Americans are showing a growing interest in preventative health, which has led to a greater demand for nutritious options when dining out. They’re willing to pay a premium for healthier options, especially when they’re perceived as high-quality or if they offer specific health benefits.
However, the word “healthy” means different things to different people. Customers are looking for characteristics like high in protein, gluten free, minimal processing, vegan, low sugar, high fiber, and more. In this article, we introduce one piece of equipment that can tackle these challenges and more: a high-performance blender that handles the toughest ingredients, like kale and acai berries, with ease. We’ll outline the various ways you can incorporate more health-focused items onto your menu in simple and colorful ways, using a machine so intuitive that even a new hire could master its use without missing a beat.
The Summit Edge High-Performance Blender
The challenge professionals face when using a blender to make a nutrient-filled dish is that some healthy ingredients are also difficult to blend. For example, kale, a nutritional powerhouse, is one of the toughest ingredients to blend into a creamy composition. Its tough fibers often get stuck in blender blades or results in small bits that haven’t been fully broken down, resulting in uneven texture and unwanted chunky components that are time consuming to remove.
The Summit Edge High-Performance Blender by Hamilton Beach Commercial tackles blending challenges presented by healthy ingredients through a combination of powerful mechanics, intelligent design, and innovative technology. Here’s how.
Powers Through Fibrous Greens
The Summit Edge High-Performance Blender uses a 3.5 horsepower motor. In the world of commercial-kitchen technology, this translates to raw power that easily pulverizes the toughest ingredients, ensuring a smooth-as-silk blend.
Perhaps you’ve noticed that in lesser blenders, small bits of ingredients like kale or spinach get caught up top and float near the surface, never quite reaching the blade. The Summit Edge remedied this issue with its Wave-Action System. As your mixture is blended, it continuously circulates, constantly funneling ingredients down towards the stainless-steel blades, which prevents stragglers from floating up top.
Stainless Steel Blade Assembly
The Summit Edge features a multi-plane, stainless-steel blade assembly designed with both blunt and sharp edges. Blunt edges bring impact force, which helps to tenderize items like kale, making it easier for the sharp edges to shear and chop ingredients into very fine particles.
Thermal Management
For popular ingredients like acai berries, the Summit Edge prioritizes thermal management to prevent overheating — a common problem when blending frozen ingredients. Dual fans actively cool the motor during operation, allowing for extended blending without the risk of shutting down due to heat overload.
It also offers both variable speed control and pre-programmed cycles. Chefs can start with a pulse setting to break down, for instance, frozen acai chunks. Once the initial resistance is overcome, they can switch to a higher-speed to achieve a perfectly smooth consistency without overheating the motor.
Minimal Oxidation for Bright Colors and Fresh Flavors
The efficient blending this machine delivers is also perfect for restaurant use because it minimizes oxidation. Since it generates minimal heat during blending, oxidation is also minimized, and the vibrant colors of our healthy ingredients are preserved. Customers eat with their eyes first, so presenting the brightest colors possible is always the goal.
Sound Enclosure
If your restaurant, bar, or café prefers to keep the Summit Edge in a customer-facing location, its Quiet Shield Sound Enclosure keeps this machine much quieter than the average blender. You can make smoothies or mixed drinks without interrupting conversations or disturbing a peaceful vibe.
Appealing to Health-Conscious Customers
Now that we understand why the Summit Edge High-Performance Blender is an ideal tool for nutrition made easy, let’s talk about healthy menu optimization.
Soup
Using the Summit Edge High-Performance Blender, chefs can quickly blend large batches of healthy yet delicious soup, saving time in busy kitchens. Think vibrant colors, unique flavor combinations, and modern updates to the classics.
Fresh Herbs and Lots of Them
For soups that translate to nutritional powerhouses, blend a generous amount of herbs directly in the mixture for a more intense flavor profile. As we mentioned, this blender’s design can extract more flavor from ingredients like herbs, spices, and aromatics which is really the key to making simple, nutrient packed food taste extraordinary.
Summertime Soups
Summertime soups are also a refreshing and filling choice for a hot day. Classic gazpacho or variations like a savory watermelon gazpacho, chilled cucumber, or avocado-based cold soups are excellent for battling the heat while customers nourish their bodies.
A Warm Bowl of Global Flavors
Soup is also the perfect vehicle for showcasing global cuisine. Think Egyptian red lentil soup, Vichyssoise or Potage Crécy from France, Mexican black bean soup, southeast Asian inspired curried pumpkin soup — the examples are truly endless as is the creativity and evolution of flavors we’re seeing from chefs around the world.
Mash
Mash, in its various forms, hold enduring popularity due to their inherent comfort and versatility. A high-powered blender like the Summit Edge is essential for achieving a truly smooth mash, especially with fibrous ingredients like root vegetables. Here are examples of modern mashes that serve as flavorful and healthy side dishes.
Cauliflower Mash
Cauliflower, a popular low-carb potato substitute, can be transformed into a silky-smooth, vegan mash. By pulsing roasted or steamed cauliflower florets with cashews or nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor, you can create a creamy base in seconds. This base can then be flavored with herbs, spices, a squeeze of lemon, or a drizzle of oil.
Green Mash
The power of a commercial blender extends to leafy greens like kale, spinach, and Swiss chard. These nutrient-dense vegetables can be transformed into vibrant and flavorful mashes, perfect for those seeking to incorporate more greens into their diet. Blanched greens, combined with avocado, lemon juice, and a touch of garlic, create a vibrant and healthy mash. This green goodness can be used as a base for soups, sauces, or even swirled into pasta dough for a unique and nutritious twist.
Plantain Mash
For a naturally sweet flavor profile, try making a plantain mash using globally inspired flavor profiles from their native regions. A Brazilian take, for instance, could be combining boiled plantains with roasted cashews, a touch of cupuaçu paste, a hint of cayenne pepper, then garnish with crumbled queijo fresco for a salty contrast. In this nourishing mash, the cupuaçu paste alone is packed full of vitamins B1, B2, and B3, as well as amino and fatty acids.
Smoothies
Another convenient and healthy go-to item that can be made fast with this high-performance blender is the smoothie. However, not all smoothies are created equally. Generally, smoothies have far too much sugar to benefit the body.
The Secret to a Healthy Smoothie
To make a smoothie that can truly be called “healthy” we recommend making your recipe suitable for diabetics. This guideline keeps the glycemic load to reasonable levels and it’s more inclusive and safer to eat for a variety of people with varying medical conditions or health goals.
The easiest way to create a healthy smoothie is to only incorporate low-glycemic index (GI) ingredients. Low-GI options release glucose slowly, preventing blood sugar surges. Examples include berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries), spinach and other leafy greens, cucumber, and avocado.
Other Nutritious Smoothie Components
Excellent protein and fat sources suitable for a healthy smoothie includes unsweetened Greek or Icelandic yogurt, silken tofu, chia seeds, avocado, flaxseeds, and nut butters. And for a liquid base with a creamier texture, unsweetened nut milks (almond, oat, cashew, soy, etc.) work well. Teas like green, herbal, matcha, and rooibos are also gaining popularity and pair especially well with fresh herbs and edible floral garnishes.
Healthy Made Simple
With powerful blending capabilities, versatile functionality, and consistent results, the Hamilton Beach Summit Edge High-Performance Blender can create a wide range of healthy and flavorful menu items while preserving taste and visual appeal. Its timely features provide a valuable tool for foodservice professionals seeking to meet the growing demand for health-conscious dining experiences.
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Partnered With
From large chains that rely on Hamilton Beach Commercial to deliver their signature frozen treats to local restaurants and ice cream shops that turn to us to execute their culinary vision, our customers represent a broad range of food service operations around the world. Our commercial line of kitchen equipment features products such as high-performance blenders, juicers, vacuum sealers, immersion blenders, and automated drink mixers for both front-of-house and back-of-house applications — anywhere a business needs to support a high-volume food and beverage operation with customized menu items.
