Industrial strength cooking anyone?

Kenwood's mixers always give an impression of competence, the sort of kit that you'd expect to see on the kitchen counter of a Nigella or Delia. The PM900 does it in industrial quantities.

The PM900 looks seriously professional. That professional look does mean that you are getting a machine finished in brushed aluminium, fitted with industrial sized power switches and safety guards and which seems to weigh enough that once it's on your kitchen counter you will not want to move it again. So it's an appearance which might not fit in everyone's kitchen.

It is less powerful than most of the KM range but the biggest problem with the cheaper range is that they have plastic gears and, if you try and mix 5 kilos of dough with 1400 watts and plastic gears it is possible to strip those gears. The PM range has all metal gears and will not do that. Also although it is less powerful at 800W that should be more than enough (it is about twice as powerful as the Chefaid mixers which are one of the competitors). Certainly I have given it 3 kilo of heavy dough to mix and it didn't even blink. Push it too hard and it will just stop to restart when you unload it a little.

It seems to take all the the standard fittings from the Kenwood range. (The only glitch I have seen so far is that I had to remove the safety guard in order to be able to attach the ice cream maker.) So there is no shortage of attachment options and with a range of mixer and blender attachments this more than justifies the kitchen space it takes up as it replaces a range of mixers, breadmakers and food processors we used to have.

Are there any problems? Well of course there are. The biggest is of course that this is an expensive piece of kit and the KM range is sometimes available in a package deal with extra attachments but with this model you are buying something that should last decades if not generations. It is quite noisy in use, probably due to using metal gears. The PM range does not have the pulse setting which the KM range has but to be honest I've never found that essential. The only real problem is that with a 6.7 litre bowl on this machine it's not so efficient if you just want to mix one or two egg whites so I still keep a hand blender around just for those small jobs.

Overall. If you don't need the capacity consider a kenwood chef, if you want it to look pretty consider a KM model, or even a chefaid. On the other hand if you cook in bulk and want something that will probably be inherited by your kids then consider this. Excellent build quality, highly reliable, gives a massive impression of quality, a wide range of accessories, a huge capacity; it basically just does whatever you ask of it - it's just a pity they're so expensive

Great Product

I've had a Magimix in the past which was good but I thought I'd go for this one this time and I've had it for a couple of months now and it is fantastic. OK it does't have a juicing attachment but they don't juice great any way, better off buying one of those seperately. This Food Processor is so robust, doesn't shake when you use it, it is so heavy. It is very stylish too. It has a dough button which is incredibly handy, it also has a whisk but these are so strong that I do all my cakes with it and they come out perfect every time (alittle handy tip though, make sure you put all the mixture in the processor first then put the beaters in). The dough blade is stainless steel and makes great bread, I even rise mine in the bowl covered up in the airing cupboard. The plastic bowl is strong as well and all the stainless steel is strong and of excellent quality. Cuisinart must be confident that it won't break down because it has a 20 yr warrenty. I noticed that the lid doesn't have any grooves like the Magimix so it is alot easier to clean. This is well worth the price, you will not be displeased with this.

A great piece of kit

I bought this for my wife last year for Xmas. She loves it (or so she tells me!). The only problem with it was the white paint on the beater attachment began to chip. We called KitchenAid and they put a new one in the post, no quibbles, no fuss, great service.

It's a pretty chunky piece of equipment so I'd reccommend having somewhere it can be left out, my wife finds it's pretty heavy to carry in and out of the larder every time she wants to use it.

So it's noisy, 575w so it won't be"Whisper Quiet"!!!

I bought this mixer and then read the reviews below. So I wasn't looking forward to receiving my new blender.

I was however, very supprised. The top is fine, you do need to press down firmly. But would you prefer a top that flies off mid-blend?

Yes, it is laughingly noisy. It's a blender, a 575w one at that so what would you expect? From what I can see, it more if a catering blender. Like one you would see in a pub that serves cocktails (Iced Margarita's, great!!!). This is afterall, a Cocktail Blender.

I made smoothies last night, my partner told me it was the same as the smoothie she gets in a juice bar near where she works.
They were superb, I made two!!!!! It had no trouble blending all ingredients, dropping them through the opening.

In summary,
This blender is noisy. But it does the job it is intended for. Looks good, and makes great smoothies. Cocktails next!
As with all items such as this, reading the manual goes a long way. (Hints and Tips)

Stunning

This item arrived today using the new Amazon Prime service. First impressions on opening the box are WOWAWEEEWAHHHH as Borat would say! The mixer just oozes quality and style from every angle and the build quality and weight are faultless.

Its got every feature and then some of the far more expensive KitchenAid range with more power to boot. Ok the guarantee period is not ten years and I would have liked to see at least a 5year one as standard. All the attachments are high quality and finished beautifully.

If its as bomb proof as the mother in laws Kenwood Chef mixer has been for the last decade or more then we'll be happy. The fact that it comes with the equally stunning blender, as part of the deal, this really is a no brainer!

Bottomline--Buy one, you won't regret it.

At Last I own a Kitchenaid!

Have been wanting to treat my wife to one of these for ages and finally have. Cheapest on the net and very swift delivery. (two days) It now holds pride of place on the kitchen worktop. Here's to many more cakes, bread etc.

nothing like the picture

had the blender, rather annoyed that the yellow colour shown is nothing like the actual colour of the blender which is far lighter than that pictured.

really cannot be bothered to go through the hassle and expense of posting it back though. annoying.

you get what you pay for

I have owned this processor/blender for a couple of years now. Whilst it's fine at pureeing soups etc, grating veg and copes with cake mix, anything hard or needs a bit of oomph, it struggles with.

Comes with good array of graters etc, but I do find them quite fiddly to use, getting them in and out of the holder takes quite a bit of thumb power!

As a first processor, it does most things you ask it to, but next time I'll invest in a more powerful machine.

good for a few months

I have been using this processor for some time... the first which i got had the motor gone just after 6 months(i just used it occasionally, not daily-thankfully i had the receipt n got an exchange)the other however worked for 10 months(i have lost the receipt this time) and this time the motor is going OK but the blade attachments are all worn and is no more in working condition(although i have been mostly using it for slicing/chopping the onions, nothing hard) However the blades are good and so far i dont have any issues with the blades, but its attachment to the chopper is all worn and on whole its of no use to me any more. I am gonna buy a new one now and this time ofcourse not the prestige one.