Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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447 of 456 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A comparison to the Artisan Mixer, October 30, 2006
I already own a 5 Qt mixer from the "Artisan Series" but decided to upgrade to this model so that I could make larger batches of bread dough. For my recipe, a single batch is 2 cups of bread flour. I tried making a double batch (4 cups) in my new Pro 600, but after about 15 min. of kneading, the motor just turned off. I thought I had burned it out, but after consulting the instruction manual, it seems this is normal. Normal?! Yes, that's what it said--all I needed to do was wait for the motor to cool off (it's also "normal" for it to get so hot it is uncomfortable to touch) for 30 min. and then try again. I find it hard to believe that this mixer could make bread with 14 cups of AP flour, as the box says. Having said that, here are my thoughts on this mixer vs. the "Artisan Series" mixer I already own:
1. The motor consumes over 50% more electricity (and is certainly more noisy) in the pro 600, but how much of that is being converted to extra torque, I'm not really sure. What I do know is that I can only do a single batch of bread at a time in either mixer.
2. As has been mentioned in other reviews, the Artisan mixer came with a "coated" paddle and dough hook, whereas the pro 600 has "Brandished steel". This means the Artisan's implements are dishwasher safe but the pro 600's are not. I had assumed those bright, shiny implements that I saw in the store display were stainless steel, but I guess not. If it weren't for this problem and the huge price tag, I would have given this mixer 5 stars.
On the plus side...
3. I love the new spiral dough hook--it is much better than the C shaped one in my Artisan
4. The soft start feature is a nice touch. Then again, it would be even nicer if there was a speed lower than the lowest one provided.
5. The larger bowl is nice
6. There is more of a difference between speeds 7-10 than the Artisan
Things I'd like to see changed in the next iteration:
--A gear box. I have a cordless drill that has a high and low gear. As could be expected, low is for more power, high is for more speed. Why don't these mixers use a simple gear selector like that? This would be a HUGE improvement--it would not only provide more power, but the lower speed I would like, as mentioned in point 4.
--Stainless steel implements as mentioned in point #2
CONCLUSION:
A very nice mixer, but so is my "Artisan". If you are going to buy a new mixer (and don't have an unlimited supply of money to throw at it), I wouldn't recommend the Pro 600--get one from the Artisan series instead--it is much cheaper and does just about as good a job. There are small advantages to the Pro 600, but even all together, I don't think they are worth the added price.
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533 of 553 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exceeded my expectations!, January 1, 2005
I was a bit nervous about this Kitchen Aid model based on the research I'd done on Amazon and the internet of previous models in the 6 quart range. I own and cherish a K5SS I bought 25 years ago. I will never part with this machine (with all its chips and cosmetic wear - it's been a faithful workhorse and one of my most prized possessions).
I was ready for greater capacity, more power and a more cosmetically appealing mixer, so I took the plunge with the KP26M1XC (licorice). I'm glad I did.
The machine is a bit louder with more of a high whine at higher speeds, but I would expect that with the added power and size.
This morning I took it for a "test drive" with a 600 gram (flour) batch of pizza dough using very high gluten flour which I kneaded at speed 2 for 5 minutes. The sound under load wasn't at all unpleasant and the spiral dough hook really works the dough like the professional mixers I used in culinary school and on the job.
I've mostly used my 5 quart Kitchen Aid for cakes, muffins, pate choux for eclairs, mashed potatoes and whipped cream and meringue. I've made my bread dough exclusively in my large capacity Cuisinart food processor. Now that I have a more powerful Kitchen Aid mixer, I feel confident it can take the challenge of the high gluten dough (Take heed: DO NOT USE MORE THAN 8 CUPS PER BATCH OF HIGH GLUTEN BREAD FLOUR, WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR OR ANY OTHER HEAVY GRAIN FLOUR. THE 12 CUP CAPACITY REFERS EXCLUSIVELY TO ALL PURPOSE FLOUR. ALSO, ONLY USE SPEED 2 when kneading dough. (Repeat this to yourself 20 times and post a notice above your machine, especially if you have a spouse, kids or roomate(s) in your household that might use the machine.)
Caught up in the excitement of this new, beautiful machine I was inspired to purchase the pasta roller accessory based on the terrific reviews on Amazon, I also added the sausage stuffer to my order (could this be used to fill eclairs? I wonder....) as an addition to my collection of accessories.
Currently the attachment I use most frequently is the shredder which I use exclusively for shredding cheese for pizza and casseroles like lasagna.
And, the Licorice is a matt, slightly pearlized finish, which nicely complements the black trim on my larger appliances. An unexpected bonus of this dark color is that it really shows the "dirt/flour/batter enabling me to get it "spanking" clean after use. With my middle-aged eyesight I find it hard to see the accumulating mess on my white machine.
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260 of 267 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Product Info regarding gear housing upgrade from KitchenAid, October 7, 2006
Due to the very high number of complaints about the problems people were having with heavy duty tasks (which is what the mixer should have been made for!) due to cheap plastic housing holding the heavy duty metal gears, I contact KitchenAid to find out if this design flaw has been fixed. It has been and here is their response (note that they are saying that if you receive one of the models with the plastic housing they will replace it under warranty with the new metal housing. It is also important to note that the people who've had the problem have almost all stated that KitchenAid had great customer service and replaced their mixers with no ones with no problems.
RESPONSE FROM KITCHENAID: Thank you for visiting the KitchenAid website!
I would like to reassure you that our engineering and product teams have addressed the gear box issue. In fact, we have already implemented a change in the manufacturing of the Pro 600 Stand Mixers to a metal gear box. Although these will be changed out on additional 5 qt bowl-lift models that include all metal gearing, the time line on that is not known at this time. Although a transparent change, this will insure the long-term durability we expect.
I would like to emphasize to you that should you purchase a Stand Mixer (with all metal gearing) which has not been assembled with the upgraded metal gear box, and you should have a problem with your mixer (as a result of the plastic gear box (failure), we will most certainly extend your warranty to resolve the issue properly and effectively.
If you have additional questions, feel free to reply back to me. Or, you may contact either our KitchenAid Customer Satisfaction Center at 1-800-541-6390, or you may visit our secure KitchenAid Live Chat.
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