The KitchenAid 4.5 qt Ultra Power was not the largest or most powerful stand mixer available, but it has been up to every task in my kitchen for years. It is a perfect compromise in it's size, power and cost. Mixing Performance This mixer has handled everything I have thrown at it... including the toughest dough. I have several accessory attachments such as the pasta maker and the meat grinder. All perform flawlessly and with no sign of straining this machine. It has an abundant selection of mixing speeds for every possible need. Ease of Cleaning The mixing bowl (of which I have an extra for ease of use) and the mixing attachments all rinse clean quite easily. I have never had the need to deeply clean the machine itself. Ease of Use The levers on this mixer make turning on and changing speed easy, even with an oven mitt on. Attaching the mixing paddles is effortless once you are accustomed to how the attach. The bowl itself can sometimes be difficult to remove if it has be tightened too much... but it is never more than a momentary inconvenience. Accessories attach easily as well. The most difficult operation is adding flour without dumping it on the counter... there are tricks to aid this operation, but I always opt for the fast and (sometimes) dirty method of just dumping it and cleaning the counter later. Design Overall, the design is quite pleasing. It adds a certain seriousness to the kitchen, but in a way that is elegant as opposed to the industrialized look many modern appliances have adopted. Durability This thing is quite heavy and equally strong. I can't imagine the frame ever breaking under normal use. I am not certain of the internals (the gears may be plastic) but mine has been going strong for many years with no end in sight.

sck629

Garland, TX

We received this as a wedding gift in 1997. It has worked wonderfully since day one! It was even in our basement during a flood, and still works great! I bake cakes, make home made frosting, and other yummy treats. My husband grinds up meat and plans on making his own sausages. By far, our most well loved and used wedding gift!!! :) Mixing Performance The lowest speed is faster than my handheld mixer at it's s highest speed. And the strength of the mechanism is noticeably stronger than the handheld. Ease of Cleaning Nearly seamless design makes cleanup so easy. Ease of Use Only 2 switches - the speed settings and the unlock/lock lever. Makes it easy to use. Design Very sturdy design, so it takes the strong torque of the mixer. It's sleek yet vintage looking at the same time. Ours is green, and the color is great. No enamel chipping at all. Durability Very durable. Runs smoothly for such a strong machine. Heavy duty, quality materials and workmanship.

jbuanthorne

Mchenry, IL

I can honestly say that I am in love with my Kitchen Aid Ultra Power stand mixer. I registered for this when I was engaged and it was the wedding gift which excited me the most. Not a week has gone by in the 10 years I have been married when I have not used my KitchenAid mixer! I have the graphite color, which is a matte finish and just gorgeous. It has held up well to four moves and constant use. The attachments that come with the mixer are wonderful - a dough hook, a paddle mixer, and a whisk-type mixer. All three of them get used and do their jobs flawlessly. I also love the splash guard which came with my mixer, great for kids adding flour to cookie dough, etc. The bowl easily fits in my dishwasher for simple cleaning. I am proud to have this sitting out on my kitchen counter and tell all brides-to-be to register for one! The only thing I want now is more attachments and an extra bowl or two, I know what will be on my Christmas list!! Mixing Performance I love love love the power of this stand mixer! Ease of Cleaning Mixer attachment and bowl fit nicely in my dishwasher for easy cleaning. Ease of Use A no-brainer!! Design Great Durability I have used mine for 10+ years without any problems.

Mollybug2

Milwaukee, WI

I received this as a gift at my bridal shower. Oh my goodness it is amazing. All the girls were jealous, and now that I have made countless recipes in it, they are even more envious. Baking is so much fun now. It has always been a hobby of mine, but now it is so much easier.For our holiday party I was able to get out twice the sweets in half the time! I made so many different things. I even made my own frosting, which I hate to make because it is time consuming, but with the mixer it was so much easier. It comes with three different sized mixing elements. The whisk is good for mixing stuff fast. The paddle is really good for thick doughs. The third I haven't used much. It also comes with a splatter shield. Which helps reduce the flour messes. I live in high altitudes so I'm constantly adding more flower and this makes it so much easier. The power on this thing is better than my mom's mixer. I rarely have to go above a 3 because it is so powerful. but one is delicate! it is so great. I would recommend this product to anybody. Plus it looks great sitting on my counter. Not too flashy, not too bland! EDITED: After a year and a half of use it still works great. It makes perfectly shredded chicken, mixes bread dough with ease, and is still so much fun to bake with! It still works just as good as when I received it!

FlagstaffHippie

Flagstaff, AZ

***Kitchen-Aid KMS90 Mixer does a wonderful job in our country kitchen. The accompaning attachments make numerous processing jobs much simpler, The dough paddle could be a bit heaver duty even for a household mixer, Really strains on heavier cookie and bread doughs. We are very pleased with the overall performance of the unit.***

winddancer1851

Cody, WY

My sister gave me this mixer as a Christmas gift. I fell in love with it immediately. Although the mixer is quite heavy, it works wonderfully. I used to use a hand-held mixer and found it difficult to adequately mix some things like heavy dough because it was hard to hold the bowl and mix at the same time. This mixer solves that problem. It is heavy duty and does a great job of mixing everything. This mixer is also quiet. My old hand-held mixer was so loud that nobody could hear while I was using it. This mixer works quietly which is very nice. I would definitely recommend this mixer to anyone who does a lot of baking. I think this mixer is very high quality and does its job very well. You won't be disappointed if you get this.

hmkoct5

San Antonio, TX

We have made a lot of cookies in our family using the KitcenAid Ultra Power mixer. It is tough and sturdy and can handle some pretty thick dough. I can remember as a kid my mom's mixers always burning out because she mixed something too heavy in it. We have not, nor do I think we ever will, have that problem with this mixer. The mixing blade took some time for me to get used to in that it isn't two beaters like I grew up with. It works just fine, it is just different. The only thing that drives me crazy about the mixer is that one can not just add ingredients to the bowl while it is running. The bowl is very slim and there isn't enough room. They do make an attachment that allows you to pour things in, but without that you have to stop mixing, raise the head of the mixer, add your ingredients and start the mixer again. Still, it works great and otherwise is easy to use. There are lots of attachments you can buy for it, but we never have done much with ours except baking. It comes with a wisk and a beater head and a dough blade, all of which we have used with success. One last thing is that it looks cool. I have a blue one but I think it is neat that you can get one to match your kitchen. Pick your color wisely though because as much as it costs and as long as it will last, you won't be buying another one to update the color.

Coupons4you

Delton, MI

Ok, this little machine was at the TOP of my wedding registry. I didn't really care what else I got as long as I got my mixer!!! Seriously, my favorite thing in the kitchen! I LOVE to cook and this baby helps so much. I use it to mix cakes, frostings, bread, batters, and nearly everything else. I absolutely love having a dough hook as I make A LOT of breads and other things that have a dough. I also like all the attachments you can get. Shredding cheese is a favorite, and making homemade pasta is awesome! We have even tried the meat grinder once and that worked out really well. I really like the color of this one. Since its not shiny it doesn't carry fingerprints. The absolutey ONLY drawback for this one is that I kinda wish I would have gotten the step up and gone with the more powerful one. However, this is only because I like to make BIG batches of bread, like 6 loaves. This machine can't quite handle that many. I usually just compensate by doing half batches and that works well. But that is really the only thing I don't like about it!

abbeybutton

Phoenix, AZ

I don't think anyone could not love a KitchenAid Stand Mixer, even someone who hates to cook / bake would love how much easier it makes everything. I resisted getting one for a long time but then my (wonderful) husband got me one as a suprise on Christmas. I was immediately looked I mix everything in it but I especially love it for baking bread. Bread used to be a hit and miss thing for me but with my KitchenAid it's delicious everytime. The bowl is sturdy we only have one little dent and with six kids and a impatient Mom that's pretty great. It looks nice in the kitchen too which is good because it's a little heavy to be putting it away all of the time. Heavy is good though, you need heavy if you are going to be mixing up dough for two large loaves of cinnamon bread, or pizza dough for 8 hungry people. I even use it for the things that require little mixing like brownies or jell - o it's just so easy. My one complaint and I don't think this applies to many people's mixers is the coated beaters. Mine came with a white coated flat beater and dough hook and the coating chipped off the flat beater (right after I received it) that was very annoying. So stick with stainless steel if you can.

racecarsupervisor

Ogden, UT

First of all, I am a huge fan of Kitchen Aid mixers.  I grew up with a KitchenAid mixer, and can't imagine not having one.  I then had a white one for years, but got this one when I redid my kitchen since the white one no longer matched.  Kitchen Aid mixers last so many years, and can do such a variety of things.  They also sell attachments to go on the front of them, such as cheese shredders, meat grinders, etc.  I recently learned you can even get an ice cream maker attachment of some sort??  Anyhow, I use my KitchenAid more than any other appliance in my kitchen.  I recommend you getting the color you truly want, this will be with you for years.  We have an annual cooking event where we run several mixers for about 8 hours straight in preparation for the event.  We only use KitchenAid mixers for this, we have tried others and they burn up if ran that long.  We have never had a KitchenAid burn up on us during this!  These are tough mixers, and do a great job at whatever cooking task you have at hand!

trmitche

Greenville, TX