Most helpful client reviews
57 of 57 people found the following review helpful.
Commercial like mixer without paying mercantile price
By ThomasN
After broad exploration on the web and through friends’ experiences, I decisive to opt for this 7-qt mixer. Two other major brands I considered are Hobart and of course, KitchenAid. The DeLonghi mixer comes close to specs and features, but is also marketed under Kenwood and Hamilton Beach. I sure wouldn’t want to remunerate premium price for a Hamilton Beach. The Hobart is a true mercantile grade mixer but overkill for the occasional home use, not to mention at lease twice the cost. The KA doesn’t have the 1000 wattage or the professional feel like the Viking 7-qt mixer. One thing my wife appreciates when it comes to this unit is that it has rear wheels for easy maneuverability around the countertop – the intermediate stand mixer weights over 20 lbs so this feature unquestionably helps. Although the availability of accessaries for this mixer is few, however, I do observe that the included beater, whisk, and dough hook are well-made, stainless steel affixations (not plastic coating over metal). Overall, the Viking mixer is powerful, easy to use, and in a professional manner designed that won’t look dated 10 years from now. This mixer will have to be a joy to work with because my wife’s been baking closely each week since we got it. By the way, the stainless gray model one sees on the Viking internet web site is grayer in color – only the bowl, attachments, and the front “Viking” attachment cover are stainless. Highly recommended.
68 of 71 persons found the following review helpful.
Great choice for a bread baker
By CKKNH
I’ve owned a Kitchenaid mixer for 20+ years. I make bread at least once per week. I’d wanted to undertake this mixer for a long time, but since my Kitchenaid refuses to die, I’d felt guilty spending the cash on the Viking. I had an chance to try the Viking in a cooking course, and after seeing how powerful this mixer is, decisive to take the plunge.
Pros:
1. The power – the Kitchenaid just cannot compare. The Viking may knead huge amounts of the toughest doughs in very short time. In fact, breads that I was accustomed to calling for 1/2 hour or more mixing and kneading in the KA took a third of that time in the Viking.
2. The affixations – they are big, and they are heavy. The KA affixations seem very flimsy in comparison. The whip likewise has more “tines”, so that meringues seem to take a much shorter amount of time.
3. The “stir” setting – Bread bakers who use the KA will veritably be thankful for this one. The stir, or slowest speed on the Viking is great for incorporating flour tardily into doughs, and doesn’t cause the flour to jump out of the bowl. In the KA, you get a flour haze in the kitchen unless you’ve got the pour shield on (and do not forget to use it). No pour shield necessitated with the Viking.
3. The maneuverability. Despite the size, the Viking is in truth rather easy to move around. It has concealed wheels for moving on the counter, and the weight seems well passed around when you pick it up and carry it. In contrast, the KA is very top-heavy.
Cons:
1. Viking ought to install a “kill” switch that shuts off the motor when the head is raised. My daughter without aim turned the dial switch on when my hand happened to be next to the paddle attachment – ouch!
2. Viking client service – it stinks. My original mixer was defective. The bottom half of the mixer was bent, causing the affixations to hit versus the side of the bowl. It took over a month to resolve the issue and get a new mixer. Viking client service goes through a call center, and the persons who answer the phones are poorly trained. In addition, the Detroit service center is terrible. They returned the firstborn mixer to me repaired, but scratched and dented. In addition, they were rude and abusive on the phone. Viking, get your client service in order, and then you’ll get five stars.
I’d buy this again, in spite of the bad commence out I had with it. It’s just so much better for bread baking.
57 of 61 humans found the following review helpful.
Maybe as installation art…
By Jon Rosenthal
Purchased this mixer for baking bread, in particular bagels, with the odd batch of cookies thrown in. I had read when it comes to the Kitchen Aid’s difficultnesses with plastic gearing, and figured the Viking’s 1000 Watts could stand up to single batches of bread. I couldn’t have been more wrong — it took a single batch of bagels (about 7 cups of flour) to kill this machine. Granted, bagels are when it comes to as tough a workout as you may get while kneading bread, and had the machine plainly cut off under the stress of mixing, rather than dying beneath the strain, I would have continued to use the mixer to commence out recipes while finishing them by hand. However, various months out of the box and I had to send it in to their service center in Detroit. Out of my hands for 6 weeks, I get the machine back, use it for a couple of batches of cookies and pizza dough, which it does serviceably well, before it chokes again on another batch of bread. The motor just groans at me when I turn the dial. Now, out of warranty, I’m left with a $600 stainless steel hulk of a machine that just isn’t worth fixing until it is next inevitable breakdown. Desperately I search for a suitable emplacement to mount this to my wall… “Ceci ce n’est pas une mixer”.
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