Choosing Appliances
  

Benchmark Standing Mixers:  KitchenAid.  KitchenAid standing mixers are the finest.  Their heavy duty all-metal construction is made to last a lifetime, and it does.  Years and years of experience has resulted in a superior product with all the attachments you could want:  food grinder, rotory slicer, vegetable strainer, and so forth.  We carry the mixers in various motor sizes.  We have sold KitchenAid stand mixers since our early years and have never had a return because of a defect.  Some time ago, due to good product reviews in testing, we sold Kenwood stand mixers, and had returns due to defects almost right away.  As a result, we discontinued them.  Product testers simply cannot know about defects; they do not have the experience a merchant does selling to many customers.  Our advice is to stick with KitchenAid.

Benchmark Hand Mixer:  Both Cuisinart and KitchenAid make very fine hand mixers, but we give the edge to Cuisinart because of its smooth-start feature and very low speeds.

Benchmark Food Processor:  Cuisinart.  Cuisinart has the engineering edge on everyone in this category.  Their years of experience producing outstanding machines for home use is unequalled.  Also, they have the most extensive line, from the small 20 oz. Mini Prep to the very large 20-cup DLC-X.  They also have the most extensive line of blades and attachments.  In addition, they have the new line of 11-Cup and 14-Cup Plus Processors with improved engineering features.  Runner up is the KitchenAid.  It comes with a Sabatier multi-purpose blade, dough blade, and three discs, plus a mini-bowl with mini-Sabatier blade for small chopping jobs.

Benchmark Blender:  Waring.  Waring knows blenders and makes a super reliable, durable model.  It only has two speeds but works well.
   

Benchmark Coffee Maker:  Cuisinart.  Cuisinart carries a varied line of fine coffee makers.

   
Benchmark Waffle Maker:  Chef'sChoice.  Chef'sChoice makes durable, superbly functioning waffle makers.

Benchmark Pressure Cooker:  Kuhn Rikon.  Kuhn Rikon pioneered the new, safe pressure cookers.  They make the most extensive line, and even have pressure fry pans and risotto cookers.  They also have glass lids so you can use the pans for conventional cooking.
 

Benchmark Mandoline:  Bron makes a fine stainless steel mandoline.  With the Bron, a series of adjustments makes the slicing thickness larger and smaller. The OXO mandoline is also very nice.  It has a body of plastic with stainless steel blades.  It is inexpensive and works well.
 
 
Benchmark Digital Instant Read Thermometer:  Taylor. Taylor has a long-held reputation for making the best and most reliable instant read thermometers.
  

Mechanical Thermometers - Instant Read, Oven, Candy & Refrigerator:  Taylor holds the industry standard for thermometers.

 

We carry only one line of the following appliances because we consider them the best:

Rice Cooker:  Zojirushi.  A very popular and useful item.

Precision Electronic Scales:   Salter.  Weighs up to 11 lbs.  Has a 10-year warranty.

Automatic Bread Maker:   Zojirushi.  Several steps above ordinary department store models.