Hobart Mixer
A Hobart mixer is a commercial-grade planetary mixer manufactured by Hobart Corporation, where the agitator rotates on its own axis while orbiting the bowl to ensure complete ingredient coverage. The brand has become synonymous with professional mixers across the foodservice industry.
A Hobart mixer is a commercial-grade planetary mixer manufactured by Hobart Corporation, an Ohio-based company that has dominated the foodservice equipment industry since 1897. The brand name has become so synonymous with professional mixers that chefs routinely say “I need a Hobart” when referring to any commercial mixer — similar to how “Kleenex” means tissue.
How Planetary Mixing Works
Hobart invented the planetary mixer design that revolutionized commercial mixing. The agitator rotates on its own axis while simultaneously orbiting the bowl — like planets around the sun — ensuring complete coverage and eliminating dead zones where ingredients might hide. This means faster, more consistent mixing with less manual scraping.
Size Range and Applications
Hobart mixers span from 5-quart countertop models (N50) perfect for small bakeries and culinary schools, up to 140-quart floor models that handle industrial commissary volumes. Common mid-range sizes include 20 qt, 30 qt, 40 qt, and 60 qt capacities.
Countertop models (up to 20 quarts) fit tight kitchen spaces and handle lighter batches. Floor models (30-140 quarts) are heavy-duty workhorses for high-volume operations mixing dense doughs, large frosting batches, and industrial-scale preparations.
Standard Attachments and Uses
Every Hobart comes with three core attachments: flat beaters (B) for general mixing, wire whips (D) for aeration, and dough hooks (E) for kneading. The No. 12 attachment hub accepts specialty accessories like meat grinders, vegetable slicers, and pasta makers.
Common applications include bread and pizza doughs, cake batters, buttercream frostings, whipped cream, mashed potatoes, meatloaf mix, and any preparation requiring consistent blending or emulsification. The gear-driven transmission delivers multiple fixed speeds (typically 3-4) matched to different tasks — slow for heavy doughs, high for whipping.
Legacy Series Features
Hobart’s Legacy line introduced swing-out bowls that pivot away from the mixer head, making ingredient addition and product removal significantly easier than lifting full bowls. Shift-on-the-Fly technology allows speed changes while the mixer runs, eliminating the need to stop between operations.
Legendary Durability
Hobart mixers earn their reputation through longevity. Units regularly run for 20-30 years in professional kitchens with proper maintenance. The gear-driven transmission (not belt-driven like cheaper alternatives) handles continuous heavy loads without breakdown. Many operators consider Hobarts the last mixer they’ll ever buy.
The KitchenAid Connection
In 1919, Hobart developed a residential version of their commercial mixer. During employee testing, one worker’s wife called it “the best kitchen aid” — which became the KitchenAid brand name. Whirlpool Corporation purchased KitchenAid from Hobart in 1986, but the professional Hobart line continues independently.
NSF Certification and Sustainability
All Hobart mixers meet NSF food safety standards with designs that minimize contamination risks and simplify sanitation. Parent company ITW has won ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence awards for six consecutive years, and Hobart joined the U.S. Green Building Council in 2006.
Common Uses
Hobart mixers are used daily in bakeries, pastry kitchens, pizzerias, catering operations, and institutional kitchens for mixing bread and pizza doughs, cake batters, buttercream frostings, whipped cream, mashed potatoes, meatloaf, and any preparation requiring consistent blending. Prep cooks typically operate them during morning mise en place, while pastry chefs use them throughout service for whipping cream and making frostings that go into piping bags. After mixing doughs, bakers transfer them to workstations using bench scrapers and may store batters in Cambro containers or roll doughs through a dough sheeter for uniform thickness.
