“My hand mixer has gone kaput,” I announced to my friends on Facebook one fine day. To which my German friend replied: “German mixers never go kaput. Try Bosch next time.”
It might have been serendipitous that shortly after, I got the opportunity to review a Bosch MUM Serie 2 Kitchen Machine. And I was looking forward to doing so. After all, my oven, stove, washer and fridge are all Bosch. (I swear I am not paid to say this.)
Said to be the most compact kitchen machine in Bosch’s line-up, the MUM Serie 2 Kitchen Machine is a powerful helper (700 watts motor) that is good for a variety of uses, depending on the attachment tools that come with the machine. I had the patisserie set, which comprises a whisk, a stirrer and a kneading hook for baking purposes.
The MUM Serie 2 has a clean design that will sit well in any modern kitchen. Photo © Asia 361
Visually, the MUM Serie 2 has a clean modern design that will sit well in most kitchens. It has a sturdy glossy plastic casing and despite its outlook, it is surprisingly light at 4.3kg and easy for me to move around. I particularly appreciate the little rubber suction cups at the bottom for added stability.
The machine comes with a 3.8-litre stainless steel bowl that is large enough for processing cake mixtures of up to 2.4kg and yeast dough of 1.7kg. Thank God the bowl is not plastic, which is prone to staining and not suitable for handling ingredients like oil or butter. There is also an accompanying transparent lid with a filler hole, useful for preventing flour or icing sugar clouds from flying out of the bowl.
There are four speed settings on a knob on the machine, with a slow start on speed 1 for delicate mixes and a high speed at speed 4. There is a discernible difference between speed 3 and speed 4. I found the higher end speed to be quite ferocious and loud, but in spite of that, the machine remained sturdy.
There are four speed settings. Photo © Asia 361
Making a smooth beautiful meringue. Photo © Asia 361
I made use of the whisk attachment for beating egg whites in making my sponge cake and meringue.Initially, I wasn’t sure if the whisk could reach the bottom of the deep bowl but the MUM Serie 2 performed beautifully, giving me perfectly whipped egg whites in no time.
The whisk attachment makes a silky meringue. Photo © Asia 361
I also tried the knead hook to mix chilled butter with the meringue to make Swiss meringue buttercream. I had heard stories of people breaking the wires on their whisk attachments when processing butter so I decided not to use the stirrer in this instance. My Swiss meringue buttercream still turned out smooth and gorgeous.
The knead hook is for kneading dough, though I use it for mixing butter with my meringue. Photo © Asia 361
Verdict
I made this cake with buttercream flowers, thanks to the MUM Serie 2. Photo © Asia 361
A roll cake made with the help of MUM Serie 2. Photo © Asia 361
Overall, the MUM Serie 2 Kitchen Machine is a all-rounder that will be a great helper in the kitchen. I do wish, though, that I had the other food processing accessories to test the versatility of the machine. While the machine is marketed as being compact, I feel it may still not be small enough for some kitchen table tops, especially those with a small kitchenette.
The price (S$399) is also reasonable, considering how well the machine has delivered in performance and the potential things it could do, with the right set of attachments. It’s hard not to fall for this German kitchen assistant.
The Bosch MUM Serie 2 is available in stores exclusively at the UnserHaus Experience Centre, selected retailers Harvey Norman, Courts and Gain City, and online at www.bosch-home.com.sg and Lazada Bosch Home Appliances Flagship store.
