The Viking Stand Mixer

The Vikings have a reputation for being one of the greatest warriors in history so much so that anything associated with them are also perceived to have great qualities. It is safe to assume then that the Viking stand mixers were designed and manufactured with great qualities in terms of beauty, functionality and durability in mind.

Although the Viking Range Corporation has only been around since 1984, its reputation in the industry is worthy of the name of a great ancient people. The Viking Range is known for its ultra high-end professional kitchen appliances for residential and commercial uses.

Even the most affordable Viking mixer can go toe-to-toe with the most expensive top-of-the-line stand mixers in the industry, thanks to the company’s dedication to high quality for its products.

Viking Professional 5-quart Stand Mixer Features

Like most Viking mixers, the 5-quart stand mixer comes in no-nonsense color designations of Red, Black, Silver and Stainless Gray.

Don’t be fooled by such plain color descriptions because this Viking stand mixer is anything but blah in its appearance, far from it. The machine has beautiful lines coupled by a sturdy body, a combination that speaks of a high-quality appliance.

The inside mechanisms of Viking mixers are as impressive as their exterior appearance. Vikings, after all, were known for their imposing physical presence as much as for their warrior spirit so it only goes to follow that the 5-quart Viking stand mixer has similar qualities.

The features of this excellent stand mixer include:

• Brushed stainless steel bowl with a curved handle for convenient use especially when transferring batter into baking pans
• Attachments of V beater, stainless steel dough hook, and stainless steel whip
• 800-watt motor coupled with a metal gear transmission and with 3 multi-function outlets (primary, low and high speed)
• 12 speeds plus additional stirring and max modes
• Tilt-back head that locks in up and down positions
• Rear wheels on the body

As with all Viking stand mixers, it’s important to set aside a good amount of space for this 5-quart model. With dimensions of 17×8.5×14 inches and a weight of 9 pounds, this mixer for the home is no wallflower. We also suggest giving it good overhead clearance for the tilt-head function.

Viking Professional 5-quart Stand Mixers

Mixing Performance

From the abovementioned features, certain aspects of its mixing performance can be deduced.

Its powerful 800-watt motor makes for a versatile machine that can knead the thickest bread dough with ease while still being sufficiently gentle enough to whip up delicate meringues. No bogging down from even heavy dough made from the likes of whole grain flour.

Depending on your desired consistency of the mixture and the final product, you must alternate using all three of the attachments that come with the this stand mixer. Use the stainless steel dough hook for bread dough while the stainless steel whip is great for meringues and the V beater is excellent for cake batter.

The stainless steel bowl of this 5-quart mixer is manufactured with durability in mind. No worries about denting it with the vigorous speed of the mixer while the lock mechanism ensures that it will stay in place.

We love the handle on the bowls of the Viking stand mixers, a sensible feature that most stand mixer makers have yet to follow suit.

With its 12 speeds, the 5-quart Viking stand mixer makes it possible to whip up a wide variety of dishes and desserts. Think of meat loaves, sausages, breads, cakes, cookies and other delicacies that require thorough mixing for delicious results.

Since the attachment hub is also compatible with other attachments, it’s easy to expand your repertoire of dishes and desserts that can be made. Add in the user manual with recipes and you can readily use this 5-quart Viking mixer right out the box.

We do have one complaint, however, although it may seem minor when you are an attentive baker. Among all the Viking mixers, this one does not have an auto shut-off feature. This means that you risk either over-mixing the ingredients or burning out the motor when you are distracted by other tasks in the kitchen.

Viking Professional 7 Quart Stand Mixer

We find that there are several crevices and cracks where food ingredients can become stuck. This makes clean-up a little difficult although a little patience can resolve such an issue.

Consumer Reviews

In general, Viking mixers get good to excellent reviews in sites like Amazon.com and for good reasons, too. Even with its flaws, the 5-quart Viking stand mixer is still often preferred by many professional chefs and some amateur cooks over other brands like KitchenAid.

To date this mixer averages 4 stars from 12 reviews on Amazon

Conclusion

Are Viking stand mixers good investments? “Yes, these are good investments especially when you are looking for beautiful, practical and durable kitchen appliances.” Be sure to accept the relatively high prices though because Viking products are not high-end appliances for nothing.

Having said that overall I would opt for the kitchenaid stand mixer, its a bit cheaper and has a 4.5 star rating.