The KitchenAid Artisan Series surely is gorgeous and pretty to look at, but don’t let this fool into thinking that looks are all it’s got. It is pretty rugged and can take a beating, it has lots of horsepower so you can knead, whip and mix like child’s play.

Features

10 speed control settings, solid state

-Includes a dough hook, flat beater and wire whip

-Unique mixing action

-Powered by a 325 watt motor

-Pouring shield

-Dimensions: H 13.9″ x W 8.7″ D 14.1″ 22.8lbs

-Includes power hub for additional attachments

-Ergonomic handle

-Tilt-back head design for mixer

-5 quart stainless steel mixing bowl

Our Rating =

Pros and Cons

You may not be able to use the KitchenAid Artisan Series right away after unpacking it, you need to read the instruction manual a bit more thoroughly before whipping away. Quite a number of people have reported that there were some dry ingredients left in the bottom of the bowl, and some have reported that the mixing head scraped the bottom of the bowl. The root cause for this mixer behavior is an adjustment screw that raises or lowers the mixing assembly, you may need to adjust yours after unpacking it–How? I heard you asking, using the flat beater, just drop a dime into the bowl then turn it on, set the speed to 2. The dime should move to about one fourth or one half of an inch each time the flat beater rotates around the bowl. That is the right clearance so that the beater can scrape everything without touching the bottom of the bowl. This information came from the customer support of KitchenAid–which is excellent by the way. KitchenAid could have pre-adjusted the mixing assembly clearance in the factory though.

The 325 watt motor is surely handy for the tough jobs, kneading bread dough is the ultimate test for stand mixers, a lot of mixers surrender their ghost when subjected to repeated and heavy kneading, but the KitchenAid Artisan Series won’t, it was designed and built to take punishment. The mixing bowl locks steadily into place. The mixer has a unique mixing action, the beater spins clockwise while the shaft moves counter-clockwise, this makes the beater move around 67 points around the bowl which results in a very uniform and consistent mix. The 5 quart stainless steel bowl is roomy enough to handle a large batch of mixture, it also has an ergonomic handle that is contoured to fit your hands. The mixer comes with a pouring shields so that you can easily add ingredients and it also prevents the mix from splashing out of the bowl. The tilt-back head makes for an easy access to the bowl and the beaters, it locks tightly into place too, so you won’t worry about the head dropping down accidentally while you are putting in ingredients or taking out the mix from the bowl. The KitchenAid Artisan Series is more than just a mixer, if you purchase the optional accessories, you can do a lot more with it, you could stuff sausages with it, roll pastas, make raviolis and even make ice cream–just like how KitchenAid described this mixer, “Does everything but hug your kids”.

Overall, the KitchenAid Artisan Series is a must for the serious baker and home chef. For the weekend warriors who makes baked brownies and cakes, the KitchenAid Artisan Series might be an overkill, the classic Series of KitchenAid might be a better fit for them. This mixer is not named the Artisan Series for nothing, it comes in lots of colors, 25 colors when I counted it from the KitchenAid site. With colors ranging from Metallic chrome to Yellow Pepper to Onyx Black, you are sure to find the KitchenAid Artisan mixer to blend in with your kitchen.