Look; if you’ve been hanging around here for any length of time at all, you already know that I am all about the Kitchenaid stand mixer. It’s the industry standard; I now own my mother’s mixer, which I think used to be her mother’s mixer, and if you do any baking or cooking that requires a hefty stand mixer, this is the brand to buy. They’re built to last, period.
If you’re considering one, listen up: The 5-quart model regularly goes on sale at Amazon for various prices. Right now, the 5-quart Kitchenaid stand mixer in chrome, blue, or red is $199.99 with free Super Saver Shipping. This isn’t the very best price I’ve ever seen at Amazon, of course, but here’s the good part—buy your mixer before May 31st, and you can mail in to receive a $40 attachment for free. Choose either the food grinder or the slicer/shredder.
If you’re planning on both the mixer and an attachment, that’s pretty much the best deal I’ve seen. (Remember, too, that if Amazon drops the price in the 30 days following your purchase, you can ask for a price adjustment.)
On a somewhat unrelated note: Is it weird that I totally want the food grinder?
I’m still kicking myself for not buying one when they were $99 on amazon a while ago. I didn’t need it but it was SUCH a good price. UGH.
I have an old-fashioned hand-crank meat grinder in my possession, if you can believe it. It used to belong to a co-worker’s grandma and he was going to throw it out!
The scary thing is that it even gets used.
Mmmmm … jerky ….
We used to have the meat grinder attachment. I used it once to grind chicken since it wasn’t predomitently found on the west coast at the time. My husband undertook the cleaning of it and forbade me to use it ever again… Though his Step-mom can’t figure out why he had such issues cleaning it so maybe it is just my DH. 🙂
I have a DeLonghi stand mixer and I LOVE LOVE my grinder attachment. I made homemade sausage last year. Talk about yummy! Get your grinder today Mir!
Every time you post a deal about these my fingers start to itch. I *really* want one, but am waiting for a reason to get it: a)like such a super deal I can’t pass it up; or b) my birthday in June. What’s the real deal lowdown on the difference between the 5 qt. size and the 6 qt.? I read someone somewhere who said the 6 qt. is the best… but does that really matter? Will I be disappointed if I get the less expensive 5 qt. model?
My personal opinion: get the grinder. I have two slicer attachments for my Kitchenaid mixer and I. HATE. THEM. I get them out every once in a while thinking that maybe my memory of them is worse than the reality, and every time I’m disappointed. Unless you don’t have a food processor and would rather have mangled slices of food than do it by hand, I can’t see a reason to get the slicers. I don’t have a grinder, but it HAS to be better.
As for the 5 vs. 6 qt, I have a 5 qt and I love it. I do cookies, cakes, dough, anything I want and have never had reason to wish I had a 6 qt except maybe, maybe when I’ve whipped cream for cake filling. It works, but I’m kind of messy and don’t end up with much room left in the bowl for folding anything into the cream.
I nabbed the 5-quart mixer (and the free attachment) back when the deal was better than this and I’ve never regretted it. I previously used a roommate’s 6-quart and found it more difficult to deal with because the top of the mixer wasn’t on a hinge and thus could not be moved up (and out of the way). I believe the 5-quart does a better job of mixing ingredients at the very bottom of the bowl, too. No need to scrape down all the way and fold in what was left unmixed.
I find my slicer/shredder attachment helpful, too. I’ve used it to make au gratin potatoes (nice uniform slices). My mom uses hers to shred zucchini for bread all the time.
The only reason to get the six-quart model is a need for the bigger motor. I bake bread pretty regularly, and the Artisan’s 325W motor strains a bit once 6-7 cups of flour are in the bowl.
If you don’t do that, the Artisan is plenty of mixer. It does everything else this family of five needs.
Love my meat grinder! I grind ham to make ham loaf and ham salad. I also grind roast beef or chicken once in awhile. And, it works great for grinding apricots and prunes for our fillings when we make kolaches (Czech pastry). Yum!!
My MIL gave me her Kitchen Aid and all I can say is WOW what an amazing gift. I am so glad I have it now. And that I got it for the best price!