When was kitchenaid started

Her KitchenAid is on one of the counter tops and is on view for the public to see. His creation, which received U. One of the innovative features of the mixer was its ability to move the bowls up for mixing and down to add ingredients or remove the mixed medium. Hobart introduced the H model in Its quart bowl was a hit with commercial bakeries because it had the capacity to mix, fold and beat large quantities of batter and dough. The U. Navy took an interest in the mixer, and by , it had become standard equipment on all ships.

A year later, Hobart started eyeing the retail market and stamped the KitchenAid name on its first product: the C, a quart stand mixer that was marketed for home use, small commercial kitchens and soda fountains. When stores were reluctant to carry the line, Hobart hired a largely female sales force to sell the C door to door. KitchenAid became a division of Hobart, and in , it introduced the H-5, a 5-quart mixer that better fit the needs of the home kitchen.

The G model rolled out in It appealed more to housewives because it was lighter than the H-5, weighing about half as much.

The durable line carved out a market for itself but faced stiff competition from other brands, including the Sunbeam Mixmaster, which was the most popular stand mixer through the s. KitchenAid made a quality product, but its aesthetic appearance left a lot to be desired.

It looked utilitarian and mechanical, much like the antecedent H model. KitchenAid brought in industrial designer and commercial artist Egmont Arens to develop a series of low-cost mixers. The H-5 tipped the scales at 65 pounds , and it was 26 inches tall. A door-to-door sales force composed mostly of women lugged the hulking devices from one home to the next to show housewives just how useful the KitchenAid could be.

In , a new, even smaller version hit the market, and KitchenAid finally had its hit. The new version was a huge success that sold 20, units in just three years.

While a major economic downturn would seem to be bad news for a relative luxury like a mixer, the company decided to keep innovating to maintain its customer base. We're talking, of course, about the stand mixer. The iconic KitchenAid stand mixer was invented by an Ohio engineer who was watching a baker mix bread dough with a heavy iron spoon and decided there had to be a better way.

The original enormous 80 quart commercial mixer was called the Hobart and served on U. Navy battleships during World War I. According to legend, when a home model was introduced, the wife of a salesman for the manufacturing company tested it and said, "I don't care what you call it, it's the best kitchen aid I've ever had.

Patent Office in , and the mixers were sold door-to-door by a mostly female sales force apparently women with strong arms-the mixer weighed 65 pounds. The current silhouette was introduced in the s by an industrial designer named Egmont Arens a renaissance man who was also a sports editor and owner of the Washington Square Bookstore in New York City and has remained constant ever since.

The unique "planetary" action of the beater, with two orbital directions, provides a fold-over motion, rather than just fast stirring. But any of the 14 attachments that you buy for a brand-new KitchenAid will fit into the same "hub" as your grandmother's model, and the same "locking mechanism" will accommodate the traditional stainless steel or glass bowl, and can even fit one of the new decorative ceramic bowls they're titanium-reinforced and fired at high temperatures, to withstand staining even if you're using beets.