 I'm a satisfied Cuisinart convert! |
| Review Date: October 11, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Steven J. Rickard, Denver, CO |
I've been a long-time fan of the KitchenAid mixer. My grandmother has been using the same KitchenAid mixer since the late 50s, and it's still going strong. I was thrilled to get a KitchenAid "Ultra-Power" mixer as a gift about seven years ago, and it worked great for occasional use. Over the past couple of years I've been doing more and more baking, and about a year ago I began making my own bread. After about six months of using my KitchenAid to knead two loaves of whole-wheat bread every week or so, it made a terrible grinding noise, and stopped working. I decided I'd better buy a new KitchenAid with a more powerful motor, and went online to see which was recommended. Much to my surprise, the reviews for the KitchenAid were no longer as positive as they had been. People were complaining about a decrease in quality and customer service. The biggest complaint was that some metal parts had been replaced by plastic, and while it sounded as if the company had recently started making the parts out of metal again, people were giving tips on how to determine if the model you were purchasing had the metal or plastic gearboxes. On top of that, Cooks Illustrated ranked the Cuisinart mixer above KitchenAid in a March 2008 review.
I did more research and found that the warranty was much better on the Cuisinart than on the KitchenAid. So, nervously, I decided to switch from what I had always considered to be the top brand, and I bought the Cuisinart.
My first impressions were mixed. I immediately liked the way the mixer looked, but I was nervous about it, because the body and the mixing paddles are much lighter in weight than on the KitchenAid. It lacks the solid, all-metal feel of the KitchenAid. Since the KitchenAid jittered all over the counter when I was using it to knead bread or even whip butter and sugar together for cookies, I figured the Cuisinart would probably fly off the counter. I decided to use it pretty hard for six months, and then write my review.
I've used it every seven to ten days to make two loaves of heavy, whole-grain bread, have made many batches of cookies and several cakes and I'm very happy to write that this is a GREAT mixer.
Much to my surprise, it doesn't jitter at all, not even when I'm using it to knead bread. Ingredients are more thoroughly mixed, and I don't need to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula nearly as often as I needed to with my KitchenAid. Counter space in my kitchen is limited, so I keep the mixer in a cupboard, and the lighter weight means that it's much easier to move around. In my experience, the lighter weight has NOT affected, in any way, the performance.
Once, when I was kneading some heavy dough on speed #4 for about twice as long as the usual seven or eight minutes (I'd forgotten to add salt to the bread and was trying to knead it in) the mixer overheated and shut itself down. It hasn't done that since, and frankly, I'd rather that happen than have the gears freeze up and completely destroy the gearbox, as happened with my KitchenAid. Another greatly appreciated feature is that some clever person designed the bowl so that it's easy to remove, even after I've used the mixer to knead dough. The bowl on the KitchenAid would lock so tightly after kneading bread that I'd have to wrench it free, usually skinning my knuckles in the process. Some reviewers complain that the bread dough "climbs" the kneading hook, making a mess. I find that the dough actually climbs a lot less than it did when I used my KitchenAid. One reviewer mentioned that she finds the splash guard mostly useless, but I love it -- I find it truly useful, unlike the awkward, two-piece splash guard that came with my KitchenAid.
The timer function is nice, especially now that I don't need to stand over the mixer while it's kneading, worrying that it'll jitter its way onto the floor. I don't leave the room, but now I set the timer and let the mixer do its thing while I prep other ingredients or grease the baking pans. I really like the slow-start feature -- no more cloud of flour when I turn on the mixer.
Basically, this mixer does everything my KitchenAid did, and does it better. The performance has been highly satisfactory, and if it breaks down any time in the next five years, it will still be under warranty ... unlike my KitchenAid, which was only covered for a year.
I don't hate KitchenAid -- I think the mixers are probably still a good product, overall. I know that I was using mine for more than it was designed to handle. However, I am happier with the Cuisinart and have recommended it highly to several friends.
This is still a relatively early review. I expect stand mixers to last for at least a decade, and ideally for much longer. Six months after my purchase, I'm very happy with this machine. If anything happens to change that, I'll update this review.
January 29, 2009
I dropped my mixer! I was doing a lot of Christmas baking, the countertop was crowded, I put it too close to the edge of the counter and WHAM, it fell to the floor, landing hard, upside down. While I have no idea how the trauma will affect the overall life of the mixer, it still works fine. The top is a little askew now, and the hinged door at the front that covers the slow-speed power outlet will no longer stay closed. But: the mixer works as well as it ever did. I really wish I hadn't dropped it, but this is a strong peice of equipment. That was a hard fall from countertop height to a hardwood floor, and there appears to have been nothing more than cosmetic damage. I've been baking as much as ever, and it still works beautifully.
September 4, 2010
Wow -- I don't often look back at my reviews, and when I came back today to make an update, I was surprised that so many people found this helpful. Thanks! I hope if you bought a mixer based on my recommendation that you've loved it. Mine is still going strong, and this evening over dinner, I recommended it to a friend who was thinking of buying a new stand mixer.
Thank you to those who have commented, it adds some additional insight and balance. It was interesting reading the comments -- one person commented that this mixer didn't really handle large batches of heavy rye dough, so you might want to keep that in mind if you make a LOT of bread. I'm still making a loaf or two every week and am quite pleased. One commenter mentioned that his KitchenAid mixer never moved around the countertop. Since I would have to literally hold my KitchenAid down while kneading bread, it makes me wonder how much variance you might find between individual mixers. One of the things I still really, really like about the Cuisinart is that it stays still for me, even when I'm kneading a couple of loaves-worth of bread dough. In fact, I've recently stepped up my bread baking, because I've been experimenting with sourdough recipes. I've also been churning out a LOT of batches of cookies recently as I experiment with a new recipe. (I noticed today that my jeans are feeling a bit tight around the waist. Maybe I need to experiment with something a bit lower-calorie. But, I digress.)
Anyway, I logged on this evening to say I'm still quite pleased with my mixer. Despite the tragic dropping incident over a year and a half ago, the Cuisinart is still working beautifully. |
Great Warranty
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| Review Date: August 9, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Drew K., Roswell, Georgia |
This is a relatively new purchase and it has been used only a few times, but so far everything is working wonderfully. The slow start and fold features are great; it keeps flour-type ingredients from dusting the kitchen counter, and the kitchen floor, and other kitchen appliances - you get the idea. I was happy that it also came with a splash guard for much the same reason! The design is sleek, the control knob works well, overall a good product.
There is one complaint I have: the top cover which also hides the accessory attachment area, is easy to remove. So much so that it sometimes comes off accidentally when raising the mixer head if you grab the wrong part. No big deal really, but something that should be looked at for future product development.
The main point I want to make is the strength of the warranty. To have a company stand behind their equipment by giving a 3 year product warranty and a 5 year motor warranty is very comforting. Compare that warranty to the one KitchenAid gives (1 year). |
WOW!
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| Review Date: February 28, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Amanda Bucko, Illinois |
I bought this to replace a 5 qt. KitchenAid Artisan. I do a little cake decorating and I needed something that would handle large batches of buttercream icing a couple times per week, as well as general kitchen use. It was a toss up between this one and the KitchenAid Pro. I was a little nervous about spending so much money on something that doesn't have the solid reputation that KitchenAid mixers have, but I'm so glad I took the chance! This is a wonderful mixer!! In my opinion, it is far superior to the KitchenAids in almost every way. I would recommend this to anyone.
Pros:
It handles large and small quantities equally well.
The more powerful motor is wonderful! It handles lots of heavy dough and icing with ease.
The splash guard forms a tight seal. Not air tight, but when I make huge batches of buttercream icing (using 5# of powdered sugar) it keeps in all the powdered sugar dust and I don't have quite so much to clean up afterward. In fact, I have very little to clean up!
If you start on a high speed it gets faster gradually so that you don't end up splashing what is in the bowl all over you.
The timer turns the mixer off automatically when time's up. No more over mixing!!
The paddle, whisk and dough hook are dishwasher safe.
I can't say anything about the attachments as I don't have any yet, but I love that I can add a blender or chopper to it without having to by the whole small appliance.
Cons:
It is mostly plastic and therefore much lighter than the KitchenAid. I haven't found this to be a problem at all with it walking of wobbling like I thought I would. But, the plastic body makes it look kind of cheap.
It is louder than my KitchenAid was.
Overall, the cons are very minimal. I've not found them to be enough of a bother to skew my opinion of the mixer. I absolutely LOVE this mixer and I will never go back to KitchenAid! |
I'm Happy With My Choice
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| Review Date: March 7, 2009 |
| Reviewer: K. Berns, Chicago, IL |
I wanted to purchase a stand mixer for my 16 year old daughter who is an aspiring pastry chef and the first thought was Kitchen-Aid (KA). Rather than just buying one because of the reputation, I did some in depth research, read a lot of reviews and discovered some interesting facts and points of interest.
I wanted a powerful mixer so that it would last, I wanted the unit to fit on my countertop and I wanted the mixer-head to tilt up. This is where KA lost me and I'll tell you why. KA has essentially 2 designs for the home user, a "tilt up head" and "bowl lift" designs. The bowl lift models have the more powerful motors and metal gears (I assume the tilt head models don't have metal gears because they don't advertise it like they do on the "bowl lift" models) The "bowl lift" model will not fit under your kitchen cabinets on your counter top and the mixer attachment (paddle, whip...) has to be removed with the bowl as apposed to lifting the mixer head and just removing the bowl. The motor size of the two brands can't really be compared because KA uses a transmission, which allows for a smaller motor and Cuisinart uses a variable speed motor control, which requires a larger motor. The point though is that in order to get the larger motor (and metal gears) in a KA you have to get the "bowl lift" design.
The Cuisinart has the features I required (listed above) and a nifty built in timer but, only 2 choices of mixers. I chose the 5.5 qt. because it fit my budget and I feel that I purchased more mixer for my money than if I had purchased a KA.
Having made several loaves of bread and dozens and dozens of cookies (I use it more than my daughter) with her new Cuisinart, I am truly pleased with the unit. It is quiet and powerful (I've made double batch bread and cookies without a problem). There are numerous attachments available and the warranty is way better than KA.
Thanks to the rest of you reviewers out there, I made a great choice!
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zippyzoo
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| Review Date: May 27, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Zippy Zoo, West Bloomfield, MI |
| This is my first stand mixer. I've used it a dozen times since I purchased it last week. I first purchased the Kitchen Aid Pro 600 mixer with 575 watts- heavy and a bit bulky, shifting between different speeds was kind of stiff, and I didn't like the bowl lift design. I exchanged it the next day for the Cuisinart 5.5 Quart Stand Mixer which was much more modern looking and had a sleek style- much smaller, shifted between speeds very smoothly, and had a tilt head design which makes it easier if you need to scrape down the inside of the bowl and I think they are easier to change over from the whisk to the paddle or dough hook. Initially, I was concerned because of it's lighter weight that it might wobble off the counter top while mixing and kneading heavy bread doughs but I've had no problems so far. I love the digital timer and fold function-- this really sold me on it. This mixer looks great and works great! |
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