Reliable, looks good, but is heavy

I have been wanting a new 5 quart artisan KitchenAid mixer. Yes it is refurbished but I know I know I took a chance because of the price was finally within reach. I love to bake and I can’t wait to I have been wanting a new 5 quart artisan KitchenAid mixer. Yes it is refurbished but I know I know I took a chance because of the price was finally within reach. I love to bake and I can’t wait to cook make bread with this new mixer in. I know this mixer will be able to work the dough it was beautiful there was no scratches. Every piece was there that was said to I have used it probably 10 times making mountains of cookies for my grandkids. It is awesome because I can easily double the recipe and the bowl and machine can handle it, do what I did take a chance on this it’s amazing thank you

I need a new beater for my mixer so I searched my old orders to see what model I have. It looks like I bought my 5qt Artisan in November 2005. I’ve used it several times a week since then with no problems. I’ve never even had it serviced! It’s been a great mixer. I gave it a 4 for cleaning because there are few crevices where the bowl sits that you actually have to pay attention to to clean. Otherwise, it’s perfect.

Great machine. Brand new mint condition. Works like a charm. Love it!

I’ve always had a Tim Taylor attraction to quality kitchen appliances, and have always dreamed of owning a good Kitchenaid stand mixer. About 10 years ago while in grad school, I needed a stand mixer for some of my baking and kitchen experiments. The Kitchenaids were priced well out of my reach, but I was able to get a Sunbeam Mixmaster, which still had a good reputation as long as it was operated within its limits. That Mixmaster has served me well until I started experimenting with pizza making lately. The poor Mixmaster got pretty hot while kneading dough. Finally, the other week, a puff of smoke came out, and it was no more. I had already bookmarked this factory-refurbished Artisan on my Amazon wish list. I gave my wife a chance to veto the purchase, but she realized that losing my stand mixer was like losing a few arms and legs to me, and told me to get blue. (And she accused me of purposefully killing the Mixmaster so I had an excuse to the get the Kitchenaid!). I placed my order.

The Kitchenaid mixer has always had a good reputation, and is mentioned in several cooking books and web sites. In GEAR FOR THE KITCHEN by Alton Brown, host of the Food Network’s GOOD EATS, Alton highly recommends the Kitchenaid, as well as Dominick DeAngelis in THE ART OF PIZZA MAKING. Alton highly recommends a tilt-head design, as this allows easier bowl scraping, and specifically mentions the Artisan by name. The Artisan is Kitchenaid’s most powerful tilt-stand mixer. (The more powerful models are bowl-lift.)

With the Kitchenaid mixers, I really like the one big beater. It’s infinitely easier to clean (and lick off) that trying to clean inside the tines of the two smaller Mixmaster beaters. The Kitchenaids have an accessory drive, which may be of dubious use for me, and of course, have the power to do the job (the Artisan features 325W) and the reputation for holding up. The bowl locks to the base, and the head locks down. The machine is heavy and doesn’t walk across the counter while kneading dough like my old mixer did.

On the downside, if you are like me and believe, in the manner of the priests of Old Testament Israel whom were allowed to stab a fork into the boiling sacrifice and keep for themselves whatever meat came up, that whatever is left on the beater is yours, you may be disappointed at how it just sheds dough. I am also used to the fact the bowl of my old Mixmaster rotates, which made it easier to scrape. As for the Kitchenaid accessories, they are expensive. It may save a little counter space to add a can opening attachment, but a good, easier-to-use stand-alone model costs a third as much. In GEAR FOR YOUR KITCHEN, Alton Brown recommends the Krups ice cream machine which costs less than just the attachment for the Kitchenaid.

This is a factory-reconditioned model. Often, factory-refurbished products prove more reliable than new because someone has carefully examined and tested the unit. There were minor cosmetic flaws. There were scuffs in the bowl as though it had been used before, and a barely-noticeable dent as though the beater and head were dropped into the mispositioned bowl. Also, there are minor scuffs on the base of the mixer as though a monkey struggled with getting the base of the bowl into the base of the stand. I would have scuffed the bowl by now myself. You are warned in the description that there may be minor cosmetic flaws. The mixer comes with the manual and all the packing material as though it were new, but with a specially-printed box clearly indicating that this is a reconditioned unit. A sticker in the manual points out that the warranty is only six months.

In the years since I bought my Mixmaster, Sunbeam has REALLY upped the ante. For two-thirds the price of the Artisan, the new Mixmaster features 350 Watts, a head that locks down, and a bowl that locks on. What did the Kitchenaid give me for a 50% more? A drive for overpriced accessories that I may never use, 25 fewer Watts of power, the nice, single beater, and one bowl. (Mixmasters have always been supplied with two bowls.) I went with the Kitchenaid anyway. Probably has to do some with its excellent reputation, (just because the Mixmaster can put out 350W doesn’t mean it can do it for a long time.) the image it projects of its owner, and the fact that I always wanted one. I went with the Artisan, but as an alternative, you may want to consider the new Mixmaster.

I AM very pleased with my Artisan, and, in fact, my mother is ordering one for my sister, and we will probably get one for my mother. Buying factory-refurbished just can’t be beat.