All products featured on Epicurious are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
Few kitchen appliances are as vaunted as the KitchenAid stand mixer. It’s had a place in American homes for over 100 years, and to this day is the keystone of a complete kitchen. However, a KitchenAid stand mixer can’t really do everything, as pastry chef Clarice Lam learned. She made the switch to the Waring Luna stand mixer in her own home kitchen and vowed never to go back—and for all the pandemic bakers out there who upped the ante on your skill levels, you may not either.
.jpg)
The Luna is technically a commercial stand mixer, but it’s an attractive upgrade for a seriously decked out home kitchen. The 7-quart size offers more capacity than the standard 4.5- or 5-quart KitchenAid (no more overflowing stainless-steel bowls), and it has the kind of power that a full-time baker like Lam appreciates.
Prior to making the switch, Lam had problems with her KitchenAid when she used it for mixing dough. “It would just stop because it would overheat, or it would just go crazy and knock itself off the countertop.” In comparison, the Luna’s 350-watt motor easily powers through highly elastic or enriched doughs that require a lot of mixing, like brioche, milk bread, or panettone, without issue.
But what Lam truly fell in love with was the Luna’s sound, or lack thereof. “The number one thing that is important to me is that it’s quiet. There’s no loud buzzing,” she says. “I don’t want my neighbors to hear it through the walls.” Lam asserts that KitchenAids have been getting louder and louder (a complaint others have mentioned online), which made the Luna’s inconspicuous whir all the more appealing.
Now for the specs: The Luna has 11 variable mixing speeds controlled by a simple front dial. It has a tilting head design and works with several compatible attachments, including a whisk, a paddle, a dough hook, and a clear splash guard. In the event that you make something sooo dense that the Luna truly can’t handle it (please, no cement), it has thermal overload protection to prevent the motor from burning out.
For the average home baker, a Luna may be unnecessary. Remember, Lam is a professional pastry chef, and a damn good one at that. We’ve always been fond of the KitchenAid, which continues to beat its peers in our product test each year, but we also limit that test to noncommercial appliances. The pandemic has borne more than a few baking businesses from home kitchens, and home appliances aren’t always enough. For those out there who feel like they’ve pushed their own KitchenAid stand mixer to its limits, have burned out its gears, or are driven crazy by the cacophony it produces, the Luna is one mixer out there that can deliver the results you desire.
