Commercial Catering Equipment : Planetary mixer : Buying Guide

Planetary mixers are an almost essential part of any kitchen. These multipurpose mixers allow users to make a variety of mixes from pastry to whisks. Planetary mixers are available in various dimensions and with various specifications. This article will assist those looking to purchase one to select the best for their needs.

As with all commercial catering equipment, getting a quality product suited for your specific needs can mean the difference between a hassle free lifelong use versus constant changing and shifting.

Planetary mixers can come in either a gear driven variety or a belt driven variety, with a tilt-able bowl or not and in various capacities and powers. The first thing that MUST be understood is that it is not a dough (or spiral) mixer. Although all planetary mixers can mix dough, they cannot mix large amounts of dough as they are generally not designed to be as tough.

Attachments- Most if not all planetary mixers come with attachments for mixing dough (dough hook), whipping (whisk) and mixing (beater). Changing the attachments is often a straightforward process and a safety guard ensures that this procedure cannot be carried out whist the machine is running.

Size- Sizes for a commercial planetary mixer range from a small 5 Litre bench-top unit having a very small footprint and similar capacity to a domestic unit, to over 100L units for large scale applications such as in cake shops, pasta manufacturing etc. Some general advice on selecting the right size unit includes:

• Get a 30-40% larger capacity unit than the maximum amount of product you wish to mix, most products expand on mixing and may spill if loaded to the brim.
• As a rule of thumb a 10L mixer would be able to mix around 2kg of dough.

Some optional and special features you can consider with your planetary mixer

Mix Speed Controller – Mix speed simply means the revolutions per minute (rpm) of the relevant attachment that is fixed to the unit for a particular job example a whisk. Mixers mostly come with two kinds of speed controller. One kind allows you to have a set of three to four different speeds. These are useful when you have to vary the mixing speed of the mix in the bowl. The second kind is the fixed speed which is one standard speed for all mixing.

Timer - Some units come with an automatic timer which allows you to leave the operation running for specific time. This is useful for certain recipes and is a great help when you have other things to attend to.

Bowl Material - most mixers come with a standard stainless steel bowl. However, you can get a cheaper version of a tinned finish. Stainless steel is more reliable when it comes to mixing food that has high acidic content. Tinned finish bowls are prone to rust if left wet after washing.

Splash Cover - To stop splashing, which occurs when mixing light sauces or batter at high speeds and maximum size loads, you can use a special cover that fits around the rim of the bowl.

Bowl Scraper – Some mixers come with a factory installed bowl scraper. This feature is particularly useful when mixing certain types of liquids where the ingredients tend to stick to the side of the bowl, which can cause incomplete mixing. To deal with this, the machine must be turned off a couple of time to allow the operator to scrape the sides of the bowl with which can be an inconvenience. However, some machines now offer the bowl scraper that can be attached to the mixing part. The scraper automatically scrapes the sides of the bowl during mixing.

Bowl Lifter – If you run an operation that is mixing dough all day long, this is a useful option to consider. It is a mechanism that raises the bowl into place for mixing so that the operator does not have to manually lift it as it can be quite time consuming and not to mention heavy when doing this manually with loaded bowls.

Ingredients Shaft – This piece allows the operator to add ingredients into the bowl while the mixer is running. It is great for adding ingredients like sugar and flour to obtain the best mix!

Remember, whatever the size and need of your operation, Australian Catering Equipment Supplies can provide the best match for your. Not only can we assist you with the best of commercial catering Equipment and food and restaurant equipment supplies but we can also help you with making informed choices with honest, well-researched and reliable professional advice!

Marriage Made In food! Good Equipment Needs Great Cookware!

Every chef will attest that after the essential restaurant cooking equipment or catering equipment in any commercial kitchen is a great knife and a great pan! Commercial kitchen ware can make the crucial difference not only in the quality of food produced but its presentation.

Small ware is referred to all the tool components of a restaurant supplies and includes serving ware, tableware, cookware, kitchenware, crockery, cutlery and all related accessories including display-ware. This article will attempt to outline the major differences between commercial cookware and the domestic varieties.

Commercial cookware has major advantages over its more inferior counterparts in the domestic arena but what it suffers least from, surprisingly, is price! Below are some of the major differences between the 2 categories of cookware:

1. Price- As with all products in the market, commercial cooking equipment or catering equipment price varies with quality. Customers seeking a high quality domestic cookware often tend to spend $100’s on cookware that often is advertised heavily with ‘elaborate’ features that have no real impact on the quality of the product. Often naïve consumers get duped by fancy names such as “stone-ware”, “Hard anodised”, “Red Dot” etc. and are willing to pay a handsome price for these gimmicks. Commercial cookware, being used by chefs around the globe is often more subtly advertised without the need for fancy names. As such though the quality of the product is far superior to the more pricy ‘high quality’ domestic cookware, the price is often very reasonable.
   
   
2.  Range- Chefs often use different pots and pans to cook different items, the variety in the sizes only of frypans or stockpots for instance in the commercial arena is vast! In addition, the types of pans and pots available for chefs are also again vast (from crepe pans, to blinis pans, to sauté and saucepans) while the materials of the cookware are also huge (aluminium, copper, various grades of stainless steel, non-stick (though rare) etc.)
   
   
3. Quality- Commercial cookware by nature is heavily used not only being exposed to hotter temperatures from commercial restaurant kitchen equipment, but exposed for longer to extremes of temperature, is washed more often and is handled far more roughly than domestic cookware. All this means that commercial cookware is by nature built tough as nuts! In addition, commercial cookware is also made far more ergonomically (in terms of size, weight, and design) to cater for constant usage.
   
   
4. Versatility- Commercial cookware is designed to be used in a variety of situations and with a range of commercial cooking equipment. Chefs would often fry something then put the pan onto a salamander or indeed even an oven. Similarly, pans or pots can end up passing through several stages of the cooking procedure through ovens, combi-ovens, steamers, woks etc. this means that most commercial cookware is designed very robustly and with this versatility in mind.

The simple conclusion we can reach from the above is that commercial cooking equipment is far better in terms of price, range, quality and versatility and hence an attractive alternative to the often overpriced, over hyped domestic cookware. Budding home chefs and home cooks would be advised to shop carefully and choose commercial cookware for long term and short term success.

To get the best deals on all your commercial catering equipment and kitchen supplies of top grade commercial quality contact Australian Catering Equipment Supplies. Though our name says it all – we have the widest range of commercial cookware and small ware to give your business or home the touch of quality and style for the finer things in life!  

Refrigeration : One Of The Most Equipment Important For Catering Business

One of the most important equipment to consider when opening a food outlet store of any size is suitable refrigeration. We all know that without proper refrigeration, you cannot have proper food.

Refrigeration units are like the wheels in a commercial kitchen or a corner cafe. Therefore it is vital to ensure that you have the right units for your needs both in terms of your menu and space.

When searching for commercial refrigeration, there are several things you need to remember to ensure that you buy a unit that will suit your needs and which will give you value for your money. What are some of the things to look at when purchasing the right unit for your refrigeration needs?

Space

This is the most limiting factor for all businesses requiring commercial refrigeration. So before you buy the massive jumbo double door fridge or the slim single door merchandiser – have a look at where you want to keep the unit. Once you have decided on the space, get your measuring tape and measure up the width, depth and height – make sure you leave enough room at the back to allow for good airflow. 

Efficiency

Every business would like to cut unnecessary costs and wastage of energy. In refrigeration, you have to be careful because this is one of the most used units in a commercial kitchen or restaurant. As such, you want to make the most of the unit without losing its efficiency. So how do you determine which unit will be the best? Well, first you need to know what you will be using the refrigeration unit for – is it merchandising drinks, cakes, flowers or storing ingredients? Secondly, will be you be letting customers access the items in the fridge because you intend to keep it for front end use – or do you only want staff to access the fridge?

All this will help you determine the right efficiency by ensuring you get the right type from either a chest type or standing door type. There are also those that come with split doors which are the most efficient. Because only one half of the fridge is open at any one time, the other half retains the cold air and thus efficiency is improved. 

Mobility

Are you the type that likes to keep things clean (which is a good thing for a restaurant!) then you surely need refrigeration that comes on wheels! Having wheels on your fridge is convenient for a number of reasons like mobility for cleaning, transport and re-arranging your kitchen or shop to give it a fresh look. Castors do not come as standard features in all refrigeration units, but they can always be installed as optional features.

Lastly, get the advice of experts who can give you the right brand and price for your style and pocket. So contact Australian Catering Equipment Supplies, who can give you the best deals and service for your money. With a wide range of refrigeration and commercial catering equipment items, we know we can deliver to your expectations!

Have a look at our website for great deals on all Commercial Catering Equipment, Food and Kitchen Equipment!

Australian Catering Equipment now has over 10,000 quality items for sale on www.auscaterquip.com.au

Australian Catering Equipment Supplies is one of Australia’s premier supplier of quality restaurant cooking equipment and kitchen equipment. Distributing from some of the most well-known and largest suppliers in Australia (Goldstein, Moffat, 888, Bromic, Semak, Blendtec, Matfer Bourget etc.), they supply catering equipment and supplies to the Australian hospitality and food industry as well as to the regular Aussie house cook or amateur chef.

By constantly updating their online showroom, they have listed over 10,000 new products in over 50 categories ranging from commercial furniture to teaspoons and cutlery, from ovens to storage and display fridges. Australian Catering Equipment Supplies prides in providing the best advice coupled with the huge range to suite any budget and any need.

With the addition of new categories in the commercial furniture and small ware departments, Australian Catering Equipment Supplies now can boast a comprehensive solution for the needs of most if not all restaurants and food outlets. Be it a small corner deli requiring a manual slicer or a canteen requiring the state of the art combi ovens, bratt pans, cold rooms etc. to cater for their patrons or a small coffee house needing stylish cups to fit with their unique style! You are now able to find all this and more under one roof.

The unique distinctive characteristic of Australian Catering Equipment Supplies is their ability to supply often unique or ethno-centric equipment that most others would struggle to find. From woks to tandoori ovens, from vegetable cutters to carlin steamers, from gelato machines to automatic pasta makers. This diversity and range means that they can provide almost any unit for almost any need.

The largest category is our smallware category, which boasts over 6000 items and caters not only for the restaurant and hospitality industry but for the budding chefs in any kitchen in Australia. We believe that everyone should be able to enjoy commercial quality kitchen tools and implements to bring out the best of their creativity and passion for food! Supplying commercial quality pans, pots, kitchen utensils, crockery, cutlery, drink-ware, buffet-ware etc. to the ordinary household is intended to bring a little of the magic of the restaurant experience to the home! Not only is it possible it is extremely affordable to transform the ordinary to the extraordinary. Commercial catering equipment and small ware in a domestic setting can give many years of the pleasure to the users due to the hard wearing nature of the products that are always dishwasher friendly. The new range of commercial smallware is no longer boring and white! Commercial servingware, tableware and drinkware now comes in designer shapes, styles and explosion of colour and vibrancy to make any entertaining experience memorable!

Visit http://www.auscaterquip.com.au today or call us on 02-84592014 and see how your food experience can be transformed! 

Australian Made Commercial Catering Equipment

With the recent flood of cheap Chinese imports of commercial catering equipment, how does Australian made equipment stack? This article will briefly examine the efficacy of using Australian made commercial restaurant cooking equipment compared to cheaper imports.

Australian labour market and government regulations mean that over the past decade or so, the cost of manufacturing equipment of any kind is significantly more expensive in Australia than it is overseas. This has led many importers taking advantage and bringing in it from overseas be it Europe or parts of Asia. What advantages or disadvantages do these have?

• Quality : Due to regulations and minimum standards, Australian Made products offer the quality is far superior to many Chinese and often Italian or Spanish made equipment. Stainless steel production standards in imported products often are inconsistent leaving products rapidly degrading or rusting. Buying Australian may mean spending a tad bit more in the long run but for heavily used cooking equipment such as ranges, grills, griddles the best is to go Australian!
• Cost : Starting a business is daunting and often costs can spiral out of control. Imports offer very cheap prices but often come with quality constraints that may mean spending more in the long run. Having sad that, having a mix of imported and local catering equipment may be the best solution. Some equipment that does not see much usage could be purchased cheaply and may still give a long life.
• Dodgy equipment : Commercial catering equipment is by nature hard wearing, meant to be used continuously, made of more robust parts than their domestic counterparts. Often cheap imports have a feel and look of domestic equipment but are priced at commercial rates. Australian equipment usually does not suffer from this due to the local manufacturing which means that the stringent safety and quality control is in place.
• Range : Australian catering equipment certainly does not offer the immense range of the spectrum of equipment one can need or use! Here choosing quality imported equipment is the only option. Many of the bigger importers and distributors have had a foothold in the Australian market for years and hence brands like Moffat, Electrolux, Fastofrigor, Zumex and others have quality imported equipment that does not have any viable Australian alternative.
• Reviews : To get reviews for cheap imports is a near impossible task. Spending hard earned cash on unproven equipment or brands can be a scary prospect and this is where Australian brands such as Sammic, Eswood and Goldstein thrive. Having said that, it is important to appreciate that although cheaper some imported brands do come with incredible reviews a case in point would be the range of Blendtec blenders that are incredibly popular throughout the world being imported from the USA.
• Country of Origin : Although Australian products are often head and shoulders above their competition, it is often necessary to buy imports. Chinese products, although not having a great reputation are NOT all bad similarly German products are not all good! Many Australian companies design their products here and manufacture them in China or Korea. At Australian Catering equipment Supplies, we can advise you on the quality of imported products as we have knowledge in these areas.

The simple story is that although Australian made Commercial Catering Equipment is very good, the purchase of some imports is inevitable. Choosing imports goes by the simple rule of thumb, if it’s too good to be true than it probably is not! Very cheap products will give you major headaches especially when they really need to perform (when 150 orders come in at once for instance!). Choose wisely and get assistance with leasing options. At Australian Catering Equipment Supplies, we have partnered with Silver chef to ensure you can have quality equipment without busting the budget! Call us today for the best range and best deals on quality commercial kitchen equipment. 

Launch your restaurant business with the best catering equipment

While buying restaurant equipment, you should look at the several options for appliances and items available and make the right choice. There are many online and offline stores that sell high quality catering equipment. You should compare the prices and buy commercial catering equipment for reliable stores.

Have you decided to start a new catering business? Before jumping into it, you would need high quality catering equipment. As there is a high competition in every business, you should invest in quality equipment. Depending on the size of the operation, you should prepare a list of equipment you may need.

Budget plays a major role while deciding what type of catering equipment you should buy. It is important to buy the right catering equipment. If you are new to the business industry, it can be quite difficult for you to choose the best equipment for your catering business. Hence, you should do some research before making purchase. There are different style and types of restaurant equipment available in the market. Hence, you should make the right choice depending on your requirements and budget.

You should choose the company that sells high quality equipment at affordable rates. You should never compromise on quality while buying it. Always check the quality of it.

You can buy catering equipment online or offline. There is a wide range of options available in the market. When you buy catering equipment for parties or festivals, you should prepare a checklist of the items you may require and get in touch with reliable and reputed vendors. There are many online stores that offer discounts on bulk purchase. It is important that you get the best value for the money you spend for that.

In order to be successful in catering business, you need to invest in high quality equipment. You may need several machines and utensils to start catering business. By having quality equipment, you would be able to produce an array of delicious food and drinks quickly and efficiently. You would be able to survive if you have high quality catering equipment.

Even if you are planning to start a restaurant or a café, you should invest in high quality equipment that last longer. When you choose the right equipment, it ensures that your business will grow rapidly. 

As there is a lot of competition in the online market for selling restaurant supplies, you should spend money for buying quality restaurant equipment from reputed and reliable sellers. It is important to invest money for buying energy efficient items that will help you save on energy bills also.

You should look for the warranties while buying restaurant equipment. There are many companies and brands that offer maintenance and repair services. Before purchasing the restaurant equipment, you should check whether they offer such services or not. There are chances that you may require these services in future.

There are many things you should bear in mind while buying and supplies it. it is important that you get the best deal for the money you spend for restaurant supplies. Hence, ensure that you invest in high quality items and appliances. Explore all the options available in the market and make the right choice for buying restaurant supplies from reputed stores. The company you choose for buying commercial catering supplies should be well equipped with all the varieties of it and supplies.

Tips to buy the right catering equipments for business

If you have decided to start a catering business, you should consider buying catering equipments from reliable and trusted sellers. Buying high quality commercial catering equipment is very important for any business. Before going to the online or offline stores, you should prepare a list of items that you would need. You can decide the budget and stick to it. Prepare a list of the items you would need along with the quantity required. This would ensure that the entire process of buying catering supplies goes smoothly.

No matter whether you own a small scale business or a large one, you should always invest in high quality equipments that last longer. Choosing the right equipments can help your business grow.

While buying catering equipments online, you should have a look at the websites that sell branded equipments at reasonable rates. As there’s a lot of competition in the market, many stores offer discounts. You should have a look at some online stores and compare the prices before making the right choice of buying equipments for your catering business. You should have a look at the clients’ testimonials and reviews. Make sure that you select the correct online store that sells catering supplies at affordable rates without compromising on quality. Ensure that you invest in good quality equipments and supplies.

You would be able to save a lot of time and money when you buy catering equipments from online stores. With just a few clicks, you would be able to place the order online and the purchased item would be delivered at your doorstep. You should check the returns and exchange policies before buying the products online.

If you are planning to buy catering supplies from retail stores, it is a good idea to visit more than one retail store and compare the prices. You should do some research before buying catering supplies from a retail stores.

While buying catering equipments, you should invest in energy-saving products. You should ensure that the products you buy have high energy saving ratings so that you can use them without incurring high expenses for electricity. Always compare the energy saving ratings and buy energy efficient items.

One should assess the product warranties also. Ensure that you check the product warranties before buying them. There are several companies that offer maintenance and repair services also. Before buying the catering equipments, you should ask them whether they offer such services. You may need those services in future.

There are several things one should bear in mind while buying restaurant equipment. It is important that you get the best deal for the money you invest for restaurant supplies. Ensure that you buy products only from reputed and reliable sellers. The supplier should offer great customer service also. The company you choose for commercial catering equipments should be well equipped with all the varieties of equipments and appliances. This will help you choose the best products according to your requirements. Explore all the options and buy the best one that suits your requirements and budget.

When you plan to set up a restaurant or catering business, you should look for high quality equipments and supplies online. As there are many stores online and offline, you should compare them and make the right choice of buying catering equipments. It is important that you get the best value for the money you spend.