kitchenaid

It's a world where gadgets the size of your palm can access the internet, play thousands of songs, and take pictures on the same device that can make a telephone call anywhere in the world. In such a world it is difficult to imagine that the humble standing kitchen mixer was once a marvel of technology.

According to the book "Antique Electric Mixers" by Dennis Thompson, the first know patent for an electric mixer was awarded to Rufus W. Eastman in 1885. It was an odd machine, designed to run on electricity or water power. In 1908 an engineer name Herbert Johnston watched a baker mix bread dough using an iron spoon. This prompted Johnston to develop the commercial standing mixer. In 1914, 80-quart commercial mixers were on the market and were quickly recognized as a major labor saving device. An executive's wife who was testing the home version called it "the best kitchen aid I've ever had" and a brand name was born. KitchenAid mixers have been the standard in home mixers ever since. The advertising said the KitchenAid mixer with attachments could "do it all!" Today's attachments can make pasta, stuff sausage, grind food, juice citrus fruits, and even make ice cream.

In 1928 and 1929 the Sunbeam division of the Chicago Flexible Shaft Company patented its version of the kitchen standing mixer with 2 removable beaters. The MixMaster was mass marketed in 1930 at a fraction of the cost of a KitchenAid. The MixMaster was so popular that its name became synonymous for any standing mixer, much like Kleenex has for any brand of tissue or Band-Aid for any small adhesive bandage.

I remember the mixer that my mom had, a sturdy Sunbeam MixMaster with ivory housing for the motor, a black base, and green glass bowl. We delighted in getting to lick the beaters after the mixing was done, oblivious to the dangers of the raw eggs in the batter. It was the only mixer that I recall mom having, a testimony to its sturdiness. She had attachments for it too, a juicer and a food grinder.

After leaving home, my mixers were all small hand-held devices that could stir up a decent cake with homemade frosting and the occasional mashed potatoes, but little else. When I married my husband he brought with him an old Sunbeam MixMaster, almost exactly like the one my mom had. His too, was a hand-me-down from his mother.

My mother-in-law's Sunbeam MixMaster worked well for me for many years. Finally, for one of my milestone birthdays, I asked for a pretty cobalt blue KitchenAid standing mixer with several fancy attachments. I know my mixer will last for years to come and that someday I too will get to pass it down.

As a chef, Rodger Haroar has many kitchen appliances at his disposal. Of course appliances used most often require replacement parts, such as meat grinder parts. Rodger shops for replacement parts at National Band Saw. He knows he can get Hobart mixer parts at a fraction of the cost of other distributors.

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