BODUM 11381-294US Bistro Electric Stand Mixer, 4.7-Liter, Red

You looking to find the "BODUM 11381-294US Bistro Electric Stand Mixer, 4.7-Liter, Red" Good news! You can purchase BODUM 11381-294US Bistro Electric Stand Mixer, 4.7-Liter, Red with secure price and compare to view update price on this product. And deals on this product is available only for limited time.

Price: $236.99    

Product Feature

• 5-quart bowl and attachments are dishwasher safe
• On-board attachment storage keeps accessories at your fingertips
• Suction cup base keep the mixer stable and secure on the counter while mixing
• Space saving low profile fits on more countertops; Stores easily under the counter with its compact size (9.25"x15.75"x13.6")
• Powerful 700 Watt Multi Speed Motor

Product Description

The attractive Bistro Stand Mixer is a handsome addition to any kitchen. A powerful 700-watt, 7 speed motor delivers up to twice the power of traditional stand mixers to tackle all your mixing needs. It features large, stainless steel mixing bowls with a rubber-covered handle for easy pouring and carrying. The splash-guard can be removed effortlessly and has a funnel attachment for easy addition of ingredients while operating. Attachments include a beater, a whisk and a non-stick dough hook. Additional attachments are sold separately. Easy to use with a lift-assist mixer head which locks into place and a rotating attachment head which maximizes mixing.

BODUM 11381-294US Bistro Electric Stand Mixer, 4.7-Liter, Red Review

We have a KitchenAid stand mixer and an ancient, but quite serviceable, Oster food processor. The KitchenAid is an excellent stand mixer for heavy duty jobs. We have acquired a number of optional attachments over the years that make our KitchenAid stand mixer our go-to appliance for many different applications. For lighter duty activities such as simple mixing, we use either our Oster food processor or a hand mixer. I was quite excited to receive a Bodum Bistro electric stand mixer to see how well it compares to our KitchenAid and our Oster.

The Bistro is smaller than our KitchenAid, which initially seemed a benefit. However, the Bistro is so light that it has the possibility of moving during operation, except the Bistro also includes suction cup feet. The suction cup feet could be a drawback if your counters are insufficiently smooth for the suction cups to work. Furthermore, the suction cup feet require force to break the suction when lifting the mixer. Thus, lifting the Bistro requires a fair amount of initial force to lift, and then you have to decrease lifting force because the Bistro is relatively light. While the weight of the KitchenAid can be annoying when moving it around, the weight is a benefit with respect to the stability of the mixer, and lifting force remains constant when moving the KitchenAid.

One of the first things I wanted to check on the Bistro is how attachments connect to the Bistro. I was puzzled because the instructions did not explain how to open the attachment access. After a bit of trial and mostly error, I learned that I had to press hard, really hard, on the upper portion of the access panel and then pry out the bottom portion of the access panel. It is rather difficult to open the attachment access panel, and extremely difficult to open in comparison to the KitchenAid access, which just flips, very easily, up. The Oster food processor accessory attachment port is similarly easy to access. Bistro should have copied KitchenAid's attachment interface, which would have automatically made all of KitchenAid's attachments compatible with Bistro. Since we have hundreds of dollars of KitchenAid attachments, giving them up is quite undesirable.

Moving past the attachments and the weight, how does it run?

Compared to our KitchenAid, the Bistro is noisy. However, the noise is almost assuredly related to the power of the Bistro, which is 700 watts. I believe our KitchenAid is between 300 and 400 Watts. However, we have used our KitchenAid for pasta rolling and cutting, for grinding, and for mixing, and the power has been more than adequate. Our KitchenAid has maintained power and speed through the toughest tasks.

One thing I find annoying about the Bistro is the speedup that initially occurs before the Bistro finds its set speed. I suspect that the reason for the speedup is to start movement during the toughest tasks, and once parts are moving, the mixer can slow down to the selected speed. It may be that while the Bistro has the move powerful motor, it needs the extra startup torque to get parts moving. Regardless of the reason, the short speedup is initially disconcerting.

Another thing that is a bit annoying about the Bistro is the ease, or lack of ease, of accessing the bowl. KitchenAid has mixing refined, and the mixer blades get very close to the bowl. The Bistro seems to have more separation between blades and bowl, which means that we had to stop the Bistro often, lift the head of the Bistro (because we had the cover in position), scrape ingredients from the bowl, and then swing the head into position again. This process quickly becomes annoying and the phrase, "Using the KitchenAid is easier," was repeated more than once. I think the difference between the Bistro and the KitchenAid is in how the bowl and blades are positioned. The Bistro head swings to put the mixing blades into position. The KitchenAid raises the bowl. Because the Bistro needs to swing the blades when positioning the blades into a bowl, the Bodum needs additional clearance with the bowl. The KitchenAid, which raises the bowl vertically into position, needs less clearance with the blades, or so I think.

The Bistro has a lever on the side to lock the head into position, and to unlock the head for pivoting from a mixing bowl. I initially struggled to get the head locked into position because the lever seems so light that I was afraid I was going to break it. Once I realized that I had to push down on the head of the mixer while forcing the lever into position, I quickly got the hang of locking and unlocking the head.

As of the time of this review, the Bistro seems to have far fewer attachments than the KitchenAid. One of our favorite attachments is our pasta roller and cutter set. The Bistro does not appear to have a comparable attachment. Indeed, the Bistro seems to have a grinder attachment, and that is about it. Undoubtedly, the Bistro will have more attachments in the future. The problem is when you need an attachment immediately and you do not have the attachment, which weighs in KitchenAid's favor.

Where does the Bistro exceed the KitchenAid?

I like the appearance of the Bistro, which is a sort of modern art with its decorative, clear, plastic, top cover. The Bistro looks like a home kitchen appliance, while the KitchenAid looks like an industrial mixer. Do you want your mixer to look decorative, or look like a beast?

The Bistro has more power than the KitchenAid, though I have been unable to figure out when that power might come in handy. The lack of attachments seems to suggest that we are unlikely to exercise anywhere near the full power of the Bistro mixer any time soon.

One feature I really loved was the bowl cover, which locks onto the head of the Bistro, and which covers the mixing bowl perfectly. I really love the cover; even though the cover is also annoying because of the need to scrape the side of the bowl often (see my comment above).

I provided a lot of verbiage above, so here is a brief summary of the Bistro:

Pros:

* Lighter weight than a KitchenAid.
* More attractive than a KitchenAid.
* Higher power motor than a KitchenAid.
* Integrated bowl cover, which prevents ingredients from splattering.

Cons:

* Lighter weight than a KitchenAid, requiring the use of suction cup feet to stay in position.
* The suction cup feet can be difficult to disengage from a countertop.
* Attachment access port is extremely difficult to open.
* Lack of attachments, especially in comparison to long-established competitors.
* Higher power motor seems unnecessary, so far, and thus the mixer becomes a noise generator without a defined benefit.
* Speedup at start and during speed changes is disconcerting.
* Blades are further from the bowl than KitchenAid, which requires frequent scraping from the sides of the bowl for thick batter and dough.
* The lever that makes the head swivel is difficult to engage, requiring two hands. One hand is needed to push the head down while the other hand forces the lever into position.

Adding the pluses and the minuses, the KitchenAid wins handily. Bodum has a nice machine, but several annoying flaws in the design make it less useful, and less refined, than a KitchenAid. Fundamentally, if the Bistro had no competition, it would be hands down a great mixer. Unfortunately, one of Bodum's biggest competitors, KitchenAid (and probably others), have had lots of time to refine their stand mixers, and Bodum is in the position of catching up. They have a long way to go, I think.

Good luck!

Most of the consumer Reviews tell that the "BODUM 11381-294US Bistro Electric Stand Mixer, 4.7-Liter, Red" are high quality item. You can read each testimony from consumers to find out cons and pros from BODUM 11381-294US Bistro Electric Stand Mixer, 4.7-Liter, Red ...