There’s a terrific piece in The Atlantic that essentially is writer Anna Kramer’s ode to her Kitchen Aid mixer.
An excerpt:
“My KitchenAid stand mixer is older than I am. My dad bought the white-enameled machine 35 years ago, during a brief first marriage. The bits of batter crusted into its cracks could be from the pasta I made yesterday or from the bread he made then.
“I learned to make my grandfather’s crunchy molasses gingersnaps in that stand mixer. In it, I creamed butter and sugar for the first time. Millions of stand mixers with stories like mine are scattered across the globe, sitting on counters in family homes since who knows when. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History displays Julia Child’s cobalt-enameled mixer in its re-creation of her kitchen; when Julia traveled for a cooking demonstration, she demanded that a KitchenAid be provided.”
And here’s the thing: “If you buy the popular Artisan model today, your new appliance will look quite similar to the 1937 model.”
It is a lovely piece, given context by economic and manufacturing realities, but basically making the point that in many ways we’ve abandoned the concept of durability – which is ironic, since it is the very essence of sustainability.
You can read the entire piece here.
The post Worth Reading: The Definition of Durability appeared first on MNB.
View Original Article
