My KitchenAid Mixer Is A Classic
Wow. I just realized that I received my beloved KitchenAid Classic Stand Mixer sixteen years ago this month.
It was a bridal shower gift from my mother and it remains one of my most beloved kitchen tools. When my mother gave me this traditional piece of kitchen equipment, she made it evidently clear why she did so.
I never met my paternal grandmother, Nanny, because she died just a few weeks before I was born. Nonethless, my mom said I inherited many of Nanny's traits and one of those traits was a love of cooking and baking. Nanny had a KitchenAid stand mixer, and my mother thought it was only fitting that I have one as well. I never saw Nanny's KitchenAid, but I suspect it dated back to the 1930s.
My KitchenAid Classic retains a prominent place on the counter, and I've happily carted it hither and yon as we've moved across the country and up to Alaska. It's always a fixture in my kitchen and over the years I've relied on it to whip cream, mash potatoes, and mix cookie dough. Funnily enough, however, my husband has glommed on to the mixer as much as I have.
About twelve years ago, we purchased the food grinder attachment because Christopher wanted to start making his own sausages. He loves to make his own combinations and has mastered the craft of grinding various meats into savory blends. The grinder does a great job and is a vast improvement over my grandmother's vintage hand cranked meat grinder which affixes to the tabletop and requires a lot of manpower!
Did you know that when the Model H-5 stand mixer was introduced ninety years ago, one executive's wife declared it "the best kitchen aid?" Thus, the brand name was born.
Do you have a new or vintage KitchenAid? Do you have one from your granny that still works? If so, I'd love to hear about it. And, if you have a KitchenAid, what's your favorite thing to make in it? Cookies? Bread? Mashed potatoes?
--Melissa A. Trainer
Samo on February 12, 2010 at 04:36 PM
I have my grandmother's KitchenAid. It is one of the industrial ones with the lever that moves the bowl up and down. I love making cookies in it or grinding cheese.
Dani on February 12, 2010 at 05:46 PM
I also have my Grandmother's KitchenAid. I imagine it is at least as old as I am (28). I only have the whisky beater attachment and it is often what I pull out when making chocolate chip cookies, or frosting, or banana bread. I have often thought about seeing if I can pick up new attachments for such an old KitchenAid (is the attachement mechanism the same?). Mine doesn't have the lever for moving the bowl, like the above commenter, but that's alright.
It is dusty with flour, its paint is chipped in a few places, but it has never failed me. I hope to pass it to my own daughter in the fullness of time.
TikiPundit on February 12, 2010 at 05:49 PM
What a great story! The reliability part is inspiring. One Saturday two years ago, I was going through my RSS feed of cooking blogs, and someone announced that Amazon had a sale on a model: effectively half price. I got online and bought it at once. It completely changed two things in the household: bread and pasta. And the latter is the favorite thing to make. It's just ridiculously easy now, so there's no point in buying dried anymore, or those expensive "fresh" plastic containers at the grocery store. The pasta is quick, dirt cheap, and can be frozen for four months.
Larry Sheldon on February 12, 2010 at 07:11 PM
We actually have two--a 5-quart "Kitchen Aide" (bowl hangs in a fork instead of the bayonet gadget as shown. Dunno how old it is, we bought it in the 1970's I think. Have a lot of lot of attachments for it. (I swear we had a food mill thing 99flad disk with a zillion holes that say in the top of the bowl. All I've been able to find for yeas is the "mortar"--wooden piece that forced the puree through the holes.)
The other one is a 12-quart Hobart that looks just like it only bigger--I use it for kneading doughs, but i9t came from the old Omaha Press Club where it whipped cream for a living.\
Kitchen aid used to be made by Hobart.
Melissa Trainer on February 12, 2010 at 07:42 PM
Dani,
I'd call KitchenAid directly about attachment for your older model. I think all attachments fit even the oldest models, which is a wonderful practical thing!
Thank you to everyone for posting such nice comments!
Melissa Trainer
Bonnie on February 13, 2010 at 04:59 AM
I don't have one yet, but my mom surprised me by ordering one as a Valentine's Day present this year. I can't wait to get it! I love baking so I know it's going to come in handy and my boyfriend's excited about trying to make pasta. Good to know they last so long!
Joel on February 13, 2010 at 04:21 PM
My Mom destroyed three inferior mixers trying to make her secret cookie-contest recipe. After finally buying a KitchenAid Classic and finishing a batch of cookies she declared it fit for mixing concrete if necessary.
jerry on February 13, 2010 at 04:27 PM
I inherited a kitchenaid K4-B from lady I did a kitchen remodel for. She was restaurateur in Northeast Oklahoma in the 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's. One of her former eateries is now the McDonalds restaurant spanning I-44 between Joplin, MO and Tulsa, OK. This food processor is a hog. It will do anything my limited attachments will allow. Never again will I cut carrots with a knife and cutting board. I haven't done much research as to what attachments may still be available for the old wonder, but this post has me drooling.
Ry Jones on February 13, 2010 at 04:27 PM
Make explosives?
http://www.boomershoot.org/2004/guilty_pleasures_10.html
Dee G on February 13, 2010 at 04:32 PM
I love, love my Kitchenaid (which I've had for over 13 years now). My husband's favorite chocolate cake recipe, and the peanut butter mousse filling that goes in it. Two massive bowlfuls of mashed potatoes this past Thanksgiving. Chocolate chip cookies, bananna and zuchini bread, whipped cream, herb butter. With the whipping attachment, buttercream frosting for my daughter's birthday cake; egg whites for a souffle; and Pillsbury cake mix to get it super-airy, leading to the lightest, sweetest cupcakes imaginable. That, my 1.5 quart stockpan and chef's knife are probably the most-used kitchen equipment in my house...
chris on February 13, 2010 at 05:07 PM
My KitchenAid mixer is circa 1982. I didn't get much in the divorce, but I insisted on the mixer. The newer models just aren't made as well (more plastic, less metal.)
And, you must get the ice cream attachment!
Timmy on February 13, 2010 at 05:10 PM
Meat Loaf. Corned beef hash. Once had to replace a stripped ring gear due to some ill-advised kneading of very stiff dough, but it was no different than replacing a part in a car. It will last forever.
Sandy on February 13, 2010 at 05:12 PM
I inherited my Kitchen Aid (w/the bowl that goes up and down) from an aunt charged with disposing of the property of a good friend that passed away.
When I heard that Kitchen Aid had a new attachment that scraped the side of the bowl better than the current beater does, I contacted them with the model number. I received a call back from a surprised-sounding rep from the company who said the new attachment wouldn't fit my mixer -- because it was 40 years old!
Barb on February 13, 2010 at 05:39 PM
My husband-to-be and I were in graduate school and had planned to pool our income tax return checks to buy our wedding rings when his parents announced they would hand theirs on to us. (Very sweet!) We took the ring money and bought a Kitchen Aid K-45; still running strong 28 yrs later. My husband is the cook and baker in the family and we got a 6 qt. Kitchen Aid (bowl goes up and down) maybe 5 yrs ago. I like to joke -- doesn't everyone own two Kitchen Aids?!
C. Davis on February 13, 2010 at 05:43 PM
I got my first Kitchen Aid stand mixer as a Christmas present from my hubby for our first Christmas together. It was a white 4-qt model and I still love it. (On a side note, his best friend made fun of him then, saying how giving kitchen implements to wives for presents was a big no-no! Well, they've been divorced about 8 years now and me and hubby are on our 13th year!)Meanwhile, I got a second Kitchen Aid stand mixer (a 6-qt one in pearl grey)for a Christmas present 5 years ago. Both of my mixers are permanent fixtures on my counter top and get regular use.
I have every attachment for it except the pasta and ice cream maker.I've made sausages, pureed veggies, mashed potatoes, bread,cookies and cakes with it.
Kitchen Aid customer service is superb by the way. My 6-qt mixer died on me while kneading dough the weekend after Thanksgiving a couple of years back. Hubby called customer service, my machine I learned was out of warranty but the nice folks said not to worry and sent a replacement. They just told us to just mail the old one back to them and they even covered shipping! We are customers for life!
Gfunk on February 13, 2010 at 06:11 PM
I got my Kitchenaid K5-A in 1972 while in law school in Berkeley. I used it to mix bread dough in order to avoid studying. After we purchased a bread machine, we stopped using the Kitchenaid for bread, but still use it for cakes, cookies, whipped cream, meringue, etc. We have the regular beater, the whisk and the dough hook. The machine is a little banged up, but still works great.
In the old days, the model with the lever was more expensive. It turned out to be a good investment that has lasted 38 years!
Bengoshi on February 13, 2010 at 06:46 PM
We found a K-5A in the basement of our beach house. Pre 1960's, Hobart Made (don't make em like that). Plugged it in works great. Pasta attachment is key. Best way to make fresh pasta. Who needs an Atlas?
Paul Byers on February 13, 2010 at 08:17 PM
I have had the K-45 and a K-50. I got my K-45 in the early '70s and used it for everything. Pasta, breads, cookies, whipped cream, candy, Everything! In the early '90s I got my K-50. It only lasted a little over a year. The gears had stripped! They were Nylon!! I contacted the company and they sent me a set of the stainless steel gears I was expecting and my K-50 is back to being the workhorse of my kitchen.
My daughter got her the "Epicurean" in pastel blue(looks like a K-50 to me)when she started to set up her kitchen. I am slowing buying her all the attachments. My K-45 is with a young chef type still producing the food. Great Machines!
If you cook you need a Kitchen Aid.
Bflat879 on February 13, 2010 at 08:18 PM
I like to bake and, when I got that infamous e-mail that had the receipe for Neiman-Marcus cookies, I just had to try it. At the time, I had an old Oster stand mixer, which was not very good quality. After struggling through a couple of batches, I saw a Kitchen-aide on sale and decided to get one. It was a Classic 4-1/2 quart model and I made many batches of cookies in it, listening to that poor baby strain and strain to get it done.
I finally decided to move up to a 6 quart stand mixer with a lift-up bowl, assuming it would not strain as much and I gave the other one to my daughter. It's still running and I'm straining the 6 quart one to make the cookies. The good thing is the dough doesn't go out of the bowl now.
Great mixers. Everyone should have at least one.
Pam on February 13, 2010 at 08:26 PM
My mother gave me my KitchenAid stand mixer in 1971. I used it today to make a chocolate cake, ganache filling, and buttercream frosting (for a dinner party tomorrow night). I couldn't cook without it.
Susan on February 13, 2010 at 09:37 PM
My mom gave me my KitchenAid in 1980, when I was pregnant with my 2nd child- he'll be thirty this year, and the KitchenAid still works great, just like new. I now have six children, mostly all grown, and they've all learned to bake with the KitchenAid. I bought my oldest son a beautiful red KitchenAid, which he uses all the time, mostly for bread. My next son was a Marine Security Guard, working for the State Dept., and managed to do a lot of cooking on his off-time. He (the Marine Corps) ordered a KitchenAid for every place he lived. The rest of us use my KitchenAid almost every day, sometimes more than once a day, mostly for cookies- the kids are known as wonderful bakers, and get lots of requests. :)
apodoca on February 13, 2010 at 10:33 PM
Thanks to Glenn Reynolds, I went out of my way to acquire a KitchenAid classic. Sure, it was second hand, but it's a trojan. I cleaned it up and it works great. I'd love to find a full complement of attachments for it, too.
Charles Collins on February 14, 2010 at 02:39 AM
Oh, that is a nice one! Sadly, I live in Italy, and our kitchen has two plugs-one for the oven, and one for the fridge. To use the microwave, I have to unplug the fridge. Newlyweds sometimes don't look for these things in their new house. But we will soon be moving, and the estate agents are wondering why we are constantly counting plugs in the kitchens of the flats we are looking at! So soon, we hope to have a great mixer, too!
Cicero's Thoughts on February 14, 2010 at 03:42 AM
I acquired my Kitchen Aid when I was working for a construction company. I ran the laboraory that produced asphalt mix designs and we used the Kitchen Aid to mix up our batches. Due to the limited capacity we went to the larger version(20qt+)and the small version went to the closet. After several months I pulled it out cleaned it up, bought new mixing parts and have been making pizza dough in it ever since. Aquiired 1984, mixed thousands of asphalt batches and countless pizza and bread recipes.
Carole on February 14, 2010 at 04:41 AM
We bought our Kitchen Aid 40 years ago. I remember going to the mall with our two very young children in their Flexible Flyer wagon (there were no double strollers for us). Mine is harvest green - my advice to all young people buying them now - do not pick a fad color. Mine is harvest green and certainly not a color I could let sit out for about the last 30 years.
My favorite things to make - mashed potatoes and cookies. We use to make our own bread but have stopped doing that as we could not stop eating it when it first came out of the oven. A loaf a day does not do the waist line any good.
This is my favorite bridal shower gift because I know 40 plus years from now they will think of me when they are still using their mixers.