The KitchenAid Ultra Power Stand Mixer: An Appliance with Attitude!
Since 1915, professional bakers and chefs, my grandfather included, has used the Kitchen Aid Mixer. In fact, in 1919 the KitchenAid mixer was introduced as the first “electrical” food preparer for the home. (http://www.kitchenaid.com/custserv/about.jsp)
Fast forward to 2005. My hunt for a mixer began when I changed my son’s diet and needed to bake gluten-free bread. I figured I would just stroll into Target, grab the cheapest item I could find and be done with it.
However, as I browsed different brands of stand mixers and read their descriptions, the sleek, elliptical design of the line of KitchenAid mixers, in colors such as red and white, immediately stood out among the rest. After reading its details, I chose the white KitchenAid mixer, wrestled it into my shopping cart and paid a sale price of $199.99 plus tax to haul it home.
If you did a double take because of the price tag, don’t worry, there is a less expensive KitchenAid stand mixer. The ‘Classic Plus’ is $169.99 and all mixers come with a first year ownership ‘Hassle-Free Replacement Warranty’. Case in point: I was preparing cookie dough and the motor on my machine malfunctioned. I placed a call to customer service the next morning and received a brand new mixer the same week. The only thing I had to do was hand the lifeless KitchenAid mixer over to the UPS guy and enjoy my replacement which continues to yield quality results.
The KitchenAid Ultra Power Stand Mixer lives up to its name of throwing a melding mega punch, with speed powered by a 300-watt motor. The base itself is heavyweight and constructed with all metal; oh yes, it takes a little muscle to move this baby around on your counter top. In additon, the mixer head tilts back, so clean up is always effortless.
Along with my KitchenAid Ultra Power Stand Mixer, I received a large polished stainless steel mixing bowl with a handle; the mixing bowl fastens securely to a clamping plate and doesn’t move. I also received these attachments:
A wire whip for preparing egg whites. I’ve also whipped mashed potatoes and made homemade whipped topping, yum!
A dough hook that is used to knead yeast doughs. There’s a helpful recipe book included that gives simple directions and bread making tips.
And instead of two chrome whisk beaters, like the ones that accompanied my mother’s stand mixer back in the day, there is a coated flat beater for cakes, cookies and frostings; The flatbeater is a KitchenAid mixer exclusive! Just so you know, my pancake batter and cookies always turn out perfect and my homemade frostings always taste so much better than the store bought brands.
Additional bowls and attachments are also available for your KitchenAid mixer: a pasta maker, food grinder, sausage stuffer and a citrus juicer.
I’ve prepared countless meals with my KitchenAid mixer and during the holidays, my groundwork time is cut down considerably.
Guess it’s safe to say, I love my KitchenAid Ultra Power Stand Mixer. It’s my favorite and most used counter top appliance; the only stand mixer I’ll ever use.
