Kitchenaid Mixer

[Andrea]

If you want to do any kind of baking then a Kitchenaid mixer is essential. I love this ice blue one. According to Kitchenaid you can do all kinds of things with it, although I only do basic mixing.

From a pasta maker and sausage stuffer to an ice cream maker and citrus juicer, 12 creative attachments make KitchenAid® Stand Mixers the ultimate cooking tool.

[thedogpug]

My mum got a Breville Mixer for Christmas. It's great and like the Kitchenaids come in a variety of colours (but not as big a variety as Kitchenaid).

It's got the paddle attachment, whisk and dough hook. Unlike the Kitchenaid you can't get any extra accessories for it like iceream attachment, pasta maker, meat grinder etc.

It's relatively quiet and super easy to use and clean. The paddle attachment does a great job at creaming butter and sugar, mixing, folding etc. The dough hook did a wonderful job kneading the hot cross buns i made this past Easter. I have yet to use the whisk attachment.

Also it's about half the price of the Kitchenaid. I just wish though that the bowl had a handle but overall it's not so bad and when i move out of home i would consider getting the Breville. A very nice machine.

[Andrea]

Also it's about half the price of the Kitchenaid.

That's the problem with the Kitchenaid, they are very expensive compared to other models.

My mother has a Kenwood and she loves it.

[thedogpug]

There's this Kenwood i've seen for around $300 at David Jones. Also comes in assorted colours

Comes with the paddle attachment, whisk, dough hook and splash guard.

I think in the US the Kitchenaids retails for around $US300, which is still a lot cheaper than over here. Wonder why the markup is so expensive here in Australia.

[Andrea]

I haven't seen that one before, it looks great. My mother had her old Kenwood for around 20 years and never had any problems with it. That's pretty amazing for a kitchen appliance. She only upgraded because she wanted some new attachments and something more modern to go with her new kitchen. Kenwood is definitely a good brand. I think it's owned by Delonghi, a relatively new brand in Australia.

As for prices, you're right, the Kitchenaid does go for around $US300 while in Australia it's $A600-700. I can't understand why either. It's hard to justify paying that much more when a cheaper model will do the same job.

[Jade]

That Kitchenaid mixer above is the Artisan model. It's very popular and does a good job but if you are planning on using your mixer a lot you might want to get the next model up. The professional models have all metal parts rather than plastic ones so last a lot longer. Mixers are an appliance you'll expect to have for many years so getting a professional grade one is a good investment.