What Kind of Stand Mixer is in Your Kitchen?

[choclatechef]

Hey MrC!

Aren't you a member of WACEM?

 

[MrCoffee]

Yup, I'm a member of WACEM too. Over there, they tried to get me to purchase a Bosh or DeLonghi. I passed, needless to say. Ok, a bit about my Berkel PM-10. The machine was purchased at Superior Products in Anoka, Minnesota. It sold for $1,650.00. It has a 1/2 HP motor, comes with a heavy paddle, spiral dough hook, and wire whisk. The dough hook is like what you see on a Hobart 20 quart, only half the size. Same with the paddle, and wire whisk. All are heavily constructed, and built to last. When a commercial machine is purchased, DO expect a few imperfections on the paint and finish. Those companies build their commercial equipment to work, and looks are secondary. That doesn't mean my mixer doesn't look good by any means. It looks very attractive on my stainless work table, in fact. There is a safety cage over the bowl, which slides into place for the mixer to work. To scrape the bowl, you lower it with the lever and slide the guard out of the way, then do your scraping. The inconvenience is very slight, and the design works very well. I believe the internal mechanism of this machine is very similar to the Hobart C-100 10 quart. However, the Berkel has a different (more modern) and less rounded look then the Hobart, and it also has that additional safety feature. Also, the Berkel will run KitchenAid attachments as long as the peg fits in the notch on the right side of the power takeoff hub. If you bake at home, and really enjoy collecting mixers, don't over-rule a machine like this just because of its price. It will cost a lot at first, but it will pay back every dime you put into it!

The mixer, as I had stated in another post, will go through anything that a home user can toss at it. The investment was well worth it for this machine, because I cook to survive and can't afford to eat at restaurants. Pizza dough is effortless for this unit, and you can make dough so stiff that it's impossible to kneed by hand. I know, I've done it before and had to add some liquid in order to enable the dough to rise and shape properly. I made batches of cookies with this machine, and they would turn out nice, dense, and chewy like you would eat at a bakery. The secret, of course, is to add more flour to the cookie dough. Rather then the 2 1/4 cups called for in the Nestle Toll House recipe, increase the flour to 3 cups and you will have better density. Don't alter the sugar or salt, keep everything else the same. Use real salted butter as well for the cookies, as that adds to the slight salt-like tang that makes deserts really stand out in flavor. If you wish to double this recipe, the Berkel will take that in stride.

As for the Wolfgang Puck, Viking, DeLonghi, Bosh, and other such machines, I suppose I could eventually get one of those later. But for now, I felt that it would be best to invest in something that will yield excellent performance and last a good many years. Whoever inherits my Berkel will be very lucky indeed.

MrCoffee

 

[buckytom]

wow, i can't believe i've finally found my long lost favorite uncle mr coffee!!!!!

 

[choclatechef]

See Bucky! I told you the man was baddddd!

MrC., do you notice a little bit of, how can I put this, cliqueishness on WACEM? Or is it just me.

Yup, I'm a member of WACEM too. Over there, they tried to get me to purchase a Bosh or DeLonghi. I passed, needless to say. Ok, a bit about my Berkel PM-10. The machine was purchased at Superior Products in Anoka, Minnesota. It sold for $1,650.00. It has a 1/2 HP motor, comes with a heavy paddle, spiral dough hook, and wire whisk. The dough hook is like what you see on a Hobart 20 quart, only half the size. Same with the paddle, and wire whisk. All are heavily constructed, and built to last. When a commercial machine is purchased, DO expect a few imperfections on the paint and finish. Those companies build their commercial equipment to work, and looks are secondary. That doesn't mean my mixer doesn't look good by any means. It looks very attractive on my stainless work table, in fact. There is a safety cage over the bowl, which slides into place for the mixer to work. To scrape the bowl, you lower it with the lever and slide the guard out of the way, then do your scraping. The inconvenience is very slight, and the design works very well. I believe the internal mechanism of this machine is very similar to the Hobart C-100 10 quart. However, the Berkel has a different (more modern) and less rounded look then the Hobart, and it also has that additional safety feature. Also, the Berkel will run KitchenAid attachments as long as the peg fits in the notch on the right side of the power takeoff hub. If you bake at home, and really enjoy collecting mixers, don't over-rule a machine like this just because of its price. It will cost a lot at first, but it will pay back every dime you put into it!

The mixer, as I had stated in another post, will go through anything that a home user can toss at it. The investment was well worth it for this machine, because I cook to survive and can't afford to eat at restaurants. Pizza dough is effortless for this unit, and you can make dough so stiff that it's impossible to kneed by hand. I know, I've done it before and had to add some liquid in order to enable the dough to rise and shape properly. I made batches of cookies with this machine, and they would turn out nice, dense, and chewy like you would eat at a bakery. The secret, of course, is to add more flour to the cookie dough. Rather then the 2 1/4 cups called for in the Nestle Toll House recipe, increase the flour to 3 cups and you will have better density. Don't alter the sugar or salt, keep everything else the same. Use real salted butter as well for the cookies, as that adds to the slight salt-like tang that makes deserts really stand out in flavor. If you wish to double this recipe, the Berkel will take that in stride.

As for the Wolfgang Puck, Viking, DeLonghi, Bosh, and other such machines, I suppose I could eventually get one of those later. But for now, I felt that it would be best to invest in something that will yield excellent performance and last a good many years. Whoever inherits my Berkel will be very lucky indeed.

MrCoffee

 

[MrCoffee]

See Bucky! I told you the man was baddddd!

MrC., do you notice a little bit of, how can I put this, cliqueishness on WACEM? Or is it just me.

Well, they do tend to agree with their common interests. Afterall, they are collectors. Their favorite machines are essentially Sunbeams and Hamilton Beach. While those types of machines are nice to display and use on rare occasions, they aren't very practical for heavy and consistant use. Try making a meat loaf in a Sunbeam, and you'll see what I mean. I will admit, however, that my Sunbeam Heritage does very well with cake mixes.

What they leave out of the picture, though, is that there are people who enjoy collecting commercial equipment. I suppose they feel that we spend too much on some of our machines. But in reality, my mixer actually costed me less then half the amount of some R/C model airplanes. There are also some bicycles that cost more than twice as much as my Berkel as well!

Believe it or not, one home user purchased a 40 quart Hobart at Superior Products. The sales person thought he was a bit crazey. But considering the price tag, the man could have bought a snowmobile that would have lasted a fraction of the lifespan of the mixer, and cost many times more to operate. Drive through any suberb, and you will find many boats that sit out on driveways, for months or even years at a time. That guy will have use of his Hobart on a weekly basis, at least, and will probably get as much enjoyment out of it as he would have gotten from the snowmobile. Then come SuperBowl time, he will have a LOT of good friends who will be glad to take him out fishing....

MrCoffee

 

[choclatechef]

Well, they do tend to agree with their common interests. Afterall, they are collectors. Their favorite machines are essentially Sunbeams and Hamilton Beach. While those types of machines are nice to display and use on rare occasions, they aren't very practical for heavy and consistant use. Try making a meat loaf in a Sunbeam, and you'll see what I mean. I will admit, however, that my Sunbeam Heritage does very well with cake mixes.

What they leave out of the picture, though, is that there are people who enjoy collecting commercial equipment. I suppose they feel that we spend too much on some of our machines. But in reality, my mixer actually costed me less then half the amount of some R/C model airplanes. There are also some bicycles that cost more than twice as much as my Berkel as well!

Believe it or not, one home user purchased a 40 quart Hobart at Superior Products. The sales person thought he was a bit crazey. But considering the price tag, the man could have bought a snowmobile that would have lasted a fraction of the lifespan of the mixer, and cost many times more to operate. Drive through any suberb, and you will find many boats that sit out on driveways, for months or even years at a time. That guy will have use of his Hobart on a weekly basis, at least, and will probably get as much enjoyment out of it as he would have gotten from the snowmobile. Then come SuperBowl time, he will have a LOT of good friends who will be glad to take him out fishing....

MrCoffee

Ok.....I'm not crazy. I agree with you 110%

You and skipc and Mitchy are the men on the Kitchenaid forum, and you will soon be on here too.

I can tell.

 

[MrCoffee]

I think, perhaps, a good discussion group to start up on Yahoo would be one that cators to people who like commercial mixers and food prep equipment. We could call it WACCM for "We Actually Collect Commercial Mixers"! It would be of great benefit for us to tell society who we are, and what we appreciate. I am sure it would be a lot of fun too. I mean, if some folks put up a web site about collecting old washing machines (www.classicappliances.com), then what's stopping us from doing the same for our stuff?

MrCoffee

 

[choclatechef]

I think, perhaps, a good discussion group to start up on Yahoo would be one that cators to people who like commercial mixers and food prep equipment. We could call it WACCM for "We Actually Collect Commercial Mixers"! It would be of great benefit for us to tell society who we are, and what we appreciate. I am sure it would be a lot of fun too. I mean, if some folks put up a web site about collecting old washing machines (www.classicappliances.com), then what's stopping us from doing the same for our stuff?

MrCoffee

Nothing is to stop us at all except -- money. I don't have any.

I also collect other commercial kitchen equipment and antique/vintage kitchen equipment too.

You set it up, and I will be your first member Mr. C.!

Or, I bet if we ask Andy R. and say pretty please, he will give us a little forum piece on here! That would be even better.

 

[MrCoffee]

I do own a domain: www.mrcoffee.tv, and it's not being used. I could set up a message board there. But for the time being, I think it would be a good idea to set an area up here for the time being, if it's OK with Andy. I think a site with some pictures of our machines, and perhaps some videos of them in operation would not be a bad idea.

Also, I understand about the money issue. The trick to this, though, is to set aside some money over a period of time, and slowly work towards one. It took me a couple years to save up for the Berkel. I could have purchased a Univex Model SRM-12 mixer about 10 years ago, but I ended up getting a computer instead (which is now worthless, but a used Univex still holds its value). That, unfortunately, wasn't very smart of me. But none the less, I do have what I have been wanting for a long time now. Never give up hope, choclatechef. You may just get lucky one day and find a used one in exchange for a song...

MrCoffee

 

[choclatechef]

I sent an email to AndyR. asking for a sub-forum in the equipment section. I guess I should have posted in the suggestion area.

I will do that right away.

 

[MrCoffee]

Thanks for the consideration, choclatechef. Hopefully, we can get skipc and a few others to join in on this. You know what would be a big plus? It would be if we could get KitchenAid to design a 10 quart, gear-driven machine like Hobart's C-100. I am sure there is a high end market for such a machine, as there has been some interest in a 10 quart on their forums. Maybe an even better idea, would be to get Hobart to start making their C-100 again!

MrCoffee

 

[choclatechef]

Thanks for the consideration, choclatechef. Hopefully, we can get skipc and a few others to join in on this. You know what would be a big plus? It would be if we could get KitchenAid to design a 10 quart, gear-driven machine like Hobart's C-100. I am sure there is a high end market for such a machine, as there has been some interest in a 10 quart on their forums. Maybe an even better idea, would be to get Hobart to start making their C-100 again!

MrCoffee

Cool Mr. C. Are you going to ask them to join us? That would be great.

I would rather have a Hobart C-100, than a Kitchenaid 10qt mixer. I want the best quality!

 

[MrCoffee]

I suppose I can try to private message them on the forum. As for the Hobart C-100, I would certainly like to see that one brought back. It got replaced by the A-120 though. In that size range, I suppose 2 quarts doesn't make much of a difference.

The closest machine you can get to a C-100 is the Berkel PM-10. I believe the Hobart C-100 will run the same attachments that the KitchenAid mixers will. There is a lower-priced 10 quart mixer available from Thunderbird, called the ARM-01. It is very similar to the Berkel, yet it is priced considerably lower. I would assume it's because you can only get the Thunderbird via mail order, and finding a service center may be difficult. Just to be on the safe side, I would be more inclined to recommend the Berkel due to Berkel's wider network of dealers and service centers.

MrCoffee

 

[SpiceUmUp]

Ok, this should be a simple question to answer right?

I have

1 Kitchen aid 5 Ultra Power,

1 Kitchen Aid Professional 6,

2 Dormeyer Silver Chef’s,

1 Kenwood KSM 400 (I think that is the model #)

1 Kitchen Aid model 3B

1 Hamilton Beach Hamilton Beach Eclectrics 4.5-Quart Stand Mixer

I had a Delonghi that was the same as the Kenwood but the motor burned up the first time I used it. Oh well. At least I got my money back

 

[texasgirl]

I inherited my moms entire Oster set. Since I'm the one that is always cooking and baking, my sisters just told me that it's mine. There are things there that I have NO idea what they are. I do like the ice cream maker though. That brings back memories My mother got around 89 -90 and it still runs really good.

 

[choclatechef]

Wow, Spiceumup is a multi mixer person!

Texas girl, describe or post a photo of your Oster attachments, and I can id them for you. Mom had one with all the attachments.

 

[SpiceUmUp]

Mrs. Spice will tell you SpiceUmUp is just mixed up!

 

[choclatechef]

I have a few different mixers myself, and have given away or loaned out quite a few also!

I have :
Hobart N-50
Hobart Kitchenaid chrome Model G
Hobart Kitchenaid K-5A
Kitchenaid Commercial 5qt
Hobart Kitchenaid K-4B
Hobart Kitchenaid K-3C
A missing in action Hobart Kitchenaid K-4C

I gave away to my cousins, my mother's Oster Kitchen Center, and my grandfather's Oster Kitchen Center.

I still have mom's 1940's Sunbeam.

 

[texasgirl]

Wow, Spiceumup is a multi mixer person!

Texas girl, describe or post a photo of your Oster attachments, and I can id them for you. Mom had one with all the attachments.

ok chocolate, it may be friday before I can do it though. I have jury duty tomorrow and my son is graduating high school on Thursday.

 

[BlueCat]

I have a KA Professional 6, which the company sent me to replace my Artisan (I think that's what it was) because the first one developed a quirk where it wouldn't shut off. I sometimes had to unplug it to get it to stop. It was out of warranty, but only gently used, so I wrote them a note and they were very good about sending a new one. I really like the new one.

BC