I am trying to figure out which stand mixer to register for. I am having a tough time narrowing it down. I am looking for a mixer that can handle two loaves of bread made with bread flower. There are basically two contenders the KitchenAid 600 Pro
The Viking is pretty much the same mixer as the ones made by Hamilton Beach and DeLonghi. All of these mixers are pretty much rebadged Kenwood mixers. Kenwood is a British company that has been making mixers of this style for the past 40 or 50 years. They went by the name of Kenwood Chef.
KitchenAid has been making mixers for even longer. However it hasn’t always been the same company. The KitchenAid stand mixer used to be manufactured by Hobart, which is famous for the commerical kitchen appliances. However in the mid-80’s the mixers began being made by Whirlpool. Since the change over the quality has supposidly been slipping. There seem to be lots of problems with engines burning out and gears being stripped. So when people say they have head a KitchenAid mixer for 20 years, it should be taken with a grain of salt. That mixer is a literally a different mixer. However it seems that Kitchen Aid is trying to improve the quality. The latest higher performance mixer have all metal gearing and motor overloading protection. They also have a new dough spiral mixer that kneads quicker than a regular dough hook.
In general it seems like the Vikings have more power, and are reliable. It may be tougher to repair them though since they are sort of obscure.
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