As the tools we use develop and evolve, they inevitably seem to move towards more complex machines. There seems to remain a place for the earlier, simpler versions, at least in most cases. Sometimes you don’t need a 100 HP power planer, a simple hand planer will do. Sometimes your yard is small and you love the environment, so a push reel mower does the job nicely, no riding opulence for you. But there are some tools that seems to have gone by the wayside, like the hand mixer you see above. And I don’t mean a 1.21 gigawatt corded mixer that purports to be a hand tool–I mean a mixing device operated by pure manpower, but turning a hand crank to achieve mixing speed.
I am in no way a master chef, but I will say that it seems like there are times when the effort of getting out the mixer and digging in the drawer to round up the beaters, and moving stuff around on the cabinet to plug in the too short cord is more than the 30 seconds of mixing is really worth. Wouldn’t it just be simpler to use a hand mixer?
Instead we are stuck having to choose between smacking at the contents of a bowl with a fork, trying in vain to not make a huge mess and actually get some mixing done, or using the ginormous stand mixer for all of half a minute. The simple hand machine tool is gone, replaced by ‘better’ electronic gadgets. What ever happened to the manual hand mixer?
Images from etsy.com, bonanza.com, and diylife.com.
Why beat it when you can whisk it? Or something like that.
<img src="http://www.foodsubs.com/Photos/whisk.jpg"width="500"/>
Forks make less mess then a hand mixer if you really know what you are doing. That said, I do like hand mixers but forks at times work better then hand mixers.
A fork is great for an egg or two, but for bigger jobs, I like a whisk.
For really big eggs, nothing beats a hammer.
What kind of hammer Dean??
I like fork for beating eggs as well as blender.
it seems like there are times when the effort of getting out the mixer and digging in the drawer to round up the beaters, and moving stuff around on the cabinet to plug in the too short cord is more than the 30 seconds of mixing is really worth
Heretic! How dare you speak badly of our beloved kitchen gadgets? Why the only thing more thrilling and rewarding than going to Bloodbath And Beyond to purchase a shiny new, fast, automatic gimcrack is the rare pleasure of using the item! The whole process tickles our need for compartmentalizing and applying order to the world, it reinforces our belief that we are superior human beings through our use of superior technology. Why, Hyco, you must have a terribly low opinion of yourself if you think you only deserve a homely hand crank egg beater. You're like that poor fellow from The Woodwright's Shop who just can't give himself permission, as Norm Abrahms has, to use the laser guided biscuit cutter. Poor devil, have you seen his fingers?
Kidding aside, my go to is the even more stone-age 'wooden spoon' technology. Those hand crank beaters… the old, well built ones got rusty, and the new chrome ones were cheaply made and flimsy. Also, pinch points fell out of favor in our litigious society.
Hmm, I must agree that a 1.21 gigawatt mixer is underpowered. I find that a 2.0 gigawatt mixer works quite nicely however, the only caveat is to not wear loose clothing while operating it.
This makes me wish I had a hand drill, actually. I'd much rather buy a hand drill than fork over who knows how much for yet another battery for my cordless drill.