I want to buy one. It's on sale at Sears, the Kitchenaid Accolade 400 watts mixer. Is this a good deal or should I look for something else???
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I want to buy one. It's on sale at Sears, the Kitchenaid Accolade 400 watts mixer. Is this a good deal or should I look for something else???
I went on their site and didn't see the Accolade listed:confused: I have the Artisan in red, and I can't imagine how I lived without it. And they will last forever; my mom, aunts, and grandmother have had theirs for as long as I can remember. Great for baking, mixing meatloaf, mashed potatoes, pretty much anything you can imagine. And I have the pasta roller attachment, which makes my life MUCH easier compared to using the old hand-crank one. I did a quick Google search and didn't get many results on that model, and didn't even see it listed on Kitchenaid's site. Not sure what to tell you about the price.
Ditto. This is my favorite kitchen appliance. It's indispensable if you bake at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by NoNo
I have the Classic, no frills, and it's been perfect. Like NoNo, I have no idea about the price, but you can compare other models on the internet and see how it stacks up (watts, bowl size, attachments, etc.) Enjoy it!
this is my partner in crime...
http://www.kenwoodworld.com/en/Produ...d-Major/KM005/
Love the kitchenaid ones too...
I'm not sure which model I have, but I use the PTO way more often than I use it as a mixer. Just used it to make tomato sauce last night - probably the last batch of the season. The pasta maker attachment is handy too, although I don't use it often.
DH uses the mixer just about whenever he bakes. I prefer the feel of creaming butter and sugar by hand. I almost never bake raised bread any more since I'm so allergic to yeast and somewhat allergic to wheat, but half ditto there. Kneading bread is such great meditation (and a nice little upper body workout too) I can't imagine letting a machine do it - although having some help stirring in those last couple of cups of flour is nice, especially when I don't have calluses on my thumbs any more from doing it every week.
I have a hand eggbeater, a whisk, a potato masher, and a variety of wooden spoons. Not even an electric hand mixer! So far, I bake all sorts of stuff without one. Cakes, breads, pasta, mashed potatoes, even lemon meringue pie (I have a special copper eggwhitewhipping bowl and a whisk for that). But I bet if I had one of those KA's, it would become difficult to give up. That's why I don't even think about getting one! I do fine without it now, but if it were there, I'd be lost without it. Strange how that works.
While I was on KA's site looking for the mixer she mentioned, I started going through the accessories. "OOOOOOOH! I want that one, and that one....":p
I LOVE my KitchenAid. I had a Sunbeam Heritage stand mixer for a few years. Last Christmas my Sis-in-law and her family bought my husband and I a KitchenAid stand mixer (the one that Walmart had on Black Friday, but still it's great)! One of the best Christmas presents EVER. It's way better than my old sunbeam (which I gave to my sis-in-law).
I don't have any of the attachments yet, but the possibilities are fascinating.
Whoooooo those are coooooool. :D I use my kenwood for baking, whisking, mincing meat, making apple juice, and as a blender.Quote:
Originally Posted by tulip
Quote:
Originally Posted by tulip
Don't you love it how, when you're whisking egg whites or whipping cream, and you start saying to yourself, "This is BS, I'm using an electrical appliance next time," about 30 seconds later is when it starts to firm up? :p
I wish I could do it with both hands though, so I could rest my right arm. I'm just incapable of making circular motions with my left hand. No reason, no injury, no lack of fine motor dexterity in my left hand, just can't make circles with a spoon or whisk. :confused:
The kind that tips backwards instead of the kind that you have to raise up fits better under cabinets, and takes up less space in a small kitchen. I love mine!
Well, the eggwhitewhipping bowl probably cost as much as a KA standup mixer, but it was a wedding gift that I got to keep. When my arms get tired but I have to keep going, I just figure I'm getting a workout to counteract the pie-in-construction. It also works very well for whipped cream. It's quite satisfying, doing it by hand, actually.
Ok, I'm going to be the voice of dissent here. I have a Kitchenaid. I don't know which one it is, but it was one of the top of the line, non-commercial ones out there back in 2003 when we got married. It spends a vast majority of it's life in it's box.
I pull it out during the holidays when I'm baking larger quantities for guests and gifts. The rest of the year, I just can't justify dirtying up that thing for the small batch baking/cooking that I normally do. And I can't spare the counter space to leave it out all the time. For bread, I either do the no-knead version or I use my bread machine to knead. I have a hand crank food mill that works great and is easy to clean up as well.
It's just faster overall for me to use hand tools. Faster to set up, faster to clean up...
But I soooo want an egg white whipping bowl! ;)
I wouldn't use mine either if I had to drag it out every time; it's way too heavy. I gladly sacrifice counter space for the KitchenAid, but I keep most of my other (lighter weight) appliances tucked away.Quote:
Originally Posted by GLC1968
Mine lives on top of the fridge. It's not a big deal to get it down and put it back up there.
Is it a counter-mounted type? What kind?Quote:
Originally Posted by GLC1968
I have a Foley Food Mill, but it doesn't strain out tomato seeds well, doesn't get tomatoes near as dry as the KA does, and it would just wear me out to do large amounts of applesauce through it.
I have the KitchenAid Professional (6 quart bowl)- the one that has the crank where you crank the bowl up and down. Love, love, love it. We've had it for over 5 years and that thing is a powerhouse. It'll do double bread or cookie dough recipes without any issues.
I have a set of attachments for it (gifted from a relative) but I have not had a chance to use them yet.
We don't bake and have a tiny kitchen so we make do with manual kitchen tools. However, a friend of mine has a KA and swears by it. She has kids and bakes a lot so I know she gives it a workout.
I love my kitchenaid mixer! I have the one with the top that tilts, the artisan I think? I use it at least once a week. Best gift my mom ever got me! And now every Christmas she buys me a neat attachment for it!
The one I have has a vice type attachment that I attach to one of my pull out cutting boards. It's by 'Back to Basics' and I think that I got it here:Quote:
Originally Posted by OakLeaf
http://www.canningpantry.com/d220.html
I've got multiple screens (berry, apple/tomato, pumpkin & salsa) that you switch out depending on what you are milling. All the parts that take the brunt of the force of cranking are metal, so it seems like it should last well. I've used it with apples (massive quantities!), pears, tomatoes, blackberries, plums, and grapes. I've had it two seasons now and it still works like new. In fact, my H is going to use it to make salsa this weekend for the first time.
There is a picture of it in action in this post:
http://simplemetamorphosis.blogspot....e-success.html
I love my Kitchen Aide. It comes out whenever I bake, or make anything that needs large amounts of grating (cheese) or grinding (oranges for marmalade, meats, walnuts for potica) or slicing (bread & butter pickles) or, well, anything.
I don't use it to knead bread - either my own two hands do that or the bread machine. In any case, I've had mine since, um, the late 70's or early 80's and it is still going strong. It's one of the best investments we made in running a kitchen.
I love mine too! I use it once a year for gingerbread houses!:rolleyes:;):cool:
:p:pSilver doesn't know where it's even stored:p:p
I love mine. It is tucked away in a corner of our kitchen so it doesn't use otherwise readily accessible space. We just pull it to the front when we need it. DD uses it a lot for cookie experiments.
I broke down and bought one last Christmas. I don't bake much, but I do make a ton of cookies and fruitcake (don't laugh - people love to get my fruitcake!).
Oh my God! What a difference! For 30 years I made heavy batter with the hand held mixer I bought in college. I can't believe I resisted this for so long, thinking I only need it at Christmastime.
Well the machine is expensive, big, and extremely heavy, all of which are good reasons to go without.
But it is a dream to operate.
I have no counterspace, and it is a real chore to set up for baking. I installed an wire rack drawer with a plexiglass insert for the floor of the drawer so I could store the machine in a lower cabinet. It works, and does make it easier to get it in and out, but someday I'm going to drop the thing on the tile floor and I don't think it's gonna be pretty.
And I just saw that they offer a pasta attachment. Must hide the credit card. That would be fun to play with but I don't know if I could make enough space to have long strands of pasta anywhere.
I'm glad I have my KA. 6 qt size. I wish I had the commercial grade one not the pro series.
The difference is that the commercial grade is NSF rated while the pro series is not. ???
Have attachement for meat grinder, and pasta maker. I make ground pork for Chinese dish, pasta maker for lasgna, raviloi... to noodles for soup. I'm very happy with it.
Oh I do have a dough hook and use it often. only takes two minutes to knead. And
ballon whisk to make whipped cream.
I've gotten lazy. I consider it one of my better purchases for the kitchen.
Mine goes here... very handy!
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...t/IMG_3186.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...t/IMG_3187.jpg
I like the design of the Kitchen Aid more, but hey, my Kenwood is the best gift i'm given so far.... :D
Those Europeans always have the sleekest and most compact designs!:cool::cool:
Why am I the only one who keeps mine on top of the fridge? Am I risking damaging something I don't know about? :confused:
Just take some plastic clothes hangers and drape the strands over them. Surely you have somewhere to place a few hangers?Quote:
Originally Posted by withm
Besides your head? Noooooo... :D Maybe you should wear your cycling helmet indoors too. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by OakLeaf
LOL... hey why go to the gym to do military presses when I've got a stand mixer? :p
Well, I broke down and got one on Monday. Already made a big batch of cookies and last night, made some bread. It's awesome. I just sat back and watched my Mighty machine do all the work. It's the Accolade 400. I don't know how I managed without it. It was $529 on sale for $300. I just couldnt' resist. Thanks for the feedback.
Ooh! Enjoy your new toy.
all this talk of how you store your kitchen aid makes me want this:
http://www.amazon.com/Chrome-Heavy-D.../dp/B001B0QFOI
Alas, I have no suitable counter to install one. Maybe in my next house!
For now, I store mine under my 'baking counter' (I claimed a portion of the kitchen for all my baking stuff), but I have a bowl lift mixer so it's too tall to fit under the cabinets :(.
Congrats on the new mixer. Kitchen Aid has a web site where you can meet lots of folks who name their mixers.
I was holding out for a red one, but found a deal on a 'grab bag' take-what you-get color. Mine is monstrous and gray, named Polyphemus after the Cyclops in the Odyssey.
I'd probably kill myself trying to get it down from the top of the fridge. There's also lots of other (light weight) stuff up there.
That's hysterical!:D I never named mine, I've never been good with that stuff. I took your red mixer; if you'd like to name, it go ahead.Quote:
Originally Posted by malkin
I have exactly no counters in my kitchen, but thankfully, I have a large pantry that my mixer resides in. It even has outlets, so sometimes I leave the mixer there, but if I'm making pasta I take it out and put it on the kitchen table.
You can see it way in the back, behind the red food processor (guess what my favorite color is?):p
http://onarumagalleries.smugmug.com/...49_cyXFC-M.jpg
I no longer bake much at all. But have my 35 yr. old electric handheld beater which continues serves us well when my arm gets tired of beating eggs, etc. I suppose a Kitchenaid mixer would help for arduous dumpfnudel (German plain pastry, like Chinese bao) dough kneading but I know dearie prefers the old fashioned kneading..
Have been tempted over the last few decades to have an all-purpose type of mixing appliance but lack of counter/storage space always stop me dead. We already use top of our fridge for storing some pots and pans. Besides we wouldn't use it often.
I even forget to use our hand wirewhips. It's chopsticks instead. :o
I love my Kitchenaid stand mixer too. The thing is bomb-proof. I sought after it when I was taking cake decorating classes put on by Wilton. The stuff we made in there for frosting just blew up my regular hand-held.
Quote:
Originally Posted by violette
Have fun with it!
I have the Artisan in Black, a present for my birthday a few years back. I LOVE it! I still haven't gotten the attachments but I love that when I make a cake I can leave it mixing while I prep the pan, etc....:)
That's what they tell you! ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by withm
I also got one in '03 when we got married. It lives in a pull-out shelf on the bottom of the pantry -- along with the bread making machine.
They both come out rarely. I suppose they'd come out more if I actually did some baking!! :rolleyes:
Oh..and I bought this slicer-dicer attachment for it...because I HAD to have it. I took it out of the box...washed each piece...and put them back in the box. I've yet to use it. Ever. Hard to justify pulling it out to slice, oh...one zucchini or something for just the 2 of us.