Product of the Week - KitchenAid Stand Mixers

by Billie Ann Woo

There is enough literature on the Kitchen Aid stand mixture to keep a researcher busy for weeks.

I won’t go into too much detail about the mixer, but I will share with you one interesting observation: most cookbooks these days that have a heavy baking emphasis will explicitly say, “place in the bowl of your mixer” or “using the paddle attachment on your mixer” whereas cookbooks 10 years ago would seldom reference that piece of equipment. That is how prevalent and popular the stand mixer has become today!

In full disclosure, I am a convert. I was gifted my stand mixer by my best friend for a birthday and it has quickly become THE kitchen electrical in my arsenal. The greatest gift a stand mixer has given me is the gift of time and effort. No longer am I standing there with a wooden spoon creaming butter – the mixer does it for me, and quite happily I assume.

The Kitchen Aid mixer has become to stand mixers what Kleenex has for facial tissue or Hoover for vacuums. While working in CTKB the term “Kitchen Aid” usually meant a stand mixer, and with its timeless design and reliable performance it’s easy to see how this word alliance came to be. CTKB carries two different Kitchen Aid mixers – the Artisan and the Architect. Both provide 5Qt capacity and 325 W of power, the main difference being the all metal construction of the Architect. All the mixers come with the whisk, paddle, dough and pouring shield. The mixers are a great jumping off point for other kitchen projects; the company had a fantastic array of accessories including: pasta roller, meat grinder, grain mill, juicer and ice cream bowl. The mixers have up to 10 speeds, so you can control the integration of ingredients with the subtle toggling of the switch. Both models have the tilt-head function which allows for the easy removal of bowl and beater (compared to the bowl lift mechanism of the higher capacity models). The mixers have great mileage – I had never seen one come in for major service and apart from some yearly cleaning and oiling, my mixer does great (and it gets quite a workout).

If you’re considering stepping up your baking game think about adding a Kitchen Aid mixer to your kitchen. It will make a world of difference to your efficiency, not to mention it looks great! (Did I mention that both models come in a variety of colours? Seasonal too!)