Saturday, March 20, 2010

Kudos to Cuisinart


I think I have the first Cuisinart food processor ever made. I'm serious. It belonged to my grandparents. I remember going to Macy's with them when I was maybe 12 years old (1977) and watching the Cuisinart demonstration. They threw in a bunch of peanuts, turned it on, and, Voila! Peanut Butter! I was impressed. So were Nan & Gramp. They bought one.

Fast forward to 1985. I'm getting my first apartment in college. Nan & Gramp are getting a new Cuisinart, and I get the old one. I'm not sure how much I used it in college, probably more than most people that age would have, but still, not all that much. After college though, I started using it regularly; the more serious a relationship I was in, the more I cooked, the more I used it.

So, here it is, 2010. I still have it, I still use it. I just pulled it out a few minutes ago and got inspired for this post. It is old. It probably weighs 30 pounds. I have to bend my knees to haul it out of the cabinet, for fear of hurting my back! But, it works. It works great...33 or so years after it was made, it still does what it was made to do. How many TVs, ovens, refrigerators, DVD players, cars....can say that??

In case you're interested, I did a little research into the history of the Cuisinart. Carl Sontheimer, a French-born, American-raised inventor/food-lover, created the Cuisinart Food Processor in 1973. OK, so maybe mine isn't the first, but it's close!