No mixup about mixers: every kitchen needs them

Nation's Restaurant News, Dec 16, 1991 by Patt Patterson

It wasn't too long ago that a chef figured that anything needing mixing could be mixed with a spoon, a fork or a whisk. Not now. In today's kitchens you'd be hard pressed to find one that doesn't have some type of electric mixer. It's a necessity in everything but a production line assemly kitchen.

All mixers in use today aren't those monsters that stand from 4 feet to 6 feet off the floor. You'll find countertop models, bar-milkshare mixers and hand mixers in use. You'll also see other equipment used for mixing, such as food processors and vertical cutters and choppers.

But the main workhorse is the vertical planetary or straight drive mixer. The floor-mounted version is a standard fixture in large kitchens, and even smaller kitchens usually have scaled-down versions. There are also countertop or bench models to handle smaller batches.

Floor-mounted mixers range from a 20-quart bowl capacity to as much as 140 quarts (35 gallons). The countertop or bench models will have bowl capacities from 5 quarts to as large as 30 quarts (7.5 gallons).

The typical mixer comes with a set of blades and other tools as part of the purchase price. Additional ones are usually available at an extra charge.

Some of the standard items include the mixer bowl, usually aluminum or stainless steel, a flat beater blade and a power whisk.

The mixer bowl is a separate unit on many mixers, but on some large floor-mounted models, it bowl is attached to the base, and the contents must be poured out into another container. That is done by mounting the mixing bowl on trunnion supports and providing a tilting lever or motor and a positive lock to hold the bowl in place.

For any size mixer, a bowl shield is recommended. In some areas it is required by health department regulation. Two types of shields are available.

The protective shield fits down over the bowl while the machine is mixing. Some have an electrical interlock, which prevents the mixer blades from turning if the shield isn't in place. Such shields met all safety regulations but make adding someting to the mixing ingredients almost impossible without stopping the mixer.

The other type of shield is generally called a splash shield. It fits over the top of the bowl and prevents liquid mixtures from splashing out. But the splash shield does not have a motor interlock, and it does have a hole in the middle around the beaters. It permits adding ingredients as the mixer is being operated.

One item often overlooked by management is the need for at least two bowls for a single mixer, and at least three bowls when three are two mixers of the same size. That allows production to continue while one bowl is being used or is awaiting washing. More than one bowl is especially helpful for countertop or bench mixers, where the bowls may be used in other parts of the preparation process.

There's a whole range of different types of beater blades available for most mixers. In addition to the beater blades supplied in the base price, these include additional beater blades, a sweet dough beater, different types of whisk blades, a wing whisk or whip, and a dough hook.

The standard wire whip is used for whipping cream and beating such mixtures as mayonnaise, manufacturers provide more than one type of whisk, with varying idameters, number of wires and wire sizes.

A wing whip or whisk is available in a number of different wings. Such a whisk is ideal for making heavy icings and mashed potatoes.

If your operation does its own baking from scratch, a pastry knife will be necessary for cutting shortening into flower to make pie doughs, pasty shells, etc. It's also good for mixing biscuit dough and shortcakes.

Other options you might want to consider are bowl extenders, bowl trucks or dollies, and timers.

If you're adding a mixer or replacing one, you want to consider the power hub. A power hub runs accessory attachments, which add versatility to the mixer. Although there are standards on hub sizes, one manufacturer's attachments may not fit another's mixer. If you already have an investment in mixer attachments, you'll want to be sure they fit the new machine.

Hubs generally come in what is called a No. 12 taper. The largest machines may use a No. 22 taper or a combination 12/22. Some of the bench models use a No. 10 taper.

You should also check on the hub speed. Some mixers have one hub speed; some have two. Both run attachments adequately, but a choice of speed makes for more vrsatile output.

Mixer attachments include such common ones as meat grinders (choppers) and vegetable slicers. There are also knife sharpener attachments, citrus juice extractors and ice crushers. All of these attachments -- one at a time -- connect to the power hub and are run directly by the mixer's motors. That helps keep the cost well below the same capacity stand-alone piece of equipment with its own electric motor.

Of the two major attachments, the vegetable slicr is probably the most versatile. The typical slicer comes with an adjustable slicing plate that may be set for slices from paper thin to about one-half-inch thick. There may also be various shredder discs, from coarse to fine. Some firms supply only a coarse and a fine disc, but others may have as many as four different shred sizes.