Anna M. Mangin
Woodside, New York
(October 1844 – March 1, 1931)
Inventor, Educator, Caterer, Businesswoman
She was an American inventor, educator, caterer, and women’s rights campaigner. She invented a kitchen tool she called a pastry fork in 1891. This was different from the eating utensil also known as a pastry fork March 1, 1892 PATENT NUMBER 470,005
The pastry fork had many uses, including beating eggs, thickening foods, making drawn butter, mashing potatoes, making salad dressings, and most importantly, kneading pastry dough. “The curved piece at the upper end of the handle is what Mrs. Mangin calls the cutter or trimmer for pie crust.” The pastry fork improved the lives of many people, and eventually led to more electric mixing inventions that are used to this day. Kneading pastry dough by hand is a grueling process that can cause arm cramping and other pains. Also, the dough often does not get fully incorporated when mixed by hand. If the dough does not fully incorporate during the kneading process, then it will not rise, resulting in a dense, and in most cases, underbaked consistency.