Congrats! wish I could afford one. Link below is to several previous discussions on them and the various attachments. Hope they are of help.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchenaid discussions on Harvest

Thanks Dave. I've been wanting one for years and years, couldn't afford it. QVC had theirs on 6 easy payments and a really good price too. I was looking at them yesterday and hesitated so i could talk to my hubby. Looked online this morning and the easy pay option was gone.

But...i called them and they happily let me buy it with the easy pay option...so for 6 months I pay $50 and next week will be the proud mamma of a chrome KitchenAid Professional 5qt 450 Watt 10 Speed Stand Mixer! Totally worth it to me!

You have to have a credit card for the easy pay option, it's not them giving you credit.

Check it out!

Here is a link that might be useful: QVC Kitchen Aid Mixer

Some atachments are very pricy and if you use the strainer atachment, its use is usually limited to just tomatoes. Seeds of smaller berries are going to jam or go through the holes. The strainer as no optional sieves. My old Oster Kitchen center as more stuff for cutting and slicing that I used all the time, especailly the slicers, and grater disks, not to mention a food processer. The KA seems to have wire wisk beaters which tend to make you use a spatula to clean off the sides of the bowl all the time. The Oster has an offest beater and goes against the bottom and sides while also rotating the varios bowls. then there is a blender atttachment as well as an ice crusher, and ice crem maker that uses the traditional rock salt and ice. Its no longer made, but if you find a used one, grab it, try it out, and I am sure it will become a necessary device for many food prepping issues. If they were to atart making them again, they would probably outsel any other multifunctioanl product, proved it was advertised well. Now Oster/Sunbeam are Jarden owned, who also make Food Saver, and many other products, as well as all Ball canning supplies..

I do have a Oster Kitchen center and I've loved it for many years, but trouble is, the motor isn't as strong as it used to be. I will keep it around as long as it will come on at all simply for the blender and food processor on it. I was never really impressed with it's mixing when it comes to bread though.

I wish they still made them too and everytime i go to a yard sale or flea market i'm on the lookout for one. I recently used it to make about 30 quarts of kraut. I've been babying it for about 3 years now, a little piece broke out of the center of the processor lid that pushed down the mechanism to make it work. So every summer when I pull it out to cut up stuff to can, i grab a pencil and make a little piece to put in there. Then I give it a hug when it comes on and pray to the canning goddess that it'll get me through one more year...and it does!

It's an old friend to say the least.

I'm anxious to get my KA though, I've wanted one for a very long time.

Thanks
sheri

Oster kitchen centers can still be had on ebay. Mine crunched a gear in the mixer head but I keep it for the cutting blades(food processing)and the blender. It's very handy and someone needs to come out with something as good...mine has lasted since the 80's so I have more than gotten my value out of it.

I use a stand mixer seldom,still use my Mom's Vintage 40's Kitchen Aid mixer with the glass bowl mostly for frosting or cakes batters during holiday baking.
Actually I had a Classic White KA newer one and gave it away to the neighbor I like the old one better.
My 2 favorite counter top appliances are the Cuisinart Food Processor and the Vita Mix. Those are great for harvesting time and the Vita Mix can also be used as a juicer and grain grinder.
I guess it would depend on what you need to do the most to warrant the purchase of the attachments verses stand alone appliances.
I tend to burn out multiuse appliances.
Now, if I was in the market for a stand mixer I would get a Viking.

I use the food grinder to grind meat (beef for hamburgers and pork for sausage). I also have the ice cream maker, which has the freezable bowl.

I recommend checking the reviews on amazon.com for attachments that interest you. Sounds like some attachments work better than others. I decided to buy a Villaware strainer instead of the KA fruit and vegetable strainer, mostly because of the seed problem I think Ken mentioned...the KA screen is not designed to be used with berries and breaks easily.

And by the way, congratulations Sheri! When I got my Kitchenaid artisan stand mixer (white on white), I felt like I had come into my own as a homemaker. I definitely believe it makes better cakes.

Melissa

I have an older KitchenAid and use it all the time for canning. The strainer attachment is ideal for canning. I use it for tomatoes to make puree for spaghetti sauce, bar-b-que sauce and of course just tomato sauce. It is also great to make applesauce, I've put up 20 quarts this year, and making pumpkin puree for pies.

The grinder is ideal for making relishes and grinding onions and garlic for spaghetti sauce and salsa.

I thought about getting the mill attachment to grind my own cornmeal.

Some time ago Oster/Sunbeam could service the moto unit and replace the carbon brushes. These are usuaually what wear out. The dough hooks are great here as there are slower, more powerful power output holes. The very old KC had a very narrow metal rod at the stand end. I was so impressed, I had bought one for a friend for a wedding gift, and then found another in a clearance sale at a True Value store, for just $60 complete. The plastic 'pin' on my food slicer also broke off, but was glued back on with some crazy glue. At that time, they had replacement covers. The pin breakage happens when trying to grate very hard things like cheese. The site below still offers a few parts and gears too. Check out the link I provided for the food strainers in another thread, as there were a couple of grain mills shown there, as well as many non electric choices from Lehmans.

Here is a link that might be useful: Goodmans

Just to let you know,
I had to go onto the Macy's website and they are having a sale. they have attachments also for the stand mixer on sale now.

Kitchenaid mixer bestsellers and customer review

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchenaid Mixer Store