The Waring Blender and cocktails

Fred Waring (1900-1984) was a popular band and choral leader (The Pennsylvanians). He invested in Fred Osius's blender and changed the name to “Waring Blender.” Although it could be used to make many things, the blender became very popular to make cocktails, rather than using the shaker, then straining the ice.

Booklets with recipes were sold for the "Waring Mixor" (24p, 1955) and "8 push button blender" (128p, 1967), and one under Waring's name - Twenty Recipes that Men Like by Fred Waring (1950s?). Click images to enlarge. Zoom talks for this month at the end.

The first blender was invented by Stephen Poplawski of Racine, WI in 1922 and would become the Osterizer. Frederick Jacob Osius, also from Racine, made changes to it and took out a patent in 1937. Fred Osius approached Fred Waring for funding to market his blender. Eventually the Miracle Mixer was renamed the Waring Blendor and sold very well.

Daiquiri recipe refers to the cocktail as "Spoon dessert into sherbet glasses."

Frozen Daiquiri
3 ounces light rum
1 ½ tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon sugar
2 heaping cups crushed ice

1. Into container put all ingredients.
2. Cover.
3. PRESS Button 8. (LIQUEFY). As mixture freezers around blades, it will stop churning. Remove cover and, with a rubber spatula, carefully break surface, pulling frost from sides of container into center. Blend for 60 seconds, or until mixture is consistency of fine snow.
5. Spoon dessert into sherbet glasses.
[The correct '4' is in the earlier, 1965 shorter (65p) edition]

"Smoothee"

and some snacks -

Info from the booklets and also from an article by Jackie Loohauis-Bennett in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sept. 25, 2012. HERE

Shawnee on the Delaware, PA. In 1943 Waring moved to Shawnee and bought C.C. Worthington's large home, Shawnee Inn (hotel), country club and golf course (built by 1912; the PGA was formed and played there). Worthington (1854-1944) was wealthy and did invent something - a gang mower for his golf course. Summer homes were built along the Delaware River and the owners joined the club for the pools and golf.


UPCOMING TALKS

JUNE EVENTS -- Eastern time zone. 14 talks

Keep checking back since I am adding links to the main calendar for virtual events as I find them.

***Please donate to the non-profits and support small businesses.***

Jun 4 Wed 12 Sifter: The Ask - Searching for Foods in History. Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery. HERE

Jun 5 Thur 12:30 “One hook, one fish at a time”: Generic hybridity and elite authenticity in Whole Foods Market’s “Behind the Scenes” YouTube videos about seafood. Cynthia Gordon, Alla Tovares. Food History. The Institute of Historical Research (IHR). HERE

Jun 5 Thu 12:30 The School Meals Service: aims, achievements and limitations. Gary McCulloch. The Institute of Historical Research (IHR)HERE

Jun 5 Thu 6 Coffee Nation: How One Commodity Transformed the Early United States. Michelle McDonald. American Philosophical Society. Hybrid HERE TAPE may be HERE

Jun 9 Mon 2? Leftovers: A history of food waste and preservation… from 16th century to now. Eleanor Barnett. York Festival of Ideas UK HERE

Jun 11 Wed 12 We need to talk about Food Tariffs: does anyone benefit in this world where food security and diplomacy are increasingly at odds? Dr Carolyn Dimitri, Shane Holland, and Virginia Houston, moderated by Cathy Kaufman. Kitchen Table Conversation. Oxford Food Symposium on Food and Cookery Free – £15 HERE

Jun 12 Thu 12:30 Menus and memories through food. Nathalie Cooke: Tastes and Traditions: A Visual Sampler of Menu History; Mallory Cerkleski: Food as Relationship Building: Unveiling Memories Through Food-Centered Oral History Collection. Food History. The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) HERE. TAPE maybe HERE

Jun 16 Mon 12:30 The Rains of 1661: Dearth, Religion, and Politics in Little Ice England. "…a major role in the significant harvest shortfall that followed later in the year.” Alastair Bellany. The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) HERE

Jun 16 Mon 1 Unlocking prehistoric culinary records through the analysis of food remains. Dr Lara González Carretero. Creswell Crags. UK HERE

Jun 18 Wed 5-6AM Interpreting Books Through Food with the Food Museum UK. David Thomson. Living Knowledge Network. British Library HERE. TAPE maybe HERE

Jun 18 Wed 2 A Divine Government; glass beehives in the [English 1642-51] civil war. Marlis Hinckley. Cambridgeshire Beekeepers' Assn. HERE

Glass bee hives 1772, 1828 ... and 1650s. My blog post, 2022. HERE

Jun 23 Mon 7 Cooking with the First Ladies: Barbara Bush. Sarah Morgan. National First Ladies' Library & Museum. $9 HERE

Jun 24 Tue 5:30-7 The 1920s Kitchen: How Tech & Taste Transformed the American Home. Becky Libourel Diamond. Replay for one week. New York Adventure Club $12 HERE

Jun 26 Th 1 Memories and Recipes from a British-Bangladeshi Kitchen. Shahnaz Ahsan. sneak preview from 'The Jackfruit Chronicles'. Oxford Food Symposium on Food and Cookery HERE

Jun 29 Thu 12:30 Taste Does Not Endure: Network Science Dynamics of Food Recipes from 1977-2017. Juan C. S. Herrera. Food History. The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) HERE . TAPE maybe HERE


CALENDAR OF VIRTUAL FOOD HISTORY TALKS HERE

©2025 Patricia Bixler Reber
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