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

I use the cuisinart 10 cup...I think any larger and you have to over process to get it all blended....and it doesn't do a great job on just one pie, but the smaller Cuisinart does. linda c

san, as you know, Elery bought me a big Kitchen Aid food processor for my birthday a couple of months ago. Have I been convinced that it's worth the counter space? Not entirely. I did use it to chop the onions and peppers for those 36 pints of salsa I canned, but no matter how I try, they are still a little too fine or a bit too big, it just doesn't do it the way I want them. It's passable, acceptable, but not exactly how I want it and so I'll go back to chopping it all by hand. I don't use it for bread because I have a bread machine that I love and use several times a week. Studies have been done showing that neither stand mixers nor food processors knead bread as well as the bread machines which were designed to do just that. Of course, you and I both know that you aren't baking a bunch of bread, LOL. I made pie crust but it got too hot and I had to put it in the freezer to chill before I could use it. Not much time savings there, although I suppose with a LOT more practice I might make it passable. So, bread making, pastry and vegetable chopping? Not ideal for any of those, at least not for me. What does it do? It makes spectacular and short work of a batch of hummus, which I love. It's better for Jessica's lime chipotle marinade/glaze, the cilantro tends to gum up the stick blender and the regular blender doesn't make enough. It made short work of the dough for the Cheddar Thumbprints with Habanero Jelly, because that dough needs to be frozen anyway, no matter how it's blended. Finally, I've used it to shred cabbage for slaw and it works great, much faster than a hand grater. It makes a smooth liver pate. Oh, and I ground up a bunch of dried hot chili peppers into bits, small enough to put into a shaker. It was so easy with the food processor. So, bottom line, I think you need to decide what you really use it for and whether another appliance would do the same job. Then decide. I like mine and I appreciate the fact that Elery thought enough to get me one but I still wouldn't buy one myself if it broke. Annie

FOAS, I always admire your passion in the precision of mathematical exactitude, However, I do not feel that topics in food discussions necessarily lend themselves to constricted legal lawyerly approaches. I realized and did state and did apologize to the OP that I was not directly addressing her question, because I had a point to make that's related to the topic. I also feel that the issue of a FP for a single person was missed by many posters. That possibly will cause the OP to make the wrong choice. I am very puzzled that even for a family of four you have not that much use for a FP, and you feel it is wrong for me to suggest to the OP that there may be other options? After all, I never said not to get one, I am puzzled that you feel it is wrong to suggest to others to study options. I have not said a FP has no application for some single person who has physical limitations, or food preferences suitable for having a FP, such as for olychick, I have not said a FP cannot perform well chopping, slicing, shredding, mixing, ------ There is another whole aspect about the art of food preparation not using machinery, as in Japanese cooking, and the pleasure of tactile relationship with your food. but that is a little more off topic for this thread. "---The resurgence of handmade food is ultimately about a movement toward a more intimate connection with what we eat and where it comes from, what Paula Wolfert calls "the essential taste" of food. ---- "Without taste, smell,and feel, nobody can cook well." dcarch