Jkom, I'm trying to figure out how it works differently that the original beater blade? I have been baking today and using the original style beater blade that came with my 29 year old Hobart. I've replaced this blade just once in 29 years.

Ann

The outside of the beaterblade is a plastic "flap" that acts just the way a rubber spatula would. For example, one of my cookie recipes instructs to cream the butter and sugar together, stopping several times to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a hand spatula.

With the beaterblade, that stopping/starting is unnecessary. It scrapes the sides as it beats, so it's very efficient. The plastic of the blade is structurally fairly stiff, so it also worked beautifully to puree the ripe bananas for the banana bread recipe.

It's easily twice as efficient as the standard ceramic beaterblade at mixing. However, since it IS plastic, I question whether it will last for decades. OTOH, if I got 5 or 10 yrs use out of it, I'd consider it worth the money.

oohh, I'm going to order one, it looks like they have it for most all KA mixers. Thanks for the heads up..

jkom,

The white coating on my beater is cracked and the coating has broken off in places exposing the metal. I ordered the beaterblade as a replacement. I am glad you shared your excitement and experience using the beaterblade. It works differently, and I needed to make some adjustments in the way I use the mixer, though.

The batter tends to collect between the rubber edge and the plastic blade. It needed to be scraped off several times making one batch of cookie dough. It also throws the flour into and on top of the blade more than the original blade did. Overall, it works quite well; much better at incorporating the ingredients into the batter.

Judy

Thanks for telling us about this beaterblade. I'm going to put it on my wish list for Christmas.
Teri

I was wondering how good the beater blade might work. I noticed it in the Chef's catalog. Just may have to try one. Thanks!

Nancy

Boy, I never heard of this! I was thinking about the new and supposedly improved dough hook, but then found out it's not recommended for my old model.
Jkom, do you have a tilt-head Hobart/KA? I have a wonderful old Hobart/KA from back when they made a real dark cobalt blue, but the beaters really do not clear where they should. I have an official repair center right here in my city, but when they worked on it years ago they didn't do the job. I'd never again buy one I can't adjust myself.
I wish I had this right now, for cookies; I hate constantly scraping the bowl. And if you have the same kind of mixer I have, I'll know this would work for me.

Actually, there are now two mixer blades on the market. The newest is the SideSwipe Spatula Mixer Blade, with a different design (see link below).

Cook's Illustrated actually liked this one better than the Beaterblade that I purchased, but I didn't see the review in the Jan-Feb 2009 issue until afterwards. I'm satisfied with the one I got, though. The Sideswipe looks like it's more durable, but there's a lot of crevices you'd have to scrape clean.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sideswipe blade models

I've had one of the sideswipe blades for about nine months. It's similar to the beaterblade, but the spatula blades are silicone overmolded onto a beater core. It's no big deal to clean (no worse than a regular beater).

The only thing is that you may have to adjust your mixer to get light contact with the bottom of the bowl. Also, because there will be additional side loads on the spindle from the interaction of the spatulas on the sides of the bowl, I would NOT use it for anything really heavy duty for fear of damaging the planetary gears. When making cookies, it's a godsend for creaming butter and sugar together. It keeps the batter off the walls of the bowl really nicely.

The sideswipe does look better. The one for my mixer hasn't come out yet.
Adjusting the height isn't possible on the old bowl-lift KA from the '80's. KA says it can't be done at home, period.

Oh, I just ordered the beaterblade for my 6 qt. Won't get it for Christmas, but I'm going light anyway.

Thanks for the heads-up! This looks great!

Judy--my beater's got the same problem--does KA guarantee these?

idee-I don't think they are made by KA. The blade works so much better than my original one, I am keeping it. The sideswipe blade looks interesting, too. There are several demos on uTube. They are sold out, though. Judy

Here is a link that might be useful: Beaterblade FAQ

Eh ya bunch a enablers! I just ordered one! hahahah!

I was making the spritz cookies Sunday and had to keep stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl.

I can't wait to try this!

Thanks for the recommendation!!

Where have I been? This is the first time I've seen this . . . looks like a great idea! Thanks, Jkom, for posting about it!

Arlene

where do you get them? I've been looking around here but no luck.

I'm a catalog and mail-order junkie - I just ordered it from amazon.com, super-easy and one-click (yeah, I'm a regular on this site!). Happy holidays, everyone!

I ordered one the very same day this thread appeared. I'd just been griping to a friend a couple days before about having to scrape down the bowl so often, and it's as if the universe was listening to me.

I also checked out the Sideswipe blade, but they're back-ordered on the 6-qt size. I'm keeping my eye out for that one, too.

Thanks for the heads-up on these, jkom! We'll have to compare notes once we've actually used them.

I received my beaterblade yesterday from Amazon, just in time for today's cookies. After reading the thread from the N.Y. Times regarding butter ... this blade is the answer. It works wonderfully!!! I made 14 doz. cookies today using the blade. Made sure that butter was at the correct temperature. I'm in FL so I stuck my 6 qt. bowl in the freezer to "chill". Then turned down the air conditioning. I made chocolate crackle cookies, cranberry/walnut cookies from a thread here in the Cooking Forum, and spritz cookies. Made sure the butter/sugar was thoroughly creamed and proceeded. The beaterblade does cream butter/sugar in 1/2 the time and does a great job!

I've always made good cookies, but this year's array are really, really good!

Thanks for the headsup on this product. I'm amazed that it works so well!

Any updates/discussions/opinions/comments? DH wants me to get the Sideswipe or Beaterblade.

If I go ahead, I also need something for five more cents for free shipping. Arrrggggh....

I like it a lot Jessy. I've used it a few times now; as recently as Superbowl Sunday, I mixed up cake batter. The only time I had to scrape the bowl was when I was putting the batter into the baking pans, to get it all out.

Definitely worth buying (to me).

I love mine, too--the BeaterBlade, that is, haven't gone back to order the Sideswipe yet. Great for creaming butter and sugar. Aside from saving you the trouble of constantly stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl, which I find very awkward on the KA 6-qt, it just seems to mix ingredients more effectively in general. I was worried it might destroy chocolate chips in cookie dough, but it incorporated them very gently, so I may not need to get the Sideswipe, since I think the main appeal of that one is the gaps in the blade for adding small bits like chips and raisins and nuts and berries. (Haven't tried fruits with the BeaterBlade yet.)

It's one of those rare things that really works as advertised.

DH wants me to order the metal one, not plastic. Pros/cons? I told him the plastic one is better for creaming butter/sugar because it doesn't heat up, but he is adverse to non-metal (durability).

I think both of these aftermarket blades--BB and Sideswipe--are plastic, Jessy. Are you finding one one with the squeegee feature that's made of metal?

So far I'm not too worried about the durability issue. I used it to mix up a mammoth meat loaf last week--twice normal size--and it held up just fine.

Tell your husband that Kevlar and Lexan are plastic, too, and they stop bullets. ;o)