Kenwood Kmix Food Mixer And Stand From Ao.com Review

Reviewed by Keith Mitchell

www.ao.com

I was ecstatic to get picked for this review as I love baking and my old stand mixer is now nearly 10 years old, so an upgrade was a very welcome addition to my kitchen.

The kMix arrived in a HUGE box, covered in a cellophane wrap, it’s incredibly weighty so don’t expect cheap and cheerful with this one. The outside of the box shows you what to expect inside with a true to size picture of the stand mixer in spicy red on the front of the box. It also has a panel to indicate what colour is inside the box too, I got a fresh cream one, other colours are also available; rich black and cool white.

Kenwood has been in operation since 1947 when Kenneth Wood when he had an idea and vision to make technology a part of cooking and changed the way we use the kitchen and appliances ever since. All their products are designed and engineered in the UK, using the best materials and then tested individually so you can be assured that you are getting a quality item and a great investment for your kitchen. The kMix is no exception, as soon as you take it out of the box the feel and quality speak for itself, the design is subtle and sleek and the mixer just feels robust and ready to stand the test of time.

Opening the box you can see the mixer has been packaged extremely well, the main components are all neatly nestled in polystyrene and separate from one another to stop them knocking around during transit and damaging each other.

Unboxing a new toy is always fun and this kMix is no exception, there is a little pouch with instructions, a sheet with available accessories and guarantee information – the kMix is guaranteed for 5 years. Also in the box are the tools, a beater, whisk and dough hook are included as standard as is a spatula for scraping the bowl and a handy splashguard. Further into the box and polystyrene you find the mixer itself and the glass bowl, both of these are heavy, substantial and I’m pretty sure built to withstand an apocalypse, so even when the world comes to an abrupt end, cakes will be available for whoever is left!

Now I have owned a kMix before and it has been going for I would say nearly 10 years, it is trusty, a workhorse and just keeps going. It is however not the most aesthetically pleasing kitchen accessory and deserves to be kept in a cupboard. What I can say for this newer bigger, heavier brother is that it is designed not only to be used and used hard, but it is designed to be seen, by anyone and everyone that comes to your house. Show it off, it is a beautifully designed – in all ways bit of kitchen kit and I must applaud Kenwood for this, it’s not often you look at something in the kitchen and think, “I need one of those,” but in this instance I really do and luckily for me I now have a brand new sparkly one.

The instructions set out how to use it and how to attach the beater, whisk and dough hook, the show you how to put the bowl on and take it off and how to operate the mixer. It also includes safety information and information regarding the glass bowl. There is a chart for recommended usage for each attachment so you have a rough idea of what to use each item for. There is also care and cleaning information, handily the bowl, splashguard and attachments can all be put in the dishwasher and of course washed by hand. Service and customer care information can also be found in the instruction booklet.

Using it is a different experience too, it is heavy and robust, you can tell just from tilting the head to get the big glass bowl in that it is built well, the mechanism is smooth and solid and not clunky in the slightest. The dial is smooth and doesn’t click from one number to the next, the motor is quiet – compared to others at least and the parts fit seamlessly together. On the base where you put the bowl in is inscribed on the metal ring the phrase ‘happy baking’ I thought this was a really cute, thoughtful touch and it made me smile. The glass bowl also has a raised dimple in the middle, this means that the beater, whisk or hook can go around the bottom of the bowl and mix in as much of the ingredients as possible and not leave butter or anything else stuck to the bottom of the bowl, a tiny, well thought out little design feature that sets it apart from others. For any bits that haven’t quite mixed in or might have been missed the spatula is excellent for making sure nothing is missed or wasted. The splash guard is great for keeping all the ingredients in the bowl and not spitting out around the kitchen the guard also has a hinged section that you can lift to add more ingredients.

The kMix is easy to clean and wash up too, the body is all smooth and doesn’t have many nooks and cranny’s that ingredients can get into, so a quick spray and wipe down is all that is needed, the rest I washed up if I wanted to use it again straight away and popped it all in the dishwasher when when I was done.

There are a number of attachments also available to add to the kMix to add to your kitchen gadgetry, pasta cutters, food mincer, fruit press, a rotary slicer/grater, a grinding mill, a spiraliser, a juicer, a pasta shaper, pasta rollers and a ravioli maker. So whatever you fancy doing in the kitchen it may well be worth investing in a little gadget to attach to the kMix to make your life a little easier.

All in all this is an amazing piece of kitchen equipment and for a budding baker, home cook or chef I would absolutely recommend the kMix, I’m hoping it will last many years to come and we will have many many more years of baking, kitchen gadgets and hundreds of cakes, biscuits and brownies to enjoy.

Rating: 4.5/5

RRP: £449

You can purchase this item from AO here.