With patio season fast approaching, bar and restaurant management must ensure they are ready to meet the increased demand for blended drinks by evaluating their current blenders, mixers, and other drink equipment.

While it can be tempting to skimp and purchase non-commercial equipment, or a lower cost option, investing in a quality commercial blender or drink mixer that fits your operation will save your restaurant time, money and frustration in the long run. Not only that, but commercial-grade mixers provide consistency, quality, versatility, efficiency, and safety for your cooks and bartenders.

Commercial blenders have a variety of features to consider when upgrading or replacing units for your commercial kitchen.

How to Choose a Commercial Blender or Drink Mixer

When picking out a blender, there are three critical characteristics to consider: power, capacity, and durability.

• Power – Essentially, the more power—rated in horsepower (HP)—a motor has, the more capable the blender will be. As horsepower capability increases, so does cost. Consider how often your kitchen will serve blended drinks before selecting a motor strength.
  • 0.5 HP is ideal for light usage of up to 50 servings daily.
  • 1-1.5 HP is a good fit for medium usage of 50-75 servings daily.
  • 2 HP works well for medium to heavy use, around 75-100 servings daily.
• 3.5 HP is made for a heavy prep kitchen and can withstand over 100 servings daily.
• Capacity – Capacity is how much liquid the blender’s container (or jar) can hold. Commercial jar capacity ranges from 32 oz to several gallons. Again, look to your daily servings of blended drinks and other food prep to determine an appropriate capacity.
• Durability – Look for commercial-grade machines rated by the NSF and featuring high-quality components.

Also read: Speed, Power, and Efficiency: A Starting Guide to Induction Ranges

Once you narrow your blender choice down with the above considerations, further options can help you choose the perfect model for your kitchen.

• Care and cleaning: Look for dishwasher-safe machines that are easily disassembled for regular cleaning.
• The jar: The container can be made of a variety of materials, including glass, polycarbonate, and stainless steel.
  • Stainless steel is the most durable but also the most expensive and challenging to use because it is not see-through.
  • Glass is a traditional choice, but more expensive than polycarbonate and more fragile.
  • Polycarbonate is break resistant, less expensive, and transparent, but this type of jar tends to scratch and stain over time.
  • In addition to material, you will also want to consider whether the jar is stackable and has a handle and built-in measurements on the sidewall.
• Speed: For certain types of cocktail recipes, like those that are blended with ice, variable speeds are vital to correct execution. Start slowly and build up speed. However, a simple high-speed or multi-speed unit will suffice for many venues.
• The controls: Cheaper models feature simple switches or paddles, while higher-end models feature electronic controls that are sometimes programmable or pre-programmed. New models are experimenting with touchscreen technology and Wi-Fi-connected drink dispensers that allow customers to order from their phones. Some units even have memory stick functionality that enables settings to be copied from one to many machines.
• Noise level: If the blender is in a bar or open-kitchen setting, purchase a model with a sound enclosure that helps dampen loud, high-powered motors. However, these enclosures can slow down production and be challenging to clean.

Also read: Choosing Your Perfect Pizza Pan: 6 Simple Things to Consider

Featured Models

Blenders

The Hamilton Beach brand is popular among commercial blenders because of its affordability, quality, ease of use, versatility, variety of options and stellar customer support.

Spindle Mixers

Spindle drink mixers (aka milkshake machines) are highly consistent tools that help restaurants perfectly mix milkshakes, smoothies, frozen cocktails, and more.

Slushie Machines

Slushie machines (frozen drink machines) are used to make margaritas, granitas, frozen cocktails, or slushies. Vollrath is a best-selling frozen drink machine brand due to its consistency, speed, and versatility.

Make the best choice with Russell Hendrix’s support

Weighing the cost of a commercial blender with its capacity, power, and durability is a big task for restaurant owners who have many other business-critical responsibilities. Factor in the various other features, and it can become downright overwhelming. Based on your restaurant’s unique needs, your local Russell Hendrix rep can help you narrow down your search for the perfect drink machine just in time for patio season.

To learn more, contact your local RH rep, fill out our contact form, or contact customer service at 844-656-0303.