18 out of 18 people found this review helpful.
The Best Hand Mixer I Have Ever Owned!
Date of Review: Mar 14, 2008
The Bottom Line: I bake/cook often and have burnt out hand mixers in the past. This is the best that I've owned and I expect to get many more years out of it.
I actually got this mixer as a wedding gift fours years ago. I absolutely love to bake and cook so was delighted to receive this mixer. I know and love the Kitchen Aid brand and also have one of the heavy-duty Kitchen Aid stand mixers (which I couldn't live without). There are times though when the big mixer is too much and smaller is better.
I have used other hand mixers before and have to say, this is one of the best that I have ever owned and used. First of all, like I said, I love baking and cooking. I always cook dinner and enjoy baking breakfast goods, cookies, cakes, etc… I have in the past burnt out other hand mixers. After four years though of heavy use, this mixer is still going very strong and shows no signs of giving up yet.
The mixer is extremely easy to use. It has seven speeds, which are controlled via electronic touch pads on the top. There is a up/on arrow, a down arrow and an off button. To begin you push the up/on arrow, you then can increase the speed by continuing to push the up/on arrow. If you decide you want to decrease the speed you simply push the down arrow. When you are done, you simply push the off button and the beaters come to a complete halt. The buttons are all easy to activate. It makes for great one-handed operation.
The mixer comes with one set of beaters, which has always worked great for my needs. The beaters are flat on the edge, which means that they can get to the ingredients on the bottom and side of the bowl. This makes for evenly and thoroughly mixed batters, frostings, etc… The beaters have four edges. They are shaped as though two rounded, rectangles were stacked and then turned perpendicular from each other (I hope this is an understandable and clear description).
The beaters snap easily into the bottom of the mixer. There are two notches that you have to line up, but it is very easy to do. To release the beaters you simply push down a button on the top of the mixer and the beaters fall right out. After scraping the beaters I like to hold the mixer over the sink and release the beaters right into soapy water. This is nice because it means that I don't have to deal with touching the mess until later when I am finished preparing my food. The mixer does not have to be plugged in order for the release button to work.
The cord is actually plenty long (5-6 feet) which means you have plenty of room to work without restriction. The beaters are dishwasher safe. The mixer is made of durable plastic and can be wiped off easily enough. There are some vents in the front of the machine than food sometimes splatters up into. To clean this I usually either fold a paper towel or place a dishrag over a butter knife and gently wipe in-between the vents (with the machine unplugged of course).
The machine is well built and very durable. I accidentally knocked it off the counter once. It did not hurt it even the least bit. Not even a scratch! I use is quite frequently and it mixes easily through a variety of foods.
On the high setting it will bring egg whites to a stiff peak in a matter of a minute or two. Whip cream is also brought to soft peaks in a matter of minutes. I use the mixer for such things as waffle and pancake mix, cookie batter, brownie batter, cake mix, etc… I also use it for mashing and mixing cooked potatoes and whipping up dips and dressings. I won't bore you with everything that I have mixed with this machine but know that it has handled everything I have put it through very well. If it is run for a long time or used on a particularly thick batter it will become warm to touch. I have never gotten it overly hot though. As I mentioned above, I do have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer so if I am mixing a really large batch of something or if I know that batter will be particularly stiff or sticky I use the stand instead of the hand mixer.
I use my mixers often and have put both of them to the test many a time. This hand mixer has held up well and preformed well above and beyond other hand mixers that I have used in the past. I expect that this mixer will hold up for several years to come and if ever the day comes that something happens to it, I will purchase another in a heartbeat. You may be able to get a hand mixer for less, but I can tell you that most others wont even hold a candle to this Kitchen Aid mixer. It is to me, just as indispensable a tool as the stand mixer and I am very happy to say I own one.
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