There is one kitchen appliance I would be lost without, my electric beater. In the past I used an electric hand held beater and later was given my mother's standing electric beater, when she passed. It is an old Sunbeam. Even though it is old, it works and still has all the attachments.Today's electric beaters are equipped to take all types of attachments. Some people still like to use the hand held electric beaters but I prefer the stand type. There are so many colours it makes you wonder what is left to change on this this kitchen appliance!
Even commercially the standing electric beaters have changed making it easy for companies to mass produce their product.
Have you ever wondered who invented this appliance? I read many articles and found in the middle of the 1800's a man named Ralph Collier from America patented a mixer with rotating parts. Then in England a couple of years later E.P. Griffiths patented one. It did not say, but these sound like the early hand-turned rotary beaters.
I read that the first mixer with an electric motor was invented by Rufus Eastman, an American, in 1885.
The Hobart Manufacturing Company from Ohio, America, in the early 1900's introduced a new model which played a large part in commercial cooking. Hobart first produced the Kitchen Aid and Sunbeam in 1910. It was Herbert Johnson, an engineer for Hobart Manufacturing Company, who invented an electric standing mixer. They say his inspiration came from observing a baker mixing bread dough with a metal spoon. In 1915 his large mixer was standard equipment for bakeries. In 1919, Hobart then introduced the Kitchen Aid Food Preparer - a stand mixer for the home.
Time will bring new inventions but one thing is guaranteed, I will still be using my mother's standing beater!
Whole Roasted Chicken With Lime
Ingredients
Half a cup of long grain rice
1 stalk of lemongrass (white part only)
1 small piece of ginger
2 cloves of garlic
2 stems of coriander leaves
2 kaffir lime leaves (no stems)
Three quarters of a cup of shredded coconut (toasted)
1 large chicken approximately 1.5kilograms (free range if possible)
Ingredients for sauce to go in roasting pan
2 cups of water
Quarter of a cup of fish sauce
Quarter of a cup of brown sugar
Quarter of a cup of lime juice
Method Pre heat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
Place the rice and water in a small saucepan and cook for approximately 10 minutes on low heat until tender.
In a small food processor put in lemongrass, ginger, garlic, coriander and lime leaves. Blend until finely chopped.
In a bowl combine rice, lemongrass mixture and coconut. This mixture then goes into the chicken as a stuffing mix.
Tie the chicken legs together with string.
In the baking tray place sauce mix - water, fish sauce, brown sugar and lime juice stir until combined.
Place the chicken breast side down in the pan.
Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
Take the chicken from the oven and remove foil. Turn chicken over and cover with foil and cook for a further 30 minutes. (If your sauce starts to evaporate, add a little more water).
Again, take chicken from the oven and remove foil. Baste with sauce and place back in oven without foil for 10 minutes.
I like to serve the chicken on a plate with a little rice stuffing, some steamed baby carrots and snow peas. Place the sauce from the chicken pan into a jug and let people pour over their chicken.
Enjoy!
