KitchenAid Ultra Power Series Mixer - my single best counter top appliance
Pros:
powerful motor, great mixer, multiple uses
Cons:
hefty price tag
The Bottom Line:
This is the IT gift for the kitchen
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
The KitchenAid Ultra Power Series Mixer is one of the first real kitchen appliances we ever got. My wife had been mentioning it for a while, and I always said it was frivolous and expensive and unnecessary. I was right about one of the three. It is expensive. I didn’t do much of the cooking back then, but it kept coming up so we asked for it as a Christmas gift one year. As time has gone by I have become more and more interested in cooking. If you bake very much this thing will be your best friend. The fact is, I use it for more than baking.
My Experience
One time in college I got it in my head to make chocolate chip cookies. I am not sure why since I never really made anything that ambitious any other time but I got it in my head. I had my mom’s old mixer, sort of a shoebox thing with a handle on top and beaters coming out of it. This was the first and only time I ever used this mixer. While trying to mix the cookie dough I had that thing smoking, literally. So why have I told you this? I had not let the butter soften and the hard sticks of butter burnt up the mixer. The KitchenAid Ultra Power Series Mixer takes care of even the hardest sticks of butter like child’s play. Home made whipped cream, pizza dough with the dough hook are all no problem. I have actually never seen my mixer even act taxed.
The biggest problem with most stand mixers is that they don’t mix very well. No machine can ever really equal the randomness with which and human can mix. Machines have to follow a pattern and so could never decide if a part of your mixture needs more attention. The downside of mixing by human power is that it is hard, sometimes really hard. The KitchenAid Ultra Power Series Mixer comes as close to mixing perfectly as I think you can get. The only issue I have ever had with it is that I sometimes have to stop mixing to scrape down the sides. I mentioned pizza dough up above, there is NO way I would have wanted to do that by hand. It kneaded my pizza dough in ten minutes and saved me aching arms and shoulders. The summary of my experience is that this a great kitchen tool. If I could choose one counter top appliance to keep this would be it, hands down. I would make toast in the oven, do all my own dicing, chopping, and grating, and stop blending things in favor of the KitchenAid Ultra Power Series Mixer.
Looks and Specs
The KitchenAid Ultra Power Series Mixer offers a very classic design. What is not so classic, however, is the variety of colors. We chose black, nothing to wild there, but I have also seen this mixer offered in white, gray, chrome, blue, pink, and pastels. I won’t try to name them all. There are a lot of color choices. The mixer stands 13.9 inches tall by 8.7 inches wide, 14.1 inches deep as well as a 4.5 quart bowl size. The KitchenAid Ultra Power Series Mixer offers 10 speed settings, which are adjusted by moving a lever on the side of the mixer. The motor is quite the monster at 300 watts. The bowl locks and unlocks from the base by twisting in and out of place and the head of the mixer can be raised and lowered as needed also locking into place by the use of a lever. Finally, the KitchenAid Ultra Power Series Mixer comes with three attachments which should serve for most uses. The attachments include a metal whisk, a dough hook, and mixing beater.
Accessories
The accessories for the KitchenAid Ultra Power Series Mixer both excite and frustrate me at the same time. I was excited to find that they sold a meat grinding attachment. What a great idea to not have to buy a bunch of individual items when you could just add an attachment to your mixer. I was excited until I saw the price tag. Over $100 just to grind the meat. I mean I already bought the mixer and that was pricey enough. I haven’t shelled out the bucks for any of the attachments, but I still think they are a clever idea.
Conclusion
If you are going to have one thing for your kitchen that isn’t completely necessary then I think it should be the KitchenAid Ultra Power Series Mixer. These mixers have a great reputation. I think KitchenAid is really THE brand for stand mixers. This particular one performs well. I haven’t a single complaint. I most highly recommend it.
