bit-tech Shopping: KitchenAid KSM150PSWH Artisan Series Stand Mixer

• Dough Hook
• Flat Beater
• Wire Whip

Rating: 10

Time with product: 3 Weeks

Strengths: Very robust, good build quality, and great classical look. The tilt-head style makes it very easy to access the bowl and change the beater/mixer attachment.

Weaknesses: Heavy. Don't plan on storing this away in a cupboard and bringing it out every time you need to use it.

Summary: Although pricey compared to hand-mixers, KitchenAid stand-mixers are very convenient to have if you do a lot of baking. It frees you up and allows you work on other things while it's mixing your batter/dough. The Artisan series is smaller than the Professional and Commercial models, but should definitely be large and powerful enough for the typical home baker. In addition, the Artisan model itself is quite heavy and I can't imagine having to move around one of the larger models every time I needed to use it.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 7 Days

Strengths: Very user-friendly machine, easy to clean

Weaknesses: A little heavy to move around.

Summary: We bought this machine for ourselves and it has made life easier for us in the kitchen. It also comes with a cookbook that contains quite a number of recipes. A powerful 325 Watt motor makes any kneading/baking job a "Cake Walk" for us now. I would highly-recommend this machine for any household.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 7 Days

Strengths: Well constructed (solid & heavy), no problem with pizza dough, easy to use, easy to clean. Think it will last for a long time.

Weaknesses: None yet...

Summary: I got this as a birthday gift for my wife and she loves it. I enjoy using it too as I can make pizza dough in just a few minutes and it does all the work. I just dump in the ingredients and 3 minutes later it's ready to roll out on the pan. This stand mixer is solid and looks great just sitting out on the countertop. Now I just need to figure out what attachments I'm going to by for it. Can't go wrong with this mixer especially for the price.Other pros:The mixer bowl attaches seamlessly and you don't have to worry about it going anywhere.It has 10 different speeds.It has the attachment hookup which is easily accessible.It is a tilt head which makes it easy to get access to the bowl and when it tilts back your mixing attachments stays over the bowl so you don't have to worry about creating a mess.It has a cover plate which allows spill free addition of ingredients while it is operating.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 7

Strengths: -Solid all-metal housing-Heavy duty switches-Enormous bowl (but its TALL instead of WIDE...excellent!)-Expandable via attachments

Weaknesses: -Fairly large footprint-Weighs about as much as three elephants-Only a one-year warranty from KitchenAid (I bought on credit card though, which doubles the warranty! Highly suggest doing that...)

Summary: I'm a 21-year old guy, I've inherited some (at least at this point) solid cooking skills from my mother, who has taught me well. One thing though -- she's not a baker. Which is probably why I wouldn't say I am either! Funny how that works... So, to challenge myself, I started baking things (giving myself weekly projects to tackle). Bread seemed like a valuable thing to make -- it's an everyday thing, not like cookies or cakes, we buy it in the store, and its obviously possible to make it better at home -- plus it makes your kitchen smell good! Well... have you tried doing this by hand? I work out, but come on... that's tough work! So I set off on a yearning for a KitchenAid mixer... my mom has the beautiful caviar color. I asked her what she thought about my getting one. She said "That's the kind of thing you get when you get married. Plus it's heavy -- wait until you've moved into a house! You're not going to want to move it."Well... Amazon put it on sale for $200...tempting, but I'll restrain myself. One day, I look again, lusting after it. ---$30 rebate?!?! Called my mom --- "Wow...that's pretty good! Sure, get one!" Done. And all of the schemes I was planning to figure out how I could get married, so I could get a mixer out of it! :) Then, the next day Amazon dropped the price by $10. Wow! They have a Price Protection Policy I wrote them about, and they immediately gave me a credit. $160 after rebates!This thing is a tank. It looks like it means business...and it certainly weighs as much. It powers through doughs, whips up eggs (and whites) faster than it would take for your arm to hurt. At first I questioned the goofy slide switches, wondering why they weren't more prominently placed, like on a food processor or blender...then I realized -- they are so heavy duty! They are likely DIRECTLY interfaced with the motor...so are super-reliable, less likely to break, and have a lot less that can go wrong with them because of it.The mixing bowl is generously large, at least for my small-scale operation! It is very tall, rather than wide, which helps to save space, and makes sense to me. You get three attachments: a wire whisk, a mixer, and a dough hook, plus a splash guard. I think the one that wakes you up in the morning and makes coffee and toast and washes the car got lost in the mail... ;)Some prefer the lowering bowl of the Pro line, but the tilt head of the Artisan seems fine to me -- just remember to lock the head down before you start mixing. The bowl locks into the base by screwing into a short 'thread' like a screw. Make sure the bowl is locked on tight as well! My final note, is that this is a beautiful appliance. It's not like a coffee maker or a microwave. This is a classic kitchen appliance. Everyone who's serious about food has one. It's a workhorse of pro kitchens. It's the American dream! Would have been nice to marry and get one... but me and my Onyx Black mixer will have to get along until then!

Rating: 10

Time with product: 60 Days

Strengths: Reliability, easy to use

Weaknesses: None

Summary: This KitchenAid mixer has enough power for most day to day tasks. It is especially useful when mixing cake flour and Chapathi (indian bread) flour. The controls are easy to use and it is easy to clean. No problems.