I've had some big problems with my hand mixers lately. I was taking the Wilton Course 2. But, I burnt out 3 hand mixers in one day trying to make the royal icing It was a really, really bad day and I ended dropping out of the course that day. I plan to take it again in Oct., but need to find a good mixer in the meantime.
In the meantime, I've burnt out another hand mixer, which had a whopping 290 watts. So....
I just bought a Cook's -JC Penney Brand stand mixer for $150. It has 700 watts.
But, I have heard soooo much about the KA and I could probably afford the Artisan...which appears to be only about 325 Watts.
Stupid question, but can the KA Artisan handle my royal icing? Antonia's or Wiltons.
Or, should I just keep the off brand stand mixer with 700 watts? It has a 1 year warranty.
Thanks for any and all advice!! I'm open to suggestions.
Denise
i think you should just stay with your cook's mixer. It has more wattage and I've heard very good things about it. Everybody seems to like the KA and it seems almost everybody owns one. I personally don't own one so I cannot comment on it but even the professional KA does not have enough watts compared to the Cooks. Also I've heard that the motors of the KA can burn out pretty easily if overloaded or overworked. Don't know whether that's true or not. I own a Cuisinart and let me tell you I don't think I would ever want anything else. I think you should just stick to what you have until you need something else. Hope that helps some.
Thanks Martha. I keep thinking that the higher watts has to better for all this heavy frosting that I'm making, especially since I seem to be jinxed and burn out mixers by the dozen.
I have three kitchen aides. The oldest is over 25 years. It will beat royal icing with no problems at all. I have done divinity batch after batch and that is tougher than royal icing.
I have been pondering which stand mixer I wanted to purchase as well. I have a KA 300 that my Mom picked up at a yard sale last week for $45, so I've been trying it out this week. It's had a good workout , as I've done 6 cakes this week. So far the only thing I question is a little noise/rattle in the motor, Maybe it needs oiling?? Also, there are still a few lumps in the cake batter, but I've been afraid to overmix for fear of drying it out. I actually made MMF in it last night and it handled it well. So far so good, way better than the dinosaur of a hand mixer I had been using.
I just took back a sunbeam with 350 watts and it wouldnt rotate so I went the extra 100 and got a KA and glad I did. I love it sooooo much
I kept my Cooks 700 watts, but am still wondering if I made the right decision. I'm going to try some royal icing this week and see how it goes. Although, It will definitely go back to the store if it doesn't work well!
Heck, I've already returned 3 broken hand mixers, whats one more!
Yeah, whitneysmere, you should try that and see if it works for you. Also, if you really have your heart set on a KA try finding one in EBAY. Just make sure that you know the retail price before you bid on any mixers because sometimes its pricier than buying it at the store. Also you should try Linen's and things or bed bath and beyond . You could use the 20% coupon and get a chunky discount. that's what my husband did for my mixer. He got me a Cuisinart 7q bowl with 1000 watts and he paid less than what the KA proffesional with 575 watts was priced at. He used a coupon that took about $100 off. Have a great day.
SOme people on here love their Cook's. I don't remember anyone saying that they'd had one for several years but maybe if you started a thread asking about it you'd get an idea of how long it might last.
The thing with watts is that's how much power it pulls, it can be some help in determining how big/powerful the motor is but isn't the final say and how powerful the motor is doesn't always indicate how well built it is.
As far as KAs handling the icing, I used the smallest KA for several years on everything from bread dough to royal icing. It was starting to make noise but was still working when we sold it and bought the 6 quart.
I have the Cook's Stand mixer & love it. I have made 3 batches of buttercream at 1 time with it & it acted like it was dealing w/ water! I am very pleased with it, so much so that I plan on going and getting a 2nd one because I can use one for the icing & one for the batter I think you made an excellent choice!
I also have the COOKS 700 watt, I ask my husband about the watts and just what does it all really mean.
So he got his Nat'l. Electric Code Book out and this is how he explain it to me.
It takes 746 watts to equal 1hp (horse power) accouring to the Nat'l Electric Code...the more hp the more amps., at 115 volts a 1hp motor at full load current pulls 16amps...so the higher the watts the more horse power you have...but my husband reminded me, this information is just about watts, amps and hp... and not about how well the motor is built or well the motor will hold up.
I love my COOKS and so far have had no trouble with it, but I have only had it about 4 months. How well they will hold up over the years and well the motor is built, I don't know...but I would love to hear from someone who has had one for years on how good/not good their COOKS mixer has done over time. I only do cakes for family, friends and fun so for now this mixer works great for me. I did post a thread after I got mine and here is the link, if you would like to read what some others said about their COOKS mixer. It is loud but I can live with that , beats my old hand mixer.
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-316563-.html
God Bless,
Sharon
EDITED to say: I make sugarshack's bc icing recipe and a full batch uses 5 pounds of powder sugar & 5 1/2 cups of hi-ratio shortening, and this mixer handles this amount great and without any trouble.
Well, I feel a lot better about my Cooks now. I had no idea what to go on initially, except for the watts. But, after hearing what everyone says, I'm going to keep it and pray for the best. Its so good to hear everyone else say how loud it is!! I thought it was just me, too. That was one of the things I was really concerned about. My 13 month old DD is such a light sleeper and the only time I can do the cake thinig is when she's "sleeping".
Thanks for everyone's help! Its soo helpful!!
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