One look at a KitchenAid Professional 600 stand mixer, and it’s hard not to be impressed. While its stature and elegance command attention, it’s equally obvious that this Pro means business.
I must admit, it does give my beloved Artisan a run for its money… but are KitchenAid Professional 600s all show and no substance? Let’s take a closer look and see if there actually is a BEAST hiding under all that veneer.
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KitchenAid Professional 600 Common Features
Head Type: The design of these KitchenAid Professional 600 series mixers integrates a bowl-lift mechanism sturdy enough to provide increased stability to the bowl when mixing large batches of heavy ingredients, in contrast to the tilt head of the Artisan and the Classic series. Simply use the lever to smoothly raise the mixing bowl into position for efficient beater-to-bowl contact.
Planetary Mixing Action : This allows the beater to contact 67 different touch points within the bowl for the consistently highest beater-to-bowl coverage in the industry.
Mixing Speeds : The electronic speed sensor combines with the soft-start mixing feature to ensure smooth operation. Ten speed settings allow for perfect control, whether you are whipping cream or kneading bread dough. Since 2014, these stand mixers have had all metal gears and gear box which makes them more reliable and durable than the Artisan but also noisier.
Direct Drive Transmission: A heavy-duty motor with commercial-style motor protection (575 watts for the KP26M1X and KL26M1X; 550 watts for the KF26M1X) allows these stand mixers to handle heavy bread and pizza dough with ease, while direct drive transmission provides efficiency.
6-Quart Bowl: Its 14-cup average capacity is large enough to mix 13 dozen cookies, 8 loaves of bread or 8 pounds of mashed potatoes – pure music to home bakers’ ears! An ergonomically designed comfort handle makes the metal bowl easy to disengage from the base and manoeuver; the glass bowl comes with a regular glass handle.
Dimensions: Weighing in at an impressive 29 pounds (a hefty 34 lbs taking into account the KF26M22 KitchenAid Pro 600 glass bowl), you might want to position this beauty squarely on your countertop rather than moving it back and forth from storage. Check for clearance first if you plan to tuck this bowl-lift mixer under a top cabinet, as it stands at 16 1/2″ height with a 14 5/8″ depth and 11 5/16″ width. Or give it the spotlight it so richly deserves with your kitchen as its backstage!
Warranty: All Professional 600 series mixers come with a one-year warranty.
KitchenAid Professional 600 Series
KP26M1X
The KitchenAid KP26M1X Pro 600 stand mixer sports a 575-watt motor, a full 250 watts more than the Artisan. As far as popularity is concerned, the KP26M1X is the shining star of the KitchenAid mixer Professional 600 mixer range, though other models also have garnered a lot of interest.
An impressive 22-color palette enhances its 6-quart polished stainless steel bowl with comfort handle; the KP26M1X comes with a burnished aluminium PowerKnead spiral dough hook, a burnished aluminium flat beater, a 6-wire whisk and a pouring shield.
Click here to check out the KP26M1X.
KL26M1X
The KL26M1X KitchenAid 6 Qt Professional bowl-lift stand mixer also sports a 575-watt motor and comes with the same polished stainless steel bowl with comfort handle – but without a knob – and comes in 1 color.
It also comes with burnished aluminium PowerKnead spiral dough hook, burnished aluminium flat beater and 6-wire whisk, but no pouring shield.
Click here to check out the KL26M1X.
KF26M22
Although slightly more colorful (5 colors), the KF26M22 is the least popular of the bunch. Is it because of its slightly less powerful 550-watt motor?
The accessories included with the KF26M22 KitchenAid 6-Quart Professional 600 Design Series mixer with glass bowl also have a different finish: F series coated flat beater, F series coated PowerKnead™ spiral dough hook and F series 6-wire whip.
Click here to check out the KF26M22.
Kitchen Aid Pro 600 Attachments
KitchenAid attachments and pasta attachments fit the hub of all of their stand mixers, turning each of them into a veritable army of little sous-chefs.
Kitchen Aid Pro 600 Stand Mixer Reviews
Pros
KitchenAid 6 Qt Professional bowl-lift stand mixer reviews make it clear that people love their mixer and stress the following benefits:
Overall Efficiency
. this heavy, sturdy small appliance gets the job done without flinching even on top speed;
. ease of operation including soft start mixing feature coupled with an electronic speed sensor;
. surprisingly quiet machine given its power and the heavy tasks it can master.
Accessories
The spiral dough hook exclusive to the Professional series makes mixing heavy bread and pizza dough a breeze, accomplishing in 4 or 5 minutes at speed 2 what it would take about 15 minutes of hand kneading to do.
Bowl
Its 6-quart bowl allows the Kitchen Aid Professional 600 to mix large batches of dough without a problem: two large loaves of bread, 3 cake mixes, 2 dozen large bagels, or 15 large cinnamon rolls.
Optional Attachments
Homemakers appreciate the increased versatility provided by the multipurpose power hub which can transform any KitchenAid standup mixer into a grinder, pasta maker, ice cream maker, juicer, shredder, strainer, and more – a great space- and money-saving feature.
Manufacturing
Reliable quality made in the USA.
Cons
Ease of Use
Owners are split whether the lift-bowl design makes it easier or harder to scrape the bowl. Some did not like having to remove the whisk or paddle (dropping it into the mixture) in order to take off the bowl.
Dimensions
The statuesque dimensions of the Professional can work against it, its 16 1/2″ height making it hard to fit under top cabinets, while its 30-lb weight makes it challenging to store away.
Cleaning
Though the appliance is easy to clean, the burnished metal flat beater and spiral dough hook are not dishwasher safe.
Now nothing will ever convince me to part with my Artisan, but if I entertained more or suddenly developed a passion for freshly baked bread or pizza, I would certainly give that beauty a look over. And don’t forget that enticing range of sophisticated colors… function plus style – what more could one ask for? With a 575/550-watt motor backed by an all-steel gears transmission, this KitchenAid Professional mixer is well equipped to handle just about anything you can throw at it. Combine a 6-quart bowl with a PowerKnead spiral dough hook, and enough bread can be produced to feed a small army in minutes, and without breaking a sweat!
If you enjoy working with heavy doughs on a regular basis, make sure you read our full review of KitchenAid Professional mixers to find the mixer that best fits your personal needs.
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