The basic design of the kitchenAid mixer has been around for decades. It does a great job of the mixing most families require of this appliance. Unlike the more popular, in the past, Sunbeam Mixmaster, the KitchenAid comes with three different beaters: a flat one for most purposes, a wire whisk type beater for whipping eggs, egg whites, and cream, and a hook for kneading dough.

What is impressive about this small appliance is how well made it is. We've had our KitchenAid K45, sort of today's Classic model, for more than thirty years, and after more than average use, there is nothing wrong with it. The plastic coating on the flat beater suffered a cut, and eventually I tore the rest of it off the beater. The original shield, a circular aluminum band about one and one half inches wide, has disappeared. Someone gave us the updated pouring shield, a white plastic model with an area for pouring in ingredients. This works well, and I have learned how to move it over the head of the mixer when I need to, and I have learned how to move it back to position without turning on the mixer which I used to do. I see that the current pouring shield comes apart. I have never used it, but it should be an improvement over what I have.

Perhaps one of the drawbacks of the KitchenAid is the need for a shield, and that the large motor head does pose a little problem when adding ingredients. And, there is no way to take off the head and use it as a portable mixer -- but given the size and weight of the head, not to mention that the planetary action of the beater movement would make holding it by hand extremely difficult -- that is not a surprise.

For years I have watched the changes in KitchenAid mixer models. I've seen a lot of different colors, finishes, changes in wattage, the soft start feature, a great idea, and the introduction of the six quart model, currently the largest KitchenAid home mixer. But, really, the K45, now the Classic, we were given thirty years ago is still available.

The customer support of KitchenAid is impressive. When I called the customer service department about ordering a new glass measuring cup for the A-9 Coffee Mill, Kitchenaid offered to send me one for free. For our mixer, I have had to replace the rubber feet. No problem, they are available.

What do we use our mixer for? Making cakes, both boxed and from scratch, mixing cookie dough, combining ingredients quickly as for pate choux (cream puffs), mixing meat loaf, making mashed potatoes, beating egg whites (I can't think of anything that does a better job at this task), making pie dough (this is so easy, and it took me just a few tries to master it) come to my mind quickly.

My son has the pasta roller attachment for his KitchenAid, and he says it works very well, I have the pasta plates for the food grinder, and I tried it once. I wasn't good at using that pasta attachment, and it was a lot of work. There is still a can opener attachment. I wonder who would ever buy that. We have used in the past the roto slicer, the food grinder, and the citrus squeezer attachment, but the citrus squeezer is so high up that I think it would be uncomfortable for most consumers. Another problem with the citrus squeezer is that the citrus must be pressed to the side, and not down. Years ago my parents bought the ice cream maker attachment, which was like a regular ice cream maker (I thought it might have been made by White Mountain because of the design). It made two quarts of ice cream. There is today a new type of ice cream maker that does not require ice and salt like mine did. It must be put in the freezer for fifteen hours before being used, however. We did use the dough hook, but since we have a large Cuisinart food processor, we no longer use the Kitchenaid for bread dough. For slicing and grating, the processor is better.

I've noticed that just recently major small appliance makers, such as Hamilton Beach and Atreezzi by Jenn Air, have come out with very similar competitors. I have wondered if original patents have expired that allowed others to so closely mimic KitchenAid's design. And, there is more high end mixer competition from Viking and Kenwood. These are very expensive, heavy machines. KitchenAid has a popular current tilt head model called the Artisan, with a five quart capacity bowl. Recently, KitchenAid discontinued the Accolade model which was similar in size to the Artisan, but a more rounded bowl and and more powerful motor, 475 watts, with all metal gears. The all metal gears made it stronger and louder. This model may still be available in some stores and in the refurbished line.

In spite of the competition, the longevity of the Kitchenaid has proved its design and its reliability. This is a top choice for the prolific home cook.