Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

OK, I will be completely honest, I am not an excellent cook. I am a good one. But I am an excellent baker. I take it extremely seriously and have been baking for a very long time. Like any baker, novice or highly skilled, I take pride in what I bake and how it is done. And sometimes there is frustration with a mixer and you just forgo it and attack it with good old arm strength to get the last bit of work into something, like a dough. So when this stand mixer arrived I wondered would it stand up to my KitchenAid 600 or would I be left doing more work than I normally would. Thankfully, I can answer that the Brevile 5 quart mixer handles extremely well! I made two things to test it out: mashed potatoes and cheesecake, don't judge me, that covers most of the food groups. The flat beater handled the potatoes fine. And the added bonus was that the Breville didn't shift across the table on a higher setting, there was a slight vibration. The second test was with the cheesecake. A nice smooth cheesecake is what I like, a thick texture that is also velvety. I do use the wire whip even after I've added the cream cheese just to get a little bit more air. And, again, the Breville had no issues and since I do like a thicker cheesecake, it was nice to see the wire whip hold up. Here are a few added pluses of this beauty: The release button! Gives you more access to the bowl by releasing and raising the mixer head for adding more ingredients. The chrome finish is lovely and goes with the decor of any kitchen due to its simplicity. It comes with an instruction manual that has a few solid recipes. The weight of it was a pleasant surprise, by no means is it light, 20 pounds., give or take. But it is evenly distributed and stays put when going on its highest setting. It comes with a great pour guard. But the best attachment is the scraper beater, also included is the standard flat, it has rubber edges that were able to scrape the sides of the bowl while mixing the cheesecake and mashed potatoes without me having to stop the mixer!!! I don't know if this will work with everything, probably not, but it was great to have a little bit of a time saver. And speaking of time savers, it comes with a digital one that can count down or up and set a mixing time for what you are making so you don't over or under whip. While this is great, I won't be using it often, if at all, there are far too many variables that go along with baking/cooking to determine a "set time," but it is nice to have a guesstimate. And you get a spatula. Yes, I was excited about the spatula. The cord can also be hidden away inside of the Breville, love it. A clear to read LED speed indicator. Again, this is a great mixer that is comparable to the KitchenAid Pro which I have and am a fan of. I hope I covered enough bases to aid in the help of purchasing a great mixer. There are other mixers out there, Vikings, Artisans, etc. But budget, usability, and sometimes the loudness of the motor are all factors. Breville does very nicely in all three of those areas. It is not the cheapest mixer, but it is a very well made one that is comparable to models that run a bit higher, giving you a bit more attachments as well. It is also solidly built and looks as if it may withstand the test of time. **Update** I've had my Breville for quite a while now and am very happy to say that it is still running amazingly well! No motor burn out, frayed cord, all the digital readings still work, etc -- even the plastic spatula that came with it to scrape the inside of the bowl is still intact. To say I use it constantly would be a bit of an understatement. I use this mixer on average of three times a week, two days ago I made coconut/walnut cookies. It really is a solid buy, and I've never had a hiccup, not very often can you say that about products made these days.