Cuisinart 5.5-Quart Stand Mixer SM-55: Brushed Chrome

I've been a long-time fan of the KitchenAid mixer. My grandmother has been using the same KitchenAid mixer since the late 50s, and it's still going strong. I was thrilled to get a KitchenAid "Ultra-Power" mixer as a gift about seven years ago, and it worked great for occasional use. Over the past couple of years I've been doing more and more baking, and about a year ago I began making my own bread. After about six months of using my KitchenAid to knead two loaves of whole-wheat bread every week or so, it made a terrible grinding noise, and stopped working. I decided I'd better buy a new KitchenAid with a more powerful motor, and went online to see which was recommended. Much to my surprise, the reviews for the KitchenAid were no longer as positive as they had been. People were complaining about a decrease in quality and customer service. The biggest complaint was that some metal parts had been replaced by plastic, and while it sounded as if the company had recently started making the...Read more

This is a relatively new purchase and it has been used only a few times, but so far everything is working wonderfully. The slow start and fold features are great; it keeps flour-type ingredients from dusting the kitchen counter, and the kitchen floor, and other kitchen appliances - you get the idea. I was happy that it also came with a splash guard for much the same reason! The design is sleek, the control knob works well, overall a good product.

There is one complaint I have: the top cover which also hides the accessory attachment area, is easy to remove. So much so that it sometimes comes off accidentally when raising the mixer head if you grab the wrong part. No big deal really, but something that should be looked at for future product development.

The main point I want to make is the strength of the warranty. To have a company stand behind their equipment by giving a 3 year product warranty and a 5 year motor warranty is very comforting. Compare that...Read more

I bought this to replace a 5 qt. KitchenAid Artisan. I do a little cake decorating and I needed something that would handle large batches of buttercream icing a couple times per week, as well as general kitchen use. It was a toss up between this one and the KitchenAid Pro. I was a little nervous about spending so much money on something that doesn't have the solid reputation that KitchenAid mixers have, but I'm so glad I took the chance! This is a wonderful mixer!! In my opinion, it is far superior to the KitchenAids in almost every way. I would recommend this to anyone.

Pros:

It handles large and small quantities equally well.

The more powerful motor is wonderful! It handles lots of heavy dough and icing with ease.

The splash guard forms a tight seal. Not air tight, but when I make huge batches of buttercream icing (using 5# of powdered sugar) it keeps in all the powdered sugar dust and I don't have quite so much to clean up...Read more