EUR82,–
Clatronic KM 3711
1100 W
The big kitchen machine test: which brand is crushing it?
23.10.2024
Video: Valentina Sproge-Werndli
Camera: Aline Piazza, Davide Arizzoli
Co-author: Simon Balissat
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
We put stand mixers from Kenwood, KitchenAid, Ankarsrum, Smeg and Clatronic through their paces. Find out which kitchen machine does what and if it’s any good.
Simon «The Rock» Balissat and I rose to the challenge and pitted Simon’s muscle power against five Kitchen machines. Kenwood, KitchenAid, Ankarsrum, Smeg, Clatronic – watch the video to find out who came out on top and what the advantages and disadvantages of each machine are. For English subtitles, click the gear icon, «Subtitles/CC» and «Auto-translate». Read on to find out how each appliance did in detail.
5th place: Clatronic
Whisk:
How did the Clatronic do with whisking egg whites? Although the eggs did get stiff in the end, the time required would probably be enough to teach a cat how to fetch.
Beater:
I’d be better off and faster mixing cake ingredients by hand than using this kitchen machine. The beater does a lousy job of picking up the ingredients in the bowl. This means I have to regularly push them down the sides and back into the centre using a dough scraper.
Dough hook:
Looking to knead dough with the Clatronic? Well, forget it. The machine kneads so badly, you’re better off doing it by hand.
Conclusion:
The cheap plastic casing, the small beater and dough hook – this appliance is more reminiscent of a toy than a real kitchen machine. I’m not giving the Clatronic houseroom.
4th place: Smeg
Whisk:
Solid average. The Smeg delivers when it comes to beating egg whites.
Beater:
It also does really well when it comes to mixing and stirring cake batter.
Dough hook:
Stop. Stop it! This is where the Smeg reaches its limits. If you’re dealing with dough that’s on the thick side, this kitchen machine keeps stopping automatically or looks as if the motor head’s about to blow. If you want to knead dough with this machine, you’ll be disappointed.
Conclusion: The Smeg’s definitely only suitable if you’re focussing on baking cakes and the like. Sure, it might look fancy and futuristic, but I prefer to knead my bread or «Zopf» dough by hand.
3rd place: Ankarsrum
Whisk:
Whisking egg whites takes a little longer with the Ankarsrum, but it gets the job done. However, I’m really not impressed with the quality of the whisk element. It feels flimsy and provisional.
Beater:
The beater element of the Ankarsrum’s a real wind-up. Every time you need to scrape the ingredients off the sides of the bowl – and you HAVE to do this – you’re forced to laboriously remove and reinstall the whole mixing element construction. I’m annoyed.
Dough hook:
Although the dough hook looks completely different to what you might be used to, it delivers a very satisfactory result. The Ankarsrum isn’t great at much, but it’s definitely great at this.
Conclusion:
A handy feature of the Ankarsrum is the mixing bowl that's easy to fill. You can also add individual ingredients later on without a mixing head getting in the way. Its dough kneading is also very impressive. But everything else sucks. Want to make something other than bread dough with the Ankarsrum? Forget it.
2nd place: KitchenAid
Whisk:
Whisking egg whites with the KitchenAid is pure joy. The whisk has a high-quality finish and it delivers fast and reliably results.
Beater:
Again, the KitchenAid delivers in this department. The dough’s stirred perfectly, no need to scrape down the sides for the ingredients to be mixed. I’m happy.
Dough hook:
The KitchenAid’s certainly not one of the top contenders when it comes to kneading bread dough. The dough isn’t kneaded quite as well as with other models. So I’m deducting a point for that.
Conclusion:
I love the design and handling of this machine. It feels high-quality and solid from head to toe. However, if your main focus is kneading dough, you should know that you’ll have to knead the dough a little by hand at the end to perfect it. That aside, I love it.
1st place: Kenwood
Whisk:
The Kenwood disappoints in the egg white whipping department. It does the job, but takes forever.
Beater:
The iconic K-hook delivers moderately satisfactory results with cake batter. You won’t get round scraping the sides down regularly. If you don’t, the ingredients won’t mix well and you’ll end up with dollops of butter and the like at the bottom of the bowl.
Dough hook:
The Kenwood clearly has the edge here. If there’s one thing it’s good at, it’s kneading bread dough. I give it 300 points for that plus hearts and kisses.
Conclusion: Visually, I don’t find the Kenwood the most appealing model we tested. The plastic casing doesn’t look particularly high-quality either. But when it comes to kneading bread dough, it won my heart. So if you want to simplify your bread-making routine, buy a Kenwood.
Judith Erdin
Bloggerin und Backbuch-Autorin von Streusel.ch
Baking book author, food blogger and content creator by day. Other people's cat lover, peanut butter junkie and houseplant hospice nurse by night.