Have you ever given the history of the kitchen tools we use on a daily basis any thought? Let’s go back in time today to discover the intriguing past of one such necessary appliance: the mixer.
The Inaugural Years of Blending
Our narrative starts in the middle of the 1800s, when innovators all around the world began experimenting with ways to simplify and expedite the process of combining ingredients. A Baltimore tinner named Ralph Collier received the first mixer with revolving parts patent in 1856. In less than a year, E.P. Griffith unveiled the whisk, a game-changing appliance for mixing substances. The hand-turned rotary egg beater invented by J.F. and E.P. Monroe left their imprint as well; it was patented in the US in 1859.
The Dover Stamping Company noticed these early prototypes and purchased the patent from the Monroe Brothers. Known as the “Dover beater,” the Dover egg beaters rose to fame in the United States. The renowned Dover beater was featured in a wonderful dessert dish called “Hur-Mon Bavarian Cream” published in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa Gazette in February 1929, demonstrating how highly esteemed these beaters were.
Welcome to the Age of Electricity
The first electric mixer didn’t appear until 1885, owing to the creative imagination of American inventor Rufus Eastman. But it was the enormous commercial mixers made by Hobart Manufacturing Company that really changed the sector. They debuted a revolutionary new model in 1914 that completely altered the mixer market.
Consumers began to choose the Hobart KitchenAid and the Sunbeam Mixmaster, two well-known American brands, in the early 20th century. However, until the 1920s, when they started to become widely used for domestic use, domestic electric mixers remained a rarity in most families, despite their popularity.
The Stand Mixer: An Innovation
Engineer Herbert Johnston of the Hobart Manufacturing Company had an epiphany in 1908 when he saw a baker using a metal spoon to stir bread dough. After realizing there had to be a simpler method, he set out to develop a mechanical equivalent.
The majority of sizable bakeries had used Johnston’s 20-gallon mixer as regular equipment by 1915. The Hobart Manufacturing Company unveiled the Kitchen Aid Food Preparer, eventually dubbed the stand mixer, just four years later in 1919. This ground-breaking creation swiftly established itself as a national kitchen standard.
This indispensable kitchen appliance has come a long way, starting with the hand-turned rotary beaters of the 19th century and continuing with the invention of electric motors and the stand mixer. Many changes have been made to it to make our lives in the kitchen easier.s
Therefore, remember the long history of your reliable mixer the next time you whip up some cookies or mix up a delicious cake batter. It is evidence of human inventiveness and the drive to make daily tasks simpler.
Apart from the mixer, another useful culinary instrument with an intriguing past is the meat grinder. This device, which is sometimes referred to as a “meat mincer” in the UK, is used for chopping and combining raw or cooked meat, fish, vegetables, and other ingredients.
Karl Drais created the first iteration of this amazing device in the nineteenth century, which begins the history of the meat grinder. Long, thin strands of flesh were produced by hand-cranked meat grinders that forced the meat through a metal plate with tiny pores.
As electricity became more widely available and technology advanced, manufacturers started producing meat grinders that were powered. The smooth and consistent processing of many pounds of beef is made possible by these contemporary electric grinders. The functionality of meat grinders has been greatly increased with the addition of attachments for tasks like juicing, kibbe, and sausage-making, which are included with some versions.
Thus, keep in mind the adventure and creativity that led to the creation of your meat grinder the next time you’re chopping meat for a delicious dish or experimenting with handmade sausages. It’s evidence of how kitchen gadgets have developed to enhance and facilitate our culinary explorations.
My Husband Left Me with Heavy Grocery Bags to Hang out with Friends – He Soon Regretted It
As their usual Sunday routine — Kristen and Gary spend their morning doing chores at home before heading to the grocery store to plan for the week. But when Gary gets a phone call from his friends, he bolts — leaving Kristen to fork up the $650 bill and find her own way home. Who is more important to Gary, and what can Kristen do to teach him a lesson?
For as long as I’ve been married to Gary, we have had a set Sunday routine. We wake up, have brunch and then hit the grocery store. It’s been this way for the past two years — it’s how the system runs smoothly.
Two plates of food on a table | Source: Unsplash
So, it’s a Sunday morning. I make us brunch while Gary sorts out the outside — mowing the lawn and so on.
“Are you ready?” Gary asked, as he came into the kitchen fresh from a shower.
“Yes,” I said. “Don’t forget to take the shopping bags.”
A lawn mower outside | Source: Unsplash
We get to the store, and my husband and I have a ball of a time. We walk the grocery store per aisle, making sure that we got everything we needed — and then some. We were both foodies, so cooking together was our love language.
Until Gary’s phone rang, and I saw a different side to my husband.
A shopping cart in a grocery store | Source: Unsplash
We were just about to start unloading our cart at the checkout when Gary’s phone erupted with a loud ring.
“Sorry, Kristen, but I’ve got to take this,” he muttered, stepping aside to answer. “You can start checking out, though.”
So I began to unload all of our groceries — the meat, the veggies, the fruit, not to mention the junk food and drinks that we had stocked up on, too.
Moments later, Gary returned, looking both agitated and excited.
A man using his phone | Source: Pexels
“Listen, I have to run,” he said, glancing at the groceries as the checkout guy went about scanning them.
“Where do you have to go?” I asked.
“The guys are waiting for me. We’re going to have some beers, barbecue, and watch the game together,” he said.
Gary put his hands in his pocket, and looked toward the exit.
A person holding beer with firewood in the background | Source: Pexels
I thought that he was waiting for us to finish at the grocery store, then drop me off at home before taking off to his friends.
“I’ll see you later,” he said.
“What? Now?” I asked, puzzled. “But we’re about to check out!”
“I know, I know,” he said hurriedly, swinging the car keys. “But I can’t miss this, Kristen! It’s a big deal, you know that the guys and I barely hang out.”
A man holding car keys | Source: Unsplash
“How am I supposed to get all of this sorted out and get home? You’re getting a cab?” I protested, my eyes darting between Gary and the growing line behind us.
“What? No! I’m taking the car. But I’ll call you a cab!”
He hastily began to place items on the conveyor belt.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ve got to dash!”
And with that, he was gone.
A man walking away | Source: Pexels
“Do you need help with these?” the checkout guy asked. “We have people to help with these things.”
I nodded. I couldn’t believe that Gary had actually left me at a grocery store, just to go and drink with his friends.
“That will be $650, ma’am.”
A cashier at check out | Source: Unsplash
Of course, Gary had left without leaving any cash behind. It wasn’t that I relied on him for money — it’s just that we usually did this type of thing together. And $650 wasn’t what I had expected our grocery trip to come to.
I paid and wheeled the heavy cart outside. I stood looking at the parking lot, hoping that by some miracle, Gary would still be there.
That he would be waiting for me.
An upset woman looking down | Source: Unsplash
That he would have finally realized that he was wrong to leave me for an insignificant moment with his friends.
I deserved better.
After a few minutes, a cab drove by. The driver got out and helped me pack all of our groceries into the trunk, and we took off for my home.
A yellow cab | Source: Unsplash
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got with Gary.
What on earth could have possessed him to leave me alone? I felt hurt and disrespected. I hated everything about the way I felt. My husband had never made me feel this way before.
I got home and unloaded all of the groceries. I was in a foul mood by then. So, I made a cup of tea and took it to my bubble bath. I needed to relax before thinking about how to get back at Gary.
A cat among grocery bags | Source: Unsplash
As I was sitting in my bath, sniffing the calming scent of lavender, I decided that I would cook myself a fancy dinner with all the ingredients I had bought.
“Two can play at this game,” I thought, shuffling around the house in my socks and pajamas.
I put on some music and I began to cook — I prepared an elaborate feast, grilled chicken, roasted vegetables, couscous, and the works. All of our favorites.
A bubble bath with tea and a book | Source: Pexels
The kitchen smelled heavenly, and I was in the zone. While waiting for the oven, I set the table meticulously for one — my resolve hardening.
If there was one thing I knew about my husband — he would always check my social media, especially when he was away from me.
So, I took photos while I cooked, and posted them on my socials.
A woman cooking | Source: Pexels
My stories were always perfectly captured, and I usually shared my cooking online. Shortly after I posted every story, Gary would ‘like’ it — and every time he did that, I knew that my plan was working.
Sure enough, my husband would be with his friends — drinking and snacking and watching whatever game they said they were going to. But Gary wouldn’t eat there, not when he knew that I was cooking at home.
For good measure, I sent him a photo of my plate saying:
Dinner is fantastic tonight, wish you were here! xx
A person taking a photo of food | Source: Pexels
Later that night, Gary returned to a clean kitchen without leftovers. I was lounging comfortably with a glass of wine and a book — the evidence of my solo feast neatly packed away at the back of the fridge.
“Hey,” he began uncertainly, after he walked in and out of the pristine kitchen. “The house smells incredible. Did you save me some dinner?”
A glass of wine on a table | Source: Pexels
I shook my head, a slight smile playing on my lips.
“Actually, no,” I said. “But you missed a great meal. Everything was so fresh!”
Gary’s face fell as he glanced around to the dining table, as if hoping that there would be a plate of dinner for him.
“I didn’t have dinner,” he admitted.
“Oh? Why not?” I asked, crossing my legs.
A man sitting and covering his eyes | Source: Unsplash
“Because I saw your stories and I thought that there would be dinner for me, too,” he said.
I remained silent. My husband knew exactly what he had done wrong. I just needed him to admit it.
“Kristen,” he said. “I’m sorry I left you at the store like that. It was a last-minute thing with the guys and I didn’t know what else to do. I wanted to be with them, I guess. And I knew that you could handle it.”
Gary walked to the fridge and returned with a beer. He opened his mouth to start talking again.
I raised a hand, stopping him mid-excuse.
A cold beer bottle | Source: Unsplash
“Gary, when you choose your friends over me, it’s more than just leaving me to handle the bills or whatever. It’s way more than that. You left me behind so that you could drink beer. You made me feel second to a barbecue. Today, I wanted you to experience coming home expecting a warm meal and finding nothing.”
“You did this on purpose?” he asked, shocked.
“It’s not just about food,” I continued. “It’s about the people you prioritize.”
A woman sitting on a couch | Source: Pexels
“I never looked at it that way,” he said. “I’m really sorry.”
Our conversation that night was long and honest — Gary needed to be reminded of the fact that we were a team and that we did everything together regarding our home. But it turns out that I also needed to be reminded that we could have our lives, too.
“Get out sometimes,” he said. “Go out with your friends, and leave me to take over the house. You’re allowed to escape the routine, too.”
A group of friends having a picnic together | Source: Pexels
When we went to bed that evening, I felt bad. I had never denied my husband food before, but there was a lesson to be learnt here.
Gary needed to know that he couldn’t leave me stranded in a grocery store without a car. Or without offering to help. Beer and barbecue did not qualify as an emergency.
“You’re right,” he said as he brushed his teeth. “I need to get my priorities straight.”
I’m not sure if Gary learned his lesson, but I do think that making him buttered toast and tea for dinner was a step in the right direction.
Buttered toast with jam | Source: Unsplash
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