The one piece of equipment that my kitchen simply wouldn’t run smoothly without: The KitchenAid Stand Mixer.

These machines are built to last. They whip, beat, mix, kneed bread dough and a lot more – with ten variable speeds. They come in a variety of sizes for the personal chef, from 4.5 to 6 quarts, as well as coming in tilt head and bowl lift varieties (I’ve owned both, and they both have their finer points — my current, the workhorse 6 quart variety, with the bowl lift and 575 horses under that Nickel Pearl exterior makes quick work of anything I’ve tossed its way!). They’re expandable, with a range of attachments such as meat grinders, pasta makers, sausage stuffers, can openers, juicers, pasta rollers, food grains, ice cream makers, and ice water jackets.

The standard retail for these mixers (which are available in a rainbow of colours to suit any decor) starts at $199 for the tilt-head, and $399 for the bowl-lift version. and goes up from there. Available at most retail outlets, or online from KitchenAid.com. (As well as other online retailers.

Of particular note is that the bowl-lift version has a corkscrew shaped dough hook, where as the smaller, less powerful Kitchenaids have a C-Shaped dough hook (a C-Shaped hook may be ordered, separately, for the bowl-lift mixers, however). How much of a workhorse is this machine? I’ve turned out over 14 loaves of bread in one afternoon, along with a variety of cakes, and enough mashed potatoes to feed a small army.