What stand mixer do I want?

[Innisfree]

My beloved, inherited, 60+ year old Sunbeam Mixmaster may be giving up the ghost. Do I want a KitchenAid, or something else?

I do want a large enough capacity for big cookie recipes (6 1/2 c flour, plus sugar, chocolate chips, etc), and I do want a bowl which is safe to use as the top of a double boiler when I'm making boiled icing (so, it needs to be able to get hot).

While I regularly make bread, I'm fine kneading by hand. No need for a mixer there, unless there's some special sort of recipe I might want someday...?

Haven't made pasta, don't really foresee making pasta. Same for grinding meat.

I think maybe my old mixer is the classic Speed Queen of mixers, and I want a durable, reliable, large capacity new Speed Queen of mixers, something simple and rugged. Does that exist?

Or should I be open to more bells and whistles?

[Halftime Hope]

I can't tell you, because I love my old Sunbeams (I have one that has the PTO!).   But I did notice that the KitchenAid store online has unheard of discounting, at least I had never seen anything like it!  Many of their 5 and 6 and 7 quart mixers were in the $65-80 range, give or take a few $.  

[prairiewindmomma]

4 minutes ago, Halftime Hope said:

I can't tell you, because I love my old Sunbeams (I have one that has the PTO!).   But I did notice that the KitchenAid store online has unheard of discounting, at least I had never seen anything like it!  Many of their 5 and 6 and 7 quart mixers were in the $65-80 range, give or take a few $.  

I looked just now...the usual $350 range. ???

[Pawz4me]

I have limited experience with stand mixers, so take this FWIW --

My mom was a prolific baker and always used a Sunbeam stand mixer. She had one that lasted the entirety of my childhood, and bought another one sometime after I moved out (that was back in the mid 1980's). She died several years ago and I donated it to the animal rescue thrift store, and it's the one thing I got rid of that I've kicked myself over and over for not keeping. I recently bought a Bosch compact stand mixer, mostly based on a previous thread here in Chat, and am very happy with it. But as @Bagels McGruffikin said, it does have a plastic bowl.

Edited August 2, 2020 by Pawz4me

[Innisfree]

21 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I looked just now...the usual $350 range. ???

Same when I look.

5 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

I have limited experience with stand mixers, so take this FWIW --

My mom was a prolific baker and always used a Sunbeam stand mixer. She had one that last the entirety of my childhood, and bought another one sometime after I moved out. After she died I donated it to the animal rescue thrift store, and it's the one thing I got rid of that I've kicked myself over and over for not keeping. I recently bought a Bosch compact stand mixer, mostly based on a previous thread here in Chat, and am very happy with it. But as @Bagels McGruffikin said, it does have a plastic bowl.

I'm wondering if I could just get my Sunbeam repaired, if anyone still does that.

A bigger mixer would be so useful, but the prices on the Kitchen Aid site for larger capabilities are mind boggling.

Edited August 2, 2020 by Innisfree

[Pawz4me]

Here's the previous thread that helped me decide to buy a Bosch. There might be something useful in it for you --

 

ETA: Not sure the above is working as a link. If not -- here

Edited August 2, 2020 by Pawz4me

I really like my kitchen aid tilt head mixer that I purchased before I got married and I haven’t tried others.  The problem is the tilt head style I have is probably a smaller capacity than you are looking for.  I don’t particularly like the larger sizes where the bowl sits on the arms..  For one thing it won’t store under an upper cabinet.

[Innisfree]

2 minutes ago, Bagels McGruffikin said:

The Bosch has slicers and blenders and other attachments too 🙂 

I will say when I had my Kitchenaid I almost never used my attachments, including my pasta roller. I ended up just selling it on eBay after a time or two, because hand made pasta is labor intensive and it wasn’t worth the storage space 😉 

Yeah, I just don't foresee using attachments, though who knows. Mostly I find things like that take up space without being used: like the wedding present food processor which lurks under my counter, while I just use a knife to chop. Too many bits and pieces to wash, kwim?

[Innisfree]

2 minutes ago, Mom2mthj said:

I really like my kitchen aid tilt head mixer that I purchased before I got married and I haven’t tried others.  The problem is the tilt head style I have is probably a smaller capacity than you are looking for.  I don’t particularly like the larger sizes where the bowl sits on the arms..  For one thing it won’t store under an upper cabinet.

In my case, it would sit on an island, so no upper cabinet. The price is more of a deterrent. So far I've used the old mixer even for the 14-dozen-cookie recipe, though it's an annual struggle.

[school17777]

This is the one I’m buying myself:  https://www.nutrimill.com/nutrimill-artiste/

It’s like a smaller version of the Bosch.  I loved my Kitchen Aid, but I gave it to my dd because it was getting heavy for me.

[Ottakee]

I have a Kitchen aid and really like it.  Works well.  The only thing I miss about the sunbeam I had before was the glass bowl.  That would go into the microwave to melt butter, soften cream cheese, etc.  Can't do that with my metal kitchen aid bowl.

[SeaConquest]

I just bought my first stand mixer after years and years of wanting one. I should have thought to ask here, but I did research on my own and ended up buying the Bosch, so I am glad to see it recommended here as well. 

[KungFuPanda]

I have the Kitchenaid Artisan.  I love it.  I make most of our breads, but I won't pretend to be a prolific pastry chef.  I might make a dessert every other week or so.  Stil, my mixer lives on the counter and I end up using it several times a week for different cooking jobs.  I've had it just over 10 years and it's a good size for my family of 4. If I were feeding more people I don't think it would have the capacity. 

This time I use the puree attachment to seed, peel, and puree the tomatoes from the garden.   It's the only attachment I own. I know if I bought the pasta attachment I'd probably use it once a year. @Bagels McGruffikin, I saw an episode of Queer Eye once where they bought the dude a pasta machine.  I didn't know these existed.  Apparently you just add ingredients like a bread machine and fresh pasta magically happens with much less fuss.  I don't really have the space for another gadget, but it kind of makes my heart happy that it exists.  

On 8/2/2020 at 1:40 PM, Bagels McGruffikin said:

The Bosch has slicers and blenders and other attachments too 🙂 

I will say when I had my Kitchenaid I almost never used my attachments, including my pasta roller. I ended up just selling it on eBay after a time or two, because hand made pasta is labor intensive and it wasn’t worth the storage space 😉 

[Forget-Me-Not]

3 hours ago, Ottakee said:

I have a Kitchen aid and really like it.  Works well.  The only thing I miss about the sunbeam I had before was the glass bowl.  That would go into the microwave to melt butter, soften cream cheese, etc.  Can't do that with my metal kitchen aid bowl.

my mom has a KA that came with a glass bowl, but it’s also got a tilt head.  For what OP is describing, she’d definitely want a model with a bowl-lift mechanism instead (they have the more robust motors that are too heavy for the tilt-heads).  I’m pretty sure they sell glass bowls that fit several different models in their store, though they are pricy! 
 

I love my KA. I’ve had it probably 7-8 yrs now. 

Edited August 5, 2020 by Forget-Me-Not

[catz]

We had a KA that broke this year. It was over 20 years old.  Bought another, use it constantly.   

[LuvToRead]

10 hours ago, school17777 said:

This is the one I’m buying myself:  https://www.nutrimill.com/nutrimill-artiste/

It’s like a smaller version of the Bosch.  I loved my Kitchen Aid, but I gave it to my dd because it was getting heavy for me.

I bought a nutrimill artiste about a year ago and and I ❤️it.  I have only made bread in it and it does a wonderful job!  I still use my Kitchen Air for everything else.

Edited August 5, 2020 by LuvToRead

[itsheresomewhere]

I love my kitchen aid. It is one from the professional series with bowl lift.  So far, it has work beautifully for almost 16 years.