[Sca-cooks] Duct tape rules! (OOP, not OT)

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

A couple of months ago, I bought a sausage stuffer attachment for my KitchenAid mixer.  The directions were a little vague, but I got it working.  Halfway through making sausage for a feast(a laborious job at the best of times), the large funnel broke at the base.  I replaced it with the smaller funnel, and the valiant sausage-makers toiled on.

This weekend, I was making some of the same sausage for dayboard, when I noticed that the small funnel was beginning to crack at the base.  Since none of the local stores carry the sausage stuffer set, I was browsing the Web for an online source.  One site had a very clear picture of the set, and I discovered that I have been missing a small but important piece.  There's a little plastic dohickey that's supposed to hold the grinder screw steady.  Not knowing any better, I had been leaving the blade in place, and it was scoring the base of the funnel.

Monday, I called up KitchenAid and explained my problem.  I had no receipt, no proof of purchase, but the nice lady told me there was a one-year warranty, and what was my name and address, please?  A new set -- FREE! -- will be in my hands in 7 to 10 days.

That was wonderful, but did not help with my immediate problem -- making sausage before Saturday.  I kept working with the cracked funnel, until more meat was coming out of the crack than into the casing.  This morning, I bethought me of a solution.  If duct tape can hold a bumper onto an automobile, surely it can hold a small piece of plastic together.  I applied some small strips to the outside of the base, and all was well.  Tonight I will finish the last of the sausages, and I will not need to use the attachment again until the replacement arrives.

Truly, duct tape is the Eighth Wonder of the Known World!

Brighid ni Chiarain