If cooking and baking seem like chores to you, you may be in the market for a stand mixer.
Ask any baking enthusiast which stand mixer to purchase, and you will almost invariably receive “KitchenAid” as the answer.
A quick search of the website may give you pause, though.
Their smallest stand mixer has an MSRP of $299.99.
Is the price tag really worth it?
We’ll cover ten reasons KitchenAid products cost more than those of other brands.
1. Brand Name Quality
Chances are that the first KitchenAid mixer you saw belonged to a grandparent or parent.
The brand is certainly not new to American kitchens.
In 1914, the Hobart Manufacturing Company invented the H model stand mixer.
It had an 80-quart bowl and was sold to professional bakeries.
Four years later, the company began testing a smaller version of the product.
As the story goes, when a housewife was asked what she thought of the mixer, she replied, “It’s the best kitchen aid I’ve ever had.”
From there, the KitchenAid brand was born.
Over the next ten years, the company would create several different models of the stand mixer for private use.
However, the version we have come to recognize as a true KitchenAid would not be invented until 1937.
Since then, the brand has been sold to Whirlpool, but the design hasn’t changed much.
The mixer is instantly recognizable, thanks to years of use in American homes and, more recently, on cooking shows.
Julia Child herself owned a KitchenAid and spoke very highly of the machine.
Brand-name products always sell for more than their generic or lesser-known counterparts.
When you purchase a KitchenAid, you are paying for a tried-and-true, well-known product.
2. Versatility
The KitchenAid can be used for much more than just mixing dough.
The mixer comes with three attachments for different purposes.
The paddle attachment is used as the primary beater.
It is useful for heavy mixtures, such as mashed potatoes or cake batters.
The wire whisk can incorporate air into mixtures.
It is used for whipping cream or egg whites.
It can also cream butter and sugar together.
The third attachment that comes with the mixer is the dough hook.
It is used for kneading yeast dough, such as bread or pizza dough.
Additionally, the company offers a variety of attachments that can be purchased separately.
These extras can completely change the way you use your mixer.
Some of the attachment options include:
- Slicer/shredder
- Meat grinder
- Pasta press
- Spiralizer
- Food processer
- Sausage stuffer
Some of these attachments also cost a pretty penny, but the convenience of having one machine to perform nearly any cooking or baking task is worth forking out the extra dough.
Because they’re all sold separately, you can purchase only the attachments you’ll use.
3. Customization
Not only can you decide which attachments best meet your needs, but you can customize the appearance of your machine to your preference as well.
The KitchenAid website has a customization tool.
Here, you can choose the color of your mixer and get it engraved (for free!).
If you choose a white or black mixer, you can pick a matte or shiny finish.
You can also choose from twelve different bowls, both stainless steel and ceramic.
Some bowls have different colors, textures, and designs, so you can truly make your stand mixer your own.
Beyond the aesthetics of your mixer, you can decide which features will be most useful to you.
The KitchenAid has two styles: tilt-head and bowl lift.
The tilt-head style allows the beaters or other attachments to lift up out of the bowl when finished mixing.
This style also tends to be smaller and easier to store.
The bowl-lift style can be raised and lowered.
Typically, bowl lift mixers have larger bowls and are therefore better for people who work with larger quantities of food.
Finally, the KitchenAid stand mixer comes in different sizes.
The bowl capacity for a KitchenAid can range between two and eight quarts.
They can weigh anywhere from 10 to 35 pounds.
The amount of space in your kitchen can help determine what size you should get.
If you are planning to store your mixer in a cupboard, you may want to purchase a lighter model.
If you want a more heavy-duty mixer, you’ll want to make sure you have counter space for it, so you don’t have to move it around.
Depending on what you plan to use your KitchenAid for, you can select a size and style that will work best for you.
The ability to customize your mixer to meet your needs adds to the already high value of a KitchenAid.
4. Ease Of Operation
The KitchenAid mixer is incredibly user-friendly.
They make it easy for the less cooking-inclined among us to whip up our favorite foods with ease and convenience.
Using a KitchenAid is a simple process.
First, you’ll need to make sure the mixer is on a flat surface.
That’s easy enough, right?
When not in use, the mixer can be stored in a cupboard or pantry if you have the space.
If you don’t, though, there’s no shame in leaving it out on the counter for guests to admire.
The next step is selecting the right accessory for your baking endeavor.
As mentioned previously, there are plenty to choose from, and no limit to the projects you can complete.
Attaching the accessory is as easy as sliding it over the beater shaft and turning clockwise until it is secure.
You can then attach the bowl.
KitchenAid bowls are secured right to the base of the product, so they won’t move around while the machine is on.
Once you have the parts of the KitchenAid in place, you can add your ingredients.
After your ingredients are in the bowl, it’s time to mix.
KitchenAid mixers have 10 different speed settings, controlled by a lever.
To adjust the speed, you simply move the lever forward and back.
At this point, all that’s left to do is watch your mixer do its thing.
The KitchenAid’s ease of use contributes to its elevated price compared to other stand mixers.
5. Great Ratings
No matter who you ask, rave reviews of KitchenAid products are pretty universal.
Several product-review sites, including Wirecutter, Homes & Gardens, CNN, and Tom’s Guide, have listed the KitchenAid Artisan five-quart tilt-head stand mixer as the best overall stand mixer in 2021.
On Amazon, customers reviewing the same mixer give it 4.7 out of 5 stars.
According to Consumer Reports, four of the seven best stand mixers are KitchenAid brands.
Professional chefs and bakers also use and recommend the KitchenAid.
Rachael Ray has the five-quart version sitting on her kitchen countertop.
Julia Child owned the K5SSBU model, also five quarts, which is now displayed in the Smithsonian along with the rest of her kitchen.
Being so highly recommended by amateur and professional bakers alike, it’s easy to see why KitchenAid can charge a little more than other brands.
6. Power
Mixing dough and other foods by hand takes time and energy.
Hand mixers offer more power than your arms alone, but even they can’t compare to a stand mixer.
Stand mixers have bigger motors than hand mixers.
This makes them better equipped for thick doughs or longer mix times.
Most stand mixers also have more speeds than the standard hand mixer.
Most hand mixers have somewhere in the ballpark of five speeds, while most stand mixers have 10.
This allows you to adjust the amount of power being used with greater accuracy.
This is important because, with some baked goods, it is critical that the dough is not overmixed.
With more speeds to choose from, you are more likely to find an appropriate speed for what you are mixing.
It will also mix and knead the dough at a consistent pace, something difficult to achieve with your hands.
Stand mixers can also mix larger batches of dough than hand mixers can.
They can spread ingredients more evenly throughout the dough, creating a better-tasting product.
Stand mixers in general have more value than hand mixers, and that value is reflected in their price.
7. Easy Clean-Up
When using different bowls and spoons for cooking and baking, the dishes pile up quickly.
A KitchenAid allows the entire dish to be prepared in the same bowl, thanks to their bowls’ large capacity.
The depth of the bowls also makes the mixers less likely to spray ingredients all over the counter than a hand mixer.
This will save you from having to wipe everything down when you’re done.
The even better news is that the bowls and attachments are all dishwasher safe, except the wire whisk.
This means that once your creation is in the oven, all you need to do is load up the dishwasher and hit the start button.
With your countertops already clean, it’s got to be the easiest clean-up you’ve ever done.
You know what they say: time is money.
The time you’ll save in kitchen clean-up is definitely worth some extra cash.
8. Saved Time And Energy
Speaking of time, clean-up isn’t the only thing made faster by a KitchenAid.
The overall time spent preparing food goes down as well.
Having a KitchenAid is like having an extra pair of hands helping you with each step of a recipe.
While the KitchenAid mixes, you can prepare other parts of the meal.
Because the KitchenAid can do so many things (see point #2), it also helps you throughout the entire process.
How quickly can you press your own pasta noodles?
The KitchenAid can probably do it faster.
A stand mixer also allows those with injuries or disabilities to more easily and independently do their cooking.
Older people may appreciate the ability to mix foods without needing a lot of muscle or grip strength.
9. Longevity
One of the best-known qualities of the KitchenAid is its extended lifespan.
The appliances have a reputation for lasting for years.
Whirlpool, the company that produces KitchenAid products, estimates that the mixers last between 10 and 15 years.
Many, however, last longer than that.
It’s not uncommon to see a 20-year-old KitchenAid still in use.
This, of course, depends on how often the machine is used, what it is used for, and how well it is taken care of.
To ensure your KitchenAid lives a long, healthy life, there are a few best practices to follow.
First, keep the mixer clean.
This includes not just the bowl and attachments, but the pin and springs as well.
These can get clogged with food and prevent your machine from functioning properly.
You should also re-grease your KitchenAid every year.
The mixers come with grease inside the motor to keep things running smoothly.
If the machine has been sitting unused for too long, the ingredients in the grease can separate.
The grease can leak out of the motorhead.
When you start to see yellow grease on the outside of the machine, it’s time to regrease.
It’s also important to only use compatible attachments.
Some attachments made by other companies are of lower quality and can damage your mixer.
In addition to using the right attachments, you should make sure they are attached correctly.
If a beater or other attachment is installed too low, it can damage your bowl.
It can also damage the motor by grinding the gears.
KitchenAid offers a one-year warranty on their products.
In order to get the most out of your mixer, you should use it a lot in that first year.
After all, if it breaks during that time, you can get a full replacement (depending on where you live).
A KitchenAid that is properly taken care of can live long enough to pass on to your children.
This means you can consider the money you spend on one now an investment.
10. High-Quality Construction
Many products being made today are outsourced to other countries, where labor and materials are often cheaper.
This is not the case for the KitchenAid.
KitchenAid mixers are assembled in Greenville, Ohio, by skilled artisans.
KitchenAid has manufactured its products in the same factory since the 1940s.
In the factory, workers oversee all parts of the assembly process.
This starts with sanding and painting all the parts of the mixer.
There are dozens of colors (the Artisan five-quart mixer has 46 different color options), and all are applied by spray nozzles.
Each part is then inspected by a worker to check for flaws in the paint job.
Once the parts have passed muster, it is time to assemble them.
As with many factory-made products, KitchenAid mixers are put together on an assembly line.
There are around 1,200 employees assembling and inspecting the mixers before they leave the factory.
Whirlpool considers their employees an investment.
A quick search on Indeed shows that the company pays workers $17–23 per hour, depending on the job description.
In addition to investing in quality employees, the company is dedicated to using quality materials as well.
The mixer is made with a cast zinc-alloy with a baked enamel paint finish. Compared to other mixers, this makes the KitchenAid less likely to chip or be damaged.
The stainless-steel bowls are made with a chrome-nickel alloy and then polished by hand.
This makes them stronger and more rust-resistant than other bowls.
KitchenAid also uses better wiring and a single-direction fan in their motors.
This prevents them from overheating and ensures the motor will last a long time.
The high-quality materials and construction techniques used with the KitchenAid are what ensure it will work well for years.
When you only need to buy one mixer for the next two decades, it’s easy to see why consumers are willing to part with more money to get one.
Conclusion
When considering the decision to purchase a KitchenAid, the cost is an important factor.
Some may take one look at the price tag and run in the other direction.
If you don’t bake or cook often, you may not need a stand mixer.
For those who regularly enjoy home-cooked, made-from-scratch meals, however, the KitchenAid should be seen as an investment.
The time and energy you will save over many years by using a stand mixer are well worth the initial blow to your bank account.
With careful construction and excellent materials that will last for years to come, the KitchenAid is one small appliance that boasts quality high enough to match its price.
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