New Generation KitchenAid Stand Mixers - KSM55/60/70
Seems like our last detailed discussion of stand mixers was from before KitchenAid came out with its "new generation" of bowl lift mixers. So, here's my impressions of what I've learned from buying one last fall and using it for six months.
TL:DR Summary: Last fall, I bought a KitchenAid KSM60 stand mixer from Costco. My aging KitchenAid Commercial 8 Quart (KSM899) had fallen on hard times. Costco’s price on the KSM60, including a “membership instant savings” discount), was $320. That was some 40% less that what it would have cost me to order the rebuild kit and some additional parts for my KSM8990. Additionally, the KSM60 mixer is built on the same chassis as KitchenAid’s Commercial 8 qt. model. It uses the same “dual planetary, double reduction gearbox. Although using a lighter duty AC version of the Commercial’s more robust DC motor, the KSM60 is rated for handling the same maximum individual batch sizes with the same bowls and beaters as the Commercial. What the KSM60 does not have or do that the Commercial model does or has are things that are needed for commercial use. The absence of those does not affect my usage at home. After six months, I can say that the KSM60 has done everything I was doing with the Commercial model and done it just as well. FWIW, I did look at more capable mixers, the Ankarsrum Assistent in particular. However, budgetary constraints ruled them out for me. YMMV.
The TL Details For Those Who Want Specifics:
The residential bowl-lift KSM60 KitchenAid stand mixer, and the other, mechanically identical “new generation” KSM55 and KSM70 models, are built on the same chassis as KitchenAid's Commercial (KSM8990) model. So all the beaters, bowls and etc. are interchangeable between them & the Commercial model. Although the KSM55/60/70 models use a lighter duty AC version of the Commercial’s more robust DC motor, KitchenAid rates them all as having “500 watt motors.” The wattage is actually meaningless for assessing mixer power (more on that later). More informative is that KitchenAid also rates them all as able to handle batches of the same size. That’s likely because all four models use a similar unitized (sealed) motor-gearbox assembly with what is called a “dual planetary, double reduction gearbox.” These similarities seem to reflect KitchenAid’s recent rationalization and simplification of its bowl-lift line up.
A bit of historical context. Before 2012, KitchenAid offered an array of commercial and residential bowl-lift stand mixers using Hobart-style motors with Hobart-designed “worm-follower” gearboxes. (We’ll come back to those below when discussing the “plastic gears” mythology.) The models included the residential KG25 “Professional HD,” the KM25 “Commercial 5” quart, the residential KV 25 “Professional 5 Plus,” and the residential KP26 “Professional 600” models. Around 2012 KitchenAid added a new line offered alongside the others. The models included KitchenAid’s Commercial 7 and 8 quart bowl lift models (KSM7990 and KSM8990) plus the residential “ProLine” 7 quart version. All of those came with a new-style unitized motor transmission assembly using a direct-current (DC) motor with the dual-planetary, double-reduction gearbox. The latter are supposed to yield more torque than the Hobart design with the worm-follower-gear transmission. KitchenAid later added two similarly engined models, the KSM6000 (some having a special glass mixing bowl) and the Professional 6500 HD model with a narrower “tulip” style mixing bowl.
If that all sounds complicated to you, imagine trying to keep track of those varied models, find customer service, find parts, and etc. Seems that was a problem for KitchenAid, too. In 2022, it revamped and simplified the line-up. The Commercial line was consolidated to DC-motored KSM8990 and all the residential versions were replaced with the KSM55/60/70 models. The latter all use the new gear box integrated with a lighter-duty AC motor but any beater can be used with any bowl on any one of the four mixers.
While there are some differences in cosmetic choices between the three residential models, and you also get more accessories with the higher numbered packages, they are mechanically identical. The actual main difference between the three residential models is only the size of the bowl shipped with them: the same machine is a KSM55 when shipped with the 5.5 quart bowl, a KSM60 with the 6 quart bowl and a KSM70 with the 7 quart bowl..
Which brings us to KitchenAid rating all four mixers as having the same maximum batch size capacity when using a 7 quart mixing bowl. It seems the limitation on batch size is less the motors and mostly the capacity of the mixing bowl being used. KitchenAid’s published batch-size limits for the residential mixers and the Commercial one are:
· 8.5 lbs./3.6 kg of standard recipe white bread dough made with all-purpose flour;
· 13 dozen cookies (1 oz./28 g each) which translates to a batch of about 9 lbs./4.3 kg of what seems to be a standard chocolate chip cookie recipe.
The 8 quart bowl is supposed to enable a couple of extra cups of flour for the bread and one more dozen cookies.
For thicker, stiffer doughs, KitchenAid says the quantities should be less but isn’t very specific about how much less. The most specific comment say that the KSM8990 with an 8 quart mixing bowl could handle 16 cups of all purpose flour and 10 cups of specialty flour. Beyond that, there probably are so many variables that these limits have to be sorted out case by case.
An example of that turned up in a Reddit thread I found in my research. The gist was that a family had bought a KSM70, to use when making an extraordinarily stiff pierogi dough with something like a 35% hydration level. Their KSM70 mixer was overheating and struggling when trying to mix a 1.3 kg batch on speed 1. (FWIW, KitchenAid is specific about using speed 2 for kneading – more on this later, too.) Anyway, a little experimentation showed that reducing the batch size to 1 kg. and using speed 2 solved their problem.
So, the question might be asked, if Commercial model isn’t making much larger batches, what do you get for the added cost? Two things.
· The more robust DC version of the motor that won’t overheat when making large batches. one after another, in continuous production runs; and
· An NSF certification which is needed under health and sanitation codes for use on premises where food is made for sale.
The features that earn the KSM8990 the NSF certification seem to be:
· A slightly longer, heavier-gauge power cord colored a high-visibility safety orange;
· A safety stop/guard next to the power lever that prevents inadvertent activation of the stand mixer when wiping it down or otherwise cleaning;
· The included beaters --- a stainless steel dough hook, wire whip and flat beater --- are versions stamped with NSF certification;
· The bottom of the hollow stand column (hollow on all KA bowl lifts to help ventilate the motor) has screening across the bottom to keep critters out of the shaft;
· A bare stainless bowl-lift crank handle (no easy grip knob like on the KSM60); and
· An NSF certified 8 qt. mixing bowl with an open (non-rolled) lip, and a "J" shaped handle (so that it can be hung easily or stacked).
Some may find these features useful and desirable even for home use. Personally, I do not need to (let alone want to) do production runs like those cited above nor am I using my mixer in a food business subject to local health and sanitary licensing inspections. The NSF features neither aid nor hinder my home use of a stand mixer. As always, YMMV if your needs are different.
Further on the Commercial model’s prowess with production batching, it bears noting that you can use a KSM55/60/70 for serial batching provided you do so with smaller batch sizes. For example, America’s Test Kitchen’s most recent review of stand mixers --- see the September 2025 update (paywalled) at https://www.americastestkitchen.com/equipment_reviews/2593-the-best-stand-mixers? ---- says they tested their mixer choices (including a KSM70) with running 10 serial batches of their stiff bagel bread recipe followed by two double batches of their pizza dough recipe. Judging from their published recipes, the bagel bread batch sizes were about 800 g/1.75 lbs. of dough and the double batches of their pizza dough recipes were around 900 g./2 lbs. per batch. The KSM70 handled those quantities without a problem.
Want to do serial production with larger batch sizes? Then you will want the KSM8990 if not an Ankarsrum. In that regard, it bears noting that the Ankarsrum can be had for about $200 less than the current KitchenAid Commercial prices, making the Ankarsrum the more economical choice if you don’t need an NSF Certification.
Something that bears emphasizing at this point is the “dough-hook speed 2” restriction: i.e., only use speed 2 with the dough hooks on KitchenAid mixers. There’s an oft expressed but incorrect idea that this restriction is something newly imposed to cover-up deliberate cheapening of KitchenAid mixers under Whirlpool, the brand’s current owner.
Actually, this restriction was Hobart’s design. The instruction has always been in place. Look up online copies of the KitchenAid manuals from back in the Hobart day and you’ll see it was the instruction for decades before Hobart sold its KitchenAid Electric Housewares Division to Whirlpool in 1986. Even today, Hobart’s current commercial countertop N-50 planetary mixer models still have an equivalent instruction. (I say “equivalent” because the N-50 has a 3 speed transmission so its kneading speed is speed 1.)
As I understand the engineering, it seems that motor speed and mixing torque are inversely proportional when using a planetary mixer. Kneading bread doughs requires high torque which seems to be greatest at speed level 2 on KitchenAid mixers. The KSM60’s ½ speed and speed 1 setting are for stirring and folding and have lower torque than speed 2. Revving up the speed --- say to speed 6 and higher (as I did) – may seem to bring things together faster but actually decreases the torque. Adding to that, the stainless spiral dough hook is not weighted and balanced for higher speeds. The result of high kneading speeds with the dough hook is increased torsional and vertical stresses on the mixers’ structure, bearings and drivelines. Those increased stresses eventually take enough of a toll to need a rebuild kit.
For me, “eventually” came after 10 years of doing it with my Commercial unit, but YMMV. What made a rebuild expensive is that the unitized, sealed motor and transmission assembly is not field serviceable. Having to buy that whole assembly makes the kit expensive and getting one with the DC motor makes it even more so. Anyway, lesson learned and I’m not over-revving the dough hook with my KSM60. It mixes and kneads well and doing it all at speed 2. I’ve found it only takes two or three minutes longer than when I was revving the hook.
(To be continued).
Comments (14)
jwvideo
Original Author2 months agolast modified: 2 months ago(Part 2)
For context on my stating that my KSM60 has done everything I was doing with my KSM8990 and just as well, the batch sizes I make in my kitchen are less than the prescribed maximum capacity batch sizes cited above. Those maximums simply yield way more goods than my household can use up. For example, my regular weekly bread batch isn’t 8.5 lbs./3.6 kg. It is 1.4 kg./3 lb (2 loaves) of an enriched milk bread dough using bread flour with a 70% to 75% hydration. For gatherings, events and celebrations, my larger batches with stiffer doughs include 2.2 kg./5 lb. batches of Anadama breads, whole grain wheat breads, and rye breads, all with 70 % to 75% hydration. (Those sometimes use whole grains milled on the KitchenAid GMA grain mill attachment that I bought decades ago when I had a KitchenAid K5ss mixer; the mill works as well on my KSM60 as it did on my KSM8990 and the k5ss before that.)
For lower hydration doughs, my biggest batches have included 2 kg./4.5 lb. batches of Challah (with 65% hydration). With the addition of sugar and cardamom, that becomes my grandmother’s Swedish coffee bread for Christmas. My biggest batches of bagels have had 60% hydration with total dough batch weights between 1.8 kg and 2 kg (4 to 4.4 lbs.) of dough. My largest batch of cookie dough is an annual batch of 4 dozen 1 oz./28 g. pepparkakor (Christmas ginger snaps). All well within rated capacity and handled by the KSM60 without audible or visible stress or hesitation.
My mixer also gets used regularly for a variety of other, less challenging tasks such as cakes, quick breads, and the like..
So, for what I use a mixer for, the KSM60 has been as good as I need. The discounted Costco price certainly made it more attractive than it might have been if purchased elsewhere or when Costco wasn’t offering the “instant savings” discount. Even so, buying from Costco brought a couple of additional benefits. For one, KitchenAid extends its standard one-year “no-hassle” mixer warranty to two years on the mixers bought from Costco. “No-hassle” means that, if you need warranty service, KitchenAid will ship you a replacement mixer and pay for shipping your original mixer back to them. Beyond that, there was Costco’s own excellent satisfaction guarantee and returns policy. For me, that meant that if the KSM60 had not been up to snuff for my use, I could have taken it back for an immediate cash refund and applied that to the rebuild kit having only lost a little time.
Further on the subject of price, with my annual Costco “executive membership" card rebate plus the cash-back rewards from my credit card, my net cost was only a little more than $300.
That said, Costco seems to offer the instant savings discount at various times a year. It isn’t just a “Black Friday Special.” One was offered from last October through the 2026 President’s Day weekend. Another was being offered in April of 2026 as this was being written. The rest of the time, the mixer’s price at Costco is $420. That is still attractive when compared to the higher prices you would pay at brick-n-mortar retailers and online vendors for the least expensive bowl-lift package, the KSM55. Also, less even that the current retail price for a 5 quart KA tilt head model, too.
Can you find a “new generation” bowl-lift for less elsewhere? Yes, albeit with tradeoffs. If one has a Sam’s Club membership, there is an alternative KSM55 package on which the Sam’s Club price seems to be $20 less than whatever Costco is asking on the KSM60. (Internet sources say Sam’s Club tracks Costco prices pretty closely.) Note that the Sam’s Club KSM55 package includes the same dough hook, flat beater, and whip included with the KSM60 but not the flex-edge beater and pouring shield. Those can be purchased separately but each would cost more than the $20 price difference from Costco. The Sam’s Club’s package does include a 3 quart bowl and it’s special whisk beater for whipping tiny quantities. Some may find that useful but others do not. I’m in the latter camp. For such small quantities, I find it easier to pull out a hand-held electric mixer or even just a whisk. Beyond that, the Sam’s Club return policy (at least locally) can be less generous than Costco’s, and only the standard 1 year KitchenAid warranty applies.
Amazon runs seasonal sales events which, if you happen to catch one, can yield a substantially discounted price on KitchenAid bowl lifts.
The least expensive way I found for buying a KSM55/60/70 is to buy directly from KitchenAid’s factory refurbishment unit. The refurbished prices, with “free” shipping, are generally half the “new” price. At this writing, the refurbished KSM55 models are $250, the refurbished KSM60 models are $260, and the refurbished KSM70 models are $325. (Refurbished KSM8990 Commercials run between $425 and $450, but they are rarely found in stock.)
You can find the refurbished offers at the KitchenAid website: (https://www.kitchenaid.com/countertop-appliances/refurbished/stand-mixers) and also through the KitchenAid Official Refurbished Store on eBay (https://www.ebay.com/str/shopkitchenaid). KitchenAid also seems to have an arrangement to take “refurbished mixer” orders through the websites of Target and WalMart. The prices include free return shipping for up to sixty days when purchased through the KitchenAid web site and returned in unused condition. It is 30 days for returns when you purchase from the Official KitchenAid Refurbished Store on eBay. Reports on the internet say that issuance of a refund credit can take at least a month and sometimes much longer. Of course, if you happen to receive a defective unit, it is covered by the “no hassle” warranty and KitchenAid will ship you a replacement.
There are a couple of tradeoffs. One is that the refurbished bowl lift packages may include fewer and lesser accessories. For example, sometimes the C-shaped dough hook is listed as substituted for the more competent spiral dough hook.
Another is that when buying a refurbished unit from either the KA website or its eBay store: when you order, you must choose a specific model in a specific color. If what you select (specific model in specific color) is actually in stock, you get a quick confirmation e-mail and your order is supposed to ship quickly to arrive within a week or so. However, what the sites list as on hand when you order may or may not actually be on hand. Sometimes what they list is current, sometimes not.
What I discovered when I tried ordering one was that KitchenAid does not send you an order confirmation or any other message if your order is not actually in stock when placed, Instead, KitchenAid simply puts your order into a waiting queue. You have to take it on yourself to call KitchenAid customer service (and wait on hold for a long time) to find out what is going on. When I called on my order, it turned out that the only color in stock at that time was “cast iron black” --- a color I did not want --- and the helpful customer service rep said they were looking at six weeks or so for the next batch of other colors to arrive from the refurbishment center. So, good for saving money but possibly not worth it if you need a mixer right away.
jwvideo
Original Author2 months agolast modified: 2 months ago(Part 3)
Moving on from where to buy and discussing actual use, it bears noting again that all beaters, bowls, accessories and attachments are interchangeable between all four current KitchenAid bowl lift models. It bears further noting that the 5 qt., 6 qt., 7. Qt and 8 qt. bowls have the exact same bottom geometry and dimensions. In other words, the bowls are identical from the bowl lift down; increased capacity is just from making the bowl taller above the bowl lift cradle. What the identical lower bowl portions mean is that you don’t need to buy a smaller bowl or other tools to mix small quantities. Any tool will work the same in any of the bowls. I mention this because my research turned up a bunch of comments and questions in Reddit threads about needing a small bowl for smaller quantities. (The exception is the separately available extra small 3.5 quart bowl and its special beater mentioned previously.)
Judging from some of the confusion I ran across in online discussions, it bears emphasizing that, due to different bowl shapes for other Kitchenaid models, the tools and accessories for KitchenAid’s tilt head models and those for now discontinued older bowl-lift designs that had different or narrower bowl designs won’t work with the current bowl lifts and vice versa. The best resource I found for checking on what is compatible with which KitchenAid mixer is the compatibility chart assembled at mixerology.com --- https://www.mixerology.com/compatible-bowls-and-accessories/
A not uncommon set of complaints is about beaters not matching the bowl and either hitting the bottom of the bowl or being too far away from the bottom which results in unmixed ingredients at the bottom. Such symptoms usually seem to be from not knowing how to adjust the bowl height. There is an adjustment screw which can raise and lower the bowl cradle thereby adjusting the clearance between the flat paddle beater and the bottom of the bowl. It is easy once you've seen it done, and there seem to be numbers of very short online videos demonstrating the exceedingly simple process. To find some, try a search-string like this: kitchenaid + dime test + bowl lift.
As for accessories, the ones included with the KSM60 (besides the 6 qt. mixing bowl) when bought from Costco are:
· A cast aluminum spiral dough hook with a silver-toned polyester powder coating (KNS256CDH);
· a similarly coated cast-aluminum flat/paddle beater (KN256CBT);
· a white coated “flex-edge” paddle beater (KFEW6L);
· a 6 wire whip/whisk attachment with stainless steel whip wires fixed to a burnished aluminum hub (KFEW6L) which makes it handwash only;
· and a splash guard/pouring shield (KSMBLPS) with silicone bumpers that secure it to the top of the mixing bowl.
An oft-repeated bit of advice on KitchenAid’s beaters is: “coated accessories are dishwasher-safe, but hand washing prolongs the life of the coating.” Thus, I prefer using the stainless attachments that came with my Commercial mixer as they are not just dishwasher safe but dishwasher impervious. Replacement tools --- including non-NSF rated stainless versions --- are readily available for separate purchase if wanted or eventually needed. The non-NSF rated stainless versions --- less expensive than the NSF rated versions which are also readily available --- include the KSMC7QDH stainless spiral dough hook, the KSMC7QFB stainless flat beater, and two versions of the 11-wire elliptical whip, the KN211WW and KSM7QEW. (I’m not sure what the difference between the whips is.)
If you want all three stainless items --- dough hook, paddle beater and whip – you can buy them in a package (KSM7BL3PSS) that saves $30 or so over the cost of buying them separately.
KitchenAid also makes a stainless pastry beater/cutter, the KSMPB7SS. It is included with those KSM70 packages labeled “with Redesigned Premium Touchpoints” but is otherwise available for separate purchase. There doesn’t seem to be an NSF rated version for use in commercial settings. As I’ve never tried one, I can’t comment on how well the pastry beater does or doesn’t work.
I haven’t seen much actual performance difference between the coated and stainless implements but I have found the 11-Wire whip better than the 6 wire version with the aluminum hub. I’ve found the 11-wire version, with its elliptical balloon shape and extra wires, does a better/quicker job of whipping/whisking anything from large amounts down to very small quantities such as whipping a cup of heavy cream or 2 egg whites.
It may bear noting that the whisks are for whisking and are not general purpose beaters. My research turned up numbers of complaints on Reddit and elsewhere about whips breaking when used as general purpose beaters. I thought KitchenAid was clear on that, but apparently not clear enough for everybody.
Anyway, if you can’t stand the idea of having to always handwash the included 6-wire whip/whisk with its bare aluminum hub, the plain (non-NSF) stainless 11-wire versions are widely available for $40 online and elsewhere. Accessories, by the way, generally are not available through Costco. AFAIK, the only KitchenAid mixer accessory/attachment available through Costco is the pasta roller and cutter set.
An additional accessory that comes with the KSM60 is the KFEW6 flex-edge beater, a powder-coated cast-aluminum flat beater with a silicone-scraper on one edge. I already had the slightly larger KAFE7L single flex edge model which I had bought for use with my KSM8990. (There isn’t a stainless steel NSF rated equivalent for commercial use.) If you buy a KSM70, you get the double flex-edge model KDF7B.
I was able to compare the two single flex edge models when creaming butter and sugar and also while making batter for large cheesecakes. (How large? The recipe starts with 9 eggs and 2½ lbs. of cream cheese, if that gives you an idea.) I found that the KAFE7L, with its silicone scraper blade reaching further up the side of the bowl, tends to squeegee upwards some of what you have mixed into a thin circle around the bowl above the sweep of the paddle and blade but the quantity is small and easily manually mixed back into the rest. On the other hand, the KAFE7L being essentially the same as the flat paddle beater, it’s web of internal bracing collects accumulates batter which has to be scraped out. The newer KFEW6L has an open interior so there’s practically no interior scraping needed but the lower reach of the sweep of its silicone scraper blade results in squeegeeing up a thicker band of mixture above the circle of its sweep, so more scraping there. IOW, a toss-up between the tradeoffs.
The KDF7B double flex edge beater, which only ships with the KSM70 models but is available for separate purchase, has an open interior like the KFEW6L and its flex edge silicone blades seem to be as tall as the one on the KAFE7L. There also is the highly regarded competing after-market “Beater Blade XL-Max” from New Metro Design. The Beater Blade was designed with a helical twist that supposedly avoids or mitigates squeegee-ing of mixes above the sweep of its silicone scraper blades. I haven’t tried either. So, I cannot comment further on those choices.
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Original Author2 months agolast modified: 2 months ago(Part 4)
Before commenting on other brands of mixers, I’ll note that anybody who is researching stand mixer choices is going to run across some persistent common misunderstandings about KitchenAid mixers.
First, don’t be distracted by the marketing and product reviews that tout and compare mixers based on their Underwriter Labs (UL) power ratings. Those are the ones saying that a mixer has a “powerful 500 watt motor.” Simply put, the UL ratings are not intended for and do not really tell you anything about mixing capabilities.
I know … I know … I did start this essay by mentioning the 500 watt UL rating. I did that only because it’s so frequently seen in online postings and reviews. Used even by those who know better or at least ought to. However, the UL ratings only measure the load on the electrical outlet and its electrical circuit. It’s a safety thing for all appliances --- helping you to avoid overloading an outlet or circuit by running too many devices drawing too much electricity at the same time from that outlet or circuit.
UL power ratings simply do not correlate to how efficiently the mixer applies that power in the bowl. KitchenAid explicitly acknowledges that point for its Commercial model, saying the 1.3 HP DC motor actually outputs about .44 HP in the bowl.
Beyond that, in 2018/2019, UL promulgated revised editions of the standards for measuring load for commercial mixers (UL 763) and for residential models (UL 982) so recent UL ratings are different than they were or would have been under prior editions of the UL measurements. The revised editions’ measurements yield significantly lower load numbers. The changes from the previous UL editions to the present ones can result in what seem to be dramatically different numbers even when there has not been any product change.
The poster-child for that change in standards is the Bosch “Universal” stand mixer. Under the pre-2019 UL metrics, the Bosch was rated at 800 watts and touted as “a powerful 800 watt mixer.” Now, the very same model with the exact same motor rates at “only” 500 watts under the present UL edition. Likewise, the manuals for the KitchenAid Commercial mixers made through 2019 (such as my old KSM8990) listed the UL number as 1.3 HP (970 watts) under the previous UL standard. More recent KSM8990s, using exactly the same motor and driveline and which are mechanically and electrically identical to the earlier ones, are rated at 500 watts under the present UL standards.
So, when you see online posters and reviewers asserting that discontinued older, residential bowl-lift KitchenAid mixer models like the Professional 600 are preferrable because those had “more powerful 575 watt motors,” those pundits know not whereof they speak.
For discussion of these and other aspects of wattage ratings, you can check out the December 2024 article, “Watt’s the Story with Those Power Ratings?” at https://www.mixerology.com/watts-the-story-with-those-power-ratings/. (I have no connection to or relationship with that site or the business behind it. I’ve simply found it a helpful source of accurate information.)
Then there is the “plastic gears” trope. Read any on-line discussion of any length about KitchenAid mixers and somebody contrarian (maybe several somebodies) inevitably will say you should only buy vintage KitchenAids from when the KitchenAids were made by Hobart because Whirlpool (the current owner of the brand) has been cutting costs by substituting plastic gears. In point of actual fact, the “plastic gear” was a Hobart invention; a “sacrificial” synthetic “worm follower gear” that, like shear pins on snowblowers, is designed to break to disengage the motor from a jammed beater/auger, thereby protecting the rest of the driveline from damage. The worm gear/shear pin is a readily available, inexpensive part and meant to be easily DIY replaced.
Not only did Hobart use this safety mechanism on all the worshipful vintage Hobart-made KitchenAids, Hobart still uses a version of it today on its current commercial planetary mixers such as the Hobart N-50. (That’s the countertop commercial mixer that is often said to be an ultra-powerful “gold standard” for serious home bakers.)
In today’s KitchenAid line-up, only the tilt-head mixer models still use this safety device. The current KitchenAid bowl-lift models with their sealed integrated motor-transmission units indisputably have “all-metal gears” and all use electronic overload protection in place of the sacrificial gear.
A related trope is “cheap plastic parts.” This had some factual basis a couple of decades ago, for a couple of years in the early 2000s, but no longer. For a couple of years back then, the earliest production runs of the “Professional” line of bowl-lift models came with a gear case housing cover that was plastic. Enough of those covers cracked in use that KitchenAid soon moved to metal covers. The metal replacement part is still available for anybody who needs one for their 2003 and 2004 Professional or HD mixer but the plastic cover has not been used on anything made after 2004. (To be sure. this definitely is something to look out for if considering buying a pre-owned/reconditioned/renewed bowl-lift KitchenAid stand mixer of the 2003-2004 vintage.)
For a more detailed discussion of the “plastic” issues, see the article “Plastic Mythology” at https://www.mixerology.com/plastic-mythology/.
Finally, an oft-seen but now needless concern is from a more recent KitchenAid faux paus. From sometime in 2023 through the spring of 2024, KitchenAid published a modified “dough hook-- speed 2” instruction by adding “not to knead for more than 2 minutes at a time, and that the total mixing and kneading time should not exceed 4 to 6 minutes.” It’s anybody’s guess --- and there are lots of those --- what the company was thinking when it said this. (My historical research turned up references to a prior incident of this back in 2012.) In any event, those time limitations vanished sometime in the spring of 2024. No explanations given but you won’t find those time limitations in any current user guides and instructions.
jwvideo
Original Author2 months agolast modified: 2 months ago(Last Part)
Now, for the final topic: are there other and “better” mixers that could be considered? There certainly are, most notably the Ankarsrum Assistent. I had chance to try one out some years ago and was very impressed. To me, it seemed to be a better all-around mixer than the KitchenAids. So, what deterred me from buying one of those back then or this time around?
In a word, budget.
Ankarsrums cost $800 for the mixer. Would it be $500 better than what I have for what I do? Not for me. Again, YMMV especially if you regularly make much bigger batches than I do or need/want to do production runs and/or you have a bigger budget than I do.
Plus, I had already invested in the KitchenAid ecosystem of accessory attachments including the GMA Grain Mill and the pasta roller and cutter set. Bought decades ago when I had a KitchenAid K5SS, they worked with the KSM8990 and I’m still using them with the KSM60. Replacing them with either the Ankarsrum equivalents or buying stand alone replacements would have would have been even more money than my budget allowed.
The Bosch Universal Plus and its “lite” version, sold as the NutriMill Artiste, have passionate fans on the internet. Friends of mine recently passed their old KitchenAid K45 tilt head on to a daughter and replaced it with an Artiste with which they are pleased. So, the Artiste and the Bosch seem to be competent machines albeit with quirks of their own. Worth considering if are looking for a bread making machine. But, while they cost less than the Ank, they, with the additional cost for replacing attachments, still would have been a lot more than what I spent on the KSM60 or what I might have spent rebuilding the KSM8990.
I have no first hand experience with the relatively new Ooni mixer but some knowledgeable people like Andrew Janjigian (Wordloaf) seem to like it for big batches of heavy doughs while harboring doubts about how well it works with less large dough batches and/or general mixing tasks. Even without the doubts, it's $800 price was simply out of the budgetary question for me.
So, all that being said, the bottom line for me came down to the KSM60 from Costco being the most budget friendly choice for what I need from a mixer and fully satisfactory for that.
jwvideo
Original Author2 months agolast modified: 2 months agoLOL. So true. Anyway, "concise" is the TL:DR paragraph at the beginning. The rest is detail for those who may want it.
- 2 months ago
I’m still using the KitchenAid stand mixer I got for an engagement gift, in 1972. 🙂
It has served me well, these 54 years.
- 2 months ago
"I’m still using the KitchenAid stand mixer I got for an engagement gift, in 1972. 🙂 "
Those old KAs are TANKS. I inherited my mom's, which she got the early 80s. I passed it along to my niece a couple years ago because I wasn't using it much anymore. As far as I know it's still going strong. 
2 months agoThat review belongs in the KA Hall of Fame. Thanks for the review. My "going on 30 year old" KA stand mixer will probably outlast me - even though today I might have opted for a more fun color that the current crackle grey finish - I wont have a chance to buy one / use your most excellent review.
jwvideo thanked just_janni
2 months agoExcellent review jwvideo. I'm another one who is still using an older Kitchenaid mixer but I sent your comments to my DDIL who is considering a new purchase. My trusty mixer is a K-5A that was a real splurge for me - still have the receipt from Nov. 20, 1976 stapled to the owner's manual. - paid $164.59. It's a Hobart product and the serial number is hand written on the bottom with a grease pencil.
There used to be a small appliance repair shop nearby that would service Kitchenaid but he's no longer around. Mine works fine but I wonder if I should send it back to Greenville for maintenance.jwvideo thanked maire_catejwvideo
Original Authorlast monthlast modified: last monthBased on a private message to me, I'm adding the following to part 4 of my dissertation above.
ETA : Other sometimes-seen complaints about KitchenAid mixers are user reports of being unable to mix and knead sourdough breads, high and low hydration pizza doughs, and very low-hydration doughs for bagels and etc. or any bread dough of any kind.
Now, some these complaints and allegations confuse tilt-head KitchenAid models with the bowl-lift models, some seem like not-uncommon internet snobbery, sniping and rage-baiting, some may be user error, and some seem to be the result of irrational or obsessive behaviors such as insisting on kneading for 30 minutes for what they deem a "perfect windowpane" or insisting that anything less than very large quantities of very low hydration recipes "isn't real bread."
Even so, there are other instances that seem entirely genuine but inexplicable in the light of many others' documented experiences.
For example, there is this YouTube video which shows a recent KitchenAid bowl lift mixer model turning a single-loaf sourdough recipe into a soupy mess that takes 40 minutes to come together while an Ankarsrum, Ooni and Bosch Universal handle it just fine in a fraction of the time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtqjGJeGxYM
Contrast that with this video from an Australian micro-bakery showing no problems using a KSM8990 for much larger --- 4.5 kg/10 lb. --- batches of artisanal sourdough for 5 loaves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY48Srewi3w
Complaints about anomalous results aren't confined to KitchenAids, either. For example, there are similar postings about seemingly inexplicable difficulties with sourdoughs and pizza doughs in Ankarsrums such as this long r/Breadit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Breadit/comments/10jkodc/ankarsrum_mixer_trouble/ and this even longer one from pizzamaking.com: https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=52313.0 . When I say "inexplicable" I mean that numerous responding Ankarsrum owners reported not seeing similar problems and were unable to solve the OPs' problems.
About all I can say is that pretty much every brand of stand mixer with any kind of market share has some reports of anomalous and unsatisfactory results for some users. WIth KitchenAid seeming to have more than a 40% share of the North American stand-mixer market, and reportedly making 2 million mixers per year, even a small percentage of lemons or substantandard performers can look like a large number of complaints.
last monthI didn't read all of it as I recently bought a KA mini stand mixer. I never bought one in the past because I didn't want a 25 mixer that was so heavy I had to store it on my counter. Voila - KA mini - I can easily lift it and store it in my pantry. Works great for me as I never make a big batch of anything. It's a nice improvement over my mother's ancient Sunbeam. That thing still runs but it labors over cookie dough.
jwvideo thanked 3katz4me
Kendrah