The machine in the kitchen: a review of kitchen machines

“There won’t be anything but kitchen machines,” is probably the thinking of the people who design these appliances. Indeed, their owners do not need separately neither meat grinders, nor mixers, nor blenders, nor juicers, nor coffee grinders, nor … However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Where did the machine grow from and what does astronomy have to do with it?

In the beginning, there was the mixer. But not simple, but planetary. The first place in its invention and popularization belongs to the American company KitchenAid – more than 90 years ago under this brand name was released the world’s first planetary mixer. What the planets have to do with it? It turns out that it’s all about the principle of rotating nozzles. Based on a model of the structure of any star system, including the solar system, where the planets revolve around a star and at the same time make revolutions around their axis in the opposite direction.

This “double” movement, when the nozzles rotate around the perimeter of the bowl and simultaneously around its own axis, allows the most efficient mixing of ingredients and achieve homogeneity of the mixed mass. All industrial mixers have exactly this principle of operation, and what about mixers, even concrete mixers! And such a planetary mixer is what formed the basis of modern kitchen machines.

You have a motor, you have a bowl, and the only thing left is to “equip” the device with different attachments – here you have a kitchen machine. But there are also planetary mixers which have a professional kneading function, and these devices cannot be called “kitchen machines” if there is no possibility to buy additional attachments.

However, planetary mixers – for example, Bomann KM 362, Bomann KM 370 CB, Clatronic KM 3323, Bork E800 or Stadler Form Mixer Three SFM.3000 – respected by professional cooks and experienced hostesses alike, occupying its own special “semi-professional” niche among mixers.

The possibilities are almost limitless

Just like an ordinary machine, a kitchen machine has “basic equipment” and options – attachments that can always be purchased later, if desired. In fact, buying a kitchen machine, you can always be guided solely by your own culinary needs. See our comparison chart for a complete picture of equipment and performance.

Additionally, depending on the model and manufacturer, you can buy attachments that perform the following functions: coffee grinder, multi-shredder, grinder for cereals, citrus juicer, berry press, regular juicer, meat grinder, potato peeler, ice cream maker, a variety of grater-shredder, dicer attachment for making Korean carrots and fries, attachment for cooking a variety of pasta – shaped, flat, spaghetti, etc. d.

The “advanced” models have several sockets for different attachments: high-speed, medium-speed, low-speed, and a socket for planetary-mixing attachments. Top class – when all 4 sockets with different drives can work simultaneously, as in some Kenwood models.

But the one socket option like KitchenAid’s planetary mixers, which are, in fact, real kitchen machines is also handy and simple, although it doesn’t allow multiple attachments to work at the same time.

And Bosch has developed and patented a multifunctional lever for attaching attachments in different positions with three drive shafts – also a great solution.

There are also machines with one or two sockets, they are more compact and suitable even for a small kitchen, such as Moulinex, Bosch, Russell Hobbs. But the obligatory minimum are whisk attachments, hook attachments, large kneading attachments and their shapes and materials are developed individually by each manufacturer, like the K-shaped brand attachment for curd and other soft dough at Kenwood and a few necessary attachments according to the manufacturer’s choice, such as a meat grinder, juicer, jug blender and food processor, as in the Kenwood Prospero.

In general, nozzles for mixing hooks, whiskers in kitchen machines are not the same as in conventional mixers – they are larger, often have a special shape for better enrichment of mixtures with air, such as round or “balloon-shaped” whiskers.

With or without heating?

The latest trend in the kitchen machine market is devices with the ability not only to process and mix ingredients, but also to cook directly in the same appliance on an induction heating element. We think this segment will grow: the economy of the device has already caught the taste of Europeans. The first such machine is the Kenwood Cooking Chef, and more affordable versions are available under German brands: the Bomann KM 379 CB and Clatronic KM 3476 Cook & Mix.

The integrated induction hob not only saves time, space and requires less cookware but also meets the requirements of high-end professional cooking by allowing you to set the cooking time and temperature from 20°C to 140°C with an accuracy of 2°C. A special built-in double thermometer measures the temperature inside the pan. During heating, ingredients can be mixed at 3 speeds in 3 algorithms.

Control

As a rule, a huge number of speeds in a kitchen machine is not used even by professional cooks, the optimal number is 5-6. In almost all models – electronic speed control. Pulse or turbo mode is necessary to break lumps in the dough, for example.

Control of appliances with the ability to heat food is not without a timer and LCD display, which displays all the parameters.

“I asked for 400, and here it’s 402!”

An accurate electronic scale is a necessary thing in the high kitchen, besides, it can be useful for those who watch the figure and count calories, for sportsmen, for mothers of small children. There are kitchen machines with built-in electronic scales, but they are few, there are models for which you can buy scales.

For example, the AT850B scales are an option for Kenwood Chef including Cooking Chef and Kenwood Major models, they allow you to weigh all the ingredients in one bowl, zeroing and memorizing the previous result each time, which is very convenient and does not require multiple food containers.

Who to choose from?

The market of these devices in our country is very narrow, no more than 30 models and modifications , most of them we have collected in the table. It’s encouraging that there is still a choice: from the expensive Kenwood and KitchenAid versions to the more democratic Bomann, Clatronic, Moulinex and Russel Hobbs.

In the Kenwood and Bosch lines, you can find semi-professional and purely household appliances that cost less. The difference is mainly in the power max. The power of a half-professional and a household appliance with a wattage of 1200-1600 W and other technical engines, in the size of the bowl, in the dimensions, and in the basic set of nozzles. It must be said that the question of power is an important. For example, in most cases with power 500-600W meat grinders in these units work poorly, cope only with tender fish, liver or selected meat, which has not a vein.

For comparison, the maximum power of individual meat grinders starts at 1500 watts and goes up to 2000-3000 watts. Centrifugal juicers at this capacity also perform worse than individual appliances that have higher power.

But for kneading all kinds of dough the power of 500 watts is quite enough, for squeezing juice from citrus and berries, for making pasta, for shaping dough for cookies, for stuffing home sausages, for grating and shredding – too.

THERE IS AN OPINION..

Comment from Kenwood:

If you want to knead very stiff dough, such as pasta, Italian pasta, then 500 watts won’t be enough. Moreover, even 1000 watts may not be enough for high-quality mixing. One of the advantages of Kenwood kitchen machines is the ability to knead very stiff dough and make real Italian pasta.

From the websites of the official representative and online stores of KitchenAid in America:

The motors of KitchenAid planetary mixers are designed to the highest efficiency standards, allowing them to deliver better performance using less power.

Power KitchenAid mixer 300 W is the manufacturer’s guaranteed constant power for 10 minutes of continuous operation of the device not the maximum power consumption when the engine is locked. The fact that the mixers of this manufacturer use direct drive motors, which are more stable and quiet, and perfectly cope with very viscous or steep dough. – Note. edits .