Which food mixer?

[Saracen]

First, I admit it, I seem to be turning into a kitchen-gadgetaholic.

But, I think I'm going to need a new food mixer. Question is .... which one?

Background :-

- I have a Kenwood Chef, circa 1970. I inherited it. It's done my family proud for 40+ years.

- I MIGHT yet have it overhauled & serviced, if parts are still available. I think Kenwood no longer support it. But that may be neither possible nor cost-effective, any more.

- I DON'T have any interest in either blender/liquidiser or food-processor options.


What I'm interested in, primarily, is cake mixes, but it MUST be up to heavy doughs, too. So it needs to be fairly beefy, motor-wise.

So, KitchenAid crossed my mind. I like the colours, and retro styling. But, it's primarily a utilitarian device, not KitchenArt. And, I here some not too good things about durabilty.

Which brings me to Kenwood Chef.

I might add a pasta option, but I have a manual machine that, frankly, meets my needs. I might add a meat grinder/mincer. I currently have one, but don't use it a lot. Or I may not bother with optional extras at all.

Mainly, as I said, cakes and bread doughs are what it's for.

Opinions? How are those of you that bought the Titanium a year or too getting on? How much power do I need? Do I need 1400w, or will the smaller 1000w be enough?

I'm not in any tearing rush, but if any great pre, or post, Xmas deals pop up, it might make me commit.

[shaithis]

I have the chef titanium and absolutely love it. It's rated for 4.6kg of cake mix and 2.4kg of dough...although I would question that personally having started hitting slight niggles over 1Kg of dough.

I also have the meat mincer for it, which I must say is more grief than it's worth. It get clogged up so fast you end up dismantling it every 2 minutes to remove sinew and fat just to get another 20g of meat through. I now buy meat I want minced from the butcher and get him to mince it.

Where the mincer does excel (and I bet you could buy something stand-alone just as good) is the sausage maker. Once you have your minced meat, the sausage maker is just awesome.

[Saracen]

The Titanium is the 1400w one, isn't it?

I must admit I find the Kenwood model range confusing as hell. It's not clear to me when you're paying for more power, when you're paying for better tools (like s/steel beaters, hooks, etc, and when you're paying for extra add-ons, like liquidiser.

Interesting what you say about the mincer. It was actually sausage-making that caught my eye. And, by and large, I get my beef from a local farm shop that happens to be an Aberdeen Angus specialist, though they buy in high quality pork from another local specialist. It's usually no more expensive than a supermarket, generally much better quality, and I get it in the quantity I want, not in pre-packed sizes. So, for instance, I might ask for 2.5kg. At home, I split it into 5 x 200g, 5 x 300g, and then vacuum-seal and freeze what I don't want in the next 48 hours. I often also make up a couple of 200g mixed mince packets, 50:50 pork and beef, which gives me exactly what I need for my bolognese ragu.

Anyway, I've gone off-point. Like you, making mince is probably pointless, but sausages .... I can then blend what I want, on the day. This time, herbs, next time, chillies, time after, plain with salt/pepper seasoning.

Still confused about the Chef models though, or indeed, KitchenAid.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

This list might be useful:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st...s-8902543.html

Even the £500+ Kenwood Chef models,even though they seem well made(after looking at some in a store),are all made in China,like this one:

http://www.johnlewis.com/kenwood-kmc...-white/p721546

Not that there is anything wrong with China,I just feel for very expensive mixers perhaps there is no excuse to shift production there. Moreover,I get the impression,the motors won't last as well and parts will not be easy to get in 10 years,ie,the next model comes along and its in the bin when it goes wrong,unlike the older Kenwood models. Magimix are probably the same level too.

Dualit might be worth looking at too:

http://www.dualit.com/products/stand-mixer

I don't know if their newer products are UK made still,but I know 5 years ago they were and you can get parts even for 40 year Dualit toasters still.

I would probably look at the Kitchenaid Professional line:
http://www.kitchenaid.com/countertop...nces/pro-line/

AFAIK,it is better than their normal range and is more towards commerical usage.They also do this commercial model too:

http://www.kitchenaid.com/countertop...cial-products/

There is actually a shop right in central London which sells mostly commercial level mixers and the like.

However,I cannot seem to remember its name!!


Edit!!

This is the one:

http://www.nisbets.co.uk/

[jimborae]

Hi Saracen I had a look into this when I was buying a mixer for the wife, unfortunately she had her heart set on a KitchenAid and while it's good, most reviews seem to think that the high end Kenwood Chefs are better as they have more powerful motors and more importantly metal gears and gear housings.

I wanted her to have a Kenwood Chef Premier KMC570 as it was cheaper and better quality than KitchenAid. Also if you price watch it on Amazon the price regularly comes down to £229 although just looking now John Lewis have it for that price also. Unfortunately she chose form over function and went with the KitchenAid.

[andy-w-h]

I have been making bread with a Kenwood Kmix KMX52 for 6 months now and like it a lot .. looks like a KitchenAid .. works like a KitchenAid .. is cheaper than a KitchenAid! http://www.hughesdirect.co.uk/small-...-kmx52/product seem to be the cheapest at the mo. I paid 271 delivered from Amazon in June.

Recommended

[GoNz0]

do not buy anything made by dualsheet, the only thing i have still working and supported for parts is the toaster, hand mixer blew up and so did the expensive kettle, buy a new motor for the hand mixer, don't think so, but you get 40% off a new one thats priced 40% more than everywhere else!

I have the kenwood kmc020 and it cost about £400 iirc a couple of years ago, I think Zak got one as well?. the mincers utter poo at mincing meat (as above) but everything else it does and it does it bloody great!

you should see it beat egg whites in seconds, i also made my xmas cake yesterday, put the rubber coated k beater in and threw everything in, remembering this year to put the cherries in for the last seconds as they got obliterated last year in under a minute (not a trace)

dough hook works well, liquidiser and food processor work as expected.

if you can splash out for one i recommend it

[shaithis]

mines the KM010 (presumably a slightly older version)...bought it 5/12/2011 (pretty much 2 years to the day) for £284.96 from amazon.....I believe it was posted on hexus at the time.

So they can be had fairly cheap (compared to RRP)

[malfunction]

mines the KM010 (presumably a slightly older version)...bought it 5/12/2011 (pretty much 2 years to the day) for £284.96 from amazon.....I believe it was posted on hexus at the time.

So they can be had fairly cheap (compared to RRP)

Likewise, I bought one back in December 2010 that was £286.

Thread from 2011:

http://forums.hexus.net/kitchen-cook...do-not-do.html

[Saracen]

mines the KM010 (presumably a slightly older version)...bought it 5/12/2011 (pretty much 2 years to the day) for £284.96 from amazon.....I believe it was posted on hexus at the time.

So they can be had fairly cheap (compared to RRP)

The KM010 still seems to be a current model, though it runs about £100 more than you paid, shaithis. Whether that's the effect of 2 years, or currency changes, or just that you got a great deal, I don't know.


What seem to be current model numbers include

KM010 - Chef Titanium, 1400w
KM030 - As above, but with timer, and 'fold' function.

KM020 - Chef "Major". 1500w, and bigger bowl, load capacity, etc.

Each of the appear to have product variants, like KMC010 AND KMC030, which appear to be the same as their base versions, but with more attachments, like the flex beater, and blender/food processor.

But it's not easy working out what's what. Even Kenwood's website is slow, and confusing, with product photos not matching what the spec sheet says.

What I'm currently considering is the 010 or 030 range. In either case, ut's primarily as a mixer. I don't need either food processor or blender, so I'm reluctant to pay for models including them, and I don't need the extra size of the Major models. What I do want is to be sure whatever I get has the grunt, the power, to do heavier doughs, and do it for hopefully a long time. I would rather pay (up to a point) for qualify, than pay several times for new machines.

[Saracen]

@Cat.

Thanks for that, Cat. It's taken on board.

I'm very nervous about KitchenAid Pro, though. There seem to be a number of user reviews with problems, that hint at reliability issues, specifically with the Pro.

As for Kmix, andy-w-h, I hadn't paid much attention to those, but will take a look. Thanks.

Thanks to everyone for comments.

[GoNz0]

if you want "grunt" and power then the km20 has that, seems to have a speed sensor as you hear the torque go up with things thicken to maintain the speed.

I also didn't think I needed the extras but they have been used a lot more than expected, especially after the demise of the dualit hand held.

Kenwood are on the end of the phone if you need help or parts, very handy.

[Saracen]

if you want "grunt" and power then the km20 has that, seems to have a speed sensor as you hear the torque go up with things thicken to maintain the speed.

I also didn't think I needed the extras but they have been used a lot more than expected, especially after the demise of the dualit hand held.

Kenwood are on the end of the phone if you need help or parts, very handy.

I'm already well-covered for the food processor and blender, though. A Magimix 5200XL covers the food processor end, with a cheaper FP in the cupboard as a backup, and a Vitamix heavy duty blender for the liquidiser part. And a Kenwood stick blender for those handheld jobs.

Running the sausage-maker facility on the Chef mincer appeals, though how much I'd actually do it ? Dunno. Mainly, as you say, it's grunt I'm after. Well, that and build quality, which despite the appeal of the aesthetics of the KitchenAid, leads me towards the rather less stylish Chefs. After all, it's a tool, not KitchenArt, and I get the sense that Kenwood have that sown up, at least in the UK, not least, due to aftersale support. I THINK spares for my current Chef are now unavailable. They were still available a year or so back when I first threatened to get it refurbed. And that's for a model from the early '70s.

I'm currently tending towards the KM030 / KMC030, because there seems to be a decent deal or two going. I'm just struggling to justify several hundred quid more on kitchen equipment, given that it's already been an expensive year.

I guess what I'm really doing is partly psyching myself up to it, and partly, working out what I do and don't want, so that if deals come along, I know whether to grab it or not, rather than hesitating and going away to work out whether to grab or not, only to find I missed my chance.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The newer Kenwood chefs are made in China so I doubt parts will be available in 10 years time. The older ones until around 8 to 10 years ago were made over here.
Moreover do check out Nisbets as they have commercial grade gear including the commercial grade kitchenaids and other companies which service the restaurant industry.

[Saracen]

I did check out Nisbets, Cat. I meant to thank you for that, as I hadn't come across them. They're now bookmarked.

One minor caution, though. Some "commercial" equipment doesn't come with the warranty cover that domestic gear gets. Of course, hopefully, it's of a manufacturing standard that, if it can survive restaurant use, it would laugh off domestic levels of use. So there's a bit of give and take.

The other point is that I've come across quite a few bad tales of KitchenAid Pro, which I gather is the "commercial" end, including one user that got so fed up with trouble with their Pro that they "upgraded" to a domestic one.

Part of the problem is that it's not easy finding oeople with extensive exoensive of both KA and Chef. Most people seem to have one or the other, and a lot of kitchens seem to have very heavy, and pretty expensive, commercial grade gear. So, most people with domestic gear in that class either haven't had trouble, and hence love it, or have, and therefore hate it.

I guess the morsl of that is that as long as I'm not unlucky and have problems, either will orobably do anything I need, and though I want it to gave the grunt to do a decent-size loaf of reasonably heavy do, it isn't going to be used 6 hours, or more, a day. More like 30 mins at a time, a few times a week.

I will spend more time on Nisbets, though. Trouble is, I'm a bit like a kid in a sweet shop on that site .... lot's of ooooh, aaaah, and my credit card is starting to itch.

I know (or have read) that the Kenwood still has metal gears, drive-chain, etc. So, hopefully, as long as motors don't burn out (another reason for wanting plenty of grunt) it should last ages, hopefully, outlast me. The KA may well have all-metal in the mechanicals, too. I damn well hope so, at that price.

[peterb]

Just bought a Kenwood KMC571 from Argos, and they had an offer so you could get the glass blender attachment half price. Essentially the same as the KMC570, but that is a bundle. Argos are also a Quidco partner, so another small bonus.

Very pleased so far - the cake I made (within an hour of it arriving!) seems lighter (and it was less messy, and I am no replete with a delicious bowl of butternut squash soup - the blender is very good.

Very pleased so far.