Women around the nation dream of that perfect machine to make their hours in the kitchen a little easier. A multi-purpose kitchen machine seems like the perfect solution, but which is the best? I’ve had both a Bosch Universal Plus and a KitchenAid 600 Pro. Let’s look at the pros and cons of each and see which is the better buy.
KitchenAid Specifications
I started out with the KitchenAid 600 Pro. It has a large 6 quart stainless steel bowl with a handle that makes pouring easy. It comes with a spiral dough hook, stainless steel whip, and a flat beater. The motor is all steel construction with 10 gears and 575 watts. This can handle up to 14 cups of all-purpose flour at a time. The price ranges from $336-$399.
Bosch Universal Plus Specifications
A couple of years later, I was able to get a Bosch Universal Plus. This mixer has a whopping 800 watt motor. It comes with overload and motor start protection. Included attachments are a dough hook, wire whips, and 6 ½ quart bowl. The bowl is heavy plastic, but a stainless steel bowl can be purchased. The mixer has four gears and a momentary switch, which is similar to a burst setting on a blender. This machine will handle up to 15 cups of dough at a time. The price is usually found to be about $399.
Pros and Cons of the KitchenAid 600 Pro
I love the stainless steel bowl of the KitchenAid. The handle makes pouring batter easy. It can handle making a regular batch of cookies or mixing up cake batter really well, but when it came to the real test of kneading bread, I found it to be lacking. The motor seemed to get hot to the touch, and I needed to turn it off before I felt the dough was kneaded enough. My bread did not come out with a nice, light, airy rise nor was the texture visually appealing. I never used most of the 10 speeds, in fact, I probably used three of them for 90% of all uses. Despite the fact that all of the gearing in the KitchenAid is metal, one of my gears stripped while I was whipping cream.
Pros and Cons of the Bosch Universal Plus
The larger motor of the Bosch allows you to never feel you are overworking your machine. I can easily mix enough bread dough for 6 loaves and have it turn out perfectly every time. The dough hook of this machine turns the dough over on itself in a unique way that gives your bread a very smooth, professional appearance with a light and airy loaf. It seems odd that a machine can make such a difference in the final product, but when a side-by-side comparison was done, the Bosch won hands down. The older Bosch Universals had a 700 watt motor that made the machine bounce around on the table while kneading, but the newer Universal Plus now comes with suction cups to hold it to your counter or table. Other improvements made are that the bowl now has a rim to hold onto while pouring and the center shaft of the bowl is removable for ease of cleaning.
Making a Choice Between KitchenAid and Bosch
When making a final decision on which machine to buy, the choice should be made by deciding what the major function of the mixer will be. If Mom is going to make a batch of cookies once in while, or mash some potatoes for supper, the KitchenAid is more than adequate. If she is going to start baking wholesome, whole-grain bread for her family, the Bosch Universal Plus is the the best choice. Since the costs are very similar, the Bosch gives you more for your money. It won’t be bogged down by the task of kneading and will always be ready to perform those hardest of kitchen tasks.
