Solid state Kitchenaid mixers were introduced in 1978 (the K45SS and the K5SS). In 1986 the line was sold to Whirlpool and all the Artisan, Classic etc. mixers sold today are basically the same models as made in 1986 (some improvements and efficiencies in the machining but anyone who has an old "original" K45SS or K5SS can repair it using today's parts). The Pro line was developed as something entirely new so it doesn't have the same history, but the company has worked very hard to upgrade and improve the model since its inception. There was a period of time when people were having a lot of trouble with their Kitchenaid mixers and the company had to work very hard to restore the reputation of the product. That's when they instituted the one-year no-questions-asked full replacement policy. It's still the best guarantee in the business (my opinion). I'm not convinced the old Hobart mixers are inherently superior to the Kitchenaids made today. I think there's a lot of mythology attached to the brand, but my take on it is people have trouble with the newer mixers because they ask them to do more than they were designed for, especially kneading bread. 50 or 60 years ago women (and it was women in the home kitchen) fortunate enough to have mixers used them for cakes, cookies, meringues, whipped cream, etc. They didn't use them for bread dough, which was generally kneaded by hand. My MIL baked 4 loaves every other day and her old Dormeyer never saw the dough. There's a lot of discussion on The Fresh Loaf about people who burn out their mixers with stiff doughs mixed at speeds higher than the recommended "2" setting. Bread is not the KitchenAid's strong point, though you can mix a perfectly fine one or two-loaf batch or autolyse a portion of a bigger recipe and finish by hand. For bread the Bosch (stiff doughs) or the Ankarsrum/Electrolux Assistant/Magic Mill, etc. (wet doughs) are more suitable. Getting back to the original discussion, the two attachments I use most often on the KA are the grinder and the colander/sieve. The colander/sieve is wonderful, but you have to purchase a vintage one and the K5 is the biggest mixer one will fit. Why the company doesn't offer a new colander/sieve for the 6 quart I do not know. The Viking/Cuisinart/De Longhi (all the same machine) did have a colander/sieve attachment available. I use the shredder attachment less frequently, but I do use it, and even though I have a 14-cup Cuisinart, I prefer the shredder attachment because I find since the mixer is already on the counter, it's less fuss for me to use. Just one of those individual quirks we all have. Carol

Once upon a time, a son of France rose, drank his bowl of cafe au lait, smoked a morning Gauloise, and made machines until lunchtime. Fortified by the lunch packed by his young bride, a carafe of vin ordinaire, and more Gauloises, in the afternoon he made more machines. The next day, and the next week, he did it all over again. Those machines traveled all over the world of the swingin' seventies, to kitchens from Helsinki to Hackensack, and set to work. Chopping and dicing, whirring and kneading, they worked in kitchens grand and small, just as their big commercial Robot Coupe brothers were working in the world's restaurants. Like the solid French ouvriers who made them, the machines worked and worked. The years passed, decades went by, generations came and went. The sturdy young Gaul who screwed together this food processor and riveted the engraved label to its underside grew old, stooped, and was buried in the old cemetery by the wood, next to his beloved wife. The machines he made outlive him, and may outlive their children, and their children. In 1970s France, they hadn't learned to shave thicknesses and cheapen materials so that their products would fail just after the warranties expired. Your Robot Coupe in Kitchen Aid livery was made to keep working indefinitely. It was meant to be the last food processor its owner would ever have to buy. We live in the twilight of quality consumer goods. Everything is made in China of thin plastic and pot metal, cost-engineered to fall apart after an average of X years, with a standard deviation of Y that the company's accountants compute into the warranty reserves and balance against the manufacturing cost, to achieve maximum profit for the corporate parent. There is no red wine, or indeed time for lunch, in the factories. Yes, there are sturdy machines in the factories, some even made in France. They are used to make the cheap new machines that we consumers buy. Or, that we don't buy. You can get a used bowl, lid, blades, and stem for your KFP 700 for about $50 on eBay. See link for a typical auction. Or a new work bowl for about $60 from a few companies who stock parts for old machines. Try Gourmet Depot. Obvious, as a grouchy old sentimentalist, I would keep using the old French machine instead of junking the work of our Gauloise-puffing and vin rouge-imbibing hero. But I'm not a nutter about this stuff. Why, only today I dumped a box of old stuff - 56K modems, parallel printer cables, floppy disks, Celeron processors - at the freegeek computer recycle place. But I kept the old acoustic coupler and 1200 baud modem that I used to go online with, from pay phones on dusty roads all over France. Maybe, even the side road where the factory once stood. Maybe, even the phone where our hero would call his young wife, to take her out for dinner with the francs earned from his long day of making machines. Maybe, even the sturdy machine on your kitchen counter. Here is a link that might be useful: Example

cookie, sometimes just changing the order and how you add things can help. I would chop the dates a bit first by hand, then pulse the coconut with the nuts in the processor, then pour that mix over the dates to coat them, in a bowl and toss a bit, then into the processor again. Pulse and add everything else. I recently wanted a speedy quick last minute salsa and knew better but put a few things in without a 2 sec pre-chop. The shallot stuck to the blade, grr, and by the end of it all, way over blended. Had coarse shallots, so i added a few more cherry toms, (cut in half) and more cilantro, yada, not so speedy after all... Dates are snotty glue. I still have a ton and have been using them allot lately as a sugar replacement. Mine are still on the stems and need to be pitted so i do that chore on a pile of a dry ingredient. In my case it was some blended granola and coconut... similar recipe but mine also has some puffed rice. Not really an extra step, but chopping a bit on the granola "flour' to coat did help avoid sticky date snot.

I can't say I use my FP a whole lot, but when I do I'm glad I have it. I probably use it most when I'm shredding a pound of mozzarella for a lasagne or potatoes for latkes. Or pureeing meat for a qyro loaf, or making the occasional pie crust. Like Theresa, most of my uses such as bread crumbs, chopped herbs, etc. only require a smaller FP, and I use my Ultimate Chopper. It's not the best rated machine in its league, but it was a gift so that's the one I have.