More and more multifunctional devices fall into our hands – and it’s really convenient to buy several devices at once, and space in the kitchen is saved. The Lex company supports the trend. The modestly named LXMX 4101 planetary mixer is actually a food processor equipped with a meat grinder, vegetable cutter, blender, and a rather rare set of pasta attachments.

Characteristics

Manufacturer	Lex
Model	LXMX 4101
Type	planetary mixer kitchen machine
Country of Origin	China
Warranty	1 year
Life time*	3 years
Declared power	nominal – 800 W, maximum – 1000 W
Nozzles included	planetary mixer, meat grinder, blender and universal cutting machine
Control type	mechanical
Number of speeds	6
Number of drive shafts	3
Housing material	plastic/metal
Case color	red
Mixing bowl material	steel
Mixing bowl volume	5 l
Nozzles included	dough hook, whisk, mixing paddle
Additional accessories	protective cover
Cutter block material	plastic
Feed opening size	5×5 cm
Graters	small, medium, shredder
Blender jar material	glass
Blender jar volume	1.5 l
Number of blades per block	6
The height of the device in the assembly with a blender	54 cm
Material of the block of the meat grinder	neck, auger, ring nut, loading tray – silumin; grate and knives – steel; pusher – plastic
Perforated grids included	with holes 5 and 7 mm
Additional grinder accessories	sausage attachment, kebbe attachment, pasta attachment, cookie attachment
Maximum height of the minced meat container	23 cm
Additional features	suction cup rubber feet
Cable compartment	No
Instrument weight	11 kg
Combine dimensions with planetary mixer bowl installed (W×H×D)	240×290×320 mm
Combine motor block dimensions (W×H×D)	170×290×360 mm
Network cable length	0.8 m
Retail offers

^* Contrary to common misconception, this is not the period after which the device will definitely break. However, after this period, the manufacturer ceases to bear any responsibility for its performance and has the right to refuse to repair it, even for a fee.

Equipment

The device is packed in two boxes. External – from the usual brown cardboard on it you can see the vector image of the device and its technical data. The inner box is colorful, like the mixer, it is decorated in red and black. On its side faces, all the functions of the device are listed, the photos of the attachments complement the text.

Opening the box, inside we found:

• motor block
• mixer bowl
• mixer bowl lid
• whisk for whisking
• mixing nozzle
• dough hook
• blender bowl with knife block
• blender lid with measuring cap
• meat grinder loading block with ring nut
• meat grinder feed tray
• screw
• knife
• two grids
• two pushers
• attachment for sausages
• kebbe attachment
• four attachments for making pasta and noodles
• vegetable cutter block
• graters, medium and large
• shredder
• instructions, warranty card and promotional booklet

All elements of the device are packed in plastic bags and protected from external influences by foam blocks.

At first sight

The spectacular red plastic case cannot be called compact, but its dimensions are quite standard: height is 31 cm, depth is 37 cm, taking into account the bowl. There is nothing revolutionary in the design either: a fixed base with a nest for a 5-liter bowl, a reclining head with a shaft for attaching attachments, a rotary speed control and a button for locking the folding head on the lower right side of the body.

Stability and lack of vibration during operation of the device are provided by four suction cups.

The set of attachments for the planetary mixer consists of a whisk for beating, a spatula for mixing and a hook for kneading tight dough. The hook and blade are all steel, but the whisk has a white plastic base. All nozzles are easy to put on and take off from the shaft.

The transparent plastic lid, which protects against splashes, is not put on the bowl, but is screwed to the moving part of the body.

At the end of the working head, under a plastic plug, there is a plastic seat for the blender bowl. It is inserted into the port and secured by turning clockwise.

The heavy 1.5 liter bowl has a classic pitcher shape. She has risks on the sides: 250, 500, 750, 1000 and 1500 ml. The lid with silicone seal securely closes the bowl. In the center it has a hole for adding products, it can be closed with a measuring cup (40 ml).

The non-removable knife block has three knife plates. The lower one is equipped with two blades oriented at an angle down. The four other knives are oriented horizontally and up. There are large notches on the cutting edge of the two upper knives.

Above the mixer bowl is a plastic nest for a meat grinder and vegetable cutter, a metal hexagonal shaft peeps out of it. The tips are inserted at an angle and secured by turning counterclockwise.

The meat grinder is equipped with a classic set: a compact silumin head, an auger made of the same material, two steel gratings, a steel knife and a fixing nut. Neck diameter – 4.5 cm, height – 10 cm.

The gratings are also small, their diameter is 5 cm. One has 5 mm holes, the second has 7 holes.

A small tray is put on the neck. You can’t load a lot of meat into it.

The vegetable cutter block and the pusher are made of white plastic, the first is made of smooth, the second is made of rough. The nozzle must be inserted into the block and rotated slightly so that it catches with special holes on the protrusions at the end of the block.

Cylindrical graters are made of thin steel. The execution is not very neat: the folds along the edges are crooked, and the seams seem to have been hastily sealed.

We have already met the nozzle for cookies more than once in the tests of meat grinders. There are four holes to make cookies in different shapes. Nozzles for making pasta – these are four plastic circles, with their help you can get vermicelli, spaghetti, bucatini and linguine. Nozzles are inserted into the meat grinder instead of forming discs through which the minced meat comes out.

As a bonus to the Lex LXMX 4101 arsenal, a small silicone spatula is included, which can be used to scrape sticky dough or minced meat from the walls of the bowl.

Instruction

The instruction manual is written for four devices at once, differing in the number of nozzles, all the points of the instruction apply to our mixer, so you can not read the notes to the chapters. It describes how to work with each nozzle, there are tips for whipping egg whites and cream. True, we have not found the usual recommendations for a dough mixer – usually the ratio of flour and water and the maximum amount of dough that the device can knead are usually specified. Based on experience, we can assume that it is not worth loading more than 1.5 kg of flour into a bowl.

The text is written in simple literate language and supplemented with illustrations. At the end of the brochure there is a table with the causes and solutions of some problems that may arise during the operation of the device.

Control

With the rotary switch, you can set one of six speeds or switch to pulse mode, which starts the mixer at maximum speed. Symbols indicating speed are printed on the rim of the derailleur.

The speeds are switched step by step, with each turn of the knob a quiet click is heard. To switch to the pulse mode, move the regulator to the leftmost position and hold it there. If the knob is released, it will return to “0” – off.

Exploitation

First of all, we washed all the removable elements of the LXMX 4101 and dried them.

The device is elementary in assembly. A user who is not in the kitchen for the first time will understand everything intuitively.

Suction cup feet keep the car from moving, but they don’t save from vibration – and they couldn’t. During the operation of the mixer at high speeds, the working head shakes. In addition, in less than a minute, a characteristic smell begins to emanate from the case. We didn’t have emergency shutdowns even during a long kneading of the dough, but the sediment remained.

Still, the planetary mixer works well, coping even with a very small amount of products: the whisk easily, although not very quickly, whipped two small proteins. The hook kneaded an excellent dough, which we later easily rolled out, and the beater kneaded the dim sum filling to protein threads in a few minutes. This idyll was slightly diluted by the need to periodically scrape off the products stuck to them from the walls of the bowl. Still, ideally, the device should cope with its tasks without our participation. The lid seemed like a redundant element to us: during all the tests it remained completely clean, the soft start feature prevents splashing.

The blender performed well, although the tomato seeds did not succumb to it. And yet, he will prepare a morning smoothie or puree soup without any problems.

The meat grinder showed good performance, comparable to that of some stand-alone appliances. The nozzle sits high, even a very high bowl will stand under it.

For a vegetable cutter, the third seemed to be the ideal speed. On the fourth, the products are already flying around the kitchen. Slowly, graters rub vegetables and fruits almost without residue.

A pasta maker is not the most used accessory, but not useless. Pasta lovers will be pleased with the opportunity to make them with their own hands from quality products, also with the ability to choose a shape. One has only to keep in mind that the paste is thicker than the holes through which it comes out. Spaghetti, for example, we got 4 millimeters in diameter.

Care

The LXMX 4101 must be unplugged before cleaning. All parts of the appliance that come into contact with food are washed after each use in warm water with a mild detergent. The instruction prohibits washing the parts of the mixer and the bowl in the dishwasher. As for the rest of the elements, nothing is said, but it’s definitely not worth sticking the silumin there. Well, with the body, everything is simple and clear: wipe with a damp cloth, then wipe dry.

Our measurements

The maximum power consumed by the device is 368 W when the blender is running. In second place in terms of energy consumption is a meat grinder with 260 watts. The planetary mixer, when working at high speeds, gave out a maximum of 140 watts, and when kneading a tight dough at the first or second speeds, the power did not exceed 66 watts.

practice tests

Charlotte

In a planetary mixer, you can quickly beat the perfect biscuit dough, which is what we will do. Classic recipe: for 4 eggs a glass of sugar and a glass of flour.

They gave the whisk to slowly mix the whites with the yolks, poured the sugar through the hole in the lid and switched to the fifth speed. Leave the mixer alone for five minutes. The mass noticeably increased in volume and became airy, but was still quite liquid.

After another four minutes, the mixture thickened and became viscous. In other conditions, we would have turned on the mixer for a little more, but the LXMX 4101 began to heat up and emit an unpleasant smell.

So we carefully introduced the flour by hand.

Prepared apples were poured with ready-made dough and sent to a slow cooker in the “Baking” mode. The biscuit came out very tender and airy.

Result: good.

whipped squirrels

Lex didn’t give us any hints about the minimum amount of ingredients to whip, but we noticed that the whisk almost touches the bottom of the bowl with its tip. So we poured the whites of two small C1 eggs into the bowl and turned on the fifth speed.

Within a minute, they found liquid, well-whipped foam in the bowl.

After 7 minutes, the foam became strong and shiny. Test passed!

Result: excellent.

Dim Sum

We started by preparing the dough. They poured a glass of flour and starch into the bowl, mixed them at the first speed and poured a glass of very hot water. The dough set up very quickly.

Periodically, we had to stop the mixer, scrape off the stuck dough from the bottom and add flour to it. After 15 minutes, the dough was no longer sticky to our hands, so we took it out of the bowl.

The dough was very pliable, smooth and silky. Literally half a minute we kneaded it with our hands on a board sprinkled with starch, wrapped it in a film and put it in the refrigerator for two hours.

For the filling, we took a pound of minced pork and a little Savoy cabbage, added minced garlic, green onions, ginger, soy and oyster sauces to them. The beater nozzle was spinning at fourth speed.

Several times I had to use a silicone scraper: the minced meat stuck to the walls of the bowl, and the nozzle worked almost empty.

And yet, after six minutes, a perfectly mixed homogeneous mass was waiting for us. The only pity is that I often had to help the mixer blade.

For sculpting dumplings, we again needed starch: the tender, wet dough sometimes strove to stick either to the board or to the rolling pin.

Cooked dim sum in a double boiler for 15 minutes. Our efforts with the mixer have paid off! It is very tasty, especially in the addition of soy sauce with sesame oil.

Result: good.

Meat grinder. Mandatory iXBT test

As always, we test the performance of the meat grinder on a pork ham.

We cut a kilogram of meat into small pieces, focusing on the narrow neck of the meat grinder.

They worked at the sixth speed, not very actively wielding the pusher. All meat was processed in 1 minute 10 seconds. Minced meat of excellent quality, chopped and crumbly.

The iXBT performance factor for the Lex LXMX 4101 was 0.857 kg/min . This is a good result even for a stand-alone meat grinder, and even more so for an additional attachment.

Result: excellent.

Shredding apples

We entrusted the shredder with several well-laid juicy Granny Smith apples.

It took 10-15 seconds for one apple, we worked at the third speed. Thin plates flew out of the grater, one and a half to two millimeters thick. Ideal for Tsvetaevsky pie, for example. There is a small apple crumb, but we attributed this to the friability of the fruit.

Between the grater and the body – lumps of dense skins.

Result: good.

We rub carrots

We grated carrots on a large and medium grater. They worked mainly at the third speed: at the fourth, the chips began to scatter around the kitchen. It took about 7-8 seconds for each medium carrot, sometimes I had to press the pusher.

After disassembling, we found some chopped carrots on the grater, no large unground lumps.

The blade is excellent, smooth.

The snow-white body of the vegetable cutter was stained, but a napkin soaked in vegetable oil returned it to its original appearance.

Result: excellent.

spaghetti carbonara

Of course, we couldn’t help but check out the Lex LXMX 4101 as a pasta machine. There was no semolina at hand, so we took ordinary premium flour. For 300 grams of flour – three eggs. For kneading, a hook attachment was used.

After one and a half minutes of rotating the nozzle on the first speed, the flour is completely mixed with the eggs. The mass became lumpy.

We switched to the second speed and wanted to forget about the mixer for 10 minutes, but it didn’t work out. The device made a creak, sometimes something in the case clicked loudly. The working head was shaking up and down. At the same time, the dough was kneaded properly, the nozzle did not slip.

It took us 15 minutes for the dough to roll into a tight lump and hang on a hook.

The dough was rolled into a ball, wrapped in cling film and left for an hour. During this time, it has become smoother and more plastic.

We inserted a spaghetti mold into the meat grinder and began to push pieces of dough into the neck. The first speed seemed to be the most comfortable for us: while the next portion of the pasta steadily crawled out of the nozzle, we rolled the previous one in flour. Sometimes it was necessary to separate pasta that stuck together during cutting. This was also facilitated by heating the dough: it came out noticeably warmer.

In 10 minutes, out of 450 grams of dough, we got a pile of plump spaghetti. We shook them off excess flour and let them dry for half an hour.

There are 20 grams of dough left behind the forming grid.

While the bacon and garlic were frying, we boiled a liter and a half of water. 150 grams of pasta were cooked in it for 2.5 minutes until al dente. The rest of the fresh pasta was put in a container and put in the refrigerator – you can store such a blank for five days.

The cooked pasta was combined with bacon and garlic, the sauce of yolks and hard cheese was mixed in. It’s very simple and incredibly delicious, but next time we’ll use a vermicelli maker to make the spaghetti more delicate.

Result: excellent.

Blender. Standard iXBT test

Half a kilo of tomatoes was cut into quarters and loaded into a bowl. For 30 seconds on the sixth speed, the tomatoes turned into a puree.

In the mass there were many small, but visible to the naked eye, pieces of skin and seeds untouched by knives. We returned the blender to the base and worked a little more in a pulsed mode.

The puree became even more airy.

But the skins and bones are still there.

Result: good.

We would probably give a separate stationary blender an “average” result for such a result, but we will not be too picky about the component of a multifunctional device.

ice pick

Eight standard pieces of ice went into the bowl.

In the pulsed mode, they worked for about 15 seconds. The ice floes scattered around the bowl and settled on the sides of the knives: I had to shake the bowl a couple of times. For another 10 seconds, the blender was turned on at sixth speed. The ice has already begun to melt, so we moved on to evaluating the result. At first glance, the ice is crushed to a state of homogeneous large crumbs.

But we still found a few rather large pieces of ice. Apparently, 8 pieces was too much.

Result: good.

findings

The Lex LXMX 4101 planetary mixer is actually a complete kitchen machine. This is a mixer, and a meat grinder, and a vegetable cutter, and a blender, and even a pasta maker. The device copes with all its functions, but not always perfectly. For example, when the dough is kneaded for a long time, an unpleasant odor appears, clearly signaling that the engine is overheating – although we have never encountered an emergency stop of the engine. Eggs for biscuit LXMX 4101 beat for 10 minutes – usually it takes two times less time. But at the same time, the nozzles are calibrated so that the whisk beats two small proteins to a strong foam, and the hook kneads a tight dough from 300 grams of flour.

The performance of the meat grinder (almost a kilogram per minute) can be assessed as high, especially for a multifunctional device. The vegetable cutter does an excellent job of rubbing and chopping, leaving almost no waste. In a blender, you can quickly make smoothies or chop some ice, and with the help of special attachments you can cook as many as four types of pasta (the main thing is not to save on flour).

Pros :

• multifunctionality
• ease of assembly and management
• 5 liter bowl
• whips up a small amount of products

Cons :

• creaks when running for a long time at high speeds