I was on Craigslist the other day looking for a food strainer attachment for my KitchenAid K5SS stand mixer, and the first ad that popped up was from someone selling an entire Artisan stand mixer for $40. He'd only posted the ad 8 minutes before I saw it. I immediately wrote and told him I wanted it.
I showed up at his house the next day (it was right on my way home from work) with the money.
His mom gave him the mixer 10 - 12 years ago, but he never used it since he doesn't cook. At all. Now he's moving across the country and doesn't want to lug it along. He needed it gone ASAP. (He was a nicely attired gent in his late-50's I'd say.)
Here's the thing: when I opened up the Artisan box, I pulled out an "Ultra Stand" mixer.
The guy had never even opened the box. I - we - think what happened was his mom got a new Artisan, and she gave him her old one in the only box she had available.
It looked in very good shape. There was a bit of crusted batter here and there on the body, but otherwise it was blemish free. The bowl and beater/whisk/dough hook all looked like they'd never been used. We plugged it in and I ran it for a while to make sure it didn't smell like it was burning, and it hummed along nicely. I decided for 40 bucks, even if it wasn't an Artisan it was still a very good deal.
I really did want the Artisan. It has a 5 quart bowl, compared to the Ultra Power's 4.5. And it has 325 watts vs. 300. Plus - a biggie - the attachments are physically larger. You can knead a double batch of bread dough in an Artisan, but not with the U.P.'s smaller C-hook.
I already, as I mentioned, have a K5SS. I got it new in 2000. With its deep 5-quart bowl it can easily knead a triple batch of bread dough, and the lift head keeps the entire unit rock stable - more than the tilt heads I've used previously. It is a dream at Thanksgiving because I can whip an entire 5-lb. bag of potatoes in it, and it doesn't even grunt. It's on par with any food service Hobart I've used.
The problem? It doesn't do small batches. The bowl is rather flat bottomed, which leaves a gap between the pointy bottom of the whisk attachment (particularly) and the inside wall of the bowl. The beater attachment also suffers from this, although not quite as much. This means if I put one egg in, or a half a cup of heavy cream, and use the whisk attachment, nothing - and I mean nothing - happens. I've raised the bowl with the adjustment screw to where it *just about* scrapes the attachments, but no dice. The yolk doesn't even break on the egg, as the whirling whisk just pushes the entire thing around the perimeter. The beater is only marginally better, breaking the egg but not beating it well. And forget about a small amount of whipped cream.
The Ultra Power, with its tapered bowl bottom that hugs the whisk right down to the end, whipped a single egg to a light yellow homogenized liquid in seconds. Seconds!
So here's my dilemma:
My K5SS is great at big stuff, but not small stuff.
The Ultra Power is great at small stuff, but not big stuff.
I need both.
I don't have room for both *cough*accordingtomywife*cough*.
So my plan is, or rather, was, up until a few hours ago: sell both on Craigslist and get a new Artisan. I'm sure the combined total would cover it.
My friend just got a new Artisan last week and paid $200. It's 5-quart, has the big attachments, has the same 325 watt motor as my K5SS, and has a tapered bowl in which we whipped up a single egg and a quarter cup of cream for whipped cream (we tested it).
BUT.....
In doing some online stand mixer perusing today, I noticed an awful lot of people opining that the latest batches of KA's, including the Artisans, are being made much more cheaply with nylon gears and other cost-cutting no-no's, and as such aren't as reliable or durable as units being made just 5 or 10 years ago (as well as being made in China now, they add).
Anyone have an opinion on this? I trust you bunch more than the sites I've been to. ARE the newer KA's crap? Or, if not crap, at least not worth the money any more?
If only the two I have were the same color. I could hide one and swap it out whenever I needed it, and wifey would be none the wiser.....
Thanks!!
