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.
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.
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.
“I Was Trying to Look Good for My Husband,” Helen Mirren, 78, Stuns Public With Bikini Photoshoot, Proving Age Is Just a Number
Dame Helen Mirren, 78, has been an emblem of grace and style on the red carpet since the late 1970s. She’s amazed the audience many times with her daring outfits and looks, but this time, she’s caught everyone’s attention in a whole new way. Many people were stunned when they saw a photo of the actress in her bikini on vacation in Italy.
She admits that this photo will ’haunt’ her for the rest of her life.
In 2008, Helen Mirren, at that time 63 years old, stunned the public with her bikini photoshoot. The photo quickly went viral. The Oscar-winning actress became something of a post-mid-life beauty symbol. Reflecting on the photo, Mirren expressed, “I think this thing will haunt me for the rest of my life,” as she was surprised to see this photo in all the major tabloids.
The actress also revealed she was just trying to look good for her husband, Taylor Hackford, “So we were there, swimming a little bit, lying in the sun, and Taylor said, ’Stand up, I want to take a picture of you.’ So I stood up and sucked my tummy in because my husband was taking my photo. I tried to suck my cheeks in. I tried to look good.”
This unexpected fame opened up some business opportunities for her.
Simon Mirren, Helen’s nephew, said that his aunt received a lot of business prospects but showed no interest in capitalizing on this photo. Simon recalled, “I begged her to turn us all into millionaires by marketing bikinis after everyone went wild over her fit bikini body but she said absolutely no. She won’t brand herself like that.”
It’s not the first time an actress has challenged age stereotypes.
The actress unveiled her “radical” hairstyle while promoting her role as Hespera, the villain in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The actress acknowledged that after growing her hair, she kind of liked it and didn’t feel like cutting it.
During a recent TV appearance, Mirren challenged the fact that older women are discouraged from having long hair because it tends to thin with age. The actress refuted this notion, stating that there is a general belief that one should not have long hair after a certain age.
The Oscar-winning actress hasn’t had long hair since her twenties. She liked the way it looked and decided to keep it. “I thought, do you know what, it’s pretty cool, I think I’ll stick with it for a little while. It will come off eventually…but I’m kind of enjoying it, it’s quite radical,” the actress said.
Mirren also expressed her pride in representing women over 60, stating that creativity, passion, and energy do not stop unless one decides to stop them. “So it’s just self-motivated, really, and never give up. And find enjoyment, if it’s possible in your life,” she shared.
Dame Helen Mirren has also been vocal about defying beauty standards for older women, citing that her generation has been subject to ageism for too long. She also voiced her frustration with beauty products being marketed with 15-year-old models in a 2019 interview.
The actress has her own views on beauty too, and it’s refreshing to hear someone in the public eye acknowledge that the idea can be exclusionary and make people feel insecure about themselves. “They’ll think, ’Well, I’m not very beautiful. It’s all very well for all these beautiful women, but I don’t feel beautiful,’” she explained.
For Mirren, it’s important for everyone to feel confident and fabulous, regardless of their looks. “Being powerful is so much more interesting than being beautiful,” the actress has always thought.
On a different note, Mirren revealed that she performed her own stunts on the set of Shazam! Fury of the Gods. “I was incredibly brave and didn’t say anything or complain because I wanted to be a real ’stunty’ person,” the actress proudly shared.
It’s great to see actors who are dedicated to their craft and willing to take risks for their performances.
Demi Moore, 61, also fights stereotypes that older women shouldn’t wear bikinis in her latest video, but the public is divided.
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