The Kit
TURNING H
The history of KitchenAid’s iconic stand mixer
I
cons aren’t made overnight. The KitchenAid
stand mixer has been causing a stir on the
countertop for over a century. An eye-catching
retro classic that will never fail even the most
demanding cook, it’s as desirable now as it was
to American housewives in the 1920s.
The story of KitchenAid’s trailblazing
appliance began with a drop of sweat from the
end of a busy baker’s nose. The year was 1908,
and Herbert Johnston, an engineer and later
President of the Hobart Manufacturing Company
in Troy, Ohio, was watching the baker mix bread
dough with a spoon. To help ease that burden,
Johnston pioneered the development of an
80-quart mixer. By 1915, professional bakers had
an easier, more thorough, and more sanitary,
way of mixing their wares.
The first home stand mixer was born in
1919 at the Troy Metal Products Company, a
subsidiary of the Hobart Manufacturing
Company. The progeny of the large commercial
food mixers, the Model H-5 was the first in a long
line of quality home food preparers that utilised
‘planetary action’ – a revolutionary design that
rotated the beater in one direction while moving
it around the bowl in the other.
Wives of Troy executives tested the initial
prototypes. While discussing possible names for
the new machine, one impressed homemaker
commented, “I don’t care what you call it, but I
know it’s the best kitchen aid I have ever had!”
Hence, a brand name was born, and the first
KitchenAid stand mixer was unveiled to the
American consumer.
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