Kenwood major mixer - Worth buying ?

TokyoJoe

Hello , My fist post in Money Saving old syle.

I have been offered a very good price on a Kenwood Major mixer . These are the huge industrial looking Kenwood mixers with a dough hook, K beater & Whisk. My grandmother had an old Kenwood that she used over a 40 year period and was very happy with. My wife and I occasionally enjoy making bread and cakes but even at the price ( less than half RRP ) I have been offered it is still a significant investment. The model offered to me also stopped being produced in 2003 so although brand new is not the latest / greatest.

Question is are these devices worth the money and do they significantly change the quality of things like bread and cakes that you can bake at home

Thistle-down

yes yes yes YES!

I have a Kenwood Major PM900 and a Kenwood Chef A701A. The Major will probably outlast me.

Things get mixed much more thoroughly but to be honest I bake a lot more now because it is so much easier with a Kenwood. Plus all the attachments that go with the mixer make cooking easier - the grater/shredder/slicer, blender, mincer, sausage maker, wheat grinder, juicer, ice cream maker...the list goes on! I love them all!

If you are only baking for two you may find the Major a bit big, but you can always bake larger batches and freeze the excess.

I wouldn't be without mine!

clutterbunny

I couldnt agree more with Thistle-down. I love mine. He has been renamed Mr Kenwood and is jokingly refered to as my other husband.
Some weeks I use him everyday and he is big enough to make large batches of cakes, bread ect.
I cook more because of him and we eat much better now. I can wip up pizzas in 1/2 an hour. My breadmaker is redundant as it is easier to make in Mr Kenwood.
Well worth getting one.

CB

Addiscomber

I have had a Kenwood Chef for about 20 years and used it 2 or 3 times a week, making bread and cakes. While it does cope with the maximum amount of bread dough that it is supposed to be capable of I always felt that it was at the limit, and this is one of the A901s that are more solidly made than the current models.

As my family expressed a preference for home made bread I managed to get an older Major on eBay last autumn, and it does a full bag of bread flour with ease. Since I got it we have hardly bought any bread.

It is happier with at least a double cake recipe - doesn't seem to like messing with a tiny bit at the bottom of the bowl. So as Thistle-down says, you really neeed a freezer to make the most of the economies of scale, both time and money wise.

apprentice_tycoon

clutterbunny wrote: »

I couldnt agree more with Thistle-down. I love mine. He has been renamed Mr Kenwood and is jokingly refered to as my other husband.

I called mine The Beast and sold it after a year and went back to a Chef.

At the time I was doing a lot of baking so I wasn't fazed by having a big machine but I got really fed up with the depth of the bowl, the beater always left a little unmixed at the bottom, that's OK with a Chef because you can get in with bendy spatula to mix it in but with the Major there isn't a spatula or spoon long enough and I always felt that I was up to my armpit trying to get to the bottom of the bowl.

csarina

In a word YES!!!!!!!!!!!

Thistle-down

the beater always left a little unmixed at the bottom

It sounds like your k-beater wasn't adjusted down low enough - I have mine set to just barely clear the bowl without it making a 'clink' and it never leaves anything unmixed.

halloweenqueen_2

Supposed to be able to get a piece of paper between beater and bowl nothing more!
BUY IT!!!!!!

Crazychik

Ive now in-herrited my mum's kenwood chef/mixer. She brought it just over 40yrs ago for £22. Its got all the attachments too and still in great working order. Wouldn't be without it!

Hapless_2

Kenwood, can't beat them! If you only ever have one mixer in your life, have a Kenwood!

TokyoJoe

Thanks guy's for all the useful posts. I am now the proud owner of a KM005 .
If I could ask a couple of further questions.

Apart from the attachments that come as standard what would you recommend as an additional must have attachment ?

The machine I brought was an ex display ( At John Lewis ) and the recipie book was lost . Although Kenwood have agred to send this to me what would you recommend as a first recipie to really show case what the Major can do?

I am cooking for 4 , we love fresh bread and cakes . We have a freezer to store any surplus.