Appliance Reviews

I bought this without researching it, I bought the mixer original for my 2 year daughter.... So she could help in the kitchen. Needless to say the mixer is large, uncomfortable to hold, and about the length of my arm.... It works great whipping eggs, but it is diffcult to use. I am in the process of buying another hand mixer, which will be a bit more ptetit. Since I need something I can use, without feeling like I am doing strength training.... The thing is huge, I have not trained the onion attachment, since I already have a wonderful food processor that does my onion chopping for me.... Did I mention how huge this mixer is :-D

I love everything about this blender. I've used every attachment more times than I care to count, and I'm thinking about buying a second one just for the extra attachments - because I use them so often they always seem to be dirty! I make lotions and soaps, and a hand blender is indispensable. There are tons of hand blenders out there, but very few have a detachable blender attachment and even fewer are stainless steel. These are both very important features to me - I need to be able to run them through the dishwasher and to sterilize them. I also like that the attachments themselves come apart in more than one way - for instance the plastic part of the blender pulls apart from the stainless part - which makes them even easier to get clean. It is also quite powerful. I admit I've never even attempted to use it any higher than speed 2 (it has 4) and that speed is quite fast. I would imagine that the higher speeds should only be used for short bursts - prolonged use would likely burn out even the stoutest motor. I highly and thoroughly recommend this product to anyone. As a "power user" of it I have put it through heck, and it performs like a champ.

I needed a hand blender to mix powdered drink mixes. After looking online and at stores, this one is the most bang for the buck! It comes with a "beaker" with metric and standard markings and a snap-on cover, a chopper, and a whisk. The chopper has a nonskid base so it won't slide around on the counter. Cleanup is easy, and it also comes with a plastic wall mount bracket.

The only minuses are that it's heavy, but that's due to the heavy-duty motor. Also, the switch is a bit tricky to press, but that is probably a safety feature.

I was very diappointed with this grill. The set does not include any scrapers to scrape out the cheese, or any tongs to help you grill your food on the top grill. I was hoping for more from T-Fal. It's also very compact, which is great for storage, but horrible if 8 of you are trying to use the grill at the same time.

What's more fun than a raclette party? I enjoyed raclette many years ago while traveling in Switzerland. And just recently, we were invited to a friend's home for a little raclette party. It brought back such good memories! The T-Fal raclette works perfectly well, in my opinion. I didn't think it cooked too quickly or at too high a temp as some have said. It's a very fun way to socialize with your pals, and not be stuck slaving in the kitchen. All the chopping can be done ahead of time, and I ordered my raclette pre-sliced from the deli.
We had ham, shrimp, tomatoes, green onions, and mushrooms, and had diced dill pickles on the table for garnishment once the raclette is cooked, which I HIGHLY recommend. Also, while having raclette with our kids, we found that the younger kids seem to like more kid-friendly cheese- like co-jack. I think we'll make this our Christmas Eve family dinner tradition.

I found this while looking for raclette grills to replace my Stöckli 4-person grill, which has been outgrown despite having served us well. This appears to be an excellent buy. Most raclette grills do not have temperature controls since the process is to grill the cheese and then serve it over your cold meats (sopressata, bressaola, coppacola, anchovies) and potatoes (www.raclette-suisse.ch has more recipes for those new to this dish). Raclette has become a pizza substitute for us since my wife is gluten sensitive and there are lots of ways to enjoy raclette. One barrier to the enjoyment of this in the US has been the price, which this grill provides a very good inexpensive grill that is good for parties or large families.

I can find a 6 speed mixer with the same power output and extra gadgets for about $20 at Target. So I think you are paying a bit extra for a good quality product name, Cuisinart, and the electronic LED. Still, I think that this is among the better hand mixers that is currently for sale at Amazon.

Press the on (on/off) button, and it starts at speed 1 (slowest), rather than the last setting, a safety feature. Touch the "+" button and the LED will indicate speed 2 (up to 7). Touch the "-" button to lower the speed. The fourth control, a trigger below the handle, immediately releases the extra-long stainless steel beaters (without a center post to clog up!).

Controls are intuitive, where they should be, and work exactly right. The mixer is perfectly balanced, comfortable, lightweight, has more than adequate power, and a feature called smooth start ("beaters start spinning very slowly to prevent ingredients from splattering"). When not in use, a heel rest holds the beaters perpendicular to the counter. The cord swivels to either side for right or left hand use. It even comes with a Chef's Wisk, an oversized beater for whipping and aerating (whipped cream, egg whites, etc.) Speed 1 is really slow, and speed 7 is as fast as you'd want, with 5 intervening speeds. Additional speeds seem unnecessary and would mean you'd have to press the + or - more often.

There is one minor thing that could be improved. The cord should be flexible rubber rather than fairly stiff plastic. Also, the business-end of the included spatula is far too stiff. Other than that, this little mixer is just about perfect.

My Cuisinart Smart Power 7 Speed Hand Mixer is the best hand mixer I have ever owned. I have gotten into the habit of reading the reviews of any small kitchen appliances on Amazon.com before I buy them, and boy I am glad I did this time too!

Powerful, sturdy and easy to clean are just a few of the good points for owning one of these great hand mixers. I have made cakes, whipped cream and the famous double batch of chocolate chip cookie dough and nothing stopped it. The LED speed read out is easy to use and read. It is also pretty light weight considering the power it has. The beaters are a lot easier to clean without the center post in them. They seem sturdy and don't look like they would bend or break very easy. Also a big plus is the swivel cord that keeps the cord from tangling.

I really do feel that you get what you pay for with kitchen appliances. It definitely is worth paying more for a high quality mixer that you use a lot then it is to buy a cheap mixer every year. I got this mixer as a gift less than a month ago and have used it at least six times. At that rate a cheap mixer would probably last me less than one year.
It is definitely worth the money for a person who does a lot of cooking.

I hope this helps you in your decision!

Good Luck,

Flo

I just love Kitchen Aid. I own the stand mixer with every attachment that it comes with, the blender, and I'm about to purchase the food processor to replace my old one that is not a kitchen aid.
This particular attachment has not been very useful for me. I tried to shred and slice onions, and celery but neither of them worked. Carrots on the other hand come out great, but how many carrots can you eat?
I have found that using my food processor works much better I end up chopping every thing, but I can deal with that. The only other thing I could think of to use this for is cheese. However, once it's all shredded the cheese begins to dry out, even if it's in tupper ware. So you have to use the cheese up in about a week.
If you are debating on which accessories to buy here is my advice. I like the Vegetable Strainer best, then the Food Grinder, Rotor Slicer/Shredder, and finally the Pasta Maker Plates. As a side note I use my stand mixer about 2 - 3 times a week, and I only used my accessories once in a blue moon. Save your money and kitchen storage space and use a food processor instead.

Although these attachments did a good job of slicing & shredding, I found it difficult to get the cones off after I was finished. The cones get jammed in there somehow, & it's a royal pain to unjam them. I wasn't slicing & shredding large batches of vegetables, so I don't know why this happened. Be that as it may, because of this experience, I sold them & bought another food processor.

I keep my stand mixer on the counter, so this attachment is actually easier to use and less clean up than my food processor. Simply plug in, turn on and go. Also shreds better and faster than my food processor. Cheese, especially, comes out great with this, although I've used it to shred vegetables too with excellent results. Definitely worth the money.

NOTE: To remove the cone from the rotor, unplug the machine, take the whole attachment off the mixer, then just put the rotor, with cone, back into the slot and twist gently. Pops off in a flash.

I normally am only cooking for myself and my fiance, so this crock pot tends to do just fine. I have another one that is much larger - but I barely use it! This crock pot is super cheap, and works fairly well considering the price. It tends to cook a little higher temperature than it should - sometimes stuff gets a little overcooked (depending on what you're making!).

The pot is also easy to clean. The liner inside pulls out and rinses off pretty easily... so far I haven't had many issues with it. For the price, I really can't complain too much. It makes a great crock pot for someone just starting out on their own, or as a gift to a college student or someone getting their first apartment/home. It has its faults, but overall its not a bad appliance.

I paid $5.99 and think it was a fabulous buy! It is a little smaller than most slow cookers - but the perfect size for our family. Also, because the heating elements are on the sides instead of the bottom, it does get hot. But since there's really no need to touch the sides while it's on, that's no big deal. I do wish it had a power indicator. That said, I LOVE that it doesn't take up too much room on the counter and is completely devoid of hokey decoration. We had Coq au Vin last night, and today we're cooking lamb with olive oil, lemon, garlic, rosemary and potatoes. The house smells like heaven! I'm hoping to buy several more at this price for gifts!

The best stew has been made in this very item! Its so easy to wash as well. The pot comes out... & voila, you're done. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves to eat:)

This blender is outstanding, and truly lives up to the reputation Kitchenaid has for producing a quality product. I own a Kitchenaid stand mixer as well as several of their major appliances, and never been disappointed. This blender appealed to me because of the Kitchenaid name, its poweful motor, capacity and stainless steel pitcher. The pitcher is more light wieght and durable than glass (the glass pitcher on the Kitchaid blenders appears especially heavy even when empty), and unlike plastic containers it will not stain, show scratches, crack, or absorb odors. The controls are easy to clean, and the step start (feature that starts the blender at lower speed and then increases power) is a nice touch. I was shocked by some of the negative feedback about this product by other consumers. This is a blender and not a food processor, and therefore would not typically be used for making a puree or cream soup, even though people who manufacture blenders (including Kitchenaid) tell consumers that it can be used effectively for that purpose. I have made smoothies, milk shakes, protein drinks, etc. with this product, and have always been pleased. I do admit that it may be necessary to scrape the sides of the pitcher when making smoothies for example, however, that is the case with most blenders. Most people do use at least some ice when making a smoothie and this blender does not leave any grainy texture in the mixture. My previous blenders have all always left at least small chunks of ice but, this blender has by far yielded the best results. This blender does represent a considerable investment but, it is not likely you will have to replace it for some time.

Let me start out by praising Amazon. They have a great site, it's a great way to shop, one of the best.

This blender works!! I mix heavy shakes with this. I mean thick shakes with oatmeal in them. It doesn't labor, the motor doesn't have a burning smell like other blenders I have had. I broke the glass on my old blender and they wanted $50.00 for a new jar. I saw this one and bought it right away. I don't blend fruit in it so I can't speak for the job it does with that. I do blend ice cubes and it works great on blending the ice for a great shake. The best is the stainless steel jar, you can toss this around without worrying about breaking it. Get it, don't settle for less. If you don't get it, you will have two blenders some day. This one and the other one you don't use.

This Blender worked great for awhile, almost a year, and then the coupler fell apart, the plastic gear mechanism that connects the motor to the blade, became damaged. I called KitchenAid, was on hold for under 30 seconds and after I gave them the serial number, and model number they said another product was on the way. Two days later, it was at my door step. I was blown away by the efficiency of KitchenAid's customer service. As blenders go, it's just great. It works really well and is a breeze to clean up.

any comments for this item that include mention of knobs or knob problems are for another product. This oven has no knobs; just buttons.

We use it almost every day; we bake cookies, pot pies, oven fries, and make grilled cheese sandwiches without the extra fat from a frying pan.

The convection feature is why we bought the oven, and it makes oven baking go twice as fast for most things. We have had NO problems whatsoever with reliability: elements breaking, doors not fitting, etc.

Some appear to have had confusion over the controls. If you read the owner's manual, they are easy to understand. I have not used the cookie feature, but have found that convection cooking is not ideal for cookie batter. have to keep a close eye on the cookies. easier just to use regular oven and normal times. The fact that the oven comes with special cookie sheets is a plus: very convenient.

Oven surfaces are a breeze to clean up.

I just ordered a second one for another home.

Enjoying natural foods I v'e found this DeLonghi toaster convection oven to be a fine performer. I often prepare fresh-breaded zucchini strips and hand-breaded eggplant slices in this oven; they bake to a crisp exterior and moist interior preserving all the flavor and aroma. Fresh small game such as squirrel, rabbit and small fowl braise well in this oven and come out absolutely tender and delicious. Also the cookie sheets bake mushrooms, plain and stuffed, to an exquisite crispiness.

we saw this advertised at Amazon and my aunt decided to purchase it. First we did a pizza (15"), it baked with a finely crisp crust and moist pepperoni and sausage. Nothing was burned. Next day we made 5 dozens of sugar cookies on the supplied sheets. The cookies were sublime, chewy and soft. Later, using the convection setting, we prepared stuffed pork chops, again moist interior and nicely browned exterior. Toasted cheese sandwiches are a breeze with this unit. We now make our own 6" diameter fruit pies (blueberry, rhubarb, apricot)in this oven and each time they come out with perfect crust and delectable filling. Chinese noodles also toast well in this DeLonghi product. Note that we make our toast in a conventional toaster.

I purchased this deep fryer because I liked the design and features. However, after using it a few times it seemed to me that the oil didn't heat up to the selected temperature. Using my trusty candy thermometer (which i knew to be very accurate) I checked the accuracy of the thermostat. I found that my unit maintained the oil at 15 degrees lower than as set.

This fryer does the job well for the money. Odor is kept to a minimum while cooking with the filters. The basket that comes with the unit is quite usefull for frozen foods. Don't use the basket for fresh battered non-frozen food though. It sticks. The lid closes tight to keep the oil fresh and the lid is removable to make cleaning easier. It would have got 5 stars if the oil pan was removable. Not being able to hose the thing out makes it tough to clean regardless of a non stick coating. It's still easier to clean than a "burnt on" frying pan.

I purchased this a few months ago. We have people over to our house every Saturday night and we use this non-stop! It has exceeded our every expectation!