Todays Mixmaster Mania

[petek]

Found these two lovely mixers at the flea today.
The little pink Sunbeam Mixmaster Junior, albeit a little battle weary in the paint department. And a nice Braun stand mixer, not sure the date on this but the top lifts off and you can place a blender jar on top which it didn't come with unfortunately. I think these models came out in the late 60's thru the 70's and 80's. I love the sleek Euro design of these and they're well built and quiet too. The machine itself is metal, the bowl is a funny sort of plastic like my Bosch mixer.

 

[petek]

I just looked on ebay and there is a Braun like the one I just got up to $184 in bids.. unbelievable.

 

[tolivac]

That Pink mixmaster Jr. is really cool!!Did those come in other colors?The Braun is pretty neat-looks 70's

 

[chachp]

Mixmaster Junior

I have a chrome one with a black handle. I think they came in the same colors the Mixmasters came in.

 

[foraloysius]

Braun Standmixer

Cool find Pete, that Braun mixer is a real design icon. I think it was designed by Dieter Rams, who did a lot of designing for Braun. I have one too, but mine is in a sad state, totally unlike yours. I have the blender attachment too, but the glass is chipped and was glued by the previous owner. I also have a vegetable slicer, ofcourse chipped as well. I bought mine very cheap at a thrift store, I just wanted to play with it for a while. I'm not very impressed by the mixing action, I prefer the planetary action of the KitchenAids and the Kenwoods. When making a batter for pound cake I noticed the batter isn't mixed well in the centre. I never tried it for bread dough, perhaps it does that very well. Its possible that yours was a mixer only, overhere in Europe it was sold that way or with all the accessories. I will make some pictures of my small appliances soon.

 

[jamiel]

"In the day" Consumer reports rated the braun second only to the KitchenAid (and better than the Mixmaster/Hamilton Beach). I'd love to play with one.

 

[Cybrvanr]

Is that Braun really that old? It's a cool machine, but it looks like something that was designed only within the past 10 years or so ago. That thing's way ahead of it's time...neat. That hand mixer is pretty cool too. I think that's the earliest one I can remember seeing!

 

[foraloysius]

Yes, the design is indeed that old. This model however was the second model that got some improvements in comparison to model #1. Here's a picture of that first model, launched in 1957 as you can see at the website about 50 years Braun design.

http://www.braun.com/50yearsdesign.html

 

[foraloysius]

I said I thought it was designed by Dieter Rams, but according to the website it was designed by G.A. Müller. Don't know who improved the design.

 

[petek]

How neat, I didn't realize the design was that old either. I just remember seeing them when I was in my early teens of the late 60s and thinking how cool and modern they were, not to mention pricey over here. Braun of the day put out some very sleek stuff back then, I have the little squirrel cage table fan as well. In comparison they made all the Sunbeam et al appliances look "old fashioned". I believe these were the catalyst for the Euro-look that the domestic makers tried to copy unsuccessfully because they just couldn't refrain themselves from adding "that extra bit of chrome or doo dad".
I believe that Remington bought out Braun quite awhile back which might explain their downward spiral into more mainstream and poorer quality appliances. Could be wrong there I'll have to read that website.
Louis, you now know that you're gonna have to put on your hunting gear and find me that blender attachment!!! or let me know if you find one on Ebay in Europe in German.

 

[foraloysius]

Pete, I'll send you a mail about this.

 

[maytagbear]

Last I knew, Braun,

at least Braun of America was owned by (no kidding!) Gillette.

I had a Braun auto-drip cofeemaker that died not long after the warranty expired, I'd taken good care of it, and had de-scaled it regularly. Braun/ette told me to "get lost."

Haven't bought Braun since. My stick blender, a Braun, was a gift. It's been ok.

I like the design of the Braun stand mixer, but not the plastic bowl.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[petek]

It could have been Gillette , I was thinking Remington. Actually the plastic bowls aren't as bad as they sound. It's sort of a flexible slippery plastic and like on my pricey Bosch mixer which has the same I find that little bit of flex in the bowl helps the mixer from straining, plus nothing sticks to it ever so you just have to wipe it down with a paper towel. With glass and stainless bowls the ingredients tend to schmeer on the sides.