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Types Of Commercial Food Mixers Buying Guide
Types of Commercial Food Mixers
Buying Guide
Food mixers are one of the most important catering appliances for businesses that prepare lots of baked goods. These essential pieces of restaurant equipment can dramatically increase efficiency when it comes to performing tasks such as mixing, folding, kneading, whipping and beating in order to speed up food preparation or allow larger volumes of food to be prepared at once.
When shopping for commercial food mixers it's important to understand the different features and functions available in these catering appliances. Things like size, power, speed and transmission can all affect the type of tasks a mixer can perform and it's essential to choose a mixer that will fulfil all the tasks necessary for the food your business produces. In this buying guide we'll highlight key things to consider to help you pick the right mixer for your catering business.
Domestic Versus Commercial Food Mixers
It is always advisable for catering businesses to purchase a commercial mixer instead of a domestic model because commercial food mixers are designed specifically for high usage rates. They tend to be larger, more powerful, more durable and built with higher quality parts to ensure they can withstand many years of heavy-duty use.
Although commercial food mixers are more expensive than domestic varieties, they're far more economical in the long term since they're less likely to experience frequent breakdowns, repairs or replacements.
Types Of Commercial Food Mixers
There are three key types of food mixer - planetary mixers, spiral mixers and gigamixers.
Planetary Mixers
Planetary mixers, also often known as cake mixers or stand mixers, work by moving the mixing mechanism within the bowl to agitate the bowl's contents. They have variable speed settings and are usually provided with a wide range of attachments including dough hooks, wire whisks and beaters. This makes them incredibly versatile and suitable for a wide range of ingredients. They can also have very large bowls which makes them capable of preparing large batches of ingredients.
Spiral Mixers
Spiral mixers, also often known as dough mixers or fork mixers, work by rotating the bowl instead of the mixing mechanism. This operation ensures that the contents of the bowl are pulled past the mixing forks or dough hooks. The mixing mechanism is gentler than in planetary mixers, which is important for making doughs because it reduces friction heat and prevents overworking to allow the dough to develop a proper gluten structure.
Spiral mixers have multiple speed settings to optimise dough consistency as required. Although dough can be made in planetary mixers, for businesses that make large volumes of dough on a daily basis, such as pizzerias and bakeries, a dedicated spiral mixer is a worthwhile investment because it allows them to make huge batches with greater precision.
Gigamixers
Gigamixers are huge food mixers that are incredibly powerful and capable of processing up to 300 litres of food at once. They are fitted to adjustable mobile trolleys which allow them to be manoeuvred around the kitchen to mix products in large bowls or Bratt pans. They usually have a variety of attachments available that allows them to perform a range of tasks. Gigamixers are best suited to very large-scale catering businesses that want to prep food in huge batches.
Features Of Commercial Mixers
Here are some important features of commercial mixers to help you choose a model that is suitable for your business.
Power
Horsepower (HP) is what is used to determine the power of a mixer. The higher the horsepower, the more powerful the mixer is and the more capable it is of coping with very thick doughs. If you'll be using the mixer predominantly for whipping egg whites, beating cake mixes and producing other lightweight batters, a model of 1HP or less is usually sufficient. For thicker batters and doughs you'll need a higher HP.
Consider the absorption ratio of your doughs to ensure you choose a powerful enough mixer. The absorption ratio is the amount of liquid divided by the amount of flour used in a dough recipe. The lower the absorption ratio, the thicker, heavier and more difficult a dough will be to turn and the more powerful the mixer needs to be.
Transmission
There are two transmission methods to choose from - gear-driven and belt-driven. Gear-driven transmissions are commonly found in heavy-duty mixers because they're designed for tough tasks like mixing big batches of dough. They're reliable but tend to require lots of maintenance and are expensive when repairs are needed.
Belt-driven mixers are more common in smaller-capacity models and they're much quieter. They offer greater speed options but are more susceptible to breakdowns if the belt is overworked, although repairs tend to be much cheaper.
Size
The size of the mixer's bowl is important to get right. When you use one that is too small, ingredients are spilt and wasted, but when you use one that is too big, the mixer may not combine the ingredients properly. Consider the size of the batches you'll be mixing and choose a mixer accordingly.
Speed
Most commercial mixers have adjustable speed settings, with some offering a wider range of settings than others. If you'll be preparing a wide variety of recipes in the mixer, a larger range of speed settings will suit you. You should also consider the fact that some mixers, usually those with gear-driven transmissions, don't allow speed to be adjusted when the motor is running and must be switched off, adjusted and turned back on. This can slow down productivity a little.
Timers
Some mixers have timer functions that allow you to set the machine mixing for a defined length of time. This can reduce the risk of overmixing and give users the freedom to focus on other tasks after setting a machine to mix. If you'll be performing consistent mixing operations look for a model that has a time recall setting to cut down on steps in the production process.
Safety Features
Many mixers have bowl guards to prevent people from placing hands in mixing bowls when in operation and to reduce the risk of items falling into the mixture. Pouring chutes are handy for safely adding ingredients to a mixture during operation. Many mixers also have emergency stop functions that shut the machine down if something goes wrong, such as the bowl being out of place.
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