This Mixer makes good treats

This is an outstanding mixer. I don't think it's terribly loud, as I have seen in other reviews. The design may have changed or it could just be that I mill my own flour in an impact mill, and the mixer seems very quiet compared to the mill! I also have 4 children, so I'm fairly desensitized to noise. I got the mixer primarily for making bread. It is rated for 14 cups of all-purpose flour, but the manual says to only use 8 cups of whole-grain flour (2 loaves). I make 2 loaves of whole-grain bread at least once a week, usually twice. The spiral dough hook does an excellent job of kneading, and the mixer has plenty of power to handle the whole-grain dough. Just 8 minutes of kneading develpes the gluten so well, that I only have to raise the dough for 30 minutes in the bread pans and then bake it, and we end up with delicious, light, fluffy bread. I can make bread in less than an hour and a half, including the time for kneading, rising and baking. (We live over 7500 feet in altitude, and I have seen recipes that call for up to 3 rises of yeast bread at high altitude, but that is absolutely not necessary.) I used to use a bread machine, and produced many "bread bricks" with it. Since I got the KitchenAid, the bread machine has been retired. We have mostly just made bread, but also have used it for cake, gingerbread, and whipped cream. It had no problem with any of those, as I expected. There is one major design flaw, in my children's opinions, and we discovered it when 2 of them were helping me make a birthday cake. They were very distressed when they realized there was only one beater to lick! That is our only complaint so far. We also purchased the meat grinder and used it to grind at least 30 pounds of beef, elk, and turkey into burger. The mixer had plenty of power to be up to the task. I am very pleased with the performance of this mixer and don't think anyone would regret purchasing it.

Another Great Review of this mixer

We went with the white/"meringue" mixer (would have preferred light green "jadite", but such is not available). Works great! Now granted, as with any piece of machinery--including your car--you must learn the in's and out's. Before purchasing, I printed out all the reviews you see here and the product description, and studied all this information. Then after purchasing, I read the product manual. You owe it to yourself to do the same -- after all, you're plunking down several hundred dollars. The main thing to carry away from the reviews here is to go easy with the high gluten flour. This is a reliable machine. It gets a workout in my household on almost a daily basis. No complaints! The things I like about this, and the KA brand in general, is the elegant design, which inspires confidence (being heavy and metal, rather than el cheapo plastic) and accentuates rather than detracts from kitchen decor. I am not sure when so many major manufacturers decided that American consumers preferred cheap and ugly and unreliable, a la Wal-Mart, but they are wrong, and KA is right. Do not try to scrimp and go with a lower powered model, such as the 525 watt. I think you will regret it. I have read little hints in the reviews of that model, to the effect that the machine labors under heavier loads; not good. I also don't recommend getting refurbs or used, based on discontented reviews I have read on them. Just drop the three sixty-nine (current price), minus the twenty-five dollar discount. It's worth it, if you are cooking for more than one person. I like to imagine buying something once, using it for a lifetime, and then bequeathing it in my will. I do not expect things I buy to ever break, or if they do, they should be repairable, rather than disposable. I considered this and the 1000 watt, 7 quart Viking, which was considerably more expensive, and went with this because it's so much cheaper and has rather good reviews. Viking seems to be an over-priced brand in general which tries to appeal to price snobs rather than offering real value. I also did not like the fact that you do not see many Viking products in stores; which leads one to think about what happens if the Viking needs repair or replacement parts; hmmmm... Also, the Viking just does not offer neat attachments such as an ice cream maker. Yeah, I suggest also purchasing the ice cream maker attachment for another fifty bucks or so. We have had a lot of fun crafting unusual flavors like green tea and ginger.

Review of KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixers

I was a bit nervous about this Kitchen Aid model based on the research I'd done on Amazon and the internet of previous models in the 6 quart range. I own and cherish a K5SS I bought 25 years ago. I will never part with this machine (with all its chips and cosmetic wear - it's been a faithful workhorse and one of my most prized possessions). I was ready for greater capacity, more power and a more cosmetically appealing mixer, so I took the plunge with the KP26M1XC (licorice). I'm glad I did. The machine is a bit louder with more of a high whine at higher speeds, but I would expect that with the added power and size. This morning I took it for a "test drive" with a 600 gram (flour) batch of pizza dough using very high gluten flour which I kneaded at speed 2 for 5 minutes. The sound under load wasn't at all unpleasant and the spiral dough hook really works the dough like the professional mixers I used in culinary school and on the job. I've mostly used my 5 quart Kitchen Aid for cakes, muffins, pate choux for eclairs, mashed potatoes and whipped cream and meringue. I've made my bread dough exclusively in my large capacity Cuisinart food processor. Now that I have a more powerful Kitchen Aid mixer, I feel confident it can take the challenge of the high gluten dough (Take heed: DO NOT USE MORE THAN 8 CUPS PER BATCH OF HIGH GLUTEN BREAD FLOUR, WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR OR ANY OTHER HEAVY GRAIN FLOUR. THE 12 CUP CAPACITY REFERS EXCLUSIVELY TO ALL PURPOSE FLOUR. ALSO, ONLY USE SPEED 2 when kneading dough. (Repeat this to yourself 20 times and post a notice above your machine, especially if you have a spouse, kids or roomate(s) in your household that might use the machine.) Caught up in the excitement of this new, beautiful machine I was inspired to purchase the pasta roller accessory based on the terrific reviews on Amazon, I also added the sausage stuffer to my order (could this be used to fill eclairs? I wonder....) as an addition to my collection of accessories. Currently the attachment I use most frequently is the shredder which I use exclusively for shredding cheese for pizza and casseroles like lasagna. And, the Licorice is a matt, slightly pearlized finish, which nicely complements the black trim on my larger appliances. An unexpected bonus of this dark color is that it really shows the "dirt/flour/batter enabling me to get it "spanking" clean after use. With my middle-aged eyesight I find it hard to see the accumulating mess on my white machine.

KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixers Overview

Due to it's all-metal construction, this KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixer can handle tough jobs with the help of it's 575-watt motor. With this sort of power, it can handle almost eight poinds of mashed potatoes or fourteen cups of all-purpose flour.Double batches of bread dough are easily handled thanks to the PowerKnead spiral dough hook, which emulates kneading by hand. A ten speed slide control covers all speeds from a fast whip to a slow stir while the soft start mixing reduces splatter as the motor slowly accelerates to the chosen speed. Consistent mixing speeds are maintained by a built-in electronic speed senor, allowing ingredients to be added without losing any mixing speed.When an overload is detected, the KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixers' motor will turn itself off instead of burning itself out. Included with the mixer is wire whip, spiral dough hook, a six quart stainless steel mixing bowl, a flat beater, as well as a pouring sheild. A hinged hub covers a multipurpose attachment hub where attachments can easily be installed. Mixing position is easily achieved thanks to the bowl-lift design of the mixer and the one-piece design of the motor makes cleaning a breeze. The satin-pearl finish of the mixer makes it a nice addition to any countertop. Any countertop is enhanced thanks to the satin-pearl finish on the mixer.

Welcome to the KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixers blog. This blog will contain news and information on the KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixers as well as reviews from customers who have actually purchased the mixer. Please check back often for update reviews and information.