My wife wants one for xmas. She will only occasionally bake, so I'd like to get some other uses out of it, since I see they come with all sorts of attachments. What type of attachments do you find useful?

Also, looking at KitchenAid I see a range of like $150 to $800.. what kind of differences are we looking at here for that big of a price range?

Pasta maker

Beef grinder

The difference between models is power, plastic/metal gears, size and tilt head vs lift bowl.

The best deal is the one the have at Costco. Kitchenaides are like rolexs/big green eggs. There are better ones, but these are good enough, have plenty of accessories and no one will think "huh, I guess she couldnt afford a KitchenAid"

https://www.costco.com/KitchenAid-6-quart-Professional-Bowl-lift-Stand-Mixer.product.100304199.html

And at CostCo you can return it when it gets all gummed up with dough and you can't get that stupid paddle attachment off....

Get a KitchenAid stand mixer.

You will quickly discover how easy it is to make your own pasta and bread and pizza dough.

I use mine several times a week.

We're not even going to get into the uses for the attachments, like the ice cream maker or the vegetable spiralizers.

This thread reminds me--back in September my wife put a note on the fridge for me to get her KitchenAid mixer repaired before the holidays. The note is still there.

Sarduakar said:

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If your wife can stand and move her arms, and isn't a "little person," you already have a counter top stand mixer.

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If she lacks motivation buy her a Hitachi Magic Wand and she'll have enough get up and go for a couple recipes a day at least.

KitchenAid 6 qt professional is the way to go. Costco deal seems to be the best value out there right now too. My wife used the cheese grater accessory last night to make some broccoli cheese soup. Everything just works with this model.

Most people just use it for occasional baking. If that sounds like the wife- just buy the standard base model in a color she likes. Can always buy a few attachments later. Someone will probably have a deal on them for Black Friday.

Duncan Idaho said:

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The difference between models is power, plastic/metal gears, size and tilt head vs lift bowl.

The best deal is the one the have at Costco. Kitchenaides are like rolexs/big green eggs. There are better ones, but these are good enough, have plenty of accessories and no one will think "huh, I guess she couldnt afford a KitchenAid"

https://www.costco.com/KitchenAid-6-quart-Professional-Bowl-lift-Stand-Mixer.product.100304199.html

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I'm confused a bit.. "There are better ones, but these are good enough" What do you mean 'these'? The kitchenaids?

I like that costco deal.. can't beat 30% off, but there is 20% 1 and 2 star reviews, which doesn't seem too good.

Aston04 said:

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Most people just use it for occasional baking. If that sounds like the wife- just buy the standard base model in a color she likes. Can always buy a few attachments later. Someone will probably have a deal on them for Black Friday.

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I'd like to think I'll use it as we get some attachments over time. Costco $100 off deal seems like a good chance to get an upgraded model at a base model price.

62strat said:

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Duncan Idaho said:

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The difference between models is power, plastic/metal gears, size and tilt head vs lift bowl.

The best deal is the one the have at Costco. Kitchenaides are like rolexs/big green eggs. There are better ones, but these are good enough, have plenty of accessories and no one will think "huh, I guess she couldnt afford a KitchenAid"

https://www.costco.com/KitchenAid-6-quart-Professional-Bowl-lift-Stand-Mixer.product.100304199.html

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I'm confused a bit.. "There are better ones, but these are good enough" What do you mean 'these'? The kitchenaids?

I like that costco deal.. can't beat 30% off, but there is 20% 1 and 2 star reviews, which doesn't seem too good.

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Yes. "These" refers to KitchenAid stand mixers. I was trying to cut off the "if you don't buy a <industry grade stand mixer> you are wasting your money" posters.

Watch the video, the KitchenAids came out on top.
https://www.cooksillustrated.com/videos/2559-stand-mixers-high-end

Just be sure to get one with a spiral dough hook. The other hook isn't very good at mixing things like pizza dough.

javajaws said:

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Sarduakar said:

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If your wife can stand and move her arms, and isn't a "little person," you already have a counter top stand mixer.

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If she lacks motivation buy her a Hitachi Magic Wand and she'll have enough get up and go for a couple recipes a day at least.

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Or she will never make her way into the kitchen again.

62strat said:

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Aston04 said:

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Most people just use it for occasional baking. If that sounds like the wife- just buy the standard base model in a color she likes. Can always buy a few attachments later. Someone will probably have a deal on them for Black Friday.

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I'd like to think I'll use it as we get some attachments over time. Costco $100 off deal seems like a good chance to get an upgraded model at a base model price.

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Good deal. Still $100+ more than base model on Black Friday. But to each their own. https://www.delish.com/food-news/a24894496/kitchenaid-black-friday-deals-2018/

Aston04 said:

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62strat said:

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Aston04 said:

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Most people just use it for occasional baking. If that sounds like the wife- just buy the standard base model in a color she likes. Can always buy a few attachments later. Someone will probably have a deal on them for Black Friday.

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I'd like to think I'll use it as we get some attachments over time. Costco $100 off deal seems like a good chance to get an upgraded model at a base model price.

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Good deal. Still $100+ more than base model on Black Friday. But to each their own. https://www.delish.com/food-news/a24894496/kitchenaid-black-friday-deals-2018/

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Cheapest I see is $190. Am I tired or is your math not adding up?

So this one is at target on sale for $220 with MSRP of $500. It's 5 qt, 525 watts, and is branded 'professional'
This one is the costco model on sale for $250, MSRP of $460, it's 6 qt, 590 watts, and not branded professional.

What exactly is 'professional'? It's lower wattage and a smaller bowl than the other one, yet MSRP is more, so I'm guessing it's just better made (less plastic, more metal?)

I would think the higher wattage would be the 'professional' one.

I'm leaning towards the 5qt, as I'm reading a 6 and 7qt don't do small batches all that well.

62strat said:

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So this one is at target on sale for $220 with MSRP of $500. It's 5 qt, 525 watts, and is branded 'professional'
This one is the costco model on sale for $250, MSRP of $460, it's 6 qt, 590 watts, and not branded professional.

What exactly is 'professional'? It's lower wattage and a smaller bowl than the other one, yet MSRP is more, so I'm guessing it's just better made (less plastic, more metal?)

I would think the higher wattage would be the 'professional' one.

I'm leaning towards the 5qt, as I'm reading a 6 and 7qt don't do small batches all that well.

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They'll do fine on small batches. There are some aftermarket attachments that aren't too expensive that have rubber scrapers at the bottom of the paddle if you find you have trouble.

As another poster said, your real concern is that you get the metal gears/gearboxes and, I would add, the better motor. The 5qt you posted is a Pro Plus and has all steel gears but its like 450W and, I believe an AC motor while the 6qt is closer to 600W if I remember correctly with a DC motor. The extra power/better build helps if you want to make bread, which can be harder on a consumer standmixer. The DC motor stuff is considered something more "prosumer" quality even though they do have mixers above the one you're looking at.

My wife owns a bakery and we have tried almost all of them at one time or another and it was still pretty lightly used (early in the business) when she was plowing through Kitchenaids because they had the plastic gears.

My wife prefers a 6qt or 7qt to a 5qt for normal use just due to the size, btw.

Here is the site I used last time I had to learn more about the Kitchenaids.

We have the Kitchenaid with all the bells and whistles.

It's a great machine, but basically becomes a counter ornament 99.9% of the time. If I decide to make something that requires a mixer, I grab the hand mixer so I don't have to clean that big beast.

mrad85 said:

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We have the Kitchenaid with all the bells and whistles.

It's a great machine, but basically becomes a counter ornament 99.9% of the time. If I decide to make something that requires a mixer, I grab the hand mixer so I don't have to clean that big beast.

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This is the only thing I'll caution you about.

If your wife loves to bake, the Kitchaid is an awesome addition to your home. If your wife just bakes during the holidays, it is not a necessity.

If she only bakes every once in a while, I'm not sure it is worth it.

Yes, this thing will last you 30 years, but unless she will definitely use it once a week, are you going to be happy with your expenditure? I bought one for a girlfriend for Christmas once, and despite her claims she would use it all the time, I doubt she uses it once every three months.

On the other hand, I use mine at least 3-4 times a week, if not more.

Chase said:

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62strat said:

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So this one is at target on sale for $220 with MSRP of $500. It's 5 qt, 525 watts, and is branded 'professional'
This one is the costco model on sale for $250, MSRP of $460, it's 6 qt, 590 watts, and not branded professional.

What exactly is 'professional'? It's lower wattage and a smaller bowl than the other one, yet MSRP is more, so I'm guessing it's just better made (less plastic, more metal?)

I would think the higher wattage would be the 'professional' one.

I'm leaning towards the 5qt, as I'm reading a 6 and 7qt don't do small batches all that well.

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They'll do fine on small batches. There are some aftermarket attachments that aren't too expensive that have rubber scrapers at the bottom of the paddle if you find you have trouble.

As another poster said, your real concern is that you get the metal gears/gearboxes and, I would add, the better motor. The 5qt you posted is a Pro Plus and has all steel gears but its like 450W and, I believe an AC motor while the 6qt is closer to 600W if I remember correctly with a DC motor. The extra power/better build helps if you want to make bread, which can be harder on a consumer standmixer. The DC motor stuff is considered something more "prosumer" quality even though they do have mixers above the one you're looking at.

My wife owns a bakery and we have tried almost all of them at one time or another and it was still pretty lightly used (early in the business) when she was plowing through Kitchenaids because they had the plastic gears.

My wife prefers a 6qt or 7qt to a 5qt for normal use just due to the size, btw.

Here is the site I used last time I had to learn more about the Kitchenaids.

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I don't think I linked a dc motor, as it would be in hp not watts. I ended up getting that target one. Hopefully that has steel gears.

https://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-Professional-KSM6573CER-Stand-Empire/dp/B00PZU3AEI/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1542166100&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=kitchen+aid+professional+6000&dpPl=1&dpID=41MgJegdzfL&ref=plSrch

This is the one I have. 1 HP engine. It's incredibly effecient and surprisingly quiet. I make large batches of bead doughs that burned out of my OG base model that I had for about 6 years. Thought it was time for an upgrade. I can now quadruple my favorite cookie recipe.

Wife has a 7qt proline with 1.3hp motor that gets used daily. Thing is a work horse.

I forget which model number jump results in getting an all-steel gear box instead of plastic gear box, but it's worth the price.

If you knead bread for 15+ mins or use attachments, like the flour mill or the meat grinder of the sausage stuffer (which we do), the gear box builds up a lot of heat. If you exceed yield temp and the plastic gearbox warps, your SOL. With the metal gear box, you'll never get close.

62strat said:

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Aston04 said:

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62strat said:

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Aston04 said:

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Most people just use it for occasional baking. If that sounds like the wife- just buy the standard base model in a color she likes. Can always buy a few attachments later. Someone will probably have a deal on them for Black Friday.

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I'd like to think I'll use it as we get some attachments over time. Costco $100 off deal seems like a good chance to get an upgraded model at a base model price.

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Good deal. Still $100+ more than base model on Black Friday. But to each their own. https://www.delish.com/food-news/a24894496/kitchenaid-black-friday-deals-2018/

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Cheapest I see is $190. Am I tired or is your math not adding up?

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no misread the Costco link.... Prob for 250 I'd just splurge for the slightly upgraded one too.

I've heard of a roast beef grinder. Is that the same thing?

I have the one that doesn't tilt but the bowl lifts and I really wish I had the tilt instead. I don't bake often enough and when I do it's such a pain to clean I get annoyed. I finally got tired of seeing my just sit on the counter so I put it away and just heave it out when I need it

Dr.Rumack said:

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And at CostCo you can return it when it gets all gummed up with dough and you can't get that stupid paddle attachment off....

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Or, here's a novel idea, you could simply clean your tools properly before putting them away

We made larabars with a $40 from Amazon over the weekend, so I don't understand why some of them are so expensive.

eye-gor said:

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I've heard of a roast beef grinder. Is that the same thing?

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There is also just a "food" grinder.