# Oster or Kitchenaid?



## Chixarecute

Contemplating a new appliance - have an HB food processor, an early 80's Oster blender, a Presto hand crank strainer...

Looking at the Kitchenaid 600, wondering about the Oster kitchen center, but can only find older units...

Any input on considerations, models, greatly appreciated.


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## Horseyrider

I had the Oster kitchen center back in the early 80s, and I killed it within a year with bread dough. 

Then I bought a KitchenAid mixer and it lasted fifteen years.

I replaced it and am still on my second KitchenAid.

They're a little spendy, but so well made!


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## Ed Norman

We would sell you our Kitchenaid 6 qt pro model mixer cheap. But you could never buy the Bosch mixer that replaced it. Check Bosch, they are incredible. The new Kitchenaids are junk.


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## Horseyrider

Uh-oh, I know KitchenAid was bought out (hence the junk dishwasher that was replaced with a Bosch), but is that affecting the small appliance division too?

I love my Bosch dishwasher. I'd consider a Bosch on that basis alone; but I have all these KitchenAid attachments.:sob:


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## Chixarecute

When we moved, I went to see our appliance guy about a dishwasher for the new house. He yelled at me, said the Kitchenaid we had (bought from him) was a good one, with the Hobart motor, and that we should take that one with us and buy a cheap one for the house we were selling. That original DW was bought in 1994, and is still going strong.

Anyway, I should have mentioned I was thinking of streamlining my appliances, replacing what I have with the Oster or Kitchenaid. Too bad neither has a hot air popcorn popper attachment! When I make bread I like to knead by hand. Otherwise, so far, it's shredding for hash browns, carrot cake, sometimes relish. Straining down applesauce. Making egg shakes. Oh, and I have a pasta maker, which I love but don't use as often as I'd like to. Rarely use my electric hand mixer, except perhaps for cheesecake. Haven't tried my hand at grinding meats/making sausage, don't know if that is on my horizon.

What do you use your units for the most? Come on, enable me!


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## linn

I have both the KitchenAid Professional 610 mixer and a KitchenAid food processor. Both have worked extremely well for me. On the other hand I have a Bosch washing machine that went bad just a couple of months after the guarantee ran out.


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## Our Little Farm

I have the kitchenaid professonal 610 too and love it. I make bread every other day with it and lots of other things. 

I gave away my top of the line Bosch dishwasher after 6 months of dealing with it. Worthless piece of junk. I dont like bosch at all.


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## Horseyrider

Gosh, I've had my Bosch dishwasher for about ten years and I love it. I've had no trouble with it whatsoever.

My KitchenAid mixer's most important attachment (to me, anyway) is the strainer. I use it for applesauce, pumpkin, and tomato sauce. It makes a nice puree. It also has a grinder so I can make my own ground meats. Third I guess I use the slicer and grater attachment. I prefer it to my Cuisinart food processor because you can move more food through it in a shorter amount of time. I didn't like the extruded pasta maker though; the texture of the pasta was weird. The balloon whisk is fantastic for egg whites. I understand they have an ice cream maker attachment, but I have a nice White Mountain ice cream maker, so I'll probably never get one.

For egg shakes (smoothies with eggs in them) I use a magic bullet-like thing by Bella Cucina. I got that one because it was rated a little higher on Amazon than the magic bullet one. I like how the drinks are made in individual glasses, all ready to go; you don't even have to pour them into a glass. An egg, some milk, some frozen fruit, some sort of sweetener in some of them, and a little extract (vanilla, almond, etc) buzzed up makes a nice breakfast.

Now, have we enabled you enough?


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## Lisa in WA

Stand Mixers (High-End)Published March 1, 2008. From Cook's Illustrated. 

KitchenAid has dominated the standing-mixer market for decades, but can it cream a new batch of competitors with 1,000-watt motors, cavernous bowls, and lofty price tags?

Product Name Description Kneading Creaming Whipping Design Price 
Highly Recommended 
Cuisinart 5.5 Quart Stand Mixer 
In addition to acing its way through heavy tasks like kneading bread and pizza dough and churning cookie batter full of oats, nuts, and dried fruit, this machine offers a host of modern updatesâa digital timer with automatic shut-off, a fold function for incorporating ingredients delicately, and a splash guard attachment with a built-in feed tube. It also features a spiral dough hook, which worked more efficiently than most other models to knead dough.
$299.00 
Recommended 
KitchenAid Professional 600 Stand Mixer 
2009 update: Still a true kitchen workhorse, this cookware standard is strong enough for the thickest cookie batter and the tackiest bread dough. Newer models feature a "spiral" dough hook, which is more efficient at kneading than the previous "C-shape" dough hook, bringing this model back on par with the Cuisinart and negating the single gripe we had with the mixer when we last reviewed it in 2008. Please note: the new hook does not work on older models that feature a "C-shape" dough hook because of its vertical kneading motion, which puts a strain on the motor of older models designed to work with the horizontal motion of the C-shape hook. 
$399.99 
Recommended 
DeLonghi DSM5 Stand Mixer 
Watching this compact mixer expertly cream butter and sugar into a uniform consistency was a thing of beauty. Flared bowl and well-sized attachments kept ingredients "low in the bowl" and minimized scraping. A bit more composure during heavy workloads might have broken the near-tie with the KitchenAid in its favor.
$329.95 
Recommended 
Hobart N50 Stand Mixer 
"Purrs like a kitten," said testers about this industrial-strength lion, as it calmly processed rustic dough, oatmeal cookies, and anything else we threw its way. Narrow bowl mouth (the narrowest) made it awkward to add ingredients, and turning off power to change speeds was a painâbut not as much as transporting the 55-pound beast.
$1850.31 
Recommended with Reservations 
Wolfgang Puck Bistro Stand Mixer 
Whipped stiff peaks into cream in under a minute and a half and breezed through chunky oatmeal cookie batter, but machine rattled on heavy yeasted bread dough. Suction counter-grips were almost too strong at first and then weakened too much after just one day of use.
$249.90 
Recommended with Reservations 
Viking VSM500 Stand Mixer 
If Viking ever figures out the "locking" concept, this 5-quart model might be the mixer to beat. Shaft-arm lock required ridiculous force to slam shut, but the real tragedy was how often attachments plummeted from the poorly designed socket during scraping breaks.
$384.88 
Recommended with Reservations 
DeLonghi DSM7 Stand Mixer 
The DSM7 suffered the plight of tall, cavernous bowlsâdifficulty whipping small amounts and awkward scraping of sides. ("The hardest part is keeping yourself clean," noted one tester.) Despite huge-sounding wattage, more shaking and screeching with heavy loads than many other models.
$383.95 
Recommended with Reservations 
KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer 
Kneading caused audible strain on the motor, as did adding heavy dry ingredients (oats) to cookie dough. Creamed and whipped like a proâan economical choice for infrequent breadmakers. Narrow bowl mouth hindered tidy addition of dry ingredients.
$249.99 
Recommended with Reservations 
KitchenAid Accolade 400 Stand Mixer 
More wattage (more money) than the Artisan, but consistently performed at a lower level. This "deluxe" motor sounded weaker, and attachments seemed ill designed for the slightly tweaked bowl shape. Some hated the "delayed start" feature, preferring the KitchenAid Artisan's immediate response.
$239.99 
Recommended with Reservations 
Viking VSM700 Stand Mixer 
Same problems as the VSM500 (plummeting attachments, "slam lock" shaft design), and the two egg whites we'd hidden at the bottom of the cavernous bowl remained safe from agitation, no matter how far down we adjusted the whip attachment. This "1,000-watt" machine did seem powerful, but not more so than more modestly labeled motors.
$524.95 
Recommended with Reservations 
Hamilton Beach CPM700 Stand Mixer 
The CPM700's 5-quart sibling stalled permanently during the elimination round, and this one stalled twice before finishing the task. Separate on/off switch is awkward, and mixer arm lurched violently. Large bowl presented usual problems for small amounts.
$484.57 
Recommended with Reservations 
Bosch Universal Kitchen Machine 
Shaped like a food processor with mixer attachments, the Bosch did a commendable job when kneading bread dough. But the decentralized mixing space (a "doughnut" around a central spindle) kept less cohesive contents from meeting in the middle. Condensation from the lid affected dough moisture.
$329.00 
Not Recommended 
West Bend 12-Speed Stand Mixer 
A giant leapâdown. Stationary (versus "planetary action") attachments prodded rather than kneaded tacky bread dough while the unanchored bowl spun erratically and almost caused the whole machine to fall off the counter.
$96.10 
Not Recommended 
KitchenAid Classic Series Stand Mixer 
Amid hefty contenders, KitchenAid's smallest model seemed more like a toy. The Classic did a fair job of creaming and whipping, but it wasn't cut out for kneading dough and had a chronic case of the shakes. You're better off opting for the more powerful Artisan, which costs the same.
$199.99 
Not Recommended 
Electrolux DLS-2000 Assistent Stand Mixer 
Wide bowl allowed easy access and capacity for nine bread loaves, but cookies, cakes, and even single loaves get lost in the abyss. The roller tool's grooves are a haven for butter, and the least intuitive user interface in the lineup had us constantly re-deciphering the manual before every task.
$499.00 

Americaâs Test Kitchen is a 2,500-square-foot kitchen located just outside of Boston. It is the home of Cookâs Country and Cookâs Illustrated magazines and is the workday destination for more than three dozen test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes until we understand how and why they work and arrive at the best version. We also test kitchen equipment and supermarket ingredients in search of brands that offer the best value and performance. You can watch us work by tuning in to Americaâs Test Kitchen (www.americastestkitchen.com) on public television.


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## linn

I got the three piece pasta roller and cutter set for the KitchenAid. I followed the recipe instructions for the pasta and got spaghetti better than store-bought. However, I could have bought a lot of spaghetti for the price of this set. LOL All-in-all KitchenAid has always worked well for me.


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## sugarspinner

Had the Oster mixer, grinder, blender appliance. The blender was good. The grinder was okay. The mixer splashed horribly, was backward for me when adding ingredients and finally died from mixing thick doughs. I'm not an Oster fan.


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## jconde

I have an older kitchenaid from the 60's. I love it. I bake all our bread (dough hook is fab).

It's made by hobart and keeps chugging along. I have the grinder attachment and shredder. Someday I'll splurge and go for the pasta attachment.


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## painterdsm

I got a Kitchen Aid mixer about 25 years ago, and I have not had the first problem with it. Got a meat grinder attachment and it works great, make LOTS of bread with it and it has never failed me! I'd go Kitchen Aid!


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## Ed Norman

The old Kitchenaids were great. The newer ones are junk. Ours was replaced twice with factory refurbished models. The third one also began stripping gears and slinging oil into the dough, which is why we found another brand. Get an old one at a garage sale or a new something else.


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## Marcia in MT

I finally killed our 30 year old Kitchenaid -- burned out the motor so badly that the repair shop couldn't fix it. Bought a new 575 w model, after reading about how all the lower end machines have plastic gears and just don't hold up, but the top end ones still have metal gears. We have all the attachments and use them regularly, so it just made more sense to go with another Kitchenaid.

Well, shortly after the warranty was up, a tooth on the gear broke. I had to send it to the factory to be fixed -- I was NOT a happy camper! Turns out that using bread flour or whole wheat flour counts as a double amount, so the bread recipe that the old (bottom of the line!) machine could handle was too much for this larger one!

I still use the mixer a lot, but am a little leary about it. Would I buy another? Maybe . . . .


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## Charly

I inherited my Bosch mixer from my mother. It must be 30+ years old. Maybe even closer to 40. It's still going strong. Probably need to have it serviced because a tiny bit of black grease comes out of the center every once in a while. It has been a great work horse. 

I bought a Bosch range a couple years ago and loved it too. We moved, and I reluctantly left it with the house. 

I hope to purchase a Bosch mixer for each of my girls whenever they get married. 

They seem to stand the test of time.


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## sewsilly

I bought a 1930 (folks still had the book) Hamilton beach stand mixer at the church yard sale for $20. I've had it 10 years and it's still going strong... 80 years and counting...
If you find one, snap it up...

when it quits, then I'll have to do some research.

dawn


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## FeralFemale

Had an Oster processor that died within a year in the middle of a batch of hot pepper jelly. Never did anything in it that could be considered difficult to process.

I have had a Kitchenaid Pro mixer for seven years and love it. It is the expensive model, no plastic parts, but I got it as a wedding gift so I can't complain about how spendy it was. From what I understand, though, if you are going to get a kitchenaid mixer, you'll want to spend the money on the Pro series.


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## ronron

I too have sent my kitchen aid back twice to be fixed the last time the lady I talked to offered me a swap for a refurbished 600 series for the same price as the repair...I didn't take the hint and asked that they just fix mine...of corse upon reflection I regret not taking the swap..


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## U8sushi2

if you can find an older kitchenAid buy it the new ones are junk


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## okiemomof3

gotta go with the recommendation for a Bosch. i got mine last year for Christmas and i LOVE it!


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