Kitchen aid Mixer

[bassNspear]

So i am in the process of finding a mixer for my girlfriend!

What do you all think of the kitchen aids. Or is there a better brand that you think is better. I have a budjet of 200.00

Wish this stuff went on sale ugh

[Deitz Dittrich]

We have a Kitchen Aid mixer at the family cabin. Thing seems bullet proof. We have the meat grinder attachment for it and it too works great.

[RiverFish]

Kids and I got one(Kitchen aid) for the wife a 4-5 years ago. She uses it fairly regulary with no problems over the years. No complaints.

[nofishfisherman]

I think Kitchen Aid is the top choice for mixers. They are bullet proof.

My wife had been wanting one for years so she ended up buying it on Amazon. I think she got the bigger version for $199 right after christmas but I know I've seen them for that price on Amazon and at some department stores before christmas as well.

[OnAFly]

KitchenAid seems to be the benchmark for these. My wife is getting one this Xmas. I'm excited about the grinder attachment

[fivebucks]

Be careful out there. I heard somewhere, sometime to never buy your wife (girlfriend) something with a cord for a present

[pureinsanity]

Kitchen aide is the brand to go with...

Keep in mind when you buy one of these if you can even find one for 200$ (good luck with that) It only comes with a few attachments. The rest you have to buy separately...

I kinda chuckled about this!

I have been looking and trying to convince my girlfriend she needs a mixer like you are speaking about. She never cooks really so it really be a gift for me lol!

So are you really looking for your girlfriend, or yourself?

[SkunkedAgain]

Kitchen Aids are great. Years ago they switched to plastic parts in order to make them quieter. It was a failed gamble as they had much shorter lives. Fast forward to today and those mixers are back to being bullet proof. They are loud beasts but cooking and baking is not a clean or quiet process.

Pureinsanity is right on as well. They get you with the attachments. You'll get a standard beater, a wire whip, and a dough kneader in the package but you'll probably want more. There are meat grinding, pasta making, and other motor attachments. Plus if you do lots of baking you might want an extra bowl for multiple batters that need to be made and then mixed or layered. Those can be purchased later though and aren't essential to the initial gift.

With all of that said, if you don't do a ton of baking then you may not need a Kitchen Aid. I still have my mother's old Sunbeam mixer from the 1960s. It does a fine job up at the cabin. So don't feel like you need to step up to the Kitchen Aid if she's not really going to put the mileage on it!

[bassNspear]

wow thanks all for the comments.

Looks like im heading in the right direction

[hockeybc69]

If you have a need for a meat grinder down the road, you can get that attachment as well.

Bulletproof unit all the way.

I used my moms for grinding meat for many years.

[OnAFly]

Did your moms grinder attachment have the metal grinder or the plastic housing one? The KitchenAid one looks like plastic, which makes me a little apprehensive.

[Chef]

We've had our KitchenAid for 18 years. It gets used weekly. Wouldn't consider a diff't maker that's non-industrial.

Pop for KA--it'll get you lots of "Sugar"

[Jim Almquist]

If you get a $200.00 model it will more than likely come with a 250 watt motor. The next size would be the 325 watt and the big one is or was 450 watts. I did a quick check and they now make a 575 watt unit. I have the 325 watt and it works good on grinding small batches(10 pounds) I would not try to process a whole deer with it. I tried and darn near over heated the motor. It works great for bread and cookie dough. I also have the shredder/slicer attachment and it work awesome for making homemade potato chips and slicing potatoes for Au gratin potatoes.

[RiverFish]

Be careful out there. I heard somewhere, sometime to never buy your wife (girlfriend) something with a cord for a present

So the washer/dryer combo a few years ago was not a good idea?

[deerminator]

Kitchen Aid is the way to go. We've had our's for 10 years and it's a workhorse. Use if for baking, mixing meat, homemade whip cream and so on. Absolutely essential for the holidays if you do a lot of baking. Check and see if anyone has a deal going where they give you a second mixing bowl. That keeps things moving when baking during the holidays. I would normally say, yes, nothing with a chord or domestic for the holidays, especially if she's your girlfriend and not yet your wife and you want her to be the latter eventually. But if she likes to bake or cook or is a "foodie," I'm pretty sure this will be something she really likes for Christmas. If not, don't blame us. lol.

[nofishfisherman]

If you get a $200.00 model it will more than likely come with a 250 watt motor. The next size would be the 325 watt and the big one is or was 450 watts. I did a quick check and they now make a 575 watt unit. I have the 325 watt and it works good on grinding small batches(10 pounds) I would not try to process a whole deer with it. I tried and darn near over heated the motor. It works great for bread and cookie dough. I also have the shredder/slicer attachment and it work awesome for making homemade potato chips and slicing potatoes for Au gratin potatoes.

The one my wife bought for $199 is the 325 watt mixer, just checked today. She got it on Amazon. It came with the basic attachments and the large size bowl (At least I think there are 2 sizes of bowls)

[CAMAN]

Amazon had the 325 watt on sale over Black Friday weekend, $250, then like $70 worth of rebates and cash back. No tax and free shipping, $180 for a $350 mixer is an amazing price.

[bassNspear]

caman, so they still have that deal, if so, can you send me link

[CAMAN]

B&S, no sorry, it was only for 1 day, they call it the Gold Box Deal of the Day. Check it out, they always have something at a deep discount everyday, many times it's junk, but sometimes it's something cool or would make a great gift. Go to Amazon and click on the Gold Treasure Chest at the top, I try to check it once a day to see if there is anything good.

[bassNspear]

hmmmmmm

I need to find a deal ugh....

anyone know if the 199 is worth it, or am i better off droppin the extra 100 for the 299 artisan model??

[jmd1]

If you can do the extra money you won't regret it. We have the plastic type grinder works ok but don't want to process a bunch. My mother in law has a metal one and will grind all day long. Good luck, and if i were you don't buy pots and pans, that might get you in trouble more than a mixer.

[Big-Al]

We bought the larger mixer about 6 years ago. It is a great quality piece of equipment. Now the grinder is a total different story. I have the plastic housing model and it is not worth a darn. I tried to get it replaced when it was new. Well actually it was 11 months old when I used it for the first time because we bought it for Christmas and had not used it till deer hunting season in November. I tried to get Kitchen Aide to replace it but no deal. I went back to a forty year old mixer with a grinder attachment that works just fine. I think I got a lemon. They can't be all as bad as mine is.

[nofishfisherman]

Try checking out Amazon and Amazon Marketplace, I saw some on there recently for $220-$250 depending on what color you want.

These were the Artisan models.

I know for a fact that the Artisan models can get down to $199 at times its just a matter of finding when and where.

[fishinchicks]

I received the 325 watt KitchenAid for Christmas a long time ago. I can't even remember what year it was. 1999, maybe? I use it all the time. Cakes, cookies, breads, egg whites...whatever. It has performed excellent, and is still in great shape. When we remodeled our kitchen in 2007, we put in a mixer stand lift for one of the cupboards. That way, the mixer is out of the way when I'm not using it, and just pops up when I do need it. The lift is a little flimsy for big batches of dough, so I'm a little more careful when making bread or pizza dough.

If you like to mix doughs, I would recommend the 325 as a minimum.

[delcecchi]

Actually if you REALLY want to mix dough there is the pro600 which has a 6 quart bowl and a 600 watt motor. I upgraded to this from my classic, which I gave to a friend and she is still using it all the time.

The pro600 is really loud but kicks the dough's rear. It comes with a spiral dough hook.

Watch bed bath beyond they have 20 percent coupons all the time, which I think work on kitchen aide.