When Nothing but a Hobart Will Do

Hobart Accessories

Hobart has been a leading provider of restaurant equipment for more than 100 years. The dependability and longevity of its equipment has made the company's name literally synonymous with commercial mixers for countless foodservice operators. For many it's Hobart or nothing, and with a variety of Hobart mixers available and a reputation for quality products, it's easy to see how it continues to be the industry leader.

Hobart offers outstanding warranties, preventive maintenance programs, and dedicated regional service offices. All that adds up to benefits that can add to the life of the equipment, increase efficiency, and decrease downtime. Once you have a Hobart in your kitchen, the company offers personal customer service matched by none, including a nationwide network of factory-trained service professionals.

Types of Mixers

Hobart offers three types of mixers to suit any foodservice operation's needs:

  • Planetary mixers: Planetary mixers are named for the way the agitator spins in the hub while the hub revolves around the bowl. They are culinary jacks-of-all trades, equally suited to mixing up cake and cookie batters, and lighter-duty tasks like whipping up icing and mayonnaise. These versatile workhorses are available in both countertop and floor models.
  • Pizza mixers: The Legacy pizza mixer is a heavy-duty unit that includes a 2.7-HP motor to provide higher torque and lower RPM, which is ideal for constantly mixing dense pizza dough. Their specialized "ED" dough hooks have an extra bend in them that keeps the dough from crawling up the hook, which ensures better incorporation and puts less work on the motor.
  • Spiral mixers: Spiral mixers are designed for operations that need to meet extremely high and constant demands for heavy dough such as pizza, bagels, and dense breads. You'll find them in commissaries, bakeries, and large pizzerias.

Quality Motor Engineering

Horsepower is a critical consideration when choosing a mixer. Typically, the higher the capacity, the higher the horsepower. From small countertop mixers with strong 1/2-HP motors to enormous spiral mixers with 8-HP motors, there's no batter or dough Hobart can't tackle.

With gears and shafts made of heat-treated, hardened alloy steel and transmission housings made of cast iron, Hobart mixers are designed to stand the test of time, even with constant mixing of heavy bread and pizza dough. Anti-friction ball bearings and lubricants on all gears and shafts add to their durability.

One of the advances that make Hobart mixers last such a long time is their ability to gradually increase in speed. Rather than immediately getting up to speed, which can sling flour and sugar all over the place, Hobart mixers incorporate ingredients slowly, then move up to full speed to get smooth batters with minimal mess. This also keeps the unit from becoming overworked, which will help add to its longevity.

One of the most convenient attributes of a Hobart mixer is the ability to change speed while the unit is running, a feature they call Shift-on-the-Fly™. Not having to stop the mixer to change the speed will add life to your mixer and is better for your products. Another positive result of this technology is that you can actually see how fast the mixer moves at each increment, so you can adjust it precisely to fit your needs.

A 15-minute SmartTimer™ is available on most models and adds to Hobart's ease of use. The timer will help to provide consistent, reliable results and avoids wasteful overmixing. Overmixing, especially in breads, can cause batter to become tough, leading to a hard crust and a dense interior. Bread that's been overmixed also tends to be extremely crumbly.

The Legacy® line offers SmartPlus2™ technology that lets users program up to four recipes, with up to five steps in each recipe. This will cause the machine to change speeds and count down without operator intervention. Automating the mixing process will free users up for other tasks and ensure consistency among your workforce.

Bowl Handling Options

Another great feature that you'll only find with Hobart mixers is a convenient swing-out bowl that is ideal for adding ingredients, taking out dough, and mounting and changing bowls. Smaller 30- and 40-quart mixers have ergonomic hand cranks that make it easy to lift the bowl into place. Larger units have a power bowl lift button that takes the grunt work out of raising and lowering bowls filled with heavy batter or dough. There are models available with this feature in both floor and countertop varieties.

Agitators & Accessories

Agitators are a vital part of a mixer. While spiral units are primarily limited to a dough hook, planetary mixers have the following agitator types:

  • Flat beater: The flat beater's unique design helps create creamy and well-blended batters for cakes and muffins. The flat beater will also allow you to whip up perfect mashed potatoes.
  • Wire whips: Three designs of stainless steel wire whips allow you to create fluffy meringues, sponge cakes, butter, mayonnaise, and whipped cream with ease.
  • Pastry knife: Get the right consistency when cutting butter into dough to create light, flaky pie crusts and other pastries.
  • Dough hook: A dough hook takes some of the labor out of creating bread and pizza dough by doing the mixing, folding, and stretching for you.

Accessories will help you get the most out of your Hobart mixer. Some of the more popular accessories include:

  • Bowl scraper: In order to ensure the incorporation of all your ingredients, a bowl scraper is a must-have. In the long run, you'll save money and ensure your recipes are as precise as possible. It also makes mixing more efficient, because you don't have to stop the machine to access the inside of the bowl for scraping.
  • Meat chopper: The chopping and combining function of a meat chopper attachment makes creating sausages and burger patties a simple chore.
  • Vegetable slicer: The heavy duty vegetable slicer will prepare potatoes for thin chips, shred lettuce, and grate cheese in half the time of its nearest competitor.
  • Ingredient chute: A stainless steel ingredient chute is a great option for adding ingredients without having to stop the machine. These are a simple convenience that hang on the wire bowl guard and are easy to clean.