The KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Quart Stand Mixer is a powerful workhorse.
Few appliances stand the test of time the way a KitchenAid stand mixer does.
As a piece of equipment, a KitchenAid mixer is sturdy, durable, and repairable. It can knead the densest bread doughs or whip up an airy sponge cake in no time, and it can last you a lifetime.
When I worked in and covered restaurants, I found a KitchenAid on the counter in almost every professional kitchen I visited (usually a supplement to the enormous Hobart mixer on the floor). And I’ve used my own buttercup yellow KitchenAid Artisan to churn out more than one wedding cake.
We’ve been testing stand mixers since 2013, and nothing else has come close to a KitchenAid.
A KitchenAid stand mixer can easily last decades.
The KitchenAid is timeless. My cheery yellow mixer is almost identical to the cobalt blue one my mom has used for my entire life, which itself looks an awful lot like the one in Julia Child’s kitchen. In fact, the KitchenAid hasn’t really changed much in looks since 1937, when the Model K was released. And in name and function, it’s been around for even longer.
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How it started
The KitchenAid mixer is the direct descendant of one of the first stand mixers, an 80-quart behemoth invented by Herbert Johnston, an engineer at the Hobart Manufacturing Company. The Hobart H Model, as the original was called, debuted in 1914 and was a hit with commercial bakeries and the US Navy (which outfitted every ship with one). Then in 1919 came the 5-quart model, which one executive’s wife dubbed “the best kitchen aid” (or so the story goes).
That first KitchenAid wasn’t particularly attractive, nor was it cheap—adjusted for inflation, the original price tag was nearly $2,900. Stores were reluctant to carry it, so instead a salesforce of women sold it door to door.
It wasn’t until that 1937 design change, which gave the KitchenAid its iconic curves, that the mixer really gained in popularity. The introduction of color options like petal pink and island green in 1955 also helped.
Hobart (which still makes commercial mixers) sold KitchenAid to Whirlpool in 1986, but KitchenAids are still manufactured in the same Ohio factory they have been since 1946. A representative told us that the company still builds the mixers using all-metal gears and Hobart’s same patented design.
When to buy
Deals on stand mixers have been pretty rare since lockdowns and quarantines began earlier this year. In fact, it’s hard to even find a KitchenAid in stock these days.
There are usually some good deals in late winter or during shopping events like Black Friday.
The numbers
$320 to $380 Average street price, depending on the color
$170 Best price we’ve ever seen
Make it last
KitchenAid mixers are equipped with a serious motor, and in our experience they can easily last decades, if not a lifetime. But they’re not invincible.
Regularly overtaxing the motor may cause it to burn out, so respect its limits. Don’t overfill the bowl, and pay attention when mixing especially thick doughs; if you sense the motor straining, try mixing a smaller quantity. The KitchenAid Pro 600 is a better choice than the Artisan if you plan to knead dense bread doughs or bake in large quantities—it has a larger bowl and a stronger motor.
The great thing about KitchenAid mixers is that they’re repairable and adjustable. For example, you can recalibrate the height of the beater if it’s hitting the bottom of the bowl.
And if your machine needs fixing, you can send it back to the factory or to an authorized service facility for repairs (or buy parts from a service facility to give it a go yourself).
This post is part of our 2020 “52 Things We Love” series, an ode to Wirecutter picks that have withstood the test of time. Read the entire series.