Stand-up MIXERS

[6518John]

I have a closet full of tried once, never-used-again kitchen appliances. And I know we have a number of excellent chefs and cooks on this forum.

The stand-up blenders have caught my eye. They are too expensive to be another closet gadget so I want to make a wise decision.

It seems I have seen the Kitchen Aid ones most frequently in homes and in commercial settings. The company also has refurbished models with full warranty and a greatly reduced price. So I am leaning toward a Kitchen Aid but am open-minded and glad to listen to suggestions.

Thank you!

 

[BKLooney]

KitchenAid makes good appliances. But when her KitchenAid blender passed away at what I considered a young age I bought my wife one of the Vitamix blenders, it's a really great machine with some serious torque to it. It is a commercial quality machine. As much as I detest QVC, simply from seeing it on TV so much, that's where I ordered it from and for what I ordered it was a very good deal.

 

[Roofuss]

My stand up blender is 5' 7'' , 150 lbs. and blonde. Have had it 44 years and never a problem, lol !!

 

[s&wchad]

It all depends on what you want to use it for. You'll want a powerful machine if you make smoothies. You can get away with an inexpensive hand blender if you just want to make mayo, emulsify sauces or purée soups and they're a lot easier to clean. You just stick the head in a jar of hot soapy water, run it, wipe it off and put it away. You really need to take a blender container apart to clean it properly.

Brevelle and KitchenAid make decent blenders. Vitamix are excellent, but they can cost $300-$500. Try to find a used machine at a thrift shop or estate sale and see how much you really use it. It's a good to test it by putting some water in the container and running it, to make sure it doesn't leak at the blade seal. If you make your own horseradish, you'll want to have an inexpensive designated blender just for that.

 

[CH4]

My stand up blender is 5' 7'' , 150 lbs. and blonde. Have had it 44 years and never a problem, lol !!

I have one of those but it's the 4'9", 90 lbs model and it's made in China. Works great but could use bigger controls and the owner's manual is in Mandarin. Fortunately, mine is still in the 30-day warranty period.

 

[kozmic]

A bit of advice....DO NOT take your wife's new blender out to the garage to grind horseradish roots. Very bad things ensued. Very bad indeed.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

I have a closet full of tried once, never-used-again kitchen appliances. And I know we have a number of excellent chefs and cooks on this forum.

The stand-up blenders have caught my eye. They are too expensive to be another closet gadget so I want to make a wise decision.

It seems I have seen the Kitchen Aid ones most frequently in homes and in commercial settings. The company also has refurbished models with full warranty and a greatly reduced price. So I am leaning toward a Kitchen Aid but am open-minded and glad to listen to suggestions.

Thank you!

Why do you want one?? I have not felt the need for one in many years. On rare occasions when I want to blend something I'm cooking I like the immersion blender. Not into smoothies or frozen drinks. Plus I'm just too lazy to clean the thing afterwards. It also helps that I am not a frozen drink kinda guy but prefer my margaritas on the rocks.

 

[CalifEd]

America Test Kitchen has a good review of many kitchen appliance on YouTube.

 

[swsig]

I had one of those, but it usually didn't work properly unless I gave it a sharp rap on the rim.

So, that stand-up worked best with a rim shot.

*Badum-Tish*

 

[DWalt]

Check Goodwill first for a blender. Locally a few good used blenders are usually to be found on the shelf.

We have owned and used a Ronson blender for over 50 years, it is still working fine. Yes, that Ronson of cigarette lighter fame. They used to make appliances, and very good ones. Our blender is really good at chopping up ice cubes into slush. That takes lots of power and the Ronson has it.

Also we have a couple of immersion blenders, about all we use them for is making milkshakes and salsa. Mainly the latter. A couple of cans of tomatoes and a couple of cans of pickled jalapeños.

 

[CH4]

Check Goodwill first for a blender. Locally a few good used blenders are usually to be on the shelf.

We have owned and used a Ronson blender for over 50 years, it is still working fine. Yes, that Ronson of cigarette lighter fame. They used to make appliances, and very good ones. Our blender is really good at chopping up ice cubes into slush. That takes lots of power and the Ronson has it.

Also we have a couple of immersion blenders, about all we use them for is making milkshakes and salsa. Mainly the latter.

All joking aside, I bought my current stand-up blender at Good Will. I often pick up a few items there while dropping off others. A lot of treasures to be found. Great outfit to support.

 

[DWalt]

All joking aside, I bought my current stand-up blender at Good Will. I often pick up a few items there while dropping off others. A lot of treasures to be found. Great outfit to support.

Over the years we have found lots of really good stuff at Goodwill. And locally they will have some decent sales several times a year. We took a long trip this Summer and needed a very large roll-around suitcase. I found a very good one that was ideal for us at Goodwill for $10. When we returned, I donated it back to Goodwill. Like renting a suitcase.

 

[6518John]

I was not as clear as I should have been.

I think most of the posts ahove are addressing stand up BLENDERS—like I initially asked in the title (and just corrected) to the OP. I am talking about stand up MIXERS, like the bad boys pictured below.

And to answer Caje’s question, I do a ton of from-scratch cooking. I wanted some help in preparation—shredding cheese, chopping aromatics, folding dough, etc.

Just this morning I was making crock-pot chicken and dressing. I had 3 monster chicken breasts I wanted to layer into the dressing mix. So I had to chop it then rip them into shreds with a couple of big carving forks. It was a mess and a 20 minute pain the rear.

I saw with one of these stand up mixers you can dump the chicken in the mixing pot, then put on the paddle attachment. Fire the monster up and you have a pot of shredded chicken in seconds.

PS. I AM SOLD! These things have a shaft on the front like the PTO on a tractor. You can hook all sorts of attachments up like the meat grinder picture I attach. Heck I can throw my squirrels, possums, whistle pigs and other critter’s meat up there and have critter burgers on the grill in no time!

 

[Rustyt1953]

Ruthie has a KitchenAid mixer. I have a Bass-O-Matic blender.

 

[DWalt]

Bought the wife one of the big red KitchenAid mixers for our wedding anniversary last year. She loves it. Definitely check the prices on eBay for them before you buy. I bought ours NEW there for about half what the local stores wanted, a little over $200. That was the 5 quart size. Like the middle mixer in your picture.

 

[brucev]

My wife was given a Sunbeam Mixmaster in 1979. It lasted until 1995. She wore it out baking, cooking, etc. Bought her a big Kitchen Aide that. summer. She is still getting excellent service from it. Uses it to make all sorts of good things on a very regular basis, i.e., cakes, various types of bread, pies, etc. Recently bought her some attachments that she wanted to have on hand for making ice cream, sorbets, etc. Sincerely. bruce.

 

[s&wchad]

KitchenAid stand mixers are excellent!

I shred cooked chicken with a fork, but it only takes me a few minutes. You might try pulsing it in a food processor next time.

 

[StrawHat]

Another vote for the Kitchenaide Mixer. Buy the refurbished one if you can. It will be completely checked out after it has been reworked. New things get a cursory glance.

Kevin

 

[kozmic]

I think most of the posts ahove are addressing stand up BLENDERS—like I initially asked in the title (and just corrected) to the OP. I am talking about stand up MIXERS, like the bad boys pictured below.

And to answer Caje’s question, I do a ton of from-scratch cooking. I wanted some help in preparation—shredding cheese, chopping aromatics, folding dough, etc.

Just this morning I was making crock-pot chicken and dressing. I had 3 monster chicken breasts I wanted to layer into the dressing mix. So I had to chop it then rip them into shreds with a couple of big carving forks. It was a mess and a 20 minute pain the rear.

I saw with one of these stand up mixers you can dump the chicken in the mixing pot, then put on the paddle attachment. Fire the monster up and you have a pot of shredded chicken in seconds.

PS. I AM SOLD! These things have a shaft on the front like the PTO on a tractor. You can hook all sorts of attachments up like the meat grinder picture I attach. Heck I can throw my squirrels, possums, whistle pigs and other critter’s meat up there and have critter burgers on the grill in no time!

Oh yeah, then a Kitchen Aid is your answer. I bought one when we got married 38 years ago for my wife. She just gave it to my D-I-L because the off white color didn't match our remodeled kitchen. Not only are they basically bullet proof with more attachments than you could ever use, they come in a ****-ton of colors. I can't even imagine what else you would consider.

 

[arjay]

I have that red one in your pic(mines white) It’s at least 20 yrs old and going strong.I’ve tortured it frequently mixing batches of dough with no problems at all