It still worked!!!
Posted on 03/22/2021 7:06:16 PM PDT by jfd1776
I really enjoyed your thoughtful article. I know a bit about manufacturing and there is one factor that most do not realize. Many of China’s factories are amazingly high tech and do not rely on cheap labor. The bulk of their manufacturing industry is only thirty years of age with modern and more efficient factories. Abiding by most regulations is nearly non-existent and barriers for entry are minimal.
I hate it when all the flaky, thin, white paint comes off the coat hanger!
I mean, it looks good in certain dishes, but people hate the texture!
LOL, talking about grit in my food reminded me of the time my mom and dad were having a major, major fight.
It was pretty grim. There were ill feelings in the air, not really a pleasant environment. My dad was an alcoholic who had not yet recovered in those days, he was French, Irish and Scottish ancestry, a very quiet drunk.
My mom was Italian and Armenian. VERY loud, vocal, emotional and hot tempered, putting up with my dad’s alcoholism. Two polar opposites. So the arguments were pretty much one way, with my dad just sipping his drink and my mom tearing into him.
Anyway, my mom is making the dinner in the wake of this fight, angrily banging the crap out of the pots and pans, making spinach and rice, a family favorite. Very tasty, rice and spinach sauteed together in garlic and olive oil.
She is still steaming, and me and all my brothers, sisters and my dad (eight of us total, but I recall there were only four or five of us there that night) are sitting around the table when she comes over with the tureen of spinach and rice and slams it down on the table. We all help ourselves and as I take my very first bite...
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
This is completely disgusting. The food has sand in it. I look up, and all my brothers and sisters have momentarly paused after crunching on the sand. We all look at each other, not moving, and my father is still slowly chewing with an audible crunching sound.
My mom had been so upset she forgot to wash the spinach, and boy, was it dirty!
She looked at all of us and said “What? EAT! YOU HEARD ME! EAT!”
So we all took another mouthful...Crunch...Crunch...Crunch....you could actually HEAR it.
She sat down, took a mouthful, and...Crunch...
She looked up at everyone who was just meekly looking back at her, and said “OH FOR GOD’S SAKE!” And jumped up, grabbed the tureen and threw the whole thing, tureen and all in the trash.
Then she just statrted to giggle, and it turned into a roaring laugh, after which we were all laughing, even my dad...:)
The infamous Spinach and Rice Dinner...
I absolutely love my Kitchenaid Artisan stand mixer. It's very powerful and makes making my whole wheat bread a snap. It mixes the dough and then, with the dough hook installed, it kneads it, too. I just bought a new food processor, as my Kitchenaid proved to be mediocre and lacked the quality to last more than a very few years. I bought a Braun and so far, love it. It has 15 speeds, a very diverse set of blades and tools, and is extremely quiet to operate. For toasters, I simply love my Cuisinart 2-slice toaster. It's a very solid and reliable piece of work. I also love my new Cuisineart vertical waffle maker. I make delicious Belgian waffles with it every week. Once you've tasted those, you cannot even look at Eggo's products. It's like comparing a soft, heaven-smelling waffle oozing with flavor that could drive you mad with delight vs. a piece of cardboard.
Now we just go to the store and buy what's available at a reasonable price. It all comes out in the wash in the end anyway.
One of the reasons is that they don't make things to last for 2 or 3 decades anymore. We had a freezer that lasted 22 years. When we went to replace it, we found out real quick that there was not such thing as a 20 year freezer anymore.
Everybody knows how to replace an ice maker in a refrigerator nowadays because they quit working every few years. Take the old one out and put in a new one. Piece of cake.
When we built a new home 10 years ago, we bought Kitchen Aid appliances for the kitchen. Every single one but the range had to be returned at least once. For lack of a 50 cent rubber foot on the microwave, they just shipped a new unit completely. I had to go through 4 replacements before a got one that wasn't dented or would set level. I told the manager at Lowe's that must be a record and he said no, one customer went through 6 replacemnet microwaves before it was right.
He explained to me that is wasn't their delivery people's or the manufacturer's fault. The fault was with the freight companies who didn't take care in handling the appliances in their boxes on their trucks. At least half of all shipments to their store had damaged appliances.
The older I get, the more I realize how unimportant many of these machinations are. If it works and does what you want, then that is the one to get. Forget all the rest because in the long-run none of it matters anyway.
I’ll just bet yourhouse smells just like mine. I love the smellof bread baking, cookies in the oven and soup on the stove. The waffles sound delicious.
For the Kitchenaid I have the meat grinder, noodle maker and a vegetable attachment. It is about 10 years old and still going strong. Before I quit working I baked cookies every Friday for several years. People who would often call in would show up just for the cookies.
I also make a great wheat and honey bread in the mixer. So easy and so tasty. Happy baking to you!
I have not bought any of the Kitchenaid mixer attachments. I buy my chicken or turkey already ground, don't make my own noodles (hardly ever have them for a meal), and peel my own veggies. Nowadays, it might be nice to have a spiralizer to make my own lower-carb zoodles from zucchini and such. I don't bake cookies any more, as it's too much carb. My challah is whole wheat/honey and is delish. And I just love making homemade soups, usually a hearty vegetable type. Was just planning my Passover menu for this year and I hope it all turns out yummy. I view the limited ingredients allowed during the holiday to be a personal challenge and quickly substitute the allowed for the not-allowed to get the desired result.
Yay us, who put that extra effort into our food for delicious and healthy results!
I am sure your menu will be perfect.
Hubby and I grind meat to make sausage. A sausage stuffer is part of the grinder attachment and that is the reason I got it. I only use the noodle attachment occassionally. For just two of us I hand roll and cut by hand. I make gluten free noodles that are fantastic.
I rarely ever eat a cookie, but I have given away tons. If you were near by I would gladly give you a spiralizer. I got one for Christmas last year and it’s still new in the box.
Chag kasher v’sameach (I hope that is appropriate. I looked up Happy Passover and that is what it said to say!)
“...The business travel involved in this difference is just as crippling. The occasional business trip or phone call between a US manufacturer and a US vendor is easy, convenient, and cheap. Flying engineers, production managers, and other executives to and from toll manufacturers and vendors in Asia both costs the earth to the company, and destroys the family life of the employees called on too often to do it....”
*****************************************************
Now, flying to “toll manufacturers” in China will require VACCINATION WITH CHICOM VACCINES to get the necessary visas. Serves them right for outsourcing.
Chinese goods will only be cheap until our manufacturing sector has been wiped out. Then we’ll have to pay the piper.
I found a brand new hand mixer at a consignment shop I used to frequent until they started requiring personal information for contact tracing because of COVID.
My folks bought a used freezer after they got married in 1966. They said it was a late 1950's model. I'm fairly certain it was an Amana, but maybe not. Was a white, standing freezer with a pink interior. It survived several moves as a kid. Then two final long-term stays. It was still running in 2011 when they sold the house it was in. They didn't move it again, because it was very heavy, and probably wouldn't have survived the last move. It was at least 50 years old and still running.
But you'd have to agree, they just don't make 'em to last that long anymore.
I inherited a 1934 Sunbeam Mixmaster from my mother in law. It’s a stander that converts to hand held, but by God, is it heavy. I never use it as a hand mixer.
Wouldn’t go back to a hand mixer either. If I need a rapid whisking, I have a KitchenAid immersion blender with a whisk attachment. I love it too, but I won’t give up that Sunbeam for anything.
Excellent article. Thanks for sharing the entire thing here.
L
It still worked!!!
I buy American first, countries that don’t hate us second, avoiding China if at all possible. I read reviews on Amazon, then go find the item elsewhere to purchase. I don’t mind paying a bit more to avoid giving Amazon and China my money, and I’ve learned that I don’t need it tomorrow with free shipping.
I received a hand mixer as a shower gift 52 years ago. It’s still going strong.
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