Have you ever thought about the interesting stories behind the things we use every day in the kitchen? Today, let’s go back in time and learn about the interesting past of two useful appliances: meat grinders and mixers.
Mixers: From Beaters that are Turned by Hand to Electric Marvels
Around the middle of the 1800s, people all over the world tried to make mixing items easier and better. Ralph Collier made the first mixer with parts that could rotate in 1856. This was the first big step forward. A year later, E.P. Griffith created the whisk, which changed the way people blended things in a big way. Monroe brothers J.F. and E.P. didn’t want to fall behind, so they made a hand-turned rotary egg beater and got a patent for it in 1859.
The Monroe Brothers’ patent was bought by the Dover Stamping Company after these innovative designs caught their eye. The Dover egg beaters quickly became very famous, and people started calling them “Dover beaters.” People really liked them, and in February 1929, a tasty dish in the Gazette newspaper of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, used the famous Dover beater in a dessert called “Hur-Mon Bavarian Cream.”
But Rufus Eastman didn’t make the first electric mixer until 1885. This started a new era in mixing technology. The Hobart Manufacturing Company, on the other hand, really changed the business world with their big industrial mixers. In 1914, they showed off a revolutionary model that changed the world of mixers for good. Soon after, people started buying the Hobart KitchenAid and the Sunbeam Mixmaster, two well-known American brands.
Even though they were becoming more and more famous, most households didn’t have electric mixers until the 1920s, when they started to be widely used at home.
Stand mixers are amazing works of engineering.
Herbert Johnston, an engineer for the Hobart Manufacturing Company in 1908, saw a cook working hard to mix bread dough with a metal spoon. He knew there had to be an easier way, so he set out to make a machine that would do the same thing.
The 20-gallon mixer made by Johnston was standard equipment in most big bakeries by 1915. In 1919, only four years after that, the Hobart Manufacturing Company made the Kitchen Aid Food Preparer, which is now known as the stand mixer. This revolutionary new item quickly found its proper place in kitchens all over the country.
In the 19th century, beaters were turned by hand. Later, electric motors were added, and the stand mixer was created. This important cooking tool has gone through many changes that have made our lives easier in the kitchen.
So, the next time you make cookies or cake batter, take a moment to think about the long past of your trusty mixer. It shows how creative people can be and how much they want to make everyday things easier.
The versatile meat grinder is an important tool for cooks.
Along with mixers, the meat grinder is another cooking tool with an interesting past. This tool, which is sometimes called a meat grinder or a meat mincer, has been very useful for cutting up raw or cooked meat, fish, veggies, and other foods.
The meat grinder’s history goes back to the 1800s, when Karl Drais made the first cutting board that looked like this. At first, meat grinders were turned on and off by hand. The meat was pushed through a metal plate with small holes, making long, thin strands of meat.
As technology improved and more people got access to electricity, companies started making meat grinders that were driven. With these modern electric grinders, several pounds of beef can be ground up evenly and without any problems. Some models even come with accessories that can be used for extra tasks, like making sausage, kibbe, and juice. This makes meat grinders much more useful in a lot of different situations.
Take a moment to think about the journey and creativity behind your meat grinder the next time you mince meat for a tasty dish or try making sausages at home. In this way, it shows how kitchen tools have changed over time to make cooking easier and more fun.
