grinding more than 5 pounds at a time, the KA is very slow and gets too warm. We messed with the KA grinding attachment for several years, even bought after market cutting blades that helped some, before buying a dedicated grinder and a dedicated stuffer, both from LEM. The KA is fine for small, infrequent amounts, but that's it. We grind our own beef for burgers, etc, as well as pork for sausages and ground pork dishes. We make andouille in 15 pound batches and other sausages anywhere from 5-10 pound batches.

We didn't buy the pasta roller attachment because we already had a machine.

The KA sits on our counter next to a wall, so it's always out, but more often than not, I'll either mix/knead myself or grab the little handheld mixer. It's just easier.

Don't get me wrong, it's great to have at times, but I just don't use it that much anymore. I did use it more when I was younger I have to say. I LOVED it at Christmas when I still made huge batches of cookies.

We had the slicer/shredder attachment as well, but hardly ever used it because the food processor was easier. That and the grinder ended up going to our DD since she didn't have a.food processor.

We also got the spiralizer attachments and the vege sheeter attachments. We've used them a few times, but certainly not enough to justify their cost if you want to look at it that way.
 
TastyReuben said:
I have a KA stand mixer. I've had it 25+ years, still going strong. I use it a couple of times a week at least.

I don't have any of the attachments. I had the meat grinder one but ended up giving it away because I never used it.

I use it primarily for bread, but I also use it for cakes (and frosting), cheese balls, mashed potatoes, whipped cream, whipped egg whites, dips, and a few other things that are escaping me at the moment.

I'd say (having experienced this myself and watched others make the same mistake), a less powerful, less expensive mixer is fine, if all you're doing is mixing up brownies and whipped cream and the like, but if you think you'll ever want to do any bread doughs, you need a more powerful machine, and the KA Artisan is generally considered a good entry-level machine for that. Doughs will work a machine pretty heavily, especially a stiff dough, and you need a machine that can churn through that for several minutes if kneading. Those less powerful, less expensive ones really struggle with that.
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Thanks for the detail - that's given me some things to consider.
 
medtran49 said:
If you plan on grinding more than 5 pounds at a time, the KA is very slow and gets too warm. We messed with the KA grinding attachment for several years, even bought after market cutting blades that helped some, before buying a dedicated grinder and a dedicated stuffer, both from LEM. The KA is fine for small, infrequent amounts, but that's it. We grind our own beef for burgers, etc, as well as pork for sausages and ground pork dishes. We make andouille in 15 pound batches and other sausages anywhere from 5-10 pound batches.

We didn't buy the pasta roller attachment because we already had a machine.

The KA sits on our counter next to a wall, so it's always out, but more often than not, I'll either mix/knead myself or grab the little handheld mixer. It's just easier.

Don't get me wrong, it's great to have at times, but I just don't use it that much anymore. I did use it more when I was younger I have to say. I LOVED it at Christmas when I still made huge batches of cookies.

We had the slicer/shredder attachment as well, but hardly ever used it because the food processor was easier. That and the grinder ended up going to our DD since she didn't have a.food processor.

We also got the spiralizer attachments and the vege sheeter attachments. We've used them a few times, but certainly not enough to justify their cost if you want to look at it that way.
Click to expand...

I don't think I'll be grinding more than 5lbs/2kgs at one go.

I had a Google on the LEM products you mentioned, but those might be too much for my purposes.

You've helped further my thinking on this - thanks!
 
I once bought a grinder for the KA mixer that I had, & the mixer almost suffered a breakdown!! It recovered, but I sent the grinder back to where I ordered it from!!

Get a food processor to chop raw meat for ground meat. The motor's power is all directed right toward the metal chopping blade. Pulse it several times until it is at the consistency that you want. I do it all the time, or anytime that I want chopped meat for burgers or meat loaf. (It works for me!! Just make sure that you get one that has an induction motor, if you do. They have the most power over one with a universal motor!! :whistling:
 
Then, I use THIS to make burgers with. I've stopped buying KA mixers ever since Hobart sold the division to Whirlpool. They've been crappy ever since. Get a Globe mixer (SP05) with a front-mounted power drive hub. I have it & the Globe SP08 mixer. :whistling:
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Oh, I forgot. We also have the ice cream maker set for the KA. We've used it several times and it does okay, like very soft serve. If you want it harder, you have to put it in a container and into the freezer. You also have to have room in your freezer for the bowl, which has to be in there at least overnight before using. maybe if we ever get space in 1 of the freezers (and not promptly fill it back up), we'll put the bowl back in and start making ice cream again.

I will say ours is around 25 years old as well. All the gears in it, save 1, are metal. I know this because I stripped it once making a 4x batch of pizza dough, enough for 8 pizzas. Craig had the "pleasure" of fixing it. Fortunately, he's 1 of those people that can take a machine apart, put it back together and actually have it work. As Shermie wrote, I've heard that they are not as well made now and, amongst other things, have more plastic gears. The 1 plastic gear in ours functions as a "sacrificial" gear so that it will strip before the motor burns out.
 
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I will say this about current KA quality - I have a KA food processor that's maybe 1-1/2 years old, so a new product, and it really is a piece of garbage. If their current stand mixers are of the same quality, I'd stay far, far away.
 
medtran49 said:
Oh, I forgot. We also have the ice cream maker set for the KA. We've used it several times and it does okay, like very soft serve. If you want it harder, you have to put it in a container and into the freezer. You also have to have room in your freezer for the bowl, which has to be in there at least overnight before using. maybe if we ever get space in 1 of the freezers (and not promptly fill it back up), we'll put the bowl back in and start making ice cream again.

I will say ours is around 25 years old as well. All the gears in it, save 1, are metal. I know this because I stripped it once making a 4x batch of pizza dough, enough for 8 pizzas. Craig had the "pleasure" of fixing it. Fortunately, he's 1 of those people that can take a machine apart, put it back together and actually have it work. As Shermie wrote, I've heard that they are not as well made now and, amongst other things, have more plastic gears. The 1 plastic gear in ours functions as a "sacrificial" gear so that it will strip before the motor burns out.
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Good thinking, but I have THIS elcheapo one, only the sides are white instead of black. It's self-contained, meaning that it has its own built-in refrigerating system. You don't have to store the bowl in the freezer to chill it, saving time & room in the freezer. You have to do that for each batch that you make with the kind where you have to pre-freeze the bowl first!!. This one makes perfect ice cream & gelato!! :whistling:

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