# Cousin Edith's Surprise!



## Leolady (Mar 27, 2011)

My cousin Edith has been so very supportive for me during a very stressful year, and I wanted to show her some appreciation for all she has done for me.

Soooooooooo, I found out that she wanted to buy a Kitchenaid mixer.  I told her not to bother, I would find her one of the great Hobart models.  Well, this is what I found and bought for Edith - complete with instruction manual.







Then, I came up with the bright idea of buying Edith this for a little "something extra".






Now Edith has a baking station Julia Child would approve of.






We've come a long way baby from the kitchen I used to share with Edith...


----------



## AnnieDrews (Mar 27, 2011)

I'd love to see the look on your cousin's face when she receives the stand mixer. How thoughtful of you.


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Mar 27, 2011)

Looks just like my Kitchen Aid.


----------



## Leolady (Mar 27, 2011)

Edith's little brother -- my cousin Jeff loved the K5SS I bought him last September, so I hope Edith will like her K5A!

She will be visiting this area in a couple of months.


----------



## babetoo (Mar 27, 2011)

you are very sweet and a good gift buyer. i could use one, too. lol


----------



## Leolady (Mar 28, 2011)

Thank you!


----------



## Alix (Mar 28, 2011)

Those Hobart models aren't easy to find are they? Nice job!


----------



## Leolady (Mar 28, 2011)

Thanks, but I guess nobody likes the Thorpe rolling pin!


----------



## Alix (Mar 28, 2011)

Leolady said:


> Thanks, but I guess nobody likes the Thorpe rolling pin!



I didn't realize it was special. It looks like my Mom's rolling pin. Is there something unique about it? (Sorry to be a dunce)


----------



## Leolady (Mar 28, 2011)

Dough Comes Out Thin With Thorpe Rolling Pin
June 04, 1987 By Jolene Worthington. 

There are a few kitchen tools that, with care, will last a lifetime. A well-seasoned cast iron fryer and a nonporous mortar and pestle are two examples. A third is the indestructible Thorpe rolling pin.

The shame of all this is that our mothers and grandmothers did not use the Thorpe, popular with professional bakers since the `30s. Instead, as antique stores and junk shops will testify, they used toy-like relics of rolling pins with squeaky red handles and warped and wobbly wood-on-wood actions. Thorpes do not have quaint, old-fashioned charm, but they are made of hard rock maple and come from a tradition of Yankee ingenuity and craftsmanship. It is a name you can trust.

The secret of the Thorpe lies in its weight (more than 3 1/2 pounds), its ball-bearing precision and steel rod core and its sealed wood rolling surface, which facilitates easy release from dough.

Why people persist in buying flimsy lightweight rolling pins to roll puff pastry, cookie, pie and bread dough, I’ll never know. Sure, you can roll pastry and bread dough with thin pins and fancy French rolling pins, marble rolling pins and even a wine bottle in a pinch.

However, for rolling out pastry dough, puff pastry and bread (yeast)
dough--and marzipan and gum paste, if you’re a cake decorator--there is nothing like a heavy, fluid-moving rolling pin. Gliding over dough with a Thorpe is like riding in a luxury automobile. The weight and smoothness of the mechanism seem to do all the work for you.

The Thorpe, with its even, heavy pressure, quickly reduces the thickness of the dough. Lighter rolling pins are dependent upon the pressure you exert, and will often stretch and tear the dough because it is nearly impossible to sustain the same pressure throughout a roll.

When rolling pie dough with a Thorpe, or its equivalent, the secret is to roll as quickly as possible, using short, quick, even strokes. Begin in the center of the dough, never go over the edge, and move the dough a quarter turn on the pastry board to keep it from sticking. The weight of a heavy pin allows you to do this quickly without tearing and stretching the dough, which can prematurely activate the gluten and cause the dough to shrink.

Thorpe rolling pins come in various sizes. For the home, there are 12 and 15-inch sizes. For the professional baker, there is an 18-inch model. One of the easier sizes to use is the 15-inch model with a 3- to 3 1/2-inch diameter roller, weighing 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 pounds respectively.

Never immerse a Thorpe in water. Wipe it off with a damp cloth and occasionally rub it down with mineral oil.

The Thorpe is available in 12-inch size for $17 at Crate & Barrel stores, 101 N. Wabash Ave. and 850 N. Michigan Ave. 
Williams-Sonoma, 17 E. Chestnut St., has three sizes, 12-inch ($18), 15-inch ($23) and 18-inch ($25). 

The 15- and 18-inch models are available for $20 and $26 respectively at Cook’s World, 999 Elmhurst Rd., in the Randhurst Shopping Center in Mt. Prospect.

Julia Child said to throw away little rolling pins, and go for a big pin. Sometimes she preferred French pins, and other times a big Heavy Pin like I just got. Why did I wait so long with a tiny grocery store pin?


----------



## Alix (Mar 28, 2011)

Well you sold ME! Those prices are reasonable too. Wonder what shipping to Canada costs? Off to shop...my husband will be calling you later to yell Leolady!


----------



## Leolady (Mar 28, 2011)

Alix said:


> Well you sold ME! Those prices are reasonable too. Wonder what shipping to Canada costs? Off to shop...my husband will be calling you later to yell Leolady!


 

Good!   

But remember those were 1987 prices,,,,,,


----------



## jacky77 (Mar 28, 2011)

awwww


----------



## taxlady (Mar 28, 2011)

Interesting about the Thorpe rolling pin and why it works well.

We have three rolling pins. This one is my favourite. It only weighs 850 grams, but that's more than most rolling pins, not counting Thorpes. It was made for me by two sweet old brothers who had a woodworking business and a farm. They lived not far from me when I lived in the country. It's one solid piece of cherry wood. No wobbly action - no action at all


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Mar 28, 2011)

taxlady said:


> Interesting about the Thorpe rolling pin and why it works well.
> 
> We have three rolling pins. This one is my favourite. It only weighs 850 grams, but that's more than most rolling pins, not counting Thorpes. It was made for me by two sweet old brothers who had a woodworking business and a farm. They lived not far from me when I lived in the country. It's one solid piece of cherry wood. No wobbly action - no action at all


 

That is a beautiful piece of wood!  Nice!


----------



## Selkie (Mar 28, 2011)

I use an old rolling pin - steel shank, steel ball bearings, rolls as smooth as can be. It originally belonged to my great grandmother and the lacquer finish is still perfect. I have no idea what brand it is, but I do know that four generations of pastry dough have been rolled out under it. That means something.


----------



## FrankZ (Mar 28, 2011)

I use my grandmother's rolling pin.  I don't know its history but it is all wood.


----------



## Leolady (Mar 28, 2011)

I would have loved to have kept my mom's rolling pin, but the handles were broken off. 

Sometimes sentiment can make up a lot for function.


----------



## buckytom (Mar 29, 2011)

my mom has a thorpe rolling pin. it was a gift and is signed by all of the coworkers in the last job my mom had before she got married. 

that was january of 1948.

lol. true story. she still has it.

wtg for scoring one for your friend, choc. you're still one of the best of us, you know.


----------



## Leolady (Mar 29, 2011)

WOW!

Thanks BT! 

Your mom has a wonderful tool packed with good karma!


----------



## Leolady (Apr 3, 2011)

Alix said:


> Well you sold ME! Those prices are reasonable too. Wonder what shipping to Canada costs? Off to shop...my husband will be calling you later to yell Leolady!


 
I haven't got a call yet, did you get one?


----------



## Alix (Apr 3, 2011)

Leolady said:


> I haven't got a call yet, did you get one?



I'm still looking. Shipping is a bit ouchy.($30 USD) I went to a farmer's market this weekend and found a woodworking guy who would be willing to make me a rolling pin like my Baba's. (about 28inches long, 2 inch diameter at the center and tapering to 1.25 inches at the ends) he has some lovely maple he could use and it would cost me about $50 when all is said and done. He might make me a cutting board to go with for another $50. 

Dilemma!


----------



## Leolady (Apr 3, 2011)

Rolling Pins - Bakery Supplies - Restaurant Supplies from BigTray

Thorpe - 1830 - Large Commercial Rolling Pin | CSN Stores


----------



## Alix (Apr 3, 2011)

Second link is the one I was looking at for the shipping costs. I'm cruising bizrate and ebay to see if I can find one for less.


----------



## Leolady (Apr 3, 2011)

Did you check Amazon, cause they have them!


----------



## Alix (Apr 3, 2011)

No I didn't! I'll check the Canadian site...might be cheaper.


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Apr 3, 2011)

Alix said:


> Second link is the one I was looking at for the shipping costs. I'm cruising bizrate and ebay to see if I can find one for less.


 
How much to my neck of the woods, then I can meet you at the border!


----------



## Alix (Apr 3, 2011)

Ooooooo! Tempting!


----------



## buckytom (Apr 3, 2011)

Alix said:


> No I didn't! I'll check the Canadian site...might be cheaper.




would that be eh-mazon.com?


----------



## Alix (Apr 4, 2011)

Smart ass! And amazon.ca doesn't carry any.


----------



## Leolady (Apr 4, 2011)

Did you try 

Thorpe - 1535 - Bakers Special Rolling Pin | Cookware.com

they ship to canada


----------

