Choosing the Right Commercial Blender
Commercial blenders are used to combine, chop, emulsify, and puree ingredients for beverages, sauces, soups, and other popular menu items. This equipment can bring loads of value to your establishment, but only if you find one that matches your needs and price point. With over 100 blenders available on our site, choosing the best commercial blender can be tricky, especially if you haven't had extensive experience working with them. If you've used restaurant blenders, you may know which brand you prefer, but the model numbers and different specifics can be overwhelming. Here we'll explain the meaning and function of each specification so you can make an informed choice and find the best restaurant blender for your needs.
Food, Drink, and All-purpose Blenders
The first thing you'll need to know before you purchase a restaurant blender is what you're going to use it to process. Our restaurant blenders are separated into three subcategories: food blenders, drink blenders, and all-purpose blenders. Each is best suited to their named purpose, so we'll give a brief overview of the strengths and weaknesses of these three types of blender below.
Food Blenders
Food blenders have sharper blades and more powerful motors than the other options. Because food items usually are denser than liquids, the more powerful motor and sharper blade are necessary to reduce these to the appropriate texture. This might cost more than a drink blender but using the wrong tool for the job could lower the quality of the final product or cause damage to the equipment. Consider which foods you'll blend – the thicker and tougher the starting foods are, the stronger your blender must be.
Drink Blenders
Drink blenders are usually the best choice for commercial bars, as they're designed to make quick work of ice and liquid ingredients. This means their blades typically aren't as sharp as a food blender's blade. With faster blending speeds and duller blades, these machines are great for blending ice and creating tasty, smooth frozen drinks.
All-purpose Blenders
All-purpose blenders are great for establishments using the blender for a wide range of items but don't do enough volume to need two specialized blenders. These can work for both food and drinks, and often feature interchangeable containers or jars for the two styles. However, if your establishment specializes in either food or drink, their respective blender types usually are more efficient than an all-purpose blender.
What's the Best Commercial Blender for Smoothies?
Smoothies are popular meal replacement options for health-conscious diners and those seeking a nourishing snack they can enjoy on the go. Whether your establishment specializes in making these blended mixtures or simply wants to add smoothies to the menu, it's important to understand how to find the best commercial blender for smoothies.
- If you want to make smoothies a significant part of your business, you'll need a blender that withstands constant use to keep up with that high level of demand. Larger, more powerful units designed specifically for combining drink ingredients – such as ice, frozen fruit, and juice – are often the best commercial blenders for smoothies if they're a focal point of the menu.
- If you plan to run a smoothie bar in which your guests can watch their smoothies being prepared, you'll want to invest in blenders with low noise output, including those equipped with a sound enclosure.
- If you offer many different smoothies, a blender with programmable recipes can help employees keep up with the variety without compromising quality. This is especially useful for operations with multiple locations or high turnover.
- If you're making smoothies to-order rather than in large batches, you may need a larger number of lower-capacity blenders instead of a few high-capacity models. Some customers may have specific requests or dietary necessities that prevent batches from being split into multiple orders.
- If smoothies are an add-on to a more diverse menu, or if smoothies will only be offered during certain dayparts, you may benefit from investing in all-purpose blenders that can also be used to prepare other items when smoothies aren't being served.
What Do Blender Power Ratings Mean?
Commercial blenders have multiple different power ratings, all of which measure a different aspect of the machine's performance. Buyers can choose a machine with extra horsepower, higher RPM, or more wattage, depending on what type of machine they need. Each of these correlates somewhat with the others, but they aren't exactly the same.
Horsepower
Horsepower is a measure of power, or work done over time. Most commercial blenders promise between 1 and 3 horsepower, but how does that translate to performance? Higher horsepower means your blender can work harder to break up thick, dense, tough products, so if you're going to be feeding in cuts of meat or making heavy smoothies, additional horsepower can be very helpful. Many commercial blenders list peak horsepower, which is the strength of the motor right as it turns on – this is great for getting your blender started, but most can't maintain that peak horsepower for more than a moment.
Wattage
Wattage measures power, the same as horsepower does, but in a more accurate manner. Not only is wattage more precise than horsepower (which is commonly used with more powerful motors), it tells you how much power the restaurant blender produces throughout the blending process. If you need to reduce foods consistently throughout the blending process, higher wattage is better than higher horsepower (though these two ratings will almost always correlate). If you need to break something up with a burst of power, higher horsepower is better; wattage is the more important measurement for sustained power.
RPM
RPM, or Rotations Per Minute, tells you how fast the blade in your commercial blender spins. This measurement may seem like an easy way to rate the strength of your blender, but speed doesn't necessarily correlate with power. A very fast motor without much power can have trouble cutting through dense product. However, if you combine high RPM with high wattage, you get a blender that can chew through whatever you give it in very short periods of time. High RPM also creates a vortex that pulls food into the blades, improving the efficiency of your restaurant blender. When accompanied by sufficient power, this can lead to faster blend times.
How Many Speeds Do You Need?
In addition to horsepower, wattage, and RPM, commercial blender performance is dependent on the number of speeds a model offers: one, two, three, four, or variable. Commercial blenders with a single speed won't offer as much versatility or precision as those with built-controls for low, medium, and high speeds. Some models incorporate a "Pulse" speed for bursts of additional blending power. Those offering variable speeds don't restrict the blades to specific predetermined speeds and instead can be adjusted in precise increments to achieve customized settings.
The number of speeds a commercial blender offers does not always correlate to more powerful horsepower, wattage, or RPM. When narrowing down your options by speed capabilities, it's important to also consider those specifications for power ratings and how well they will meet your operational requirements.
Higher ratings generally mean blenders are more powerful. Additional speeds provide more versatility and precision while blending, but do not always correlate to higher power ratings.
Commercial Blender Jar Materials
Blender jars are generally made of metal or plastic. Polycarbonate is the most popular option for plastic jars, though the specific plastic used can vary depending on the manufacturer; however, most metal jars are made of stainless steel. Both types of blender jar are perfectly functional, though each has its benefits.
Metal blender jars made of stainless steel are incredibly durable. These are a good option for operations blending tough items at very high volumes.
SHOPPlastic blender jars, usually made of clear polycarbonate, make it easy to monitor the progress of blended ingredients without stopping the machine and removing the lid.
SHOPDo I Need a Round or Square Jar?
Manufacturers offer varying jar shapes depending on which they believe provides the best blending with their machine. Generally, round jars are better with liquids, while square jars are better with solids, as the corners can break up chunky parts. However, square jars do have the potential to get pieces stuck in the corners. For the most part, this determination shouldn't concern you too much as both round and square jars can do the job well when paired with the right blender. The size of your blender jar depends on how much you need to blend at once. Single-serving menu items can make do with smaller blenders, but a high-volume jar can be more efficient for large batches.
Square jars might work slightly better for breaking up solids, while round jars are best suited to liquids. Metal blender jars are more durable, but plastic is the more common and less expensive option.
Other Considerations for Choosing a Restaurant Blender
Now that we've covered the major variations, we'll give an overview of the other features you'll be choosing from and the benefits they can provide.
Programs
Businesses with high turnover rates or multiple locations can benefit from programmable blending cycles. These ensure consistency for your most popular menu items, no matter who's in charge of preparing them.
Noise
Blenders can be loud, but we carry several low-noise options for establishments that need to control volume. This additional expense can be well worth it if you're blending in front-of-house applications.
Installation
Almost all of our restaurant blenders are countertop models, but we do carry a few floor models for extreme volume uses. Some can also be mounted in the counter for increased stability and power at the cost of mobility.
- Know what products you'll be blending. Are you serving soups and salsas or making smoothies all day? What's on your menu and what your blender will be used to process will help you choose between a food blender, drink blender, or all-purpose blender.
- Decide how much blending power is required. In addition to blade speed, think about how horsepower, wattage, and RPM rating will impact your blender's ability to process the ingredients your food or beverage operation prepares.
- Choose your preferred blender jar material. Plastic is the more common option and provides a constant look at ingredients as they're processed. Some brands offer metal jars, which are the more durable option for high-volume operations that don't blend products in view of customers.
- Consider what special features you need. Some models offer additional functionality that may benefit your operation, such as programmable controls that streamline food prep or drink service in operations with large menus or multiple locations; sound enclosures for blending drinks in customer-adjacent prep areas; and floor models or in-counter blenders for permanent installation.
- Select a model that meets your criteria. Review the specifics and features your commercial blender should have, then select one that meets your needs.
