Kitchenaid mixer

[divingbiker]

I can't imagine how I lived without it.

Ditto. This is my favorite kitchen appliance. It's indispensable if you bake at all.

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!

[papaver]

this is my partner in crime...

http://www.kenwoodworld.com/en/Produ...d-Major/KM005/

Love the kitchenaid ones too...

[OakLeaf]

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.

[tulip]

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.

[NoNo]

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...."

[lo123]

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.

[papaver]

I have a special copper eggwhitewhipping bowl and a whisk.

Whoooooo those are coooooool. I use my kenwood for baking, whisking, mincing meat, making apple juice, and as a blender.

[OakLeaf]

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.

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?

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.

[beccaB]

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!

[tulip]

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.

[GLC1968]

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!