Mixing 101: What You Need To Know About Mixers
Let’s face it. Running a business is hard. There are so many things you have to juggle, so much knowledge you need to make the right decisions to be successful. If you run a restaurant you need to keep up on foodservice trends, you need to know how to hire the right employees, you need to make sure you’re buying the right ingredients for your menu, you need to know about all of the equipment in your kitchen and how to use it, and on top of all that you still need to make sure that your business is profitable. It’s a tough job, and no one should have to do it without any help.
PJP is in the business of helping you run your business, and we have been since 1963. That’s why, in this blog, we do our best to bring you information about various aspects of running a business, and try to provide you with valuable knowledge that you can use to turn your business into a success.
Today, we’re going to talk about mixers.
A mixer’s job is to provide a consistently even mix of ingredients without overworking the product. When we talk about mixers for commercial kitchens, there are two main types: Planetary Mixers and Spiral Mixers. Which is right for you depends on your operation.
If you’re making dough, and nothing else except dough, then you want a Spiral Mixer. Spiral Mixers feature a permanent dough hook that gently turns in place. A spinning bowl circles around below, continuously returning product to the turning hook. Spiral Mixers do not whip or beat. They gently knead the dough without too much friction or a rise in dough temperatures. This allows the gluten structures in the dough to form. Spiral Mixers are perfect for artisan breads, doughnuts, pizza, tortillas, cookies, biscuits, pies, scones, and anything else made of dough. They typically have a larger footprint than a Planetary Mixer and are rated in pounds (i.e., lbs. of flour per batch).
If you want make more than just dough, or something other than dough, then you need a Planetary Mixer. Planetary Mixers are much more versatile. Planetary mixers feature interchangeable agitators that can not only knead, but whip, beat or mix as well. Additionally, various attachments allow you to use your Planetary Mixer to grate, slice, shred, or grind. With Planetary Mixers, the agitator turns on an offset shaft, while the mixing bowl remains stationary. The motion is similar to the way the planets move around the sun, hence the name. Planetary Mixers are the choice when you want to do a variety of jobs, such as whipping cream, then beating batter, and then mixing together a sauce. They typically have a smaller footprint than Spiral Mixers, but are usually taller. They are rated in quarts (i.e., volume per batch).
PJP, as always, offers all kinds of mixers from companies like Waring, Robot-Coupe, Vollrath, Globe, and more. If you want more information on mixers, just ask your PJP Sales Rep!
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