Vintage Braun KM32 kitchen center
Monday, July 5th, 2010 at
4:53 pm
Related Topics
This is a vintage 60′s Braun KM32 mixer kitchen centre that was made in West Germany. I’m told it was designed and on the market in the late 1950′s. Very sleek and modern for the time when you compare it to Sunbeams and KitchenAids of the era. They were on the market I believe up until about 1980. In Canada and the USA they weren’t very well known and very pricey in comparison to domestic machines. Today they’re quite sought after on Ebay.
Tagged with: braunkm32kitchenmachi
Filed under: Artisan blender • Products • Review • Videos
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Very cool for us kitchen geeks. I remember this machine, my music teacher had one. But my mum got a Kenwood Chef, so I never got to play with the Braun.
But years later I treated myself to a K1000 food processor. Search for the K1000 and you will be stunned to see just how much of the KM32 is still inherent in the modern machine. Even the switch and overall shape bears a resemblance. What a machine, how ahead of its time it was!
Thanks.. do you have your mums Kenwood Chef or is she still using it? I have two Kenwoods though I gave the newer one to a friend of moms I kept the old 60′s model which now that you’ve reminded me I’ll video today or soon.
Hi, no, I dont’ have my mum’s A701 Kenwood Chef, which she bought in 1976 – she still uses the white and navy-blue machine.
I’m afraid I had to get my own Kenwood, though at the time, I found that the modern ones are more plastic.
BTW, I’m sure you’ve seen the Multiquick system food choppers – denoted by series ZK and MX. The switch and icons look so much like the KM32. In fact when I was back in Malaysia last year, they’re still selling the food chopper, best thing to make curry paste!
GOTS 550WATTS
Nice design, personally find it too loud. I do not like plastic bowls. Shouldn’t the gear (cog) be meshing against the grooves in the bowl? Wasn’t the beater in your demo the general mixing beater and there was another with more and finner wires for whipping? Is there another beater socket that is slower and geared down for using the dough hook and beater for mixing doughs? How easy to get replacement parts? Replace a cracked bowl. beat beater etc.
It doesn’t sound as loud in real life, I think the camera makes it louder for some reason. There is another finer wire whisk I didn’t have when I filmed this. I have one now. The dough hook fits in one socket and the whisks in another,, same speed. Parts are getting harder to find but I have 4 of these mixers so probably won’t run out
This Dieter Rams mixer is still the most beautiful ever made. Not a great mixer in use but great eye candy!
I wish we had the blender, though I suppose it would defeat the purpose of only having one blender, really (we have a “vintage” Oster purchased in 82 or 83, which still works wonderfully well. Our KM32 is still going strong. It really does have a wel-built motor and is very, very durable, overall. We have not had one single problem with it, nor has it broken down…yet. We use ours mainly for cake batters and whipping potatoes, rather than making bread.
Yes, the two different types of beaters/whisks are terrific, though I have used the thin wire whisk for whipping up egg yolks for sponges and even whipping butter for batters (have to switch to the batter whisk, for the most part, when adding flour, etc. though).
As for noise factor, yes, it is incredibly loud (hard to hold a conversation). Perhaps some of you might have one which has some kind of sound insulation to dampen the motor’s noise. the Kitchen Aid is quieter, in my experience.
Design wise, it still turns heads and they don’t make them like they used to. The Europeans always have sleeker and more sophisticated designs. with the way the mixing action has been designed, it takes a bit longer to cream butters and whip cream, egg whites, etc. Also have to scrape down more frequently to evenly mix ingredients, too. The Kitchen Aid’s system is better for mixing, though I think both of them don’t quite get at the bottom of the bown (so as not to scratch the bottoms).
The plastic bowl is quite heat resistant, to a certain degree, and is very durable. Provided you don’t throw it from a great height onto a concrete-like hard floor, it will hold up to shock and is quite shock resistant, too. At least our’s is.
I suppose, with the exception of the noise factor, we are quite satisfactory overall.
And since it is heavy-duty, it is equally heavy in weight…but not impossible to handle.
If you cannot afford the several hundred dollars for a brand new Kitchen Aid/Cuisinart/Wolfgang Puck/Kenwood Chef/etc., go for one of these KM32′s, better even still if you are able to get ahold of a set with the blender attachment. I’ve seen pre-owned models going as low as $20, though $40-50 is reasonable, depending on age, and wear/tear. Go for one that has been well-cared for: no heavy scratches/gouges on the exterior or bowl; no wires on the attachments bent out of shape.
Oh…one thing…..with extended use, the motor arm (the part connecting the beater to the motor and the bowl) can secrete some oil, which is normal for well-used models–it should not be leaking or dripping, though. So, if you buy a used one, check that part.
Hope this helps….sorry it’s a bit long.
nice demo; I was searching today for parts and found your video. We bought this wonderful W German machine in Canada in 1982 and still using it almost every couple of days. The blender red gasket had finally dried up and cracked in few places. I would like to replace it since I want to keep using this blender. It’s a Great machine.
Can you please inform me as to where I can have my KM32 Braun Kitchen Machine repaired. I have the model number from the bottom of the machine. I love this machine and have had it for forty years. I used to send it to West Virginia for repair but have lost the name of the company that could repair it. The bowl is not going around right in the socket. I have started baking bread again and really do not want to purchase a new machine. thanks.