New Year, New Mixer

This has never happened to me before. A small appliance manufacturer has crawled directly into my brain, studied the mental notes it found there on everything that was wrong with their otherwise lovely stand mixer, made all necessary amendments and adjustments (plus some that I had not even thought of) and deposited a new and improved version at my local shopping centre.

On Boxing Day, where it sat amongst the other marked down bargains.

At 15% off.

Plus a cashback offer of $100.

I couldn't believe it. I have never once used my otherwise beloved Kenwood Major mixer without wishing it had a timer to control the action - isn't the point of a stand mixer that you yourself do not have to do the standing, and are free to do other things, like chopping, popping prosecco corks, and applying makeup in a frenzy before the guests arrive? I have made several batches of overwhipped egg whites this way - thinking that I'll watch that beater and stop it at just the right level of soft peak, only to turn and chop something else before remembering too late that a 1200 watt mixer will just about cook those whites if you let it run long enough. That will never happen again now that I've upgraded to my Boxing day beauty (Kenwood KM040 if you have to know). From now on I'll just flick a timer on the new model for one minute or other intervals and go back to chopping, popping and frenzying. I love it.

There is also this new flexible beater attachment thingie that gets right to the sides and bottom of the bowl so there is less stopping and scraping.

Plus a 'fold' button. Rotates once.

Plus, to pause the action and start it again at the same speed, there is a pause button instead of having to rotate the dial again.

OK I'll stop now....

....and move on to the issue of the cost, and what to do with my (only two years) old version of the same mixer, currently up for sale as I type. If I achieve a reasonable price for this on eBay (blessed eBay!), and get my cashback in two months, I will only be down about, oh, $500.

Tragic?

Permit me to draw a direct line here between motorised kitchen appliances and the argument for an extensive batterie de cuisine as justified in Judy Rodgers' Zuni Cafe Cookbook; where she quotes Jean Troigros:

"Always choose a pan that is the right size. Too small, and you crowd the meat and steam it; too large, and you burn the fat you are cooking in, and that's not so good for the pan either. This is why we have the batterie de cuisine".

I think the parallel is clear in this case. I remember being quite excited when I read the above quote, and rushed right over to show it to Hamburger (aka my husband, who is from Hamburg). He regularly bemoans my batterie; its volume, its weight, its creeping up our walls and crowding out our cupboards. For once, however, this purchase will be a true replacement/upgrade rather than an addition - it fits directly into the space left behind by its predecessor.

Definitely not tragic.

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Did you know? According to Saveur issue No 115, the first powered mixer was patented in 1885, but was not manufactured - they didn't catch on until the 1930s.