Food preparation equipment: what to look for
Freshness has become a significant competitive weapon for a good many caterers, with the ability to prepare dishes directly in the kitchen from raw ingredients conferring considerable customer appeal. This is becoming apparent not just in quality restaurants and the wave of "new Asian" eateries but also at stylish quick service outlets dedicated to sandwiches, soups, juices and healthy eating.
The ability to prepare ingredients quickly on site - directly to order in the case of fresh juice bars and some sandwich outlets - not only permits the use of virgin ingredients but can also contribute to operational flexibility, minimum wastage and opportunistic buying. However, preparation equipment needs to be carefully selected and backed up by thorough training, safety and hygiene procedures. The tables here cover multi-purpose units which can take a variety of interchangeable attachments.
Bowl mixers
For pizza and bread dough, batter, dessert mixes and other combinations of liquids and dry materials, mixers are based on a geared planetary drive providing one or more fixed speeds, or belt drive giving variable speed control. Stainless steel bowl, beater, whisk and dough hook are usually included in the price. Some machines also enable other tasks to be carried out by plugging extra equipment into the main power drive.
Bowl mixer capacity partly relates to bowl size but also to the available power, which determines the maximum batch of material which can be worked. On larger mixers, power lift can help handle the bowl.
Turret-style veg prep units
For chopping, grating, shredding, crumbing, julienne cutting and other jobs involving vegetables and fruit in bulk, turret-loaded veg prep machines combine compactness, high output and versatility, thanks to the many interchangeable cutting discs available for use in their processing chambers.
Food processors
This covers a wide range of ingenious machines. The typical format is a removable bowl which fits onto a powered unit. The base of the bowl is fitted with a flat bladed knife to enable shredding, grating, slicing and crumbing. Food is fed into the bowl via the top (with appropriate lid safety interlocks) or a feed chute. The processed product is removed by emptying out the bowl (or via an output chute on some models).
Vertical cutter-mixer
VCM comprises a a drum - typically swivel-mounted to facilitate discharge - into which the food is sealed. A central shaft fitted with knives rotates at much higher speed than a conventional mixer, enabling very rapid cutting and mixing. Machines are made in a wide range of sizes up to 60 litres capacity.
Blenders
Blenders take two distinct forms: jug-type and stick blenders. Jug-type units or liquidisers are small table-top mixers able to produce purees, juices, iced cocktail ingredients and other small-batch prep jobs quickly. Units comprise a base unit with powered drive and a removable goblet with built-in rotating blade. Where units are employed in front-of-house situations (as in cocktail mixing) it may worth enquiring about sound-proofing enclosures or jackets.
Various kinds of juicing can also be carried out in a blender but for the popular citrus-based drinks, the usual answer is a small hand-fed machines designed to squeeze juice from fresh oranges one at a time. For higher volumes, large hopper-fed machines make the juicing process highly visible, with whole oranges held in a hopper on top of the machine fed through a series of squeezing gates.
Stick blenders are hand-held power units which take a range of attachments for whisking, beating, liquidising, blending or mashing ingredients directly in the cooking pan or other vessel. The smallest models are powered by re-chargeable batteries while larger models required mains connection. Instant stop mechanisms are essential in view of extra safety hazard posed by the unguarded attachment.
Slicers
Machines for slicing cooked meats, bacon and cheese combine a large circular revolving blade with a pre-settable thickness adjustment and come in manual and powered versions in a wide range of blade sizes from 200 to 400mm diameter. A blade diameter of less than 250mm (10 inches) is unlikely to be suitable for commercial kitchen work. If slicing a lot of cheese, a 350mm diameter blade is advisable.
Potato processing
Despite the inroads made by processed potatoes, dedicated appliances for peeling and chipping potatoes are still popular in some branches of catering, ranging from table-top units for small batches to large floor mounted machines with outputs of several hundred kg/hour.
Manual cutting tools
Not all jobs benefit from being powered. High water content salad-stuff like lettuces, capsicums and tomatoes - and most soft fruits - are quickly damaged in a powered machine. With heavy duty hand-operated cutting machines, each item of food is placed in position and manual lever action does the rest, in many cases achieving more consistent results than would be possible with a knife. Other widely used manual tools available in professional versions from the specialist suppliers listed include peelers and corers for apples, cheese graters and mandolins (which must be used with pushers)for jobs like julienne cutting.
For many other tasks, there is no alternative to a good quality sharp knife on a chopping board. Both items are now widely available in colour-coded versions to ensure minimal cross-contamination by matching equipment to task.
Bowl mixers. Up to 60 litres. Planetary action, supplied with bowl.
Angelo Po Model: A30
Power: 0.75kW
Bowl size: 32ltr
List price from: 1490
CAD/Kitchenaid
Model: K5
Power: 325watts
Bowl size: 4.8ltr
List price from: 395
CAD/Kitchenaid
Model: K50
Power: 325watts
Bowl size: 4.8ltr
List price from: 445
Caterbake
Model: FAGE
Power: 0.75hp
Bowl size: 25ltr
List price from: 973
Caterbake
Model: FAGE
Power: 0.75hp
Bowl size: 32ltr
List price from: 1100
Caterbake
Model: FAGE
Power: 1.5hp
Bowl size: 45ltr
List price from: 1475
Electrolux
Model: EL10
Power: 370W 1
Bowl size: 0ltr
List price from: -
Electrolux
Model: EL12
Power: 750W
Bowl size: 12ltr
List price from: -
Electrolux
Model: EM20
Power: 750W
Bowl size: 20ltr
List price from: -
Electrolux
Model: EM40
Power: 1100W
Bowl size: 40ltr
List price from: -
Hobart
Model: N50
Power: 1/6hp
Bowl size: 5qts
List price from: 1690
Hobart
Model: NCM10
Power: 13amp
Bowl size: 8qts
List price from: 1780
Hobart
Model: NCM20
Power: 0.37kW
Bowl size: 20qts
List price from: 3195
Hobart
Model: NCM30/40
Power: 1.1kW
Bowl size: 30/40qts
List price from: 5500/6050
Hobart
Model: H600
Power: 1.1kW
Bowl size: 60qts
List price from: 9690
Metcalfe
Model: SP100
Power: 1ph/2.3amp
Bowl size: 10ltr
List price from: 1295
Derek Wright
Model: VB-R
Power: 2hp
Bowl size: 10ltr
List price from: 1800
Zanussi
Model: 5LM
Power: 330watts
Bowl size: 5ltrs
List price from: 1014
Zanussi
Model: 10LM
Power: 370watts
Bowl size: 10ltrs
List price from: 2436
Zanussi
Model: 12LM
Power: 750watts
Bowl size: 12trs
List price from: 3255
Zanussi
Model: 20LM
Power: 750watts
Bowl size: 20ltrs
List price from: 3420
Zanussi
Model: 30LM
Power: 750watts
Bowl size: 30ltrs
List price from: 4638
Zanussi
Model: 40LM
Power: 1100watts
Bowl size: 40ltrs
List price from: 5606
Zanussi
Model: 60LM
Power: 1500watts
Bowl size: 60ltrs
List price from: 8764
Food prep machines: points to consider
- With machines which are loaded through feed openings or hoppers, ease of loading influences overall processing capacity significantly.
- Look for equipment which can be easily dismantled for ease of cleaning and consider features which promote hygiene, such as contoured edges, easily removable bowl and attachments, stainless steel machine parts.
- Food cutting tools are extremely sharp and usage should be
