KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-quart Mixer Buyers' Guide
Since its introduction in 1919, the KitchenAid® stand mixer has been a popular choice for professional and home chefs alike, adding style and serious mixing power to their kitchens. The KitchenAid 5-quart mixer from the Artisan Series® comes with features that users know and love, as well as some that are unique to this model.
Famous KitchenAid Style
KitchenAid's stand mixers and other appliances are perhaps best known for the wide array of available color options, and the KitchenAid Artisan Mixer is no different. It comes in more than 20 colors, including classic tones like Empire red and Raspberry Ice, bright shades like Buttercup, Crystal Blue, Green Apple, and Tangerine, and more subtle options like Almond Cream, Imperial Black, Metal Nickel, and White on White.
Since these models weigh in at 26 pounds and can be cumbersome to relocate, many home chefs prefer to leave theirs on display. If you have the countertop space available for that, you might choose a color that complements your kitchen design or use your KitchenAid stand mixer to effortlessly add a burst of color to an otherwise monotone kitchen.
The KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer stands at 14 inches tall when the head is tilted down and at 17-1/2 inches when the head is tilted up, and is 9-1/2 inches wide and 14-1/2 inches long. Keep those measurements in mind when deciding where your new mixer will be kept.
Artisan Series Features
The KitchenAid Artisan mixer is powerful enough to handle everyday household recipes, from batter to dough, and the stainless steel 5-quart bowl can mix nine dozen cookies, four and a half loaves of bread, or seven pounds of mashed potatoes at once. With 67 touch-points for superior beater-to-bowl coverage, this model provides comprehensive mixing abilities and offers 10 speed settings. The six speeds indicated on the speed control lever are stir, speed two for slow mixing, speed four for mixing and beating, speed six for beating and creaming, speed eight for fast beating and whipping, and speed 10 for fast whipping, but speeds three, five, seven, and nine can also be selected.
The KitchenAid 5-quart mixer features the convenient tilt-head design, which makes it easy for users to attach and remove the beaters, attachments, and bowl, and add ingredients. It also includes a pouring shield, which helps users add ingredients and keep lightweight components contained during the mixing process, and wire whip, as well as a flat beater and C-shaped dough hook that are made with nylon-coated steel. The wire whip is ideal for mixtures that need to incorporate air, such as eggs or egg whites, heavy cream, sponge cakes, and mayonnaise, while the flat beater is excellent for normal to heavy mixtures like cakes, cookies, biscuits, mashed potatoes, or meat loaf. The dough hook is a necessary tool for mixing and kneading yeast doughs, and it is recommended that they be mixed on speed two.
This KitchenAid Artisan mixer also includes the multipurpose power hub, which can connect with optional KitchenAid stand mixer attachments. The power hub is compatible with at least 12 different optional attachments, which lets users utilize the mixer as a food grinder, slicer/shredder, strainer, ice cream maker, and more. These attachments are sold separately and can greatly expand the value of your new equipment.
KitchenAid Artisan Design Series
The Artisan Design® series offers all of the benefits of the basic Artisan models, with a few additional perks. The flat beater and dough hook included are made from burnished metal instead of nylon-coated steel. Instead of a stainless steel bowl, these models come standard with a 5-quart glass bowl that has a convenient pouring spout and measurement marking; however, it does not include a pour shield and available pour shields are not made to fit the glass bowls. Additionally, the colors in the Design Series are available in several premium metallic and pearl finishes.
