Kitchenaid Professional 600 Stand Mixer 6 quart, Bird of Paradise (Renewed)

I just bought the Kitchenaid 600 mixer after having spent a good deal of time comparing it to the new Cuisinart 5qt and 7qt stand mixers that have gotten such good press the last year. I finally decided on the Kitchenaid, so thought I'd share my reasoning in the following bullet points. 1) First, if you look at these items on Amazon, both the KA and Cuisinart mixers share 4.5 star ratings. Almost all of those who owned one of these mixers without owning the other one seemed to have great things to say about the mixer they bought. So, I took this to mean that I really couldn't go wrong either way. However, I did know that I wanted either the 6qt KA or the 7qt Cuisinart becuase I like to make bread and also because I like heavy duty stuff! 2) Next, I was impressed by the longer 3yr/5yr warranty offered by Cuisinart. However, I think just about every review by someone who had problems with the Cuisinart REALLY complained about their customer service, shipping costs, and hassle of dealing with Cuisinart when something goes wrong. I think most of the KA owners were fairly happy with KA customer service, even if only a 1 year warranty. Either way, most of the people having problems with EITHER of these mixtures seemed to be those who wanted to knead a LARGE amount of dough, and I can't help but thinking they are trying to do too much with the equipment they bought -- they should buy a $1500 Hobart. 3) Kitchenaid's past problems with plastic gears caused me a little concern, but I read enough to know that this was a major issue for them a couple of years back, and that they had taken great pains to correct the problem -- so I discounted this worry. 4) Next, I checked out the Cuisinart 5qt at the store. The good things about it are the lower profile and the tilting mixer head -- giving you more clearance and maybe easier access to the bowl. However, there are a LOT of parts, electronics, springs, levers, etc. on this mixer!! In other words, a LOT to go wrong or break in my opinion. Plus, the digital controls seemed kind of flimsy plastic. Who knows, maybe I'm completely wrong here, but I couldn't help but doubt that the average Cuisinart is not going to make it many years without some issues. Since its only been out a year or so, it doesn't have a track record yet either. This factor swayed me toward the simplicity of the KA 600. 5) Further, as we were looked further at the Cuisinart model at the store we noticed oil leaking out of the mixer head onto the splash guard. What made this particulary disconcerting was that I had read at least two reviews on Amazon (or another website) where people mentioned having this exact same problem with their new Cuisinart -- they had to ship their mixer back East to get this taken care of. This just seemed like more than a coincidence to me, and was especially concerning since I doubt the unit at the store had ever been plugged in. Another point for the KA 600. 6) But Cuisinart's great review in the last Cook's Illustrated still almost swayed me to buy the Cuisinart. However, I went to the trouble of getting a subscription to CI to read the review. My impression from the review was that the main reason the Cuisinart was rated tops was due to all its features. However, I already explained my concern about all the stuff on the Cusinart. Moreover, the KA 600 is now ranked second only behind the Cuisinart, AND had been ranked no. 1 in the previous year review before the new Cuisinart came out. So, I decided to forget the review. NOTE: The Kitchenaid 5qt mixers are not rated that well in CI for bread since they are not powerful enough -- some reviews I read seemed to mix-up the KA 5qt review with the KA 600 mixer, but CI rated the KA 600 fine for bread. 7) Anther factor I considered was the higher rated wattage of the Cuisinart motors in the 5qt and 7qt models. However I read a previous year Cooks Illustrated review that discussed how unreliable the wattage ratings for mixers are since the manufacturers use different methods for rating their mixer motors, and some mfrs intentionally use ways that make their mixers look more powerful even though they actually aren't. 8) Great attachments for the KA included an ice cream maker that is highly rated by reviewers. My KA 600 came with a rebate for a free one of these ice cream makers, so that settled it for me (even though I would have gone with the KA anyways). Bottom Line: The simple utilitarian design of the KA eventually swayed me its way. The complicated mechanism, many parts, and unproven reliability of the Cuisinart scared me away. BUT, if you love the Cuisinart features and/or need a lower profile design, I'm sure its a great mixer. However, if you overload either one of them with too much dough, you are going to have troubles!!

I may have written a review before using this mixer. I am very pleased with this purchase!! No defects at all, and it works great!! It has definitely made mixing so much more fun. We purchased the sausage stuffer attachment and just had a blast making our own. It's very pretty and the red is just as the picture! I like the lift as it is easier to add ingredients and the 6 quarts is huge compared to what i was using before. The handle on the mixing bowl is very convenient for mixing and pouring. It cleans up easy! I did find a cover for it in the handmade section of Amazon that matched my kitchen. I had ordered a kitchen aid cover, but it was too small for the 6 quart. I'm not sure if kitchen aid makes a cover for this one as I was unable to find one that wasn't handmade. The purchase is so worth it!! We love it....

This was a mother's day present from my son to my wife. She absolutely loves this mixer. She had a smaller (4.5 quart) Kitchenaid for at least 10 years and it was still working with no problems (it was also a refurbished model). She has been baking in large quantities for our church and this bigger mixer has helped with that. She can mix up a batch of that will make 12 dozen cookies at a time now. We ordered a scraper blade (the ones that have a rubber edge to scrape the bowl while it mixes). Be careful buying those third party. We called Kitchenaid about the noise it was making and found out there are resellers here on Amazon selling discontinued models of that blade. Kitchenaid told us to not use it any more and gave us the right part number to buy. The previous mixer had a tilt head. The lift head is nice because you can keep it pushed back on the counter under the upper cabinets when you use it. You can't do that with the tilt head. I work for Whirlpool who makes Kitchenaid appliances. The refurbishing process is extensive and I trust a refurbished just as much as I do a new one - maybe more because the testing process they go through it more rigorous than the new ones.

Bought this model refurbished hoping for the better and so far got it! I've used this mixer for 3 weeks for 5 bread recipes and a handful of other including a delicate french cake recipe requiring the whip and long whipping of a batter. Really love this mixer it is powerful (I am heeding the KA warning to never exceed speed 2 with dough) long mixing made the machine a bit warm but not hot. I could not see where anything had been repaired it looked brand new bowl was unused. This has a DC motor and it does not strain to mix dough. Caveat I am not interested to push the mixer to it's capacity just to see if it will have trouble. I don't want to mix large batches anyway but I can say for regular bread recipes that yield 2 loaves this mixr dances through those. I actually owned a bakery and we used Hobart of course and this little guy feels like a very nearly pro machine, the price was low and I bought an extended warranty, KA gives 6 months. Only minor thing the dough hook has a small spot where coating is missing like about as big as a rice grain no big deal. The whip was perfect as was the paddle wich also had a minor finish issue but does not affect performance.

OMG! I love my new mixer! I have never had a "real" mixer before and knew when I did eventually purchase one, I wanted a good one. I am seriously impressed! In the first week I used all three attachments. I made everything I could, just to use the machine - and it worked like a dream. I do wish the attachments were dishwasher-safe but that is not a deal breaker in the least. I love this mixer and will gladly hand wash the attachments in order to keep it forever. As a warning though: The first batch of bread dough I made turned a blackish color though. I had to google why that would happen and apparently Kitchenaid uses something on their mixing bowl in the polishing process that you sometimes cannot wash off with regular dishsoap and a cloth. We had to follow the Kitchaid instructions and make a baking soda paste to neutralize the bowl before using it. They said we could eat the bread made with the blackish dough, but I didn't really want to take the chances so we just tossed it out. After we neutralized it and rewashed it (and all the attachments), we have never had that problem again.

The Kitchenaid Professional 600 Stand Mixer 6 quart, Empire Red (Renewed) arrived when promised and undamaged - it's packaged well. Product looked like new with the exception of two very small dings inside the bowl. Mine did come with a pretty substantial knob on the lift handle. Instructions are clear and concise. Product registration is easy- go to KitchenAid's website and "Service and Support" (the model and serial numbers are on the mail-in form) ... took about 3 minutes. There's also a lot of useful tips and tricks there and well worth a read, especially if you're like me and have never owned a KitchenAid stand mixer before. Pleased so far, it's a time saver and has made cooking fun again. Makes short work of mashed potatoes (no lumps!) and it's easy to clean afterwards. I chose this model because it fit under the upper cabinets and can be used there unlike the tilt head models, power (575 watts), and the refurbished price savings though you do lose six months of warranty. I left one star off as it's way too soon to tell about longevity but it seems quite substantial and well made.

I have been looking at this mixer for some time. So.....with my Christmas money I decided to take the plunge! I have the 300 watt Ultra Power Kitchen Aid stand mixer and wanted something with more power. And this does the job. I just recieved it today and already tried a batch of marshmallows with it. On my old one it got all bogged down and the marshmallow would end up wrapped around the whisk. Not with this model!!!! It just kept going for the full 15 minutes it takes to make the marshmallows! Never did it get hot, nothing! I had no trouble with attaching the bowl. I had read reviews that that was hard to do. It's not! Also noisy, not at all to bad. I see nothing but a steardy AMERICAN made mixer! Bring on the 14 cups of flour! I'm anxious to make and use the hook to knead dough. Was impressed with all the attachments are metal. As you can tell I'm excited. I'm an advid baker will get tons of use out of this high powered unit! Can't go wrong with Kitchen Aid!

Early this year, I finally bought a new stand mixer after the old kitchenaid stand mixer I inherited from my mother finally conked out. That one was over 30 years old before it bit the bullet. I purchased the professional 6 quart model since I wanted to do some bread making and also prepare rolls. I also bake cakes quite a bit. This thing is fantastic! Bread kneads in 2 minutes. I make a lot more handicrafted gourmet type breads now, I never did that with my bread machine. In fact I gave the bread machine away since I hadn't used even one time after I got the new mixer. I like the breads I create with this machine better too. Their texture is better and all around it's a better loaf even though I use my old trusty recipes. The kneading is the hard part anyway, and this mixer makes it a breeze. Cakes mix in about the same amount of time or less. I have found the knack with the cake mixing is just to mix until the batter just loses that 'glossy' look. This mixer is fast and thorough but doesn't create air pockets in the finished cake like over mixing with a hand mixer does. I've made dips and sauces and even whipped cream with this. I bought the slicer attachment and sliced appetizer stuff for 100 people. It handles everything I've thrown at it. I got the licorice color and I highly recommend it. It is black and not super glossy, so it hides finger prints and still looks classy sitting on the counter. It isn't a dull finish either, kind of more like eggshell paint instead of satin or gloss. My old one was shiny and looked smudgy all the time. This one doesn't. Mine doesn't fit under the counter and I use it enough so putting it away in the pantry doesn't happen so often. I recommend the non glossy colors if you use your mixer a lot and want it to sit out all the time.