Patty_cakes42, what did your mom have that the bowl was so heavy? I doubt a KA since the glass bowls are fairly new and the metal bowls are not heavy. If you have a noodle maker, for my oney, you'd be better off with a KA mixer and the pasta attachement.

My mixer stays on the counter. I don't have cabinet space or pantry space to dedicate to it, nor would I want to have to lift and carry that thing on a regular basis. But I also like having it on the counter. It's a classic, and it tells anyone who walks in my kitchen this is a working kitchen where good food and memories are made and shared. Ad being on the counter, it is always ready to use -- so it is used. And I could probably use it for a lot more if I used more attachements.

How often I use the mixer varies. We use it to make bread, pizza dough, pasta, cakes, cookies, cheesecake, frostings (especially a cooked meringe or buttercream), meatloaf (so much better than getting cold, cold, hands). I don't make them regularly, but if you want to make divinity or marshmallows it is pretty tough to do it without a heavy duty mixer. Brownies are made with a wooden spoon or spatula though and I use my food processor to cut in butter for scones.

The KA mixer has been on my counter for over 20 years now and it started as something DH bought me. I never thought to justify it. It seems like an big expense as a kitchen gadget, but when you compare it to other kitchen appliances, it cost a fraction of any of the other visible appliances.

I have 17.5" clearance below my kitchen cabinet to the counter and my lift head mixer fits just fine. And because the top of the mixer is stationary I don't even have to pull it out to use it if I don't feel like it. I keep the beaters in the bowl but I don't lock in the bowl just to not put constrain strain on the locking spring.

I own one hand mixer and two stand mixers and don't find them interchangeable,. I bought my KA stand mixer many years ago, it is a 250 watt Classic, too small motor and bowl or some jobs, thus I bought my Kenwood/DeLonghi 800 watt/7 quart bowl stand mixer. I love them both, do I NEED them both , no, but I like them and enjoy having them any time I use them.. I bought my hand mixer on sale just because once in a while I want to do a quick mix for something already in a bowl. I like my hand mixer the least, it is tedious to use for mixing a good cream cheese frosting, I helped a friend make many cupcakes, she refused my offer to bring over my stand mixer, she saw the value of a stand mixer after making lots of frosting.

I do not keep mine on my counter, there is no right or wrong place to store appliances, just as there is no right or wrong appliance to own. My friend with her hand mixer seldom makes desserts, she has a passion for cooking, but not desserts. I am on call for doing the desserts for any occasion and make all my grand-kids birthday cakes and cupcakes. Yes, I love it and buy any thing that makes my heart sing. This reminds me of the great amount of money I just spent buying a chocolate tempering machine. Do I need it or will I use it monthly no, but I love it and enjoy it. Do I expect others to value or even understand my passion for making desserts? No.

BTW - I'd never make mashed potatoes with any mixer, (too pasty), I use a potatoes masher only.

Now that the kids are grown I find I don't use my KA-5 as frequently as I once did. But considering I purchased it in 1976 and paid $164.89 I think I easily got my money's worth. Even then that was considered a splurge but I had worked part time in supermarkets while in college and knew Hobart's reputation for quality products. It's now 40 years old and I still use it weekly and it's never needed service, I don't even have a portable mixer.

I'm fortunate to have an abundance of storage space and I keep all the appliances in cabinets- including my mixer. The only utilitarian items on my counters are the knife block, napkin holder, radio and TV and 2 decorative pieces - a small ceramic lamp and a vase. But I don't have any problems taking it out when I want to use it.

Whenever I need a wedding gift for a friend or family member I always check to see if the bridal couple has registered for a KA mixer - and when I give it to them I always include a little note about how my mixer is almost like a family member - it was the first joint purchase DH and I made for our first little apartment, it's older than my children and it's a happy reminder of all the wonderful times we spent in the kitchen baking together.

Here's a new attachment - well at least it's new to me. Now you can temper your chocolate precisely - but only for bowl lift models.

The Kitchenmaid Precise Heat Mixing Bowl -

Precise Heat Mixing Bowl

http://www.kitchenaid.com/shop/-%5BKSM1CBL%5D-408088/KSM1CBL/

The KitchenAid ® Precise Heat Mixing Bowl is great for chocolate, bread and cheese. Temper chocolate, proof bread dough, make fondue, soups, yogurts and more. (Fits all Bowl-Lift Stand Mixers models KD2661, KL26M, KP26M1, KP26M8, KP26N9, KF26M2, KV25G, KV25M, KB25G, KSM652X, KSM657X, KSM75XX, or as as a standalone unit)

I think if I kept my mixer in the pantry or cabinet it would get less use just because it is so heavy. And that might be why some see the utility and others do not. No I don't use it every day but when I want to use it I am glad it is there. Things I like about it over a food processor for shedding is that I am not limited by the bowl size. We have a large garden and I have canned a lot in the past.

However, DH won't use homemade bread for sandwiches, so I stopped baking
bread. But I would never have attempted it without a stand mixer.

Good lord, why? My dh loves it when he gets homemade bread, but it's not something I've done for a while. Got out of the habit when he was first diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Even though he's able to eat bread again it's all been store bought. Maybe it's time to check my freezer supply of yeast. I use a handheld Braun with dough hooks. Have to time my use to give the mixer a rest halfway through so it doesn't overheat, but where there's a will there's a way. ;)

i find it pretty easy to temper chocolate with just a thermometer... i'm curious- why use a special gadget??

"I would prefer to make all our bread, and have done so from time. However, DH won't use homemade bread for sandwiches, so I stopped baking bread."

Get one of these Pullman loaf pans. Maybe it's the shape?

My family looooves homemade bread...they start circling like wolves when it comes out of the oven. But, they don't like it for sandwiches, either. They like the body of the Breadsmith bread, holds up well in in lunch boxes.

The silver KA is like the elegant lady of the manor, absolutely regal with the "fun kids". Love it. And how smart is KA? Most people will buy a mixer and keep it for life, but with people redecorating or reaccessorizing more, and sharing it too, they're happy to sell the old one and get a new color! And to be honest, it gets people talking about KA.

Both sons have asked me to help them learn to make bread. One is going back to school with yeast and the other, who I sent yeast to in the fall, is going back with sourdough starter. Next thing ya know, they'll each want a KA mixer. Well, one has already asked about one..... LOL

They will have them -- just a qestion of when and which color. :)

Lol, bbstx. When I was in high school in a small town, we had no cafeteria. We would walk downtown over the R.R. tracks to a bakery that made burgers and put them on their freshly made buns from that morning. Mmmm! I can almost taste them.

Bbstx, I've heard other people share similar sentiments about their hubby. That would drive me nuts. I'm fortunate that mine will eat just about anything and he loves the fact that I love to cook.

I'm don't like bread much, but I think I understand the difference for sandwiches. For sandwiches I want the interior to be the star, for eating bread plain (or with butter) I want standout bread to be the star.

Interesting. I remember the aromas coming from mom's kithen, not so much the mixer, which as I said was very heavy. She kept it in a cabinet below the new SS cooktop, almost unheard of in the late 50's, as was the built in SS wall oven, and *pink* refrigerator. I guess it's the kitchen itself I remember most. lol My mom was quite the baker, something I had never aspired to become, but did enjoy cooking. I remember her baking every weekend, while also working a 40 hour a week job, a real oddity in the 50's.

As for the mixer it was white, but the brand escapes me, even though I can visualize the large black letters on the 'head' of it, maybe a Hotpoint. The white heavy, bowl was the color of milkglass, and I seem to remember there was a smaller one inside the larger one, which was used for frosting.

I now find myself longing for a piece of mom's yellow made-from-scratch-with-cake-flour cake with chocolate frosting! The question is, would it have been just as good if a hand mixer were used and my memories just as wonderful?

ies

Here's a new attachment - The Kitchenmaid Precise Heat Mixing Bowl -

I see this heats any temperature, but I like that my appliance does all the work heating up and down I just set the type of chocolate and let it go, it mixes and heats to the right temperature. I only add seed, keeping it in a separate part of the bowl. It can even keep it tempered overnight if I run out of time.

I learned with my old Oster Kitchen Center not to buy attachments, the motor died, I then had useless attachments, today I could go to eBay. I have separate blenders and meat grinders and food processors.

pattycakes - was the mixer a Sunbeam?

patty_cakes42, could it have been a Hobart? Great mixer and mostly for professionals. The precursor to Kitchen Aid.

Patty, I'd forgotten about the two different sized bowls until you mentioned it. My mom's was a Sunbeam like the one Cmarlin posted.

My mom had a stand mixer and I think it was like the Sunbeam that Cmarlin posted. I do remember the bowl was on a turntable sort of base.

I use one of those thin, flexible cutting mats cut to size under my KA. It means I can easily slide it around on my counter.

Do you all lock your tilt head when it's on? I always did, until I noticed that Ina Garten never does. Hmmmm. Yesterday I made some chocolate chip cookies and left it unlocked for the first time and it seemed to stay in place just fine.

I've made desserts since I was a little kid. It's something I find easy and relaxing. I've made choc chip cookies with a wooden spoon and they've been delicious. Taste is not the issue. With my KA I can beat the butter and sugar for 5 minutes while I assemble my other ingredients. I no longer have those flat thin cookies with the chips rising up like tumors. Now they're thick and chewy, just right.

Lol Linelle, "rising up like tumors!" Is that your trick, beating the butter and sugar for 5 min? Mine used to do that too. My grandmother told me to add an extra 1/4 cup of flour and that keeps it from happening for me. I don't use my mixer a ton but when I do I love it, especially now after my remodel and I have room for it on my counter. I like it for the same reason you do. It does its mixing thing while I am free to do other things. I also make whipped potatoes in mine and they don't turn out gummy at all. My DH would live on mashed potatoes and roast beef (hold the veggies, please!)

My mom had the Sunbeam as well with the glass bowl.. And that's what I used to create pies, cookies, and cakes when growing up. This is 60 years ago (gasp). She's the one who pushed me to buy my first Kitchen Aid mixer when I graduated from high school, got a job to make money for college, and was off on my own. It was white. The one I have now is my third. The white, the almond, and the black I have now. Not too shabby!

I don't like a lot of counter clutter but I make an exception for my KA mixer. One of the things I love about it over most other mixers is that you can put stuff in without having to hold onto it. This allows me to clean up and such while things are mixing. I can make things in half or less the time than I could with a hand mixer.

238 posts about mixers!!! I'm late to the party but Jen I want your mixer! My mom had the Sunbeam also. I sold it broken at a garage sale two years ago for 25$... Mixer people are almost like a cult ;)

Lily, I also use a slightly modified recipe from America's Test Kitchen (e.g., 1 whole egg, 1 egg yolk, tsp. molasses). There's a lot of beating before you add the flour. Also, most important (I think) is chilling it in the fridge for several hours, then putting balls of cold dough on the *ungreased* cookie sheets. They don't spread as much.

There was a time when I ground coffee beans by hand. Everything was mixed with a wooden spoon. I also wasn't shaving my legs at the time, so that's probably TMI. Now I love having my adorable Majestic Yellow beating my cookie dough into voluminous goodness while I assemble other ingredients, cleaning up as I go, clean-shaven to boot.

Yep, TMI but funny nonetheless. I do normally chill before I bake them as well. I use more brown sugar and less white sugar. I also add extra chocolate chips :) my homemade chocolate chip cookies don't last long around here. They are also my weakness so I don't like to make them often.

Btw, love the color of your mixer.

Homemade chocolate chips?!!!! Tell us more!!

Sorry! Typo! That should have said chocolate chip cookies! I am not talented enough to make homemade chocolate chips.

Late to this thread, have been enjoying holiday/family/friend time and unplugging a bit. After reading this thread, I may need to unplug again. Why on earth do people think it's any of their business if you buy an appliance or not? Or how much you post about your purchases, your decor or your home? Many of us enjoy watching you decorate your new place. Good gravy!

Glad you got your mixer. I like and have not seen the glass bowls. Really like those colored (ceramic?) bowls too.

Fortunately there were only one or two who chose to make snide remarks, and I have decided I don't care one whit what they think about my purchases or my posts! I've so enjoyed this thread and appreciate knowing that there are so many others who enjoy talking about pretty, fun, colorful things for the home.

It's not my business. I read several posts where she said she needed to stop shopping and that she and her husband agreed to rein it in for awhile and would stop after buying the rug. Then she got so dramatic from me suggesting she was replacing a perfectly good mixer and toaster for a reason other than need. Three paragraphs of angst. So I thought I owed her an explanation. If I said what I thought, I would have said she posts for all the attention she gets, not because she really values or even needs our opinions. But that would probably bring on several more paragraphs of angst.

Happy to provide you both with more drama. Have fun!

That's really cute, indygo! I don't own a hand mixer but can see how one would come in handy on occasion. That color is perfect.

Color is great! Sometimes I wonder why I am so afraid of it :)

Late to post, but here is the Accolade mixer I bought ten years ago on eBay. The seller was actually KA, the mixer was refurbished. At the time, KA stand mixers, unlike the Hobart workhorses of a decade earlier, had plastic parts in the motor so the mixer broke under certain situations. The Accolade was all-metal, the only one you could get at the time, which is why I bought it. Half price on eBay and still working today:

I wanted a subtle color, and this cream pearl matched my counters so it doesn't compete with anything in the kitchen, such as stacks of unopened mail, the grungy cooktop, or dirty dishes next to the sink.

Shortly after I bought this (of course) KA stopped using plastic in the motors. However, at 400 watts this packs a lot of punch. The beater and the dough hook are white enamel. I love the silvery stainless trim, the white cord, and the gray switches. I use this for everything, even mixing meat for meat balls or meat loaf.

I bought a second bowl because this model has unique specifications, glad I did. Someday, I would like to buy the very cool dicing kit for the hub. I don't own any other equipment for this mixer. Until 2005, I had a hand mixer and never regretted replacing it with this one.

I loved our old sunbeam! I found the regular bowl and smaller pouring bowl and use the the bigger one for fruit.

for those who don't have a spatula beater, buy one because those are definitely worth it!

don't think i will buy a glass bowl or a ceramic one, but this thread has gotten me thinking that it is probably a good idea to buy another bowl because so often i wished i had another one so i could leave what was in the bowl and just use another rather than rebowling and washing the mixer bowl to do another batter or dough! so, thx jen! you will make my life easier! :)

Jen - It looks great. Your topics are always interesting and fun.

Reading some of the posts and reminded of my grandmother's kitchen which then reminded me of Julia Child's kitchen which I loved. Because I've moved several times in the past few years and had a house on the market a lot, I've had it drilled into my head that everything had to look just so with very few things on the kitchen counter. I'm hoping my next and final home will be one where I relax and have my kitchen as functional and as cluttered as I want - including the tops of the cabinets. But, I will never get used to the pile of mail, keys and that type of thing. I moved my DH's junk spot to the laundry room counter and drawers because it is just off the back door entry.

French blue love that color. I don't have one or need one but I would pick that color.

Needed to stop by the antique mall yesterday and pay my rent, so decided to do a walkthru looking for mixers. I came across one which was identical, but didn't think to snap a picture, duh! I found it on etsy, an old Hamilton Beach.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/174561883/lk-vintage-1938-hamilton-beach-elec

TJ Max has kitchenmaid mixer w/ the glass bowl on sale for $169 right now, FYI. Different models, one w/ glass and one w/ stainless steel bowl. Colors are red and silver.

First two items on the small appliance page.

http://tjmaxx.tjx.com/store/shop/home-departments-kitchen-dining-small-appliances/_/N-905862026

That looks like a great price, beagles!

This evening as we were cleaning the kitchen after supper, I walked past my KA mixer and actually caressed it. Yep. I'm weird. ;-D

LOL, auntjen

I just bought a red one for my FL kitchen from TJ max. With glass bowl. It will replace my perfectly functional white one. And then I bought the matching red toaster. Which will also replace a perfectly functional toaster. This has prompted me to begin looking at red dinnerware to match even though I of course have dinnerware...

So clearly I have some problems !

I'll be listing the other mixer on craigslist at least...

I love your choice, auntjen. It looks perfect on your countertop, and the glass bowl just makes it that much better. Bee-you-tee-ful.

Now, where is that quick link to the ceramic bowls? ;) :P

IdaClare, do you still love the color/model you chose? Would you buy it again today? I’m thinking of buying one for my daughter. Thanks!

I do, and I would! Still very pleased with the color, and I use it fairly often -- or at least I did over the holidays before I gave up baking and got back to running. ;-) And even when it's not in use, I just like seeing it on my counter. It's a small thing, but it makes me smile.

Either aqua sky or ice would be beautiful!