Which mixer? I need to justify having one......

I often see Kenwood mixers at general auctions which have house clearance stuff. Some are fairly modern and go for good prices. I don't think you'll find a Kitchen Aid there though.

I have the Kenwood Prospero, purchased from Lakeland about 9 years ago. It started smelling "hot" after about a year, and I contacted Lakeland to ask about it, and they replaced the entire thing. No problems since then. I use it pretty regularly with no complaints, although I have yet to build up the nerve to use the dough hook part.

Although I really do rate my new stand mixer, perhaps I should have also mentioned that it is complementary to my Maximix. To my mind, both are necessary: the mixer for cakes and bread and the Maximix for chopping and blending.

Actually, I am about to replace my little hand mixer which I thought I could manage without but find I also need!

Instruction books are usually available on line if you lose or damage your original, greyduster.

Having said I don't think much of those conventional mixers, that Australian chappie in Shysal's link did dispel most of my moans about them. But - - what a price!

I have a Kenwood food processor, a Kenwood hand mixer and a Kenwood blender. I use the blender and the hand mixer a lot, but only started using the food processor again recently because i have a problem with my thumb which makes it difficult to rub in pastry. In fact, we moved here four years ago and i misplaced all the attachments, only finding them a few weeks ago. Then i couldn't remember what they all did as i had lost the manual! It wouldn't really worry me if i didn't have the food processor. My sister had a Kenwood Chef for years - a wonderful piece of kit.

Oh dear, sorry about the long post, again.

Look for the following

- easy to assemble and take apart
- easy to clean
- not too many fiddly bits
- price of replacing breakable plastic attachments
- quality of blades for grating and slicing
- do the beaters reach to the edge of the mixing bowl?

I am so cross that I fell for a mixer like that - the selling point was that it had a stainless steel mixing bowl.

For years I had a food processor which did absolutely everything, except that the plastic bowl and attachments weren't very sturdy. Replacing the parts was as expensive as buying a new machine. So I got a mixer similar to the ones pictured above and am so frustrated that there's so much they don't do.

This was the mixer I used.

It didn't need a separate attachment for liquids, and making a quiche was magic, and took so few parts, so washing up was minimal:

Pastry ingredients in bowl (water in the form of ice cubes) - Whizz, whizz, pastry made, comes out clean in one nice lump. Flatten out into pie dish and in oven to bake blind. Chop cheese into 1" cubes or even a bit bigger and give them a whirl - they come out just as good as grated, even-sized crumbs, leaving bowl relatively clean. Tip them into the pastry base, whirl cream and eggs and seasoning, pour on - Voilà - quiche in 10 minutes. Used bowl, lid and blades. Wash up, put away - done!

Unfortunately, my mixer is (a) not used much, because I don't like it and (b) very sturdy and made of stainless steel, so there's not much hope of getting a new one any time soon.

I weep for my food processor - which, especially when there were 5 of us, was indispensable. And the kids all learned to cook and bake with it, too.

Not wanting to go on too much, but it also made brilliant cakes, biscuits, mayonnaise, milk shakes, carrot salads, heavy bread doughs, chopped chocolate, de-lumped gravy and made playdough.

I have a Kenwood Platinum and most of the attachments, yes, I am a lucky, spoilt woman. Husband bought it me because I wanted it and he had got a good bonus. If you cook or bake, then you need one, why do you have to justify it. Does your other half have tools, a hobby, drink, smoke, do,they justify the money spent on that. Get the best you can afford. I got the Kenwood because the reports were better for that, than for the KitchenAid, which I also love. Go for it.

Santa Baby brought me the Kenwood Chef Major plus the mincer attachment. ???
Wouldn't be without my Magimix as well though.

I too have a Kenwood Chef and I love it, we got a free blender when we bought it on a deal from Currys.. they do seem very reliable and easy to adjust etc..

Tonic is my mixer of choice!

I have just seen your post. If you spot this one, I thought I could tell you about my new mixer which is from the chain Wilkinsons.

Looking great (mine is black) and working well, it costs only £100. It is slightly noisy but I have had much better results from cakes and meringues than with my previous hand mixer. I am pleased with it thus far (a few weeks). It may be worth your while having a look?

Wow! - I have just followed your link shysal - at that price I am happy to stick with my tiny (and cheap) hand mixer with bowl. It has lasted for years.

I have had my Kenwood for over 30 years and agree that it leaves mix at the side of the bowl I was forever scraping it down and now never use it. If I did regular baking now,which I don't, I would save up for the Kitchen Aid. I now use a hand mixer which is ok for occaisional use.

Start saving! I know the kitchen aid is hideously expensive, but it is wonderful and I love mine. One of my best investments and the children will fight over it after my demise

DW has a 48 year old Kenwood. I did replace a part 30 years ago, and having had it apart, they are built like a tank.
She uses it regularly and it still works as well as ever (but it is very noisy). The only thing that wears out are the rubber feet and they are still available. Whether modern Kenwoods are as reliable, I doubt it.

I've got a five year old Kenwood Kmix that has been repaired once and 35 year old Breville food processor that is still going strong and without a hitch. I love both but can't really say, based on experience, that spending more means better reliability.

I had a 40 year old Kenwood which looked grotty, although it still worked, so I threw it out and bought a Morphy Richards mixer. Half the price of a Kenwood and about 5% of the efficiency. It's useless.
I think you need one of the expensive ones, don't waste money on a cheap one.

I manage fine with my hand mixer and small processor, but if I were to splash out I would look at this one, which scrapes the bowl as it mixes. They are also at Lakeland.

Kenwoods are half price at Currys, apparently!

x

I'm contemplating a new mixer too. My old Kenwood leaves the mix plastered to the edge of the bowl and I don't bake often enough to justify the Kitchen Aid. My handmixer is good but my hands aren't so I'm looking at an updated Kenwood. DD bought a cheap version of the KitchenAid not sure where from - its rubbish, a waste of £100.

'Xhef'? Chef, sorry.