Viking Stand Mixer

In my years as a professional pastry cook, my most trusted pieces of kitchen equipment were a 20-quart Hobart mixer and its smaller cousin, the 5-quart KitchenAid tabletop stand mixer. The 20-quart Hobart sold when I closed my last commercial kitchen, but the 5-quart KitchenAid that I've had for nearly 30 years still chugs along, despite an unsightly dent where it was dropped on its head in a moving accident. The newer 6-quart KitchenAid that was a birthday gift seven years ago holds a place of honor on my baker's rack and sees plenty of use.

Straying from my long-term relationship with Hobart/KitchenAid never occurred to me until the Viking Range Corp. began offering two mixers through their culinary products line – the VSM500, a 5-quart stand mixer with an 800-watt motor that retails for $400, and the VSM700, a 7-quart stand mixer with a 1,000-watt motor that retails for $525. Viking is known for the fine quality of craftsmanship of their large appliances. I was fascinated by the prospect of working with a mixer built to their quality specifications with a 7-quart capacity and a motor with 1,000 watts of power. I requested a product sample and used it when making desserts for friends, family, and Chronicle colleagues during the holiday season just passed. Now I can't imagine baking without it. The tilt-lift motor head and slanted-side mixing bowl took a little getting used to, but I've found that the beaters mix all the way to the bottom of the slanted bowl, which means less scraping of the bottom and sides of the bowl is necessary when preparing batters. The motor is quiet and powerful on all settings, and there's no rocking or traveling across the counter when mixing a heavy load, such as bread dough. Batters emerge silky-smooth and perfectly mixed, and 16 egg whites achieved maximum volume. The functional basic attachments are a balloon whisk, a flat paddle, and a very serious dough hook. It is also possible to add multiple attachments: pouring shield, colander/sieve, pasta roller, food grinder and stuffer, high-speed disk slicer/shredder, high-speed blender jar, juice extractor. I'll be keeping this one. If you envision a Viking in your future, the mixers can be purchased locally at Faraday's Kitchen Store and both Breed & Co. outlets and in Wimberley at Kiss the Cook Kitchen Essentials. For more information, go to www.vikingrange.com.