All the talk about egg whites, KitchenAid attachments, and bread has made us curious. Do you own a stand mixer, and if so, what brand? We've always been KitchenAid lovers, but lately we've been eyeing the Viking mixers with a great deal of interest. Talk stand mixers here - what do you own?
(Images: KitchenAid and Hamilton Beach, both at Amazon)
Martha Concrete Lam...

i have a kitchenaid that i inherited from my grandmother. it's not vintage or anything - is early 80s vintage yet? - but it's a workhorse. a real powerhouse. it's a pain to store, but it's such a dream when i actually need to use it.
Wow - almost exclusively KitchenAids so far! Very interesting...
I can't fit one in my tiny kitchen unless my husband agrees to get rid of his old espresso machine we never use anymore. I've been trying to wear him down for a year now!
We made space on the countertop when I finally got a KitchenAid (the cheapest,white version). There's no question that it inspires not only me but also the teens to get into the kitchen a little bit more often. Cookie recipes doubled are no problem, mashed potatoes are a great texture and whipping cream is no longer a cause for anxiety.
i want one.... i think the reason it is almost exclusively kitchenaid is because outside of foodie circles, kitchenaid is synonymous with stand mixer.
I have a Kenwood Chef (they're marketed in the US by DeLonghi ?). It's awesome - great for bread and heavy batters. I also have a 50 year old Hamilton Beach stand mixer which I use for smaller jobs - still going strong.
I'm a KitchenAid gal myself... I love it. Really, no complaints, so I guess I have no reason to switch to any other brand.
What type of mixer is the black one on the right? That looks cool.
i have a kitchenaid! it was on super-DOOPER sale at amazon last thanksgiving so i had a hard time saying no! and even for my single-batch or half batches, it's worth every penny!
Bosch Kitchen Machine. No way I would ever go back to a KA.
I resisted KitchenAid for years but finally gave in and used up a lot of post-wedding WS giftcards on the pro version (where the bowl lifts up and down, instead of the head flipping back). I have been quite pleasantly surprised by it; it doesn't have as many problems as I'd come to expect with awkward bowl-scrape-downs, etc.
I must say, the best thing I did when we did our quick-and-dirty one-week kitchen renovation was install an appliance lift in a cabinet so I can raise the beast to counter height when I need it and easily lower it back down when I don't.
DeLonghi! And it is GREAT!
KA looks great on the counter but can't keep up the pace if you're a serious baker.
Bosch, Viking, or Kenwood please...
I finally got my Kitchenaid stand mixer last month. Unfortunately, work has been too busy for me to do much baking and such.
I'll be making one of the breads posted recently later this week.
I have the 6 qt Kitchen Aid in a gunmetal gray and I love it, but it's noisy! I work in a bakery and they have a couple of Vikings - even on full speed they just have a nice hum. But they are a pain in the butt to scrape down and the paddle doesn't fit on that well, so I'll stick with my Kitchen Aid.
sadly, i don't have space for a stand mixer in my kitchen - but i make do with my hand mixer, and it does the job. i dream of the kitchenaid, though.
I have had the opportunity to have a stand mixer, but I've turned it down. I decided that, even though I have a roomy kitchen, it's not something I want to devote space to. I have a small hand-held electric mixer that does everything that I can't do by hand. I'm much happier not having to clean a big machine, or drag it out, when the mood to bake takes me. And I have yet to hear a convincing argument for what it would do that I can't already do. I guess it gives you hands-free, but heck, the longest things I beat take 5 minutes (egg whites or cream) tops.
i have an old kitchen aid, like 40 years old or so. it looks like this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-White-Kitchen-Aid-Mixer-Model-4C-KitchenAid_W0QQitemZ330203124182QQcmdZViewItem
it works really well, but only has a beater, no paddle. i'd love to have a paddle attachment for it, and a dough hook too.
someday i will break down and buy a new one, but this one looks really charming and was free. hard to go wrong there...
My mom actually got Kohl's to pay her a couple of bucks for a Kitchen Aid. She had oodles of Kohl's cash after Christmas (she buys everything there), and they were on sale, and she had a 20 or 30% off coupon.
I resisted getting a stand mixer for a long time because I don't have much counter space. In fact, I turned down a free one for that reason! A couple of years ago I realized I don't have the arm and shoulder strength for stiff cookie doughs, so I gave in and bought a Kitchen Aid Artisan, which I love. Not only can I work those stiff doughs with it, but it is liberating to be able to walk away while something is mixing. I have no choice but to leave it on the counter and work around it (and the toaster oven, bread machine, etc.) but it's worth it. I've learned to balance and chop.
Wow, Kitchen Aid for the win! That is the first name I think of when I think of mixers, too. I don't actually have a mixer myself, but I've been looking into getting one (I'll be moving into a new place with a bigger kitchen soon, so I'll have the counterspace). Kitchen Aid is on my shortlist of brands, and so is DeLonghi (I recently got a DeLonghi coffee maker that I love!) - anyone have experience with any/all three of these?
http://www.3luxe.com/category/Small_Appliances/Mixers
You should go to www.gotmixer.com
For recipes to make with your KitchenAid Mixer!!!!