Kitchenaid stand mixer

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cinisajoy

Senior Cook
Joined
Sep 23, 2015
Messages
499
Location
Permian Basin
Hi. I got the Artisan about 2 weeks ago. It was gently used.
So my question is what all can I do with it?
It came with the grinder/strainer, the cone shredder and the ice cream maker.
I cannot use the ice cream maker until I get some room in the freezer.
Yes it has the pour shield too.
 
A stand mixer is generally used for mixing doughs and batters for breads, cakes, and some frosting recipes. I don't have attachments for mine but I'm sure someone else will chime in.

Wh did you have in mind when you bought it?
 
I think the hubby had cookies or desserts on the brain. He got it for me.

I know I am going to make divinity but alas I have to wait till the humidity drops.
 
We've got the grinder and the sausage stuffer attachments, but ended up buying dedicated appliances for that because the KA struggles if you are doing large quantities. It's fine for small quantities though.

We've got the vege slicer/shredder attachment but honestly hardly ever use it because of the clean-up factor. If we're doing large quantities of something we'll use it or for something like grating fresh horseradish as neither one of us really wants to sit there with tears streaming down our face as we hand grate it :rolleyes: or we'll simply use the food processor grating blade.

We've got the ice cream maker too and have made ice cream a good many times. It comes out a really soft serve and you either serve it the instant you take it out and have kind of soupy ice cream, or pack it in a container and put it in the freezer for a while. The unit has to be in the freezer at least overnight to work well. We used to keep it in the deep freezer unless we were running really short on space.

Obviously we've got the spiralizer now that has yet to be tested.

I'd suggest you download the manuals for the KA and the attachments from the Kitchen Aid web site. You'll need to know the directions on how to use them safely and properly because there is a trick or 2 to using them.

Also, be careful and don't go crazy with making dough. I made a triple batch of pizza dough 1 time and ended up stripping a gear. DH was not happy with me since he ended up having to take it apart and put it back together after I had ordered the gear. He's good at fixing things, otherwise I'd have had to pay somebody to do it. There were LOTS of little parts.
 
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My wife uses hers for one thing only. Cookie dough.
We could put it away every year until the holidays and then bring up from the basement. I takes up considerable counter space.

Your husband did a good thing. Maybe you can find more things to use yours for.
I'm the primary cook and never use it.
But i don't bake much either.
 
Hubby was going to surprise me with it, then realized that I would need time to reorganize the kitchen to make room for it.

Thanks for the tip on the ice cream.
I downloaded all the manuals too.
As to clean up on the shredder, let's not lettuce do that one again. Now it did good on cabbage.
 
I use mine for bread, pizza, bagel dough, cakes, cookies, cheesecake, meringues and whipped cream.
 
I used mine for baking - cakes - frosting - cookies. It makes short work of whipping egg whites & heavy cream.

As far as the attachments, I have many of them. I think my all-time favorites are the pasta rollers & cutters (including the ravioli maker) and meat grinder/sausage stuffer. I have the old-style pasta extruders, which are just OK. The newer ones look like they might work better.

I never use the vegetable slicer/grater, although if I didn't have a food processor I'd probably use it. Same for the ice cream maker - I have a dedicated one.

The new slicer/dicer interests me, as does the spiralizer, but I don't have either of those.

I found that if you have the space, leave it out on the counter. It's so heavy that if you put it away somewhere, it's too much trouble to drag it out. If I put it away, I rarely use it - but sitting out, I go to it frequently.
 
The most recent thing I used it for was to make Swedish meatballs. The Cooks Illustrated recipe calls for using the stand mixer to whip the mixture; it makes very light meatballs.
 
As far as the attachments, I have many of them. I think my all-time favorites are the pasta rollers & cutters (including the ravioli maker) and meat grinder/sausage stuffer. I have the old-style pasta extruders, which are just OK. The newer ones look like they might work better.

.

You might want to check and see if they make aftermarket dies for pasta. They have them for the grinder/stuffer and the new aftermarket cutters work WAY better than the ones that come with the KA. We bought a set for the KA before we got the dedicated appliances for grinding/stuffing and they made a world of difference as far as the grinding in particular. But it still gets too warm and takes too long if you are working with more than about 5 pounds at a time. I got the aftermarket cutters and dies off Amazon.

That reminds me, I think we might have the pasta set kicking around somewhere. I think we tried to use it once and had an epic fail and never tried again. Maybe we'll give it another go.
 
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The most recent thing I used it for was to make Swedish meatballs. The Cooks Illustrated recipe calls for using the stand mixer to whip the mixture; it makes very light meatballs.

Some of the sausage we make suggest putting the mix in the KA with paddle to get a more homogenized product. Adding a couple Tbsp of ice cold water makes a remarkable difference in the texture.
 
Bread
souffles
Cookies
Cheese cake
Awesome for banana bread - no need to mash bananas, just dump it all in the bowl and start it up
Cakes
Icings
Meringues

I rarely use the shredder - lots of work to clean and also never use the pouring shield - same reason ;)

Start with some toll house cookies :)
 
I have the pasta set.woks great.
Ice cream maker (used once)
Can't stand that annoying shield.

Couldn't live without the shredder attachments. We buy large blocks of cheese.The KA shreds them nicely.I just hold a ziplock bag under it.Mark and freeze the bags.Washing them by hand in hot water makes it an easy clean up.Towel dry them.

The same attachments work great for making your own bread crumbs.

Also have the sausage attachments.We use that one for jerky strips.
It will never see the darkness of a basement.
 
-I use the pasta roller for sheeting small amounts of fondant - awesome!
-The shredder/slicer attachment is invaluable when making carrot cake or grating large amounts of cheese.
- I haven't had a lot of luck with the sausage maker but the grinder suits my needs

Mind you, I have the 600 professional so the motor is a bit stronger and the bowl bigger.

When I am doing a cake my two bowls get a workout making the cake batters, fondant, buttercream, Chantilly cream, etc. I have also purchase a couple of extra paddles - one has one rubber scraper and the other has two which help with certain mixes.

I find it great for
- cookies (even add chocolate chips on the stir setting and works like a charm)
- mayonnaise, aioli, etc.
- meringues
- pizza dough
- mixing meatloaf (with the hook on stir) as my hands can't do it anymore)
- the list goes on!
 
I have shredded mozzarella and very old white cheddar (not soft but crumbly) and it has gone well. Much better than my food processor or hand grater.
 
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