The Mistake of the Burnished Aluminum KA Flat Beater

[frigilux]

So...

I was about to replace (again) two white plastic-coated flat beaters for a KitchenAid K5SS stand mixer. These beaters tend to shed bits of their plastic coating as they age. For the first time, I noticed uncoated burnished aluminum beaters at the KA website and thought "Voila! No coating, no problems."

Wrong! The beaters arrived sans instructions for care. Without thinking, I put them both in the dishwasher. They turned a very dark grey and consequently shed gunpowder-colored dust on hands, batters, etc. Can I tempt you with a big piece of grey cake with grey frosting full of aluminum dust? Dishwasher + burnished aluminum = you should have known better.

I Googled the issue and found many other KA owners who were also not happy. These beaters are not supposed to be soaked in water or washed in the dishwasher. For those who did not follow those instructions (or like me, who were provided with no instructions) KA support says to wash them by hand in hot soapy water and scrub them with a plastic scrubber. If that doesn't solve the problem, KA suggests you replace them.

I just ordered two plastic-coated flat beaters; lesson learned.

 

[tolivac]

I don't like the KA burnished beater blades either.Like the coated ones better.Some KA mixers come with the burnished beaters-don't know why.Maybe Kelly can tell us why KA has been supplying burnished blades more than they used to.

 

[toploader55]

If you want to spend the time

You can polish those up with first a 3M green pad water and soap to get the lustre back and then Brillo. I don't care for SOS. Brillo for years has been a better soap pad for me. I use the Hotel Version of them in the restaurant for my Saute Pans. The old Chef used to let the dishwashers run the saute pans through the machine where the caustic soap would attack the aluminum and turn them grey and rough. I hate greasy dirty dull pots and pans. It took a lot of elbow grease and some unhappy dishwashers for a while, but once you get them back (the shine on the pans) they're easy to maintain.

 

[toploader55]

Before and After

The top row of Stock Pots have been Polished with Brillo.

The Bottom row of Braising Pans have not been touched yet.

 

[rayjay]

KA Whisk

If you have a newer Kitchenaid Mixer they also come with aluminum whisks.
Be carefull of that too.

Mine is old and made by Hobart and has a stainless whisk.

What happened to the quality over the years.

 

[mixfinder]

Burnished BullShit

Kitchenaid uses it as an "upsell" on their mixers likeneing them professional's beaters used in commercial kitchens. In the old day those hooks and paddles were aluminum or cast metals that weren't nearly so reactive. Bar Keeper Friend, Bon Ami and other non chlorene based cleaners, metal polishes and soap pads will all remove and "restore" the luster but having the coated paddle and hook are so much less hassle. The newer wide platform machines offer an 11 tine whisk which is stainless. For the smaller machines I am constantly on the prowl for stainless whisk original to older mixers. Its all a ploy to reduce cost of production and then stage it as an upsell. It is part of why I have walked away from Kitchenaid and their support systems. The newest 7 quart is a whole different cat however. My friend Kirk pulled one open for me to see in his shop in Seattle. New DC motor and "fly wheel" style gearing makes it quieter and he said not one machine has come in for repair since they have been repleased in the city.

 

[frigilux]

Eddie and Kelly-- Thanks for the clean-up tips. I hate to throw out $30 so I'll clean them up, then keep them as extras, remembering to keep them out of the dishwasher.

I often make four cakes at a time on weekends, and for the sake of expediency I'll line up all four of my KA mixer bowls on the counter and add the ingredients for each. While I'm pouring the batter from one bowl into a baking pan, the next bowl in line is being mixed. All four go into the ovens and I'm on to the next job.

This explains why my dishwasher runs all day long when I'm in the kitchen, and consequently, why I truly appreciate a very quiet machine. If I'm working on several dishes that require the "trinity sauté" (onion, bell pepper, garlic or celery) then I'll have several pans going on the burners. I tend to use pots/pans like I have a staff in the back doing all the warewashing. Suffice to say I do not, LOL! My trusty, quiet LG has to shoulder the entire burden.

When I was catering, I didn't mind scrubbing pots/pans; did it all the time. In my own kitchen, however, I wash absolutely nothing. It all goes in the LG.

[this post was last edited: 12/7/2012-09:25]

 

[mixfinder]

The Joy of Luster

I love to cook from the beginning processes all the way to sharing. I look for reasons to use another appliance, another pan or add another step. I will put absolutely anything in the dishwasher that fits, unless its detrimental to the longenvity and appearance of the items. I also love the feel of hot soapy water, a plush wash cloth and the feel and process of cleaning, polishing and restoring everything I use to its better than new condition. I admire Eddy's hard wark. Polishing pitted and worn commercial aluminum pans can make the strongest give up.

 

[frigilux]

I second Kelly's shout-out to the time and effort (and effort and effort) Eddie has put into making those restaurant pans gleam! I will shamefacedly admit that my restaurant pans looked far more like the "before" photo than the "after" photo.

When my days in catering ended I sold off every pot/pan made of aluminum. I've gradually built a wonderful collection of fully-clad stainless steel pots and pans which gleam with a minimum of effort on my part.
: )

Kelly, I know what you mean about enjoying the whole process of feeding people. I even enjoy the initial shopping component. I can't paint a bedroom without being driven to distraction, but I'll spend all day in the kitchen and enjoy every moment. I love starting in the kitchen just before sunrise, then seeing the sun come up over the back yard and garden. I have a 6-ft. work table right under the windows that look out over the yard. It's great watching the squirrels run along the top of the fence; birds swooping in for a quick bath; the wild rabbits hiding out from the neighborhood cats.

 

[rp2813]

I've disliked burnished beaters' hand-wash requirement ever since I got Dave his KA Professional HD, which came with them.  The Ultra Power tilt-head that it replaced had the coated type that could go in the dishwasher. 

 

After using the Professional HD in the process of preparing Thanksgiving sides and desserts this year, I decided I had had enough of the bowl-lift design as I prefer the ease of removing beaters from a tilt-head while leaving the bowl in place.  I also hated the loud raspy noise from the Swedish motor.

 

As a result, I brought up my quiet, plain white, non-solid state 1970 (+/-) Hobart K45 from the basement.  Back when it was produced, Hobart was issuing burnished beaters and dough hooks with this model.  I changed them out with the coated ones from my mom's almond Hobart K45SS which was long ago boxed up, made the necessary adjustment for beater-to-bowl bottom clearance, and I was back in dishwasher-safe business.

 

The Professional HD, flame decals and all, can sit in the basement forever as far as I care.  Dave hasn't had any interest in cooking or baking since his stroke three years ago, so I'm using the equipment I prefer.

 

[launderess]

Happens To The Best Run of Households

In a fit of trying to clear up quickly after mixing a cake with the Kenwood, put the aluminum "K" beater in the dw. While it didn't fall apart and or start giving off dust, the finish is now dull. Other than that the thing still works as intended. Have to scour eBay for a new one just to "have".

 

[norgeway]

My old.

K5 has the aluminum beater, I like it...but as with my aluminum cookware, I NEVER put it in the dishwasher!!

 

[kb0nes]

Anodizing

I wonder what aluminum casting alloy they use for the tools? These could possibly be hard coat anodized (think Calphalon cookware) to make them wear and corrosion resistant. Perhaps even hard coat with Teflon impregnation to make them easy to clean!

I have an extra non-coated dough hook I got at a thrift store for a quarter. Next time I send out a batch of aluminum parts for Type III Hard Coat anodizing I will through the hook in the batch and see.

They could be powder coated too, but if KA is replacing them then that is a done deal.

 

[mattl]

I know how easy it is not to think of not putting something in the DW-- if that makes sense.  i did that with my Sieman's cooktop.  It has full grates and i toss them in th DW often and they come out fine.  I had guests coming and the cooktop was a bit messy so I threw everything in the dishwasher, grates, disks and the round supports the direct the gas.  Didn't even give a thought to them being cast aluminum,  their nice shinny exterior got very dulled.  Over the past few months I've scoured them with SOS, and it seems to have helped but they look nothing like they used to.  You really don't see them so it's not a big deal but it's irritating that such an expensive cooktop has parts that get soiled and can't be run through the dishwasher.