Facebook Giveaway Contest: FREE KitchenAid Blender

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Facebook Giveaway Contest

Repair Your KitchenAid Mixer

The holidays are coming which means it’s time to get your KitchenAid Mixers and blenders out and make sure they are in working order. If it’s not working properly, has a leak or is missing a piece it’s time to order the replacement part so you’re ready for baking season.

If you mixer is malfunctioning we invite you to give us a call, we can help troubleshoot the problem. 

800-339-9297

Happy Baking!

Blender Repair

When a blender breaks is it time to buy a new one or can it be repaired?

Blenders take a beating by occupation, although there are ways to avoid damaging your blender something may eventually need to be replaced. Depending on what is broken and the kind of blender you have it can most likely be repaired saving you money and the headache of shopping around for a new one.

Is it Under Warranty?
If your blender breaks look at the warranty, if it is still valid it may be worth while to have the manufacturer take care of the problem, especially if it is a Vitamix or a Blendtec blender. If the blender is under warranty don’t mess with it or the warranty may be considered void. Contact the company or an authorized service center.

KitchenAid Blade Assembly 

Available Replacement Parts
If the blender is not under warranty do some research online before you throw it away, find out if the manufacturer offers replacement parts. Brands like Oster, Hamilton Beach and KitchenAid all make replacement parts for their blenders that can be ordered online.

Some of the most common items that need replacing are the jar, gasket, blade assembly and drive coupling. These items are simple to replace with the exception of the KitchenAid blender drive coupling, for that part we made a video to show how to remove and replace it yourself.

If you have any question about blender repair our experienced technicians are happy to help, please give us a call. 800.339.9297

KitchenAid Slicer Shredder Attachment

For me one of the biggest reasons I don’t eat enough vegetables is because of the time it takes to prepare the vegetables. Between washing, slicing and actually making something with the vegetables I lose motivation and forget about them and they end up rotting in my fridge. I buy vegetables from the grocery store with all kinds of good intentions, promising myself that this time I’ll remember to and actually make a big salad for dinner. But when dinner rolls around I am often too hungry and impatient to think through making a salad. I don’t like how much time it takes to wash and slice the individual vegetables and grate the carrots . . . I don’t have a good track record cutting carrots, bad things happen and I end up in stitches.

A Cool Tool
For those who struggle in their quest to eat vegetables before they go bad the KitchenAid Slicer Shredder Attachment might be exactly what they need to get vegetables out of the fridge and onto the dinner table because it speeds up the preparation process. This is a great tool for vegans, vegetarians, raw foodists and those with celiac disease who spend lots of time rinsing, and cutting produce for their meals.

Slicer Shredder Attachment

This attachment can slice a cucumber in a fraction of the time it would take to slice it by hand. Also, slicing carrots is not nearly so dangerous, provided you use the food pusher and not your fingers, or other items, to push food through the rotary and always make sure to unplug the mixer before you attach, assemble, or disassemble the attachment from the mixer.

What It Can Do
KitchenAid recommends firm fruits and vegetables such as: apples, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, radishes, potatoes and zucchini. You can also grate or slice firm cheeses that have been thoroughly chilled or slightly frozen. Use this slicer shredder attachment to make coleslaw, sauerkraut, hash browns, or potato chips. Also try grating coconut, chocolate, walnuts, pecans, and dried bread for bread crumbs.

Firm Fruits and Vegetables

• Cucumbers
• Carrots
• Radishes
• Cabbage—coleslaw, sauerkraut
• Zucchini 
• Potatoes—hash browns, potato chips

Garnishes

• Chocolate
• Nuts 
• Walnuts 
• Pecans 
• Coconut 

Other 

• Hard Cheese—thoroughly chilled or slightly frozen
•  Dry bread—Bread Crumbs

The rotor slicer shredder attachment comes with four cones: a fine and coarse shredder cone, and a thin and thick slicer cone. Now the biggest problem will be deciding whether to shred or slice the carrots.

Your Thoughts

• Does anyone have this attachment and how do you like it?
• What have you done to make produce preparation faster? 

KitchenAid Grain Mill Attachment

Grain Mill Attachment

Milling flour at home is a great way to save money and it’s healthier than bleached flour from the grocery store because the wheat bran and germ have not been removed which is a natural fiber and contains several vitamins and minerals including vitamin b and iron.

For those with celiac disease a grain mill is a great advantage because it gives them control to make their own gluten free flour using their choice of alternative grains. Plus they know it hasn’t been contaminated because they milled the flour themselves.

The KitchenAid grain mill attachment is a great tool because it doesn’t require manual labor to make it work leaving both hands free to refill the hopper with more grain while the mill is running. Also, the grind on the grain mill attachment can be adjusted from fine to coarse. So if you need baking flour or you want cracked wheat for breakfast you have the choice.

• Have you ever made anything with fresh milled flour?
• What was it and how did you like it?
• Have you ever made flour using an alternative grain?
• What kind of grain did you use, what did you make and how did it turn out?

KitchenAid Pasta Attachment Set

My parents often invited friends over for dinner when I was a kid. We had three meal plans that were routine whenever we had guests because we usually had all the necessary ingredients on hand, it was inexpensive and it always tasted great. The most popular of these dishes was homemade spaghetti. Both the pasta and the noodles were made from scratch. Mom’s meat sauce was always a hit and the aroma made my mouth water and my tummy growl well before it was time to set the table.

Dad took on the process of making the spaghetti; just about the time our guests arrived he had the dough rolled out and ready to go through the pasta cutter. Our guests were immediately intrigued by this process and began rolling up there sleeves to get in on the fun. Several occasions I remember hearing our guests express their surprise that pasta could be made at home and then, of course, they wanted to know where to get the pasta machine.

            A 3-piece pasta roller and cutter attachment set for a KitchenAid mixer comes with a pasta roller and two cutters. The pasta roller flattens the dough to just the right thickness and assures the newly rolled sheet will fit in the next set of rollers. The fettuccine cutter cuts the dough into wide, hardy noodles that are excellent for alfredo or a thick meat sauce, while the Spaghetti cutter cuts round spaghetti noodles perfect for marinara sauce.

            There are endless ways to make pasta. Try making whole wheat noodles or green noodles using spinach. For those with celiac disease making pasta at home is a great advantage because pasta can be made using gluten-free flour. Don’t be limited to Italian dishes either; try making noodles for an oriental meal or even chicken noodle soup.

            Making pasta at home can be a lot of fun, it’s an opportunity to not only share a meal with your family but also the process of making it. Has anyone ever made homemade pasta before? What recipe did you use? How did it turn out? 

KitchenAid Flex Edge Beater

KitchenAid has launched the new Flex Edge Beater. It’s a coated, flat beater designed with a silicone edge to scrape the sides of the bowl and mix simultaneously. The Flex Edge Beater eliminates the need to stop the mixer and scrape the bowl manually, saving you time and energy.

4.5 Quart Flex Edge Beater

While the only size currently available is for the 4.5 and 5-quart, tilt-head mixers, KitchenAid will have a Flex Edge Beater for the 5.5 and 6-quart bowl lift models available for purchase in the near future.

Other companies have developed beaters with silicone edges imitating the KitchenAid beater. WARNING: The use of an imitation beater will void the warranty on your KitchenAid Mixer. Genuine Flex Edge Beaters by KitchenAid are available on our Web site.

Has anyone used this beater yet? How did you like it? If you don't have one will you be likely to buy one in the future?

Happy Baking!

How to Prolong the Life of Your Blender

If you want your blender to keep working for a long time you need to use it correctly. Here are a few tips help to prolong the life of your blender, brought to you by the friendly technicians at the Mending Shed.

All blenders are not created equal. Don't think a $19 blender is going to work the same as a $99 or $199 blender. Cheap blenders are not made to handle the same kind of abuse that a more expensive model is made to handle.

Ice is rough on blenders; anything frozen should be set out to thaw for ten minutes. This softens food and ice just enough that you can process it without damaging your blender. If your ice is in large cubes I recommend crushing the ice in a bag using a rolling pen or hammer before you put it in the blender.

Make sure the blade has stopped spinning completely before you remove the jar from the base. Removing the jar while the motor and blade are still turning wears down the teeth on the blade assembly and the drive coupling.

Don’t move the jar around while the blender is running. Doing this will not improve the blending action and only damages the couplings on the motor and the jar assembly.

The blender jar is not designed as a storage container; when you are finished blending poor the excess mixture into a different container for storage. By exposing your blender jar to moisture, such as smoothie or wash water for an extended length of time will allow liquid to get into the blade assembly making it sticky and difficult to turn; especially if the blender goes unused for several weeks. 

Don’t stick anything in the jar while the blender is running for any reason; this is not only dangerous to you it is a sure way to damage the blade. Don’t do it. If you feel your mixture needs some coaxing toward the blade, shut off the blender and wait for the blade and motor to stop spinning before you stick something, like a spoon, in the jar to move the food around.

Even with special care, parts on your blender may ware out eventually. Depending on the brand and model, you may be able to buy a new replacement part. Contact the company that made your blender to find out if the part you need is available and where you can purchase it.

Happy Blending!

The most commonly needed replacement part for a KitchenAid blender is the drive coupling. The following is a video on how to replace a coupling yourself.

Let us know what you think about the video, post a comment below.