Should I buy a Kitchen Aid?

[Fiddledee]

I could whizz up a cake in minutes and it would look lovely. Not sure how I can justify the expense. Do you recommend them?

Love mine :). Really solid and can make large amounts. I have the graphite one, so it will look good in lots of different colour schemes.

I've also got the mincing/slicing/grating attachment. Have never used the slicing/grating ones (use the food processor for that) but do like the mincing attachment (great for make shepherd's pie from left over lamb :))

I love mine, it looks nice and is very practical, you can't say that about many things!

I wish I had bought one, went for something cheaper in the end, and it is not as good.
the blades do not reach the bottom of the bowl.

My food processor is over 15 years old - we got it "free" when we were buying a load other appliances (dishwasher, fridge, freezer, washing machine). It's just a simple Kenwood that also has the blender attachment. It's fine for chopping/slicing/grating/pulverising etc. Have never even tried to use it for whisking things (cream, egg white etc) as I would use either my hand held mixer (which must now be nearly 30 years old as I had it Uni) or the Kitchen Aid.

It's also not too heavy, which is important, as I keep it in a cupbard and lift it out when I need it. The Kitchen Aid has to stay on the work surface as it is really heavy so I don't want to clutter the surface up with toom many appliances.

ooo yes would love a kitchen aid, they do blenders, coffee makers, waffle makers as well - I have researched!
They are using them on The Great British Bake Off, wonder who got to keep them at the end of filming

Idiot question possibly but....isn't it just a mixer? What makes it worth £300 odd?

I have a Kenwood Chef, it was my Mum's and is easily 30yr's old.
I love it.
If my house was burning down it would be a toss up between DD and the Kenwood.

I gather Kitchen Aids are similar so I'd say go for it.

yr's?

I do apologise, no idea what made me type that.

you don't need a kitchen aid to whiz up cakes, unless you are talking about christmas cakes! in fact my kitchenaid kill any sponge i have tried to make in it.

they are good for meringues, bread, cream whipping. i could certainly live without mine

Buy a used 1970's Kenwood Chef from ebay for £50 if you want to whip up cakes without mortgaging your granny

Thanks I also have wrist and elbow problems and I make alot of cakes so I think it may be handy. Sold some stuff on ebay so it can go to my Kitchen Aid fund .

According to Mary Berry Kitchen Aids only kill cakes if you mix them too long.

One word - yes. Mine has not killed a cake yet :).

i've got an old bowl lift one from amazon. i make bread with it and it is invaluable, can cope with my beloved dense wholemeal.

if you're going to do any serious kneading or mixing nothing else will do, my mum killed her kenwood trying to make bread.

Another vote yes here too. I have even made pastry with mine! Because it looks lovely you can have it on the worktop all the time and that makes you use it even more as you don't have to rummage in the cupboard to get it set up etc. You will soon forget what you paid. Good tools essential for a good job - master craftspeople always have good equipment and treasure it.It will last forever.
Go for it.

KitchenAid's are fab ... I love mine, it was my housewarming present to myself when we moved into our new house last year ! Definitely recommend it!

Right I will be saving up - housewarming present to myself sounds like a good idea

We have a Kenwood Patissierre. It's Red. I love it.
It looks very much like the KitchenAid, but you can't add attachments to it. It was also only £117 on amazon.
Ours gets used almost every day. DP makes most of our bread in it, I use it for baking.

If you think you'd use the attachments then I highly recommend the normal Kenwood Chefs, we borrowed my Mum's 25 year old one for a few months, we used the mixer part every day but never any attachments, we have hand blenders etc already, that's why we decided on the patissiere instead.

If you need some convincing otherwise I've just spoken to DP, he's the expert in these things, he's heard a fair few bad reports on KitchenAids. People saying they stop working after a couple of years.

I have a Kenwood Chef Major and love it, but it's not as pretty as a KitchenAid.

If you can afford the KitchenAid, get it. They are a thing of beauty, an investment, and like a piece of art imo.

I've got a cream Kitchen Aid. Was my 30th Birthday present from DH - I love it (and him )

Mollymax if the blades don't reach the bottom you just adjust them, I can't remember how but I'm sure you can find it on the website.