There is perhaps no more ubiquitous kitchen appliance than the KitchenAid stand mixer. It’s not only good at what it does, it can take a beating and keep on mixing. Despite the premium on Manhattan counter-space, my KitchenAid, with its sleek silver finish and sexy lines, gets its own special spot on the counter. Still,
There is perhaps no more ubiquitous kitchen appliance than the KitchenAid stand mixer. It’s not only good at what it does, it can take a beating and keep on mixing. Despite the premium on Manhattan counter-space, my KitchenAid, with its sleek silver finish and sexy lines, gets its own special spot on the counter.
Still, it’s not a perfect creature, and I’ve always been annoyed with having to stop the mixing to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then there’s the perennial problem with the little dimple at the bottom of the bowl. Despite my best scraping efforts, the dimple always seems to harbor little pockets of flour. Sure, you can adjust the mixing head to go closer to the bowl, and some people have even devised “hacks” like not screwing down the bowl all the way. But all these are just hacks and it’s all fun and games until your food starts tasting like metal from the beater hitting the bottom of the bowl.
Oh, and did you know the original paddle isn’t dishwasher safe? I didn’t… until I pulled mine out of the dishwasher one day only to find my hand covered in gray metal residue.
Enter the BeaterBlade for KitchenAid. In the same way a carefully prepared Bordelaise improves a perfect steak, this little gadget makes the KitchenAid just a little more perfect. A clear acrylic paddle with soft silicon “wings”, it actually scrapes down the sides of the bowl while mixing. This not only saves you time and tedium, it ensures your ingredients get mixed more uniformly.
The first time I saw one, I thought it was kind of gimmicky, not to mention expensive. Then, a few weeks ago I found out I had a store credit at a local kitchen shop. A mini spring-form pan, a set of pastry tips, and a couple clearance items later, I found myself face-to-face with a whole rack of these things. This time I didn’t have the price excuse and curiosity got the best of me.
Having used it for almost a month now, I can say that it is worth every penny. The only scraping I do now is at the very end to get the mixture out of the bowl and the flour-in-dimple problems are a fading memory. Perhaps the best part of the BeaterBlade is the cleanup. Because of the shape of the blade, it’s much easier to scrape clean than the standard paddle. It’s also dishwasher safe, making it a cinch to get that stubborn butter cream out of the nooks and crannies of the paddle.
Very useful post, I think we don’t blog enough about those kitchen wonders. I bought my mandoline checking out blogs, and I am so thankful 🙂
So again, thanks for sharing this great equipment tip! 🙂
Do you know that I don’t even have a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer…I TOTALLY need to pick one of those up. Like totally.
Very useful post, I think we don’t blog enough about those kitchen wonders. I bought my mandoline checking out blogs, and I am so thankful 🙂
So again, thanks for sharing this great equipment tip! 🙂
I have seriously had my eye on that beater for a while now – getting sick of the ol’ rubber spatula scrape-down! And YES! the flour-in-dimple-problem! love it. I need one. Glad to know it’s not just a gimmick.
p.s., Saw your kimchi pizza on Serious Eats today! Awesome!
My Kitchen Aid is from my mother, which she got in 1975 as a wedding gift. I don’t know how much the newer models differ- do you think that will fit on my older model? Also, I didn’t know that beater wasn’t dishwasher safe…sigh…another piece to wash by hand.
Do you know that I don’t even have a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer…I TOTALLY need to pick one of those up. Like totally.
Oooh, I just ranted at great length about unnecessary kitchen gadgets in a Certain Catalog. These little guys were in there, too, but I skipped them because I realized they were probably pretty useful. And then, I wander over here, and lo and behold, I find validation. Thanks, Marc:)
Oh, I’m in trouble.
I hadn’t seen anything like this or I would’ve nabbed it long ago; I also despise stopping the KA several times just to scrape the sides of the bowl.
So, I think I’m about to put another dent in my wallet.
Marc,
I submitted my entry for dinner and a movie today to [email protected] Just following up since there was a problem with the e-mail last time!
I have seriously had my eye on that beater for a while now – getting sick of the ol’ rubber spatula scrape-down! And YES! the flour-in-dimple-problem! love it. I need one. Glad to know it’s not just a gimmick.
p.s., Saw your kimchi pizza on Serious Eats today! Awesome!
My Kitchen Aid is from my mother, which she got in 1975 as a wedding gift. I don’t know how much the newer models differ- do you think that will fit on my older model? Also, I didn’t know that beater wasn’t dishwasher safe…sigh…another piece to wash by hand.
They have several models (even have ones for Cuisinart mixers), but I’m assuming yours is a tilt head model… Here are the model numbers it’s supposed to work on: Artisan, Classic, Classic Plus, Ultra Power: Accolade 400, K45, K45SS, KSM75, KSM90, KSM95, KSM100, KSM103
KSM110, KSM150, KSM151, KSM152, KN15E1X
Oh great, I didn’t know that the paddle isn’t dishwasher safe…I’ve shared in your complaints and am looking forward to giving this new tool a spin! Thanks 🙂
I bought one of these a couple of weeks ago – how can you pass it up for $20 or $30 on Amazon? I used it twice and immediately ordered one for my mom. It’s a wonderful paddle and has made some of the best looking cookie dough I’ve made in a while. Amazing innovation. Worth every penny.
This is rather embarrassing to admit, but up until now, I’ve unfairly shunned my kitchenaid mixer. I got mine as a gift after burning out 2 consecutive hand mixers on double-batches of cookie dough. It is indeed a workhorse, and totally deserving of my love and devotion. This beater blade has saved our relationship!
Oooh, I just ranted at great length about unnecessary kitchen gadgets in a Certain Catalog. These little guys were in there, too, but I skipped them because I realized they were probably pretty useful. And then, I wander over here, and lo and behold, I find validation. Thanks, Marc:)
Oh, I’m in trouble.
I hadn’t seen anything like this or I would’ve nabbed it long ago; I also despise stopping the KA several times just to scrape the sides of the bowl.
So, I think I’m about to put another dent in my wallet.
Marc,
I submitted my entry for dinner and a movie today to [email protected] Just following up since there was a problem with the e-mail last time!
Good to know!
Oh great, I didn’t know that the paddle isn’t dishwasher safe…I’ve shared in your complaints and am looking forward to giving this new tool a spin! Thanks 🙂
Do you know I sent Martha Stewart an e-mail about two weeks ago because she is still not using one of these? What is she, crazy? I thought she was the gadget queen. However, as I stated in my e-mail and will repeat here “I am enjoying gloating over the fact that I have better kitchen tools than Martha.” nyah nyah nyah nyah Lets all gloat together, pat ourselves on the back and bake something marvelous.
I bought one of these a couple of weeks ago – how can you pass it up for $20 or $30 on Amazon? I used it twice and immediately ordered one for my mom. It’s a wonderful paddle and has made some of the best looking cookie dough I’ve made in a while. Amazing innovation. Worth every penny.
Hi Marc,
Thanks for sharing this. Useful post:))
This is rather embarrassing to admit, but up until now, I’ve unfairly shunned my kitchenaid mixer. I got mine as a gift after burning out 2 consecutive hand mixers on double-batches of cookie dough. It is indeed a workhorse, and totally deserving of my love and devotion. This beater blade has saved our relationship!
Thanks for this excellent review. I will check it out for sure!
Good to know!
Do you know I sent Martha Stewart an e-mail about two weeks ago because she is still not using one of these? What is she, crazy? I thought she was the gadget queen. However, as I stated in my e-mail and will repeat here “I am enjoying gloating over the fact that I have better kitchen tools than Martha.” nyah nyah nyah nyah Lets all gloat together, pat ourselves on the back and bake something marvelous.
Whoa! And that’s all I have to say. 🙂
Hi Marc,
Thanks for sharing this. Useful post:))
Thanks for this excellent review. I will check it out for sure!
Whoa! And that’s all I have to say. 🙂
It is a nice gadget to be sure, but for anybody looking for something like this, the Sideswipe works much better. http://www.sideswipeblade.com/
Scraping the bowl used to be one of my least favorite things to do. It made me curse the money I had spent on the KitchenAid to begin with. But once I started using the blade, things have changed. It is truly incredible and makes baking easier. I have two complaints – one is that fingernails-on-the-chalkboard sound when you first start it up. The other is that the blade itself is kind a pain to scrape and I find I have to do that at least twice. Otherwise, I wish I had invented it!
It is a nice gadget to be sure, but for anybody looking for something like this, the Sideswipe works much better. http://www.sideswipeblade.com/
I’ve seen this and have it in my Amazon wish list. It’s nice to read a true-live review. BTW, I had NO idea the KA paddle wasn’t dishwasher safe. I put mine in there all the time. In fact, it’s in there now! I’ve never noticed any problems with it.
I need to get one of these, I’ve been hearing such good things about them. Thanks for the info!
Intriguing… Can you tell us why you like it better? Just looking at it and not having used it it looks like it may be harder to scrape clean due to the extra fins
Scraping the bowl used to be one of my least favorite things to do. It made me curse the money I had spent on the KitchenAid to begin with. But once I started using the blade, things have changed. It is truly incredible and makes baking easier. I have two complaints – one is that fingernails-on-the-chalkboard sound when you first start it up. The other is that the blade itself is kind a pain to scrape and I find I have to do that at least twice. Otherwise, I wish I had invented it!
I’ve seen this and have it in my Amazon wish list. It’s nice to read a true-live review. BTW, I had NO idea the KA paddle wasn’t dishwasher safe. I put mine in there all the time. In fact, it’s in there now! I’ve never noticed any problems with it.
I need to get one of these, I’ve been hearing such good things about them. Thanks for the info!
Marc, The fins have more backbone so it scrapes thicker batters better. Also they are angled so what gets scraped gets pushed to the bottom. What I like the most is that the large gaps allow things like chunks, nuts, etc to pass through. With the blade, things like that can get jammed between the blade and the bowl. The blade IS a very nice product, but side by side, the sideswipe has the better design of the two. And being silicone, nothing sticks to it so cleaning is a snap. America’s Test Kitchen also compared the two of them… Read more »
Marc, The fins have more backbone so it scrapes thicker batters better. Also they are angled so what gets scraped gets pushed to the bottom. What I like the most is that the large gaps allow things like chunks, nuts, etc to pass through. With the blade, things like that can get jammed between the blade and the bowl. The blade IS a very nice product, but side by side, the sideswipe has the better design of the two. And being silicone, nothing sticks to it so cleaning is a snap. America’s Test Kitchen also compared the two of them… Read more »
I have the beaterblade and make cookies with chocolate chips…it seems to work just fine. I’ve actually tried the sideswipe and it left a few lines of unmixed food where the opposing fins don’t exactly match. I also didn’t like that you have clean 9 fins afterwards and you can’t scoop out the batter like you can with beaterblade. But if you like it, great.
My blade does push the food down btw.
Mac Allen: do you work for sideswipe? Sounds like you do. My daughter has one of these beaterblades and she just loves it. Just wanted to stick up for the underdog.
Mac Allen: do you work for sideswipe? Sounds like you do. My daughter has one of these beaterblades and she just loves it. Just wanted to stick up for the underdog.
Thank you for this input. I just picked up mine today after also considering the price high. My husband’s reaction was “that much for a piece of plastic!!” But, after reading your comment, I feel better and am looking forward to it’s first run tomorrow.