Professional Blenders: What You Need to Know

Commercial blenders have been around since the 1940s, and a healthy, competitive environment has driven the development of many ingenious innovations and capabilities. With a wide array of professional blenders to choose from, it can be hard to decide which blender will fit your needs. Some important things to consider when selecting which commercial blender for sale to buy are jar type, horsepower, noise level, and overall applications. That may seem like a lot, but it all boils down to knowing what you'll be blending and how much you'll need to blend daily.

Common Questions About Commercial Blenders

Do I need a square or round jar?

Jar shape can impact how effective a restaurant blender is and how well it handles certain recipes. Though many manufacturers have unique takes on this design element, the standard shapes generally can be classed as either square or round.

Round jars are the standard for drink blenders because they ensure everything that splashes up the glass sides will fall right back down into the blades. They're great for thinner recipes, including soups, smoothies, frozen drinks, and dressings. Their circular design also facilitates cleaning because there aren't corners to catch ingredients, making them the perfect bar blender.

Several manufacturers offer a variation on the round jar meant to improve its ability to pull ingredients down into the blades. Whether it's a cloverleaf shape or a set of scrapers that you can turn with the lid, it's all an attempt to produce smoother mixes faster.

The square jar was introduced to deliver better blending, particularly for heavier mixes, though these do sometimes have trouble with certain recipes because food can get caught in the corners. Those same angles help the heavy-duty commercial blender do its job more efficiently because, as it turns in a circle, the mix hits the corners, creating turbulence that keeps everything moving. This creates a vortex that pulls everything down to the blades, ensuring a complete mix.

How much horsepower do I need?

The most important rating for any of these units is horsepower. It tells you how fast the motor can spin the blades and how powerful the motor is. The more powerful it is, the more efficiently it operates, thus producing better mixes. If your recipe calls for a very smooth end product, look for a unit with more horsepower. Stronger motors also enable you to produce your recipes quicker and break down large-sized ingredients with ease.

You can observe how powerful a given heavy-duty commercial blender is by looking at the wattage of its motor. Watt ratings determine the size and power of that part of the unit; the higher the wattage on your motor, the more powerful it'll be, and the quicker you can blend. When deciding on what size motor you'll need, consider the amount of product you'll produce and how quickly you must prepare it.

The final measure you'll want to consider is RPM. Typically, units with more horsepower and higher-wattage motors will also provide higher RPM capabilities. A measure of how fast the blades can rotate at their maximum, RPM is also a good indicator of how efficient a unit will be because more RPM means a better vortex pulling the mix toward the blades.

How can I reduce the noise?

Commercial blenders are noisy machines and this can be a problem if they're used within earshot of your customers. That's particularly true in bars that serve frozen mixed drinks.

To address that issue, some professional blenders include the option of a noise barrier, a cover that encloses the entire blender jar to reduce noise levels. A portion of that cover lifts for access to add ingredients and pour mixes, and then the cover is lowered by the operator to minimize noise. These models also typically have a sound-insulated base, which keeps even more sound from invading your front-of-house areas.

While that can't completely eliminate the noise produced by the unit, it can significantly reduce it. The most effective of these barriers can lower sound by as much as 10 decibels compared to non-enclosed models.

Do I need an in-counter or countertop blender?

Some heavy-duty commercial blenders can be mounted on the counter, which comes in handy especially for front-of-house applications. In-counter positioning can reduce the noise produced by the motor, making it less noticeable to customers, particularly if it sits at or below the profile of your serving counter. It can also prevent equipment from getting knocked over in a fast-paced bar.

The drawback of mounting in the counter is that your blender is always in one fixed position. That means you don't have as much flexibility with how you use that part of your counter. If this issue could become a problem in your operation, or if you'll only use yours in the back of the house, a countertop model may be best for you.

Countertop models give you versatility, enabling you to move your blender or store it as needed. This is important if you add new products or new machines and need to rearrange your space. The important thing to remember with commercial blenders is that they're considerably larger than residential blenders.

What other functions should I get?

Another important factor in choosing a commercial blender is determining the functions that will serve you best. Among the most common and usable options are:

Manual controls mean the user must operate the unit by hand to achieve the desired consistency.

Preprogrammed controls include built-in operation sequences for common recipes, ready to go out of the box.

Custom program controls enable the user to program their own operation sequence and times into the blender, which can be recalled each time that recipe is prepared.