Kitchen

[GenXmuse]

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@151949 wrote:

Also some people just break everything!  I am someone who is very very careful with my belongings and I tend to have things forever, where as someone else can buy that exact same thing , own it a week and it's ruined already. 

I had a 1980 MGB for 26 years that still looked perfect when I sold it.The reason I got rid of it was my back was so bad I couldn't get in & out of it anymore and using the clutch had gotten difficult with my bad knees. That car was in such great condition I sold it for $12,000 more than I paid for it. The buyer said he has looked at dozens that were just junk, he couldn't figure out what they had been through. 

My point is - at times the item in question may be bad quality but often the owner is the problem not the item.

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Wow! I’m proud of you! 

[janeec]

I was given a Sunbeam mixer as a wedding gift over 35 years ago.  I was thrilled and I used it.  The beaters were replaced several times as they bent out of shape, and were not abused.  6 years ago I got a KitchenAid tilt mixer from QVC and love it.  I have not had a problem with it.  I use it more than I ever used my Sunbeam and it is doing well.  

What works for one may not work for another.  That's the beauty of choice.  We can pick what we want.  I am glad you found what works for you.  No matter how you feel, any  electric mixer is better than doing it all by hand.  

[ANewHue]

My artisan KA mixer is well over 25 years old.   It has had some heavy duty workouts in its day and still works like day one.  Seems like you're in the miniority here .  Don't know what prompted your post but KA rocks and always has. To each his own.

[Diva on The Q]

I'm sure there are other brands that work well, but I love my KitchenAid Stand Mixer and don't intend to use any other brand.

[Cats3000]

That's because IT IS 25 years old and was made in the USA.  I've looked at the KA website.  I can only find ONE stand mixer that is still made in the USA.

[Kathy-MI]

My KA was given to me as a Xmas present from my husband in 1978.  Its a 5 qt 300 watt bowl lift mixer.  I know he paid $300.00 for it back then.  Its running strong.  I use it alot. It still looks new.  I take care of all my appliances.  I wouldnt trade this machine for anything.   I hope I never have to buy another one, however, it would be a KA again.

[gardenman]

The mixer marketplace is evolving rather quickly with Chinese made brands like Aicok, Litchi, Cheftronic, Klarstein and Murenking hitting the US market. They're coming in at a low price point (typically under $150 retail) and impressive stats and reviews. Those lower priced brands will put pressure on the higher priced makers to compete on price and that may compromise quality somewhat on the brands like Kitchenaid as they try to compete.

My old Kitchenaid is chugging along nicely, but if I had to replace it, I might just give one of those well-reviewed Chinese made ones a long look. Paying half as much for a comparable machine is kind of attractive to those of us on a tighter budget. The reviews are comparable to the Kitchenaid reviews, so if I can get a comparable product for half the cost, it might be worthwhile.

I'm not sure if anyone has done side-by-side tests with those off brand mixers and the known brands, but such testing would be interesting to see. Bosch has an odd stand mixer that uses a central column and an open bowl design that gets good reviews. It's a pricier option but has an 800 watt motor and a 6.5 quart bowl. It's a fairly unique design, unlike the rest, but the $400 (or so) price point and uniqueness of the design would trouble me somewhat. It will mix and knead up to fourteen pounds of dough at one time however.

That whole mixer marketplace is evolving rather quickly these days and I'm not sure who the long-term winner will be. Cuisinart and Hamilton Beach have jumped into the larger stand mixer category lately too. Kitchen-aid has been the quality leader for a number of years and turn up on nearly all of the cooking shows, but their glass bowl design was a tad problematic for a while (I saw several break during shows/demonstrations early on) and they've got competition on both ends of the pricing spectrum. Bosch is putting up a good fight on the higher end and the Chinese made brands are fighting them on the lower end.

[debcakes]

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@SharkE wrote:

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@blackhole99 wrote:

I've had my Kitchen Aid artisan stand mixer for over 25 years, even used it hard when I operated a home bakery and it never failed me. 

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That's because it was made "25 yrs. " ago.

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Yep, mine is almost 40 years old and still going strong. I have really used it a lot over the years and never had any trouble with it.

[brandiwine]

Can't disagree more!!  I've had mine for years and can't imagine how many batches of cookies, bread, cakes, mashed potatoes, and on and on I have done.  No problems.  I don't know anyone who has ever had a problem unless it was by the operator,  my dil did cause a problem on hers.  Kitchenaid fixed it right away.  Not saying the OP caused a problem, but I'm thinking she was using a defective one.

[chickenbutt]

I can't help thinking, from some of the responses, that some folks are not understanding the delineation between the products that KitchenAid USED TO make and the ones that are made now, since they changed companies of manufacture and since many of them are made in China now.

Sadly, some companies do not make products with the quality for which they have become known.  KA is one of those, since they left Hobart, as a manufacturer.   The changes are profound.   That's just a fact.

Moral of the story - if you have one of the older ones that was made with the superior manufacturing, keep it forever!  If you replace it with one of the ones they make now it just will not be the same.

If I were in the market for a stand mixer I would look to Hobart or Viking or one of the other known companies for current quality manufacture.  Fact of the matter is, however, that I've cooked for 57 of my 63 years and never had a need for a stand mixer.  Of course, I'm not speaking for the needs of anybody else.  I just never wanted one for some reason, and I'm a nut for kitchen stuff.