KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer - KSM150PS

I have always wanted a KitchenAid stand mixer and this year I finally to get myself one for Christmas because I bake a lot of Christmas cookies. The unit is beautiful and heavy duty. I washed the SS bowl well before I used it but I still got a black film on the first batch of cookie dough I made in the mixer. You cannot see the black film in the new bowl so it must be imbedded in the surface of the bowl which has a slight grain to it. The raw dough acts like a sponge to pull the black film off the surface of the bowl. I washed it again and had no problems after that.I have only used the mixer a hand full of times and it functions as expected. But I was surprised at how little space there is between the beater and the side of the bowl making it awkward to add new ingredients. I did use the pour shield that came with the mixer, but it does not fit tight on the bowl and it was also a bit awkward to use.In my opinion, the mixer is best for mixing stiff doughs saving the operator from strenuous stirring or mixing. I think it will be great for mixing bread dough. But for everyday small mixing jobs, I find it is more convenient to use my portable hand mixer. In addition, when baking some of the Italian cookies, sometimes I will use the "old time" method of making a well of flour (and dry ingredients) on a board and adding the wet ingredients into the well. Then you literally mix all the ingredients by hand. This "hands on" method really gives you feel for the dough (too wet or dry) you don't get when used an electric mixer. There is something very rewarding and pleasing about really getting your hands on the dough with this method.So in my opinion, electric mixers have their place, but there is something magical and satisfying about going back to the old fashion way of baking that gives you a "feel" for the dough and the love is transmitted into the dough with your hands.The artisan mixer is beautiful and functional, but in my kitchen it will not be the only tool I use for mixing.

I just bought as a wedding gift for my young friend. She and her new husband are comingling their kitchens and this is the must have item to bring the new kitchen up to chef's standards.I have owned an Artisan since 2003. It gets regular use, for everything from whipped cream to semolina pasta dough (very stiff dough). It has never misbehaved and never let me down. The finish is still as shiny and unmarred as the day I bought it. The bowl and beaters are still solid, although the spatula beater and dough hook are a little dull. Here are some of my observations after using my stand mixer for 14 years.1.The head will move a little bit with stiff dough. If it jumps a lot read the owners manual and make the necessary adjustments (to make sure the beater is at the correct level in the bowl). Very stiff dough will cause a little movement. That's why there is a lock on the head.2.The only issue I have had with the mixer moving slightly with very stiff dough is the entire mixer slowly walking across my counter. This was worse on my previous porcelain tile counters but it does not move as much on my granite slab counters, maybe an inch over several minutes. In any case, if you are running the mixer for 10 minutes on a stiff bread dough, keep an eye on it.3.The motor head will heat up with hard dough, high speed, or a long running time. This has never posed a problem.4. The mixing bowl, when new, will need a good scrubbing to remove the factory polish material. Other posters here suggest salt or baking soda. I don't remember using anything other than dish soap and a scrubby pad and I have never had grey dough.5. I have a few of the attachments. They are pricey and may or may not be worth the money (especially the roto cheese grater). I use the meat grinder the most. It grinds partially frozen cuts just fine. I ground up about 30 lbs of turkey very easily last winter, it just took a little time.The sausage stuffer is useful, especially since you can adjust the speed to your comfort level. The pasta extruder is pretty nifty. I can't think of a stand-alone appliance that is better for that (I used to have an stand-alone machine that mixed and extruded pasta but it took up a lot of counter acreage and it broke after about 10 uses). However, I don't think I would replace my crank pasta roller/cutter with the attachment, since it is so expensive and the manual crank one is easy to use.

This is replacing a still working 26 year old lift bowl KitchenAid stand mixer. I finally got tired of wrestling with the beaters/bowl combination with the lift head. That mixer never dropped the bowl low enough to be able to either scrape the bowl well or remove the bowl from the mixer. I would have to remove the beater EVERY time. Also, that lift head mixer was the ONLY one that didn't have a scraper beater available.I got the color that was the cheapest at the time (Contour Silver) as I really didn't care what color it was as long as it was somewhat neutral. The machine is a workhorse for me as I'm not about to start a baking business. It mixes several batches of cookies at a time, does large cake batters . . . basically what it is designed to do. If you are doing professional baking, buy a 7 quart lift head. This is NOT designed for that kind of work.All my attachments (pasta maker, pasta rollers, grinder, shredder, juicer, sausage stuffer) all work well. Thankfully we can rely on KitchenAid to keep their power hub standard across their line. The motor has enough power to shred hard cheese (if you are trying to shred soft cheese, almost freeze it before shredding), grind meat and vegetables and spits out pasta like a pro. The stainless bowl is heavy duty without the extra weight of the glass or ceramic bowls, and also doesn't shatter. The bowl cleans like a dream with just a swish of hot soapy water but is also safe for the dishwasher. I have always hand washed the attachments, blades etc. so I've never experienced any problem with rusting, chipping or any other damage to the peripherals. Great Machine.