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..

If so, do you like it? I have been searching for a KA mixer online, and was comparing the Artisan to the Professional 5 Plus. I decided on the Artisan because the Pro 5 Plus is too tall for under my cabs, plus I like the tilt head of the Artisan better. In my search, I found a discontinued model, the Accolade (which was a Williams- Sonoma exclusive sold from late 2004 until 2006 or 2007). Seems like it combines the best features of larger models in a size similar to the Artisan. It has a tilt head, 5 qt bowl, and 400W of power (artisan is 325w). It also has metal gears, which is a nice advantage over the nylon gears that break more easily. But, as I mentioned, it was discontinued about 3-4 yrs ago because the Artisan was so similar and outsold the Accolade which was in the same price range. So the only way to get the Accolade is through eBay or craigslist. There are none on eBay, but I found one on my local craigslist. The seller said it has been gently used (pics look great) and no problems with it at all. She is moving cross country and doesn't want to haul it with her. Price is $150. Sounds like a good deal, but I wanted to see what some of you think first. Should I go with this one which obviously has no warranty, or purchase a new Artisan for $250 (after rebate)? BTW, I read some reviews on amazon of the Accolade, and the vast majority were favorable. One other thing I like about the Accolade is the black pearl color, a very smooth, matte finish. Not that I'd buy it just for the color ;) So, what do you guys think? I have to decide my tomorrow.

From the look of them on this site, the chrome is shiny, the silver is dark gray. Good luck.

Hubby said the other day that our new kitchen will be complete once it has a stand mixer collecting dust on the countertop (he's hoping for homemade bread and goodies, I'm sure!). And so.....here I am, back on Appliances searching the archives for stand mixer info. If I'm gonna get one, I might as well get the higher wattage one---don't want to get one and then complain about it. Am I reading this thread correctly---that if you have 18" of clearance under your upper cabinets, the Pro 600 WILL fit? I saw the measurements of one, and I couldn't figure out which number is what dimension (I'm sure there's a std. way of writing measurements, but I don't remember it). I thought that the higher number was the height, but it looks like I'm wrong (19.4")??? What color looks best collecting dust (just kidding--I guess I should get a cover for it)? The cinnamon looks nice (I have medium cherry cabs, dark peacock granite, and SW Blonde walls; an accent color in the adjacent room is a clay or browned pumpkin color). Amazon has them for $300. I can get one at Kohl's for $310 after coupon and rebate. Is it better to get one local (but only 3 color choices--black, "nickel", and something else like nickel). Are these good prices? Thanks! Tracey