Kenwood mixer questions

oxgoldilox

Hi,

I have just picked up a KMC560 Kenwood Chef second hand which only came with a dough hook. I am now on the lookout for a) a bowl and b) some way of mixing cake ingredients.

My questions are:

1. Do I need a K-beater or a whisk? ie. which is better for cakes?
2. What bowl do I buy?

The two bowls that are recommended in the instructions are 638821 and 672487, both of which are stainless steel. Are these the only models I can buy, or are there compatible models from other Kenwood mixer ranges? All the ebay listings seem to recommend attachments 'for model Axxx' and I'm not sure if they will be compatible with mine.

Also, are there any plastic versions of the bowls? I'm on a very tight budget and £50-80 is pushing it to buy the stainless steel versions.

All help very gratefully received.. Can't wait to make my bread now! :T

Penelope_Penguin

oxgoldilox wrote: »

1. Do I need a K-beater or a whisk? ie. which is better for cakes?
2. What bowl do I buy?

I use the K-beater for sponge cakes and the whisk for fatless sponge and meringues. I'd say the K-beater gets much more use here

No idea about bowls - I have a plastic one, but lust after the glass ones that my mother and MIL have.

angeltreats

I can't answer your questions about bowls, as I've only ever used the bowls that the machine comes with (mine is stainless steel, my mum's 70s model has a white glass bowl). But I can tell you that I use the K beater for cakes and most other stuff apart from bread, and the whisk pretty much only for egg whites and cream, so if you're only going to buy one attachment and you want to make cakes then I'd go for the K beater.

I'd be surprised if you couldn't use any bowl of the same capacity. But the models beginning with A are the older models A701 and A901 (and variants). The attachments for the A901 (by which I mean the beaters, dough hook, things like mincer/pasta maker/liquidiser) will all fit the newer KM models. The ones for the A701 will not. I don't know if this applies to bowls as well though.

seraphina

I think it's worth finding the right bowl. The shape of the bowl has to account for how the beater head moves. If your bowl is too small, the beater will try and beat an area outside of the bowl; if the bowl is too big, your beaters aren't going to be able to mix all the ingredients.

oxgoldilox

Thanks for your advice. So @angeltreats, I could buy any of the A901 attachments and they would fit my KMC560? I will call Kenwood on Monday and ask about the bowls too.

Many thanks again.

Gemmy_2

Hmm.. this is interesting. I always find that my cakes turn out better using the whisk on mine.

Need2bthrifty

Hi Oxgoldilox, I have a 1970's (A701a) model and recently needed to replace the liquidiser seal (cant quite believe how long its lasted:rotfl:) because of the age of it I thought - no way. But yes way, I searched t'internet and found "Kenwood Chef Restore" (sorry havent worked out how to do link)

On the website it shows tables of spares, attachments, equipment and compatability, from the 701 series to present day.

Like others I would suggest getting a K beater, its the one I use most and of course couldnt survive without the liquidiser - the whisk is pretty redundant in this household I prefer an electric hand whisk.

Kevie192

There's a K beater which has a rubber coating and rubber 'flaps' to scrape the bowl as it goes... I'm thinking of treating myself to one for my old chef. Might be worth a look? Again, i'd recommend kenwood chef restore - they've been really helpful is sourcing parts for my machine.

Kevin

oxgoldilox

Thank you for the Kenwood Chef Restore mention - I've found them online and they appear to list things very clearly, so that will be my next port of call on Monday.

Thanks again. Oh, and I love the idea of the beater with the scrapy flaps! Sounds very practical!

zippychick

As this has dropped down the board, ive moved it to the i wanna board

Zip