Here we go again!

This mixer was supposed to be an upgrade form the KitchenAid Pro 600 we used to have. The transmission broke on the KitchenAid just outside it's warranty while mixing bread dough. Admittedly, dough is one of the biggest challenges for any mixer. In fact even on some Hobart mixers, they warn against mixing pizza and bagel doughs. It will void the warranty. The first thing we noticed was how much quieter the motor was compared to our last mixer, however the good impression faded quickly. Our new Viking (700) showed signs of stress early on in the process of making bread dough at only 50 percent of it's rated capacity. The motor was clearly labouring and the whole unit was literally squirming with every revolution of the dough hook. Before it could complete the task, the latch that holds the spring loaded body unlocked, allowing the hinge to "pop" up in the air with a spinning dough hook! This is not an inexpensive machine. The price was nearly $800.00 Cdn after taxes. I would expect more for the money. We now have a really expensive machine to whisk potatoes and beat eggs. Like the popular KitchenAid, the motor in the Viking is desperately underpowered and capacities overrated. Take this how you will, but despite reading otherwise, this unit is made in PRC (Peoples Republic of China). I suppose nearly everything is these days.

You will likely only find the Viking for sale in boutique culinary shops or on-line. As such, support for the product is done between you and the Viking corporation. You should keep your original packaging so you can ship it back to Viking for warranty work. And trust me, if you use this machine hard, you'll be shipping it.

The machine has a power take off on the nose of it like the KitchenAid. There are several attachments available. Pasta maker, meat grinder etc. In addition to that, on the back of the machine there is another area for attachments. You can put a blender or food processor on it.

The tools that come with it (whisk, paddle and dough hook) are made of stainless steel, not aluminum like the KitchenAid and thus are dishwasher safe. The bowl locks to the base with a twisting motion that secures it very well. For an additional $30, you can buy a plastic splash guard for it too, but I wouldn't waste your money. It's awkward to use and basically unnecessary.

On a final note, the wattage rating on the side of the machine may look impressive, but I would like to clear that up. The wattage rating is how much power the motor requires to operate. This does not necessarily equate to the power output. An inefficient 1000w motor may consume more power than a 700w motor, but the 700w motor may put out more torque. Torque is spinning power. That is what you want, not wattage. Transmission gearing is another variable of torque. In short the wattage printed on the side of the machine is absolutely useless information.

We use a beaten up 12 year old bread maker to make bread dough. It's never let us down.