KitchenAid K45SS Review

The KitchenAid K45SS review has been a total pleasure to review. Like a lustful teenager I have been gawking at the well-proportioned curves of this die-cast, metal-bodied machine for longer than I care to mention. In the past it seems that many buyers overlooked the the KitchenAid K45SS Classic in favour of cheaper and more practical Kenwood models, however THIS STORE has recently lowered the price considerably, so with this in mind is the heart finally able to win over the head? Our KitchenAid K45SS Review will reveal.

Features & Accessories
Ease Of Cleaning
Noise
Size & Weight
Appearance
Durability
Price

Features & Accessories

The KitchenAid K45SS comes with three standard mixing attachments:

1. Whisk – used mainly for beating egg whites and creams, but also great for aeration tasks
2. Dough hook – as well as dough it could be used for heavy cake mixtures to save the motor
3. Standard beater – general purpose tool for various types of mixtures

Unfortunately it doesn’t come with a flexible beater for sticky mixtures and KitchenAid don’t produce one for this size of machine, so you aren’t able to purchase one separately. Although despite that, the standard beater that comes with this model does a fine job at picking up mixtures from the sides of the bowl.

The three attachments are fixed to and removed from the rotating head of the machine through a simple push and twist motion to compress the spring and rotate the pin into place. Unusually the spring and pin that complete this task are external to the machine (see image), so it’s very easy to see that you’ve done this correctly.

The top-quality 4.3 litre (4.28, strictly speaking) brushed stainless steel bowl is plenty big enough for the maximum recommended mixture weights. The maximum batch sizes stated by KitchenAid are as follows:

• Whipped cream: 1 litre
• Grams of flour for pastry: 500g
• Stiff bread dough: 1.7kg
• 2-inch cookies: 81 pieces

One problem found with the KitchenAid K45SS was that it doesn’t have a slow start for a given speed (most direct drive motors don’t), it just goes straight to it, which can cause a little bit of flour to fly out of the bowl. To avoid this you may want to consider buying a splash guard, or what KitchenAid call their ‘pouring guard’, which is available HERE but you’ll see that it isn’t cheap. With the pouring guard fitted this isn’t an issue, although it only covers the edges of the bowl, so occasionally you may still see an errant splash from liquid mixtures.

In addition to the bowl outlet, the circular KitchenAid-branded cap can be removed to allow access to what it calls the ‘power hub’. This is where an excellent range of low speed, high torque attachments like pasta makers and grinders can be fitted. However in contrast to Kenwood, there are no higher speed attachments (e.g. a liquidiser) that can be fitted.

While the slider for the mixing speed control looks much better than the dial-types, it is a little more awkward to use as you’ve got to be careful not to slide it to either end when you’re pushing it. Fine adjustment of the 10 different speeds is possible though, just ground the bottom of your hand on the mixer to ensure that you don’t push too far.

As mentioned, the motor that the KitchenAid K45SS comes fitted with is ‘direct-drive’, this means that the motor sits in the head of the machine, rather than the base and connects directly to the mixing head, rather than through a drive belt. This makes direct-drive machines much more efficient and they also tend to be more reliable as there are less parts to wear-out and break.

Comparing the power of the motors between different mixers is tricky because of the different ways the motor drives the mixing head and the different efficiencies of the motors themselves. However, when you compare the 275-watt K45SS motor to the 800-watt motor of a low-end Kenwood, even with direct-drive the weight limits of the K45SS are lower, which likely means that it is less powerful. For example, the K45SS can handle 1.7kg of dough compared to the 2.2kg for the 800-watt Kenwood KM336.

Ease Of Cleaning

The nylon coating on the aluminium beater and dough hook is non-stick, so with their smooth sides they’re a doddle to wash up in the sink but they’re also, along with the mixing bowl, dishwasher-safe. Because the stainless-steel wire whisk has an exposed aluminum head unfortunately this can’t go in the dishwasher.

The mixing attachments are fairly easy to remove when dirty, although you will likely get your hands a little messy in the process.

Noise

There’s no doubt that the KitchenAid K45SS is one of the quietest mixers on the market. The small but highly efficient motor, the fact it’s direct-drive, removing moving parts such as gears and drive belts and the insulating metal casing ensures that this mixer is incredibly polite when going about it’s duties. Conversations can easily be had over the top of the sound.

Size & Weight

As well as being one of the quietest, this is also one of the smallest mixers on the market. It has a footprint of just 22.1cm deep by 27.9cm wide and measures 41.9cm tall. This makes it ideal for keeping out on the counter top permanently, but it also won’t take a lot of space in a cupboard if that’s where you choose to store it.

Yes it’s very small, but that doesn’t translate into a low weight. In fact, the K45SS tops the scales at a mighty 10.45kg. When you feel just how solid the die-cast metal casing is, you’ll understand why it weighs so much. This weight helps to reduce any sort of wobble or shaking, even under the faster mixing speeds. If you plan to keep the machine out on the worktop then the weight isn’t a problem, but if you need to keep it in a cupboard then lifting it in and out frequently could get tiresome.

Appearance

The traditional shape of the KitchenAid K45SS Classic in white really is lovely and in my opinion is the best-looking mixer on the market. That, coupled with the solid metal casing scream quality and I can’t imagine there are many people who feel that this machine doesn’t look good enough to leave out on the counter top permanently.

Durability

The unique feature of all KitchenAid mixers is that they’re handmade in the USA at their Michigan plant. You’ll notice the quality from the moment that you pull it out of the box, everything just feels very solid and nicely put together.

Direct-drive motors, such as the motor of the K45SS, are known to be more reliable than other mechanisms as they ensure that moving parts are kept to a minimum. This mixer comes with a respectable two-year warranty to give you piece of mind, although you frequently hear of KitchenAid mixers lasting for decades and being handed down the generations, so with any luck this shouldn’t be needed.

Price & Concluding Thoughts Of The KitchenAid K45SS Review

So with the KitchenAid K45SS Classic stand mixer in white, does the heart or the head win out? Ultimately that’s up to you, but if you’re planning to store it on the counter top and are comfortable with the maximum mixing weights then this is a top-quality handmade mixer that if grabbed at the sales price (SEE HERE) should prove an immensely enjoyable indulgence.