Chilled Displays : Commercial refrigeration including catering and restaurant display and chilled display units and Bar Equipment on-line. UK supplier..
Chilled Displays is a trading style of JustCatering.Com
Ltd.
You will be redirected to our main website shortly
A JustCatering.Com Ltd
Site.
Sister Sites:
JustWaste.Com
JustBars.Com
MedicalRefrigeration.co.uk
Buying Guides.
Understanding Beverage Equipment
Hot beverages offer some of the best profit margins in catering with
ingredient cost a few pence and selling price usually in excess of
£1. That margin allows caterers to invest in high performance
beverage equipment, since a quality drink allows for a premium selling
price. Yet while the end product is a cup of coffee, there are
different ways of making it. What caterers have to do is understand
what the different beverage system are for and which is right for the
business. These are different types of coffee systems available.
Cafetieres
The most simple of coffee making systems yet still capable of
delivering excellent freshly brewed coffee. Despite their low cost and
simplicity, cafetieres are seen in very smart hotels and restaurants.
It is possible to get them in polycarbonate (a plastic), but
heat-resistant glass is the more common construction material with a
brass or chromed cage. The size of a cafetiere is given in the number
of cups it can deliver, usually from three to eight.
Because different quantities of coffee will be ordered according to the
customers sat around the table, it is important to carry a wide range
of cafetiere sizes. A three-cup size will normally be enough for one or
two customers and likely to be the most popular order size, but should
a party of four order coffee a six or eight-cup size will be needed.
The one word of caution is that the detergents used in commercial
dishwashers may be unsuitable for a cafetiere and hand washing will be
needed. A supplier will advise on washing prior to purchase.
Pour and serve
This is the familiar balloon-shaped glass jug unit, usually two jugs to
a unit, one being filled underneath the unit by hot water run through
coffee grounds held in a filter while the other glass jug is held warm
on the top of the machine from a heat pad. This system is inexpensive
and provides a good cup of coffee, providing the coffee is not allowed
to stew on the heat-pad for too long. One hour is considered the
maximum time to hold coffee in this manner. Pour and serve systems are
ideal for catering operations such as pubs, cafes and small restaurants
where demand is steady, but not huge.
Soluble machines
These work on freeze-dried ingredients, often a similar type to coffee
granules seen on supermarket shelves. They are very convenient and can
be cheap for the smaller machines, making them suitable for low-demand
coffee needs such as cafes or pubs. The bigger automatic soluble
machines are very fast, delivering a cup of coffee from one-button
touch, making them popular with fast-food chains, airports and motorway
service areas.
Espresso machines
These are usually semi-automatic or fully automatic. The semi-automatic
machines need dispense staff to be well-trained on machine operation to
provide coffee with the best flavour and the trademark creamy topping
on espresso (called the crema), but manufacturers often offer training
packages with the sale of a machine. Fully automatic machines require
less operator skill, but staff still need proper training. The two main
advantages of automatic espresso machines are that they deliver quality
with consistency and speed.
Bulk brewers
These are aimed at any catering operation which has the need for a
large volume of coffee to be available in a very short time. Typically,
this would be a hotel for breakfast service, refreshment periods during
conference breaks or for after-dinner coffee in banqueting, but bulk
brewers can also be very useful for staff restaurants, roadside
catering, universities and hospitals. They are plumbed-in systems which
will both brew the coffee, usually from fresh coffee grounds, and hold
it in an internal tank so it can be dispensed for service to customers
through traditional table-top coffee pots or into airpots or vacuum
jugs.
Tea making and water boilers
An on-demand supply of very hot water is essential for every catering
operation and while tea making may be the main function of a hot water
boiler, they have many more uses in a catering environment, from hot
beverages other than tea, to chefs needing a quick source of very hot
water. It is essential to get the right capacity of hot-water output
which meets both the current need and future needs after growth of the
business. The best way to do this is to talk to manufacturers. They
will look at the nature of the business, assess water boiler needs and
recommend a size of machine which is neither too small or too large.
The advice will be free.
Look after it!
Beverage machines cover a wide range of hot drink dispensers and
looking after them can range from basic hygiene principles to strict
hygiene routines depending on the type of machine.
Looking after water boilers, which are mostly used for tea making, but
have a much wider application in the kitchen and for hotels and
restaurants, primarily concerns water treatment to deal with limescale
build-up on heating elements, the holding tank, inflow and dispense
pipework.
This should be done through a water treatment system, which is
essential in hard water areas and recommended in soft water areas.
Beyond water treatment control, water boilers need little maintenance
beyond a quick check during a regular maintenance programme. Pour and
serve coffee machines, usually the balloon jug underneath a percolating
filter of fresh coffee are also fairly maintenance free apart from the
hard water issue which means regular de-scaling is essential.
Where careful looking after beverage machines becomes more important is
with coffee machines that produces espresso and the fresh-ground coffee
variant drinks that come from an espresso machine.
Espresso machines work under high pressure and have internal pipework
through which water and coffee flows. They can also have internal milk
holding and frothing systems which bring both hygiene and maintenance
issues.
The traditional image of a coffee barista shows used dispense heads
being banged to release used coffee grounds into a disposal bin,
slapping new coffee heads into place on the machine and generally
treating the coffee machine as part of the rough and tumble theatre of
good coffee production.
The theatre is very important for front of house coffee sales, but too
much robust use of expensive espresso machines might please the barista
and the customer in the short term. But add significantly to
maintenance and replacement costs not just in the long term but in the
medium term.
As with any equipment that uses mains water within internal pipework,
all plumbed in coffee machine should have a water treatment system
fitted. The type of water treatment should meet the challenges of the
local water. A specialist water treatment company will advise on the
correct type of system for the local water.
Most coffee systems have a facility for steam heating milk for the
production of milk-based coffee drinks such as latte and cappuccino.
This is often a steam wand on the side of the machine into which a jug
of milk can be placed to both heat and froth.
Milk is a prime breeding ground for harmful bacteria and coffee
machines with a milk steam wand should have the steam wand cleaned and
sanitised at least every six hours. Some semi-automatic machines have a
refrigerated milk system within the unit. These need rigorous care and
it is essential to follow the manufacturer guidance on how to keep the
unit clean and safe.
Where a machine has a steam wand cleaning cycle this should be used
according to manufacturers instructions. Many espresso machines now
have a self-cleaning cycle which can work from a button touch and takes
just a few minutes.
In Brief
Do
• Fit a water treatment system
• Thoroughly clean where milk has been
• Keep the drip tray clean
• Clean machines daily
• Train staff to make good coffee
Don’t
• Rough handle dispense heads
• Leave sugary spills to attract pests
• Use hard tap water in unplumbed machines
• Allow untrained adjustments to machines
• Leave spilt ingredients in soluble machines
• Wash cafetieres in a dishwasher
Understanding Combi Ovens
A combi-oven combines several cooking functions in one piece of kitchen
equipment and the shortening of the description
“combination” is how a combi-oven gets its name.
The combi-oven uses dry heat - either still or fan-driven - and steam,
which is injected into the oven when the food being cooked needs it. An
alternative name for the oven is the combi-steamer.
The combi-oven is the most versatile piece of equipment any
professional kitchen can have. These are just some of the examples of
its benefits:
Meat – Up to a third of the weight of a piece of meat can be
lost during dry roasting through loss of the water content of the meat.
Having gentle steam in the oven during roasting both minimises weight
loss and produces a more tender joint.
Fish – steaming is an ideal cooking medium for this delicate
product.
Vegetables – By cooking in steam instead of boiling water,
vegetables keep more of their nutritional value and natural colour.
Baking – by operating as a fan-driven convection oven, baked
goods are evenly and crisply cooked. A slight injection of steam can
also enhance some baked foods such as bread.
Regeneration – Food which has been pre-cooked and correctly
chilled prior to service can be rapidly brought up to serving
temperature, avoiding the need to hold food hot for long periods which
leads to flavour loss and drying out. Combi-ovens are ideal for busy
banqueting operations and can handle both ready-plated meals and
multi-portion containers.
What is needed in the kitchen to install a combi-oven?
A water supply and energy supply. Combi-ovens will run off electric,
mains gas and LPG.
How to calculate the size of combi-oven needed
This is a job an oven manufacturer will arrange for you. The size of
combi-oven needed is calculated by the amount and types of food to be
cooked.
A combi-oven is not just for big food operations
Combi-ovens come in a range of sizes and all manufacturers build ovens
for the small independent caterer as well as the very high volume
outlets
Technical question to ask before making a choice of combi-oven
• What are the performance and cost implications resulting
from steam coming from a water boiler or by spraying water onto heated
elements in the oven?
• Why is it necessary to fit a water filtration system to the
oven to remove dissolved salts in the water and prevent scaling?
• Is there a high pre-heat function to enable fast heat
recovery when cold food is put into the oven?
• How easy the oven cavity and the door seals are to clean and
what self-cleaning features the oven has.
• What are the programming features, how easy are they for
staff to understand and do they meet my kitchen needs? Is there a
self-diagnostic facility to warn me should something go wrong?
• Is there a food core temperature probe, rapid cool-down
feature or a reversible fan for even heat distribution?
Look after it!
The combi-oven is the workhorse of the kitchen and one of the most
versatile items of prime cooking equipment any kitchen can have. It can
steam, bake, roast and “dry-fry” chips, breaded and
battered frozen products using the residual fat in the coating.
This multi-function feature of the combi-oven means many different
foods and cooking methods may be put through the combi oven in any one
working day. Typically, chickens may be roasted, fish steamed and
frozen bakery goods finished off. That versatility means there are lots
of different flavours and smells occurring in the combi-oven.
Everything cooked will deposit its own residual taste in the oven which
brings up “Look After It” rule No. 1 –
keep the oven clean to avoid flavour transfer.
This is important where strongly-flavoured foods such as chicken or
fish have been cooked and then vegetables are to be regenerated or
patisserie and desserts cooked. Many combi-ovens have a push-button
clean cycle which will wash the oven cavity and take away any food
residue so a delicately flavoured food following on tastes of its
ingredients sand not what was previously cooked. Where a high
production kitchen has a bank of combi-ovens, if there is not an
in-built self-clean cycle, it is possible to get mobile cleaning
systems which can be wheeled to each oven in turn.
The most important clean cycle is the one at the end of each cooking
shift. Food residue and debris left will harden and build up.
Door gaskets are built to withstand high heat and heavy use, but they
are not indestructible. The soft and flexible nature of these seals
mean that while they keep the cooking atmosphere in; they do need care
to avoid unnecessary damage and subsequent replacement. Door slamming
on any piece of kitchen equipment is a common cause of premature
service need and replacement cost. A kitchen manager should always have
an ear for this abuse of combi-ovens and train staff to close doors
firmly, but not slam.
Door seals can also suffer from a build-up of food debris. The folds in
the door gasket which give the close seal will inevitably attract food
debris. The manual or automatic clean cycle will clean the oven cavity,
but a manual inspection and clean with a grease detergent and clean
cloth will bring long life to door seals.
High-fat foods such as chickens can deposit large amounts of fat in the
oven. Combi –ovens have different ways of dealing with this.
Some have fat drains where the chicken – or any residual
grease – drains through a pipe in the bottom of the oven into
a collection bucket.
Some have just internal collection depositories or there may not be any
facility to collect excess cooking grease.
Where a trap system is built into the combi-oven, the route the fat
travels through must be cleaned at the end of every working day to
prevent a build-up of fat becoming a hygiene and oven drainage problem.
The combination of different cooking systems in a combi-oven gives
versatility, but it also combines water, heat, electricity and computer
circuitry in one cooking machine. None of those elements sit easily
together and a bad reaction between two of those factors can be a cause
of operational problems that need an unplanned visit of a service
engineer.
Which highlights the most important point of looking after a
combi-oven. A regular service contract is essential. This is
preventative maintenance which can spot problems in a combi-oven before
they become expensive.
Water treatment for combi-ovens is very important, check the index for
a separate section on this.
In brief
Do
Fit a water treatment system
Check door seals weekly
Clean daily
Slam doors
Trap probes in doors
Don’t
Cook strongly flavoured foods with delicate foods
Allow fats to carbonise in the cavity
Overload
Leave food debris trapped in door seals
Neglect to clean fat drains
Understanding Cooking Ranges
The cooking range is the traditional heart of a kitchen. There is
little that can’t be cooked in one. There are four types of
cooking range.
Open top burners
Open top cooking ranges are either gas burners or electric radiants
with an oven underneath. The most common configuration is for either
four or six burners or radiants, but a greater number of burners or
radiants are available for very busy kitchens. Their big advantage is
fuel efficiency, since almost all of the heat is directed at the
cooking pan and not into the kitchen environment. Direct contact with
the heat source also means pans can be heated very quickly.
Key points to look for when buying a range include at least one burner
or radiant that is more powerful than the others for fast boiling or
heating large pans. Also look for ease of cleaning as ranges get very
dirty. Ensure you buy a model with a build specification rugged enough
to meet the demands of the kitchen and check for availability of spare
parts.
Solid Tops
These have a solid cast iron top heated underneath either by
strategically placed gas jets or electric elements. They will have an
oven underneath the same as an open burner range. Their advantage is
that size for size, they can accommodate more pans than an open burner
range and pans can be moved around from fierce direct heat to a cooler
part of the top. Can be wasteful on energy where there are unused areas
of the top being heated.
Key points to look for on a solid top include seeing if it just part of
the top can witched on when just a few pans are cooking to save energy
and has the stove got a rapid heat point for fast boiling?
Boiling tables
The top is exactly the same as a standard cooking range, but with a
boiling table there is no oven below. This is useful for reducing
purchase cost when there is already sufficient oven capacity in the
kitchen. The space below is also a convenient storage area for pans.
Island Suites
These combine a cooking range with other prime cooking units such as a
salamander grill, deep-fat fryer, pasta boiler, griddle and char grill.
Their reputation is for withstanding the most punishing of cooking
demands in busy kitchens. The closeness of cooking functions saves on
space and allows chefs to control several cooking functions close to
hand. While they are mostly an “island” situated in
the centre of a kitchen allowing chefs to work from both sides of the
range, they can be wall-facing so that all the cooking stations are in
a line. There are two types of island suites.
Modular Island Suites
This system is usually bespoke in construction, with the individual
cooking units that a kitchen needs bonded together to for a seamless
unit. There is a wide range of options which can include a burner
range, a solid top, fryers, pasta cookers griddles, ovens, griddles,
grills, char-grills, induction hobs – in fact any type of
prime cooking process.
One-piece island suites
These are usually built as a solid cooking suite in the factory and as
well as off-the-shelf configurations, bespoke units can be built to
order. Since these are modelled on the classic tradition of island
suites, they tend to stay with dry heat as a cooking medium rather than
offering fryers and water-based cookers as part of the configuration.
Look After It!
All professional catering equipment is engineered to take hard use and
to be easy to use, but there are few items as simple to operate and
look after as the cooking range. There is just one golden rule to keep
performance high and unnecessary maintenance costs low – keep
it clean.
With gas fired cooking ranges, there will be high performance burners
designed to deliver the maximum energy efficiency conversion from the
gas to the heat output. Gas burners almost always operate on a star
system with mini jets of flame shooting out of the burner in a circle.
The way burners are designed is that the hottest part of the flame is
just beyond the deep blue core of the flame. To burn at maximum
efficiency the gas needs to be mixed with air which will come through a
vent in the gas burner delivery pipe. The efficiency of a cooking range
burner assumes that the burners and the air vents are clean and not
obstructed by food debris.
In a busy kitchen, food spillage on the cooking range is inevitable.
When food falls into a gas burner it immediately burns, turns to carbon
and blocks one or more of the jets, either completely or partially.
This disrupts the gas flow and the mix of air and gas and causes energy
conversion inefficiency. Cooking is slower and more costly.
Any major spillages on gas jets should be cleaned immediately, minor
spillages should be cleaned at the end of shift. A useful tip for gas
cooking ranges is to have tin foil spread underneath the burners so
spillages can be binned and wiping down made easier.
Cleaning behind and underneath cooking ranges is as important cleaning
the surface. Having a cooker on castors with a flexible gas connection
hose makes this easy, a point to consider when buying a cooking range.
Most cooking ranges have an oven underneath and the same cleaning
principles surrounding spillages and gas burner efficiency apply. What
is common to both electric and gas cooking range ovens is that door
abuse costs money.
Doors need closing firmly, not slamming, which will give premature
hinge and closing fastener damage. If the oven door is pull-down rather
than side opening, there is an additional damage risk if the drop-down
door is used as a step to reach shelves above the range. Where the
cooking range is part of an island suite and cooking utensils are
stored above the unit, it is a too common practice by chefs to use the
drop-down oven door as a stepladder.
Electric hob cooking ranges are built around stainless steel surfaces.
The hobs will burn off any food spillage, but other spillage will drip
onto the stainless steel top. Stainless steel used in cooking range
construction is tough and polished to make cleaning easy. Scrubbing
burned-on food debris with hard wire scrubbers will damage the surface
of the stainless steel and lead to harder work to keep the stainless
steel clean. It is better to use a professional detergent spray
formulated for cleaning cookers and a recommended cleaning pad.
When a service engineer calls for scheduled routine maintenance part of
the service call will be ensuring that the oven cavity and the burners
are clean. The engineer will do this, but the cost will far higher than
if the kitchen staff had done the cleaning first.
The cooking range may be simple to use and work with, but needs the
same level of operational care as any other item of prime cooking
equipment.
In brief
Do
Clean any spilt food from a range immediately
Ensure gas burner jets are not clogged
Clean pan supports weekly
Putting sheets of tin foil under the gas burners makes cleaning easier
Clean oven cavities weekly
Don’t
Use harsh abrasives on stainless steel
Stand on drop-down doors
Have pans too near the edge of the range
Slam oven doors
Leave jets turned on when there is no cooking
Understanding Cookware
Cookware is pans, baking dishes and serving dishes and comes in
hundreds of shapes and sizes and perform hundreds of different cooking
tasks, but when construction is stripped down to the basics, there are
just a handful of materials used in professional cookware.
Black Iron - The most simple and cheapest cookware made from mild
steel. While cost is on its side, rusting is a risk. They are not
particularly easy to clean and if not thoroughly dried, tarnishing can
occur overnight necessitating cleaning again before being used for
cooking.
Black iron frying pans are notorious for sticking with items such as
fish and eggs and the pan has to be seasoned before use. A layer of
salt is put on the inside base and heated up. The effect of this is to
seal any surface imperfection in the base of the pan. The salt is
removed, replaced by cooking oil and heated till it smokes. The pan is
then ready for use. But if it is washed in soapy water, then the whole
seasoning process has to be re-done. This is why Chinese chefs seldom
wash their black iron woks and seem never to be troubled with food
sticking. When black iron was much more common in kitchens chefs would
often keep one pan kept aside just for omelettes.
Aluminium – The workhorse of many kitchens and still the
predominant pan metal for institutional kitchens where the kitchen is
on a very tight capital cost budget. The advantage of aluminium is that
it is cheap, does not corrode and is a superb conductor of heat. This
makes aluminium a good pan for boiling and on cost grounds is suitable
for very big pans such as stockpots. One of its big disadvantages is
that it can react with acidic food to give flavour taint. It also
cannot be used on induction hobs and as with black iron is prone to
sticking when food is fried.
Cheap aluminium pans are made from a single sheet of metal, but the
best professional aluminium pans have a thicker base to spread the heat
more evenly. Medium-duty aluminium pans with a base thick of 3mm to 4mm
are suitable for open-top cooking ranges, but with the more intense
heat of a solid-top range or for hard use, a heavy-duty pan with a base
of 7mm will perform better.
Stainless steel - Fast becoming the material of choice for hotels and
restaurants because it is doesn’t tarnish, is easy to clean,
hygienic, hard-wearing, less prone to sticking than other metals and
looks good. Because it is so popular, there is wide variation in
stainless steel quality on the market. As with aluminium, the base of
the pan will be layered. This usually takes the form of a three-layer
sandwich with stainless steel on the bottom, aluminium in the middle to
give good conductivity and stainless steel on top. Some top of the
range pans will have up to seven sandwich layers.
Cheap stainless steel pans look serviceable, but are unsuitable for the
professional kitchen. The thin gauge of the metal on cheap stainless
steel pans gives very poor heat distribution, they will tarnish easily
and because the metal surface is poorly polished sticking can be a
problem. On workplace safety grounds cheap stainless steel pans can
also be dangerous. The tack welding that holds the handle on could be
very poor and snap without warning when full with hot liquid.
Non-stick- Most professional kitchens have a small selection of
non-stick cookware. It is perfect for frying delicate fish such as sole
and plaice, omelettes never stick and using non-stick frying pans can
be part of a low-fat style of cooking. The cheapest non-stick is coated
on aluminium, but because of the relative softness of aluminium, the
non-stick layer will not last as long as it could when on steel. The
main cause of damage to the non-stick coating apart from the obvious
one of using metal utensils is getting the temperature too high which
will damage the coating. While normal frying is done at 200 deg C,
flash frying over a fierce heat can send the base temperature way over
250 deg C causing splitting of the non-stick coating. That is why true
wok cooking works better with black iron woks rather than non-stick
woks.
Copper pans - Once the material of choice in the classic professional
kitchen, their use is dwindling in the face of stainless steel. The
traditional construction would be copper for the conductivity lined
with tin to protect the food from contamination from the copper.
It is still possible to buy copper-tin pans and they can still be
retinned, but copper lined with stainless steel is the growing part of
this market, for all the qualities that stainless steel has combined
with the conductivity and good looks of copper. One downside of copper
pans is their solid metal handles, which can get far hotter than the
tubular handles found on stainless steel or aluminium cookware.
Cooking dishes
Stoneware - While these colourful dishes are more often used for food
presentation on a servery, they have a lot of temperature tolerance.
The manufacturing process can see the clay baked at 1300 deg C for up
to 10 hours to achieve great toughness. This material will withstand a
temperature range of –20 deg to 250 deg, making them suitable
for oven to counter use. Most are dishwasher-friendly and all can be
placed in a microwave oven, but definitely not on a hob as the sudden
burst of heat will cause the ceramic to shatter.
Many cooking pots are available with matching lids for closed-lid
cooking in the oven and to help keep the food warm while on a service
counter. Baked-on food debris will benefit from soaking in water before
going into the dishwasher, but avoid abrasive scouring pads of
detergents as this may damage the surface. Stacking the dishes inside
each other can also contribute to surface scratching.
Enamelled cast iron - These pans and casserole dishes are made in cast
iron for strength, conductivity of heat and heat retention, then coated
both inside and out with an enamel paint which is baked onto the cast
iron at high temperature to give a smooth cooking surface and prevent
rusting. The colourful nature of these pots and dishes make them
suitable for oven to counter like stoneware. The enamelled surface is
not suitable for frying due a tendency for sticking. In addition to
enamelled cast iron, a variation is enamelled stainless steel.
Understanding Deep-fat Fryers
While called a deep-fat fryer, all food floats in hot oil, cooking in
the top two inches of the fryer. This can lead to a kitchen having a
fryer which is too big and heating up more oil than needed.
Another mistake is to take a particular day when frying capacity is
high, such as fish and chips being popular on a Friday, and buy a fryer
as if demand were that high every day.
The industry-wide performance measure of a deep-fat fryer is usually
given in weight of chips per hour the fryer can cope with. On face
value, that sounds a level playing field, but it is not. Pounds of
chips per hour assumes an even demand throughout the day, which seldom
happens. For many caterers there is a huge burst of demand for chips at
midday, so basing fryer needs on what the output of chips is over an
hour doesn’t reflect what the kitchen actually has to produce
in a much shorter time than an hour.
Another point to consider when looking a chips-per-hour ratings between
different fryers is to ensure that the same type of chip is being rated
by each manufacturer. Fry times will vary considerably between frozen
chips, chilled chips, blanched chips and the size of chips. The best
way of finding out the size and power of fryer needed is to ask a
manufacturer to calculate the capacity based on your weekly throughput
of fried foods.
Gas or electric power?
There is no clear answer to which is better, both have their own
distinctive advantages. The general rule of thumb is that electric
fryers are cheaper to buy and suitable for low to medium volume needs.
If the kitchen is churning out high volumes of fried product,
particularly chips, then gas-powered fryers may be dearer to buy, but
will cheaper to run. However, there have been advances in the
technology of electric fryers and the operation cost and performance
between gas and electric can be negligible.
Servicing costs on gas fryers may be slightly more expensive because of
the need to check the gas system.
If the inclination is towards gas fired fryers; there are three heating
systems with no clear choice on which is the best option. Tube burners
have wide tubes running across the lower inside of the fry tank. Inside
the tubes are gas jets which transfer the heat into the oil through the
tube wall.
The second gas system is to have a big bank of gas jets concentrated on
the exterior of the fry tank while the third, is a system using
infra-red heaters, which give a high output of heat.
Good frying practice
A problem common to all gas-fired deep-fat fryers is that the rapid
transfer of heat into the oil through a metal wall can lead to oil burn
in the base of the fry tank. This happens when food debris falls to the
base of the tank and carbonises because of the intense heat. This leads
to oil taint and a breakdown of the oil.
The way to get around this used by most manufacturers is a feature
called the cool zone. This is normally a sharp depression in the base
of the tank which is below the level of the gas burners. Food debris
drifts down through the oil and collects in this cool depression, which
can often be up to 30 deg C below that of the cooking area of the fry
tank. A recent development has been a high-performance flat-bottomed
gas fryer without a cool zone.
In a busy operation it makes sense to have at least two deep-fat
fryers, once kept exclusively for chips, the other frying anything else.
Electric-powered fryers which have heating elements in the tank have
less of a need for a cool zone, but some do still have them on the
bigger models.
Oil filtration
With some fryers or small counter-top models, the usual method of oil
filtration is the traditional one of a bucket, a sieve with a tea-towel
in it and pouring the oil into the bucket through the sieve. This can
be both dangerous and inefficient. It is better to buy a freestanding
oil filtration system. Either way, oil should be filtered daily.
Some fryers solve the oil filtration issue is using in-built filtration
systems. Commonly, the oil is released through the bottom of the tank
while still hot through a system of filters and pumped back into the
fry tank. The whole process takes between three and five minutes and
since the most the operator does is press buttons and open a valve, the
safety risks are almost non-existent.
Look after it!
A deep fat fryer is one of the workhorses of the kitchen and has almost
no moving parts and has a low maintenance cost. But that does not mean
that kitchen staff should not look after it.
The biggest maintenance job of a deep-fat fryer is the cooking oil.
Cared for, it will last many sessions without the need for changing.
Used carelessly with too high a temperature, a failure to clean and
filter food debris at the end of every kitchen session and oil can be
degraded within a couple of days.
While oil is the big maintenance issue in a deep-fat fryer, it does not
mean the fryer itself can be neglected. Oil can quickly solidify and
become baked onto the frying baskets. This is not just unsightly, but
can taint the oil. Regular passing of the baskets through the
dishwasher will keep the build-up down, if not totally eliminate it.
Baked-on oil is also a problem in the fry tank and periodic degreasing
with a strong detergent during oil changes will soften the fat and a
non-abrasive kitchen scrubber or plastic bowl scraper will remove much
of it. The fry tank will want thoroughly rinsing after the use of
detergent and if there are electric element or tubes in the tank, care
must be taken not to damage them.
A build up of sticky grease will happen over time around dials for
power control making them move slower. This puts stress on what are
often plastic fittings and can lead to the dial shearing on the control
pin. If the control dial pulls off, then do so on a regular basis and
clean around the dial. As part of a regular maintenance cycle by a
service engineer, the dials may be stripped down, cleaned underneath
and lubricated with a long-lasting grease able to withstand high heat
without dribbling away such as lithium grease.
If there are auto-lift baskets on the fryer, then the lift mechanism
should also be kept clean, but this is another job that can be done
thoroughly on a routine service call.
It is an engineer’s job to ensure that any item of equipment
serviced is left in a clean condition as well as a good working
condition. If the deep-fat fryer has been allowed to become very dirty
with a high build-up of congealed oil on the casing, the engineer may
well
remove it, but this is going to reflect in the cost of servicing. Far
Better that a member of the kitchen staff do the cleaning before the
service engineer arrives.
But do not allow kitchen staff to use abrasive scrubbers or powders on
control dials which could eventually remove the dial setting marks and
bring about the need for a replacement dial.
In brief
Do
Remove food debris from oil as directed by the manufacturer
Keep fry baskets clean
Use an oil filtration system
Check for a build-up of grease at the rear of the fryer
Don’t
Clean stainless steel fry tanks with harsh abrasives
Overload
Allow a build-up of grease on control dials
Damage tank heating elements during cleaning
Allow staff to knock off excess oil with the size of the fry tank
Understanding Warewashing
Warewashing equipment is the collective industry name for dishwashers
and glasswashers. It derives its name from glass
“ware” and table “ware.”
A common question from caterers is why can’t they use the
same machine for both glasswashing and plate washing? The answer is you
can and very small establishments cannot justify the cost of a
dedicated glasswasher and dishwasher, but there are problems in using
the same machine for glassware and tableware. The wash time for
glassware is very short, so putting glasses in with the longer wash
cycle needed for tableware wastes energy.
Food debris from tableware can easily cause smears and spots on
glassware, leading to the need for hand finishing or re-washing. Even
putting glasses in the washing machine on their own following a
tableware washing cycle can still produce soiled glassware. Dishwashers
are often programmed to do a pre-rinse cycle to clear loose food waste
stuck to plates and may have a high finishing hot rinse to aid
sanitisation.
Types of machine available
Glasswashers
Glasswashers tend to be front-loading compact machines for small to
moderate usage of glassware, often fitting under a counter or on a
bench in a preparation area. Being compact leads to fast turnaround of
soiled glasses, avoiding the need for heavy stocking levels. While they
are often sited underneath the bar because of space restrictions, it is
better to use the bar area for retailing rather than glasswashing. Busy
pubs and bars may need to move to a pull-down hood machine which
enables rapid washing of a large volume of glasses.
Cabinet dishwashers
Dishwashers start with compact machines, which look and work in a
similar way to glasswashers and are designed to fit on a bench in a
back-of-house cleaning area, still-room or satellite kitchen.
Pull-down hood dishwashers
The next stage up in machine design is a pull-down hood machine. These
are more powerful, faster and are manually loaded with a basket of
soiled tableware. They are usually configured with stainless steel
tabling either side of the dishwasher so while a basket of dirty
tableware is being washed, another basket of dirty tableware is being
loaded ready to go in and a washed basket on the other side of the hood
washer is waiting to be emptied. This gives a continual cycle of plate
washing.
Rack conveyor dishwashers
These work on a pass-through system where the baskets of soiled
tableware are on a conveyor belt which passes through the washing
machine, going through wash zones which start at pre-rinse, go to hot
wash, then hot rinse and come out on the other side of the conveyor
ready for stacking away.
Flight dishwashers
These are a semi-automatic dishwashing system, similar in principle to
rack conveyor systems, but very much bigger. They are designed to cope
with huge volumes of soiled tableware which might be found in a
university or hospital kitchen, an airline food production kitchen,
large staff feeding facility or a conference and exhibition centre.
Which size of machine to choose
Many small to medium businesses underestimate the capacity of
warewashing machine they need. The big mistake is looking at the
overall daily throughput and basing machine size choice on that. This
is to ignore there are always peak demand times in the day when
tableware and glassware is needed very quickly. Also, buying a machine
for current needs makes no allowance for an increase in business. The
safest way of avoiding buying the wrong size machine is to ask
manufacturers for advice.
Questions to ask before buying
There are strict national regulations on how dishwashers and
glasswashers should be connected to the water main to prevent
contamination of the mains water system through accidental backflow of
dirty water. Some cheaper machines may not fully comply with water
supply regulations, involving costly later modifications. Check the
machine complies.
Ask about the type of steel. All warewashing machines offer stainless
steel washtanks, but there are different grades used in manufacture.
The best is Grade 304, much more corrosion-resistant than the cheaper
430 grade stainless steel, though both look the same.
Ask about noise and heat emissions. Double skin casings will reduce
noise, operating cost and be cool to the touch.
Study the energy and water consumption performance. What may seem a
cheap machine to buy could prove to be a very expensive machine to run.
Ask advice on the fitting of a water treatment system to prevent
limescale build-up in the internal pipework of the machine. Water
treatment is essential in hard water areas and recommended in other
water areas.
Be very specific about the availability of spare parts, the turnaround
time for spares and what are the service options offered with the
machine.
Look After It!
Warewashing equipment is often shunted to the far corners of a kitchen
and since in all but very small catering businesses is operated by a
kitchen assistant rather than a chef. Professional warewashing machines
are built to take hard work, but a lack of care during use can be a
potential source of unplanned and unnecessary maintenance cost.
Responsibility for supervising dish and glasswashing equipment should
lie with a senior kitchen manager, who while not involved in daily
operation of the machine, will ensure correct operation procedures and
in-house maintenance as set out by the manufacturer. Warewashing
equipment has heavy use during every service period. It is built for
hard work, but not for neglect or abuse.
The biggest drain on maintenance cost of a warewashing cabinet is the
failure to fit a water softening system. It is normally an extra item
to a new machine, but it is not a luxury. Mains water contains
dissolved salts which when heated break out of the water and attach to
metal. This will be heating elements and pipework. This familiar
furring up of metal increases energy costs and in furring up of
pipework in a dishwasher can lead to serious internal damage.
Fitting a water treatment system in hard water areas is essential, but
is also strongly recommended in soft water areas, since all water
contains dissolved salts and water is passed around the national water
pipeline. Fitting a water treatment system to a glasswasher will also
reduce the risk of streaking and smearing, which is mostly caused by
dissolved salts. It will almost certainly be a requirement for a
manufacturer’s warranty to be valid on new equipment and for
a service contract.
There are relatively few moving parts on a dishwasher, the main two
being the pump that circulates the water around and the wash arms.
Fitting a cheap pump is invisible and it may even deliver a comparable
time for the wash cycle to an expensive unit, but it will break down
quicker and more often than a well-made pump.
The wash arms spin on bearings can wear out and cheap wash arms
themselves can get damaged or broken if poorly designed. Spray jets may
be individually replaceable, but on cheaper machines it is often the
whole wash arm which needs replacing. These points need to be
considered when during a routine maintenance visit by a service
engineer it is reported that a part needs replacing and there are
several spare price part options available.
All warewashing machines have filter systems to trap food debris, but a
dishwasher is not a waste disposal system and excess food waste should
be scrapped first into a dry waste bin and preferably with a pre-rinse
using either a sink hose or a simple dip and scrub in a sink or by
using a waste disposal unit. Larger dishwashing system are built to
deal with food residues, but with smaller cabinet machines, allowing
excess plate waste to go into the cabinet could cause clogging of the
water filter system. Rice may seem a benign food, but it notorious for
clogging filter systems.
Under-performance of dish and glasswashing machines often has nothing
to do with the machine, but with the quality of the detergents being
used. Cheap detergents will not damage a washing machine, but can lead
to double washing because the plates and glasses were not clean.
Like any item of catering equipment, regular servicing is the key to
keeping warewashing equipment running effectively.
In brief
Do
Fit a water softening system
Check the detergent dosing levels
Scrap plates thoroughly before washing
Train staff on good work practise
Check and un-block spray jets
Don’t
Use cheap detergents
Use a dishwasher as a waste disposal unit
Neglect to clean filters
Mix dirty plates and dirty glasses
Overload the machine
Understanding Fast Food
Cooking Systems
Fast food is a huge sector of the catering industry with annual sales
estimated to be more than £7 billion. Because of the high
volume nature of fast food service, the equipment not only has to be
quick, it has to be very robust. Heavy-duty equipment is the best
choice, medium-duty is suitable where business is brisk, but not
frenetic, but light-duty equipment is unsuitable in all but very small
fast food operations.
Often equipment is designed and manufactured around a specific fast
food concept or menu item where there are global volumes of equipment
to be sold, but while designed with a specific purpose in mind,
creative caterers are always finding additional uses.
This section of the guide is the specialist equipment. More general
items of cooking equipment such as fryers and griddles have their own
section.
Pressure fryers
Pressure fryers are most commonly associated with fried chicken
restaurants. Coated chicken pieces are lowered into the fry tank and a
lid closed and locked into place to form an airtight seal. Moisture is
immediately released from the food which rapidly builds up the air
pressure. The pressure causes rapid tumbling of the food and transfers
heat faster from hot oil to the food.
Pressure has the effect of increasing the temperature of the food and
oil and because the heat transfer is faster than in a normal fryer, the
frying temperature is higher than in a normal deep-fat fryer. A further
effect of the pressure is to rapidly seal the outside of the chicken,
keeping moisture in and excess grease out. This along with the flavour
coating is what makes southern-style fried chicken so crisp and moist
compared to chicken cooked in a standard deep-fat fryer.
Because it is not possible to inspect the food as it is being fried,
the fryers are computer programmed according to the product being
cooked. The programme can do multi-temperature cooking during the
pressure cycle, to a rapid seal of the food at first, then a gentler
cooking temperature. In a typical chicken operation, the start oil
temperature will be 180 deg C for the first burst of heat to seal the
chicken, then will lower to 145 deg C to cook the chicken safely
through.
Most pressure fryers have an automatic pressure release and audible
signal at the end of the cooking cycle to tell the cook that the
chicken is finished. More advanced models will also have automated
basket lift.
Pressure fryers have in-built filtration systems and a cool spot to
collect food debris from frying prior to filtration.
Conveyor ovens
Conveyor ovens are a cooking tunnel with heating elements above or
above and below with a constantly revolving belt of steel mesh or slats
passing through it. There will be a tray in front of the conveyor for
loading foods and a tray at the rear for received the cooked food.
While popular for high volume pizza production, they can do a wide
range of foods, including steaks, chops, fish, ribs and can gratin
dishes such as lasagne. They can also be used for a flame-grilled
production of burgers. The heat is controllable, but usually it is the
speed setting on the conveyor belt that controls the length of time the
food is subjected to heat.
Power source can be gas, electric or infra-red and they come as
double-decks or triple-decks for high volume production. The cooking
tunnel can be as short as 50cm or more than twice that length on big
ovens. Some also feature a split conveyor belt with individual speed
settings for each half of the conveyor belt so that two cook times can
happen during the same pass-through.
Impingers
An impinger is a conveyor oven with a difference. Pressurised hot air
is jetted at food items on the conveyor as it moves through the oven.
Because the jets are positioned to reach the top and bottom of each
food item, the cooking temperature is uniform. The air nozzles apply
hundreds of independent heat jets to the product and the movement of
the conveyor spreads heat uniformly.
Manufacturers of impinger ovens say the food cooks faster and at a
lower temperature because of the forced hot air. Moisture content is
also increased as the hot air rapidly seals the surface of the food.
Rotisseries
Rotisseries are usually associated with chicken, but can also do rolled
legs of lamb, pork and rib beef. They can be sited indoors in a well
ventilated area in view of the customer powered from mains gas or
electricity or outside through a power cable or LPG.
They are available in two configurations – the meat skewered
horizontal or hung vertical. The horizontal is seen mostly in retail
environments, while restaurants go for the vertical type. While the
look to be energy inefficient with the heat radiating outwards, the
curvature of the radiants is designed to focus the heat on the meat.
This also makes for a cooler working environment for staff.
Profits are high on rotisserie chicken and the cooking smell of it is a
huge selling point, but they are messy to clean and staff need a strict
clean-down routine at the end of a shift.
Burger Grills and delivery systems
Burger grills are compact conveyor grills, usually upright with a
gravity feed system, similar in design to vertical toasters. The
table-top versions will run from a simple 13-amp socket, yet production
on even the smallest grills will be at least one burger a minute.
There should be a means of adjusting the speed of the conveyor and for
the thickness of burger. There should be a fat collection system and a
catching tray. Because of the smoke and cooking smells that come from
cooking burgers, adequate kitchen ventilation is necessary. Burger
conveyor grills are only suitable for frozen burgers, not fresh or
chilled.
They can be used in conjunction with burger bun toasters, which operate
in much the same way, but can toast top and bottom of a bun in 18 to 35
seconds, depending on power.
When burgers have been assembled and put in colour coded containers,
they can be held in burger box chutes. These are the working bridge
between the kitchen and the service team front of house with back
loading and front unloading. Burger chutes can have from five to 10 or
more angled channels so that kitchen staff can keep every channel
topped up for fast dispense at the counter and may be stacked. They
should have heat and light lamps above for enhancing the display and
keep the burger package warm and can have additional under-box heating.
Understanding Food Preparation Equipment
Food preparation equipment is the important stage between fresh food
coming into the kitchen and being made ready for either cooking or
direct service into the restaurant. The equipment ranges from potato
peelers, gravity slicing machines, juicers and multi-function food
processors to the traditional hand-held food preparation tools such as
kitchen knives and the speciality food preparation tools all good chefs
have in their workbox.
There is a wide range of food preparation equipment, but some are
necessary items rather than “nice-to-have” items,
depending on the style of food the kitchen wishes to offer.
While there is a temptation to buy in ready-prepared vegetables, the
kitchen does not always get the best quality with ready-prepared
vegetables. It’s a very price driven business, so there is
pressure to use older, cheaper potatoes and big woody carrots because
they are quicker to peel than small sweeter carrots.
For high volume users of potatoes it can be more cost-efficient to buy
sacks of fresh potatoes and prepare them for boiling or frying than to
buy in chilled or frozen prepared chips or ready-peeled potatoes in
gas-flushed bags. Fresh potatoes will always give a better flavour and
buying by the sack give the kitchen control over which variety of
potato the customer is being offered.
Chefs think they get a more consistent product when they buy
ready-turned carrots, but they don’t – there is so
much urgency to churn out the volume and meet a competitive price that
buying ready-prepared vegetables can mean the kitchen does not know
what is being bought.
Ready-sliced meats are never going to be as fresh tasting as that
freshly sliced, packet fruit and vegetable juice cannot match that of
freshly squeezed. There is a very strong argument both on food quality
and food cost for a kitchen preparing fruit and vegetables in-house.
Food preparation processors
These are at the heart of food preparation equipment in the commercial
kitchen. Those sold into restaurant kitchens are much more advanced in
construction, versatility and robustness than the lightweight food
processors sold for the domestic market, which cannot deliver chopped
food acceptable on the restaurant plate. Expect to get a far wider
choice of cutting shapes, chopping features and mixing programmes than
anything offered in the domestic market. Motors are stronger, blades
sharper, speed of processing quicker. The accessories available can
produce any size or shape of fruit and vegetable a professional kitchen
would want.
Stick blenders
These are medium to heavy-duty versions of the domestic stick blender,
but are very much bigger and very powerful. They can pulse large
quantities of foods very quickly and have a wide range of uses, helping
sauce and puree making in every kitchen, from hospitals to Asian
restaurants.
Potato peelers
The theory of potato peelers has hardly altered in 50 years. The sides
of the chamber are gritted with a revolving gritted base plate, which
actually does 90% or the peeling work. The only real advance has been
in double-sided base plates, which feature a coarse grit for peeling
old potatoes and a lighter grit for soft-skinned new potatoes.
Choosing a potato peeler size is all dependent on daily throughput, but
do the calculation based on 75% of the stated capacity. Overfilling the
machine slows down the process, tends to throw squared potatoes and is
very wasteful. Another important working practice is to get the machine
running before putting the potatoes in. To load the machine before
switching on puts the motor under great strain to get moving against
the resistance of the potatoes.
Carrots will clean in a standard potato peeler, most manufacturers
offer a gentler base plate for skinning onions and salad baskets are
available for spinning off washed salads.
Gravity slicers
Their main use is for cutting fine slices of cooked or raw meats, for
fish, such as tuna and smoked salmon and other items such as cheese or
where the ingredient is too big to fit in a mandolin. With cooked
meats, the benefit is that whole cooked boneless joints can be used,
giving a fresher, juicier slice and far cheaper than buying pre-sliced.
Expensive meats such as dry-cured hams can be cut as wafers for use in
salads, as starters, part of a main course of for luxury sandwiches.
A gravity slicer can also be used for cutting wafer thin slices of raw
meat such as beef for producing items such as beef olives.
Food safety and food hygiene are extremely important issues with
gravity slicers. While cutting cooked meats without strong flavours
will not give cross-contamination, after cutting highly spiced or
garlicky meats, a careful wipe with a sterile cloth will keep following
foods pure.
A full cleaning cycle is essential between cutting raw and cooked food
to prevent a serious risk of bacterial infection and a full cleaning
must take place at the end of every kitchen service. Slicers are
extremely dangerous items of equipment and staff need structured
training on how to use and clean them.
Bowl mixers
Also called orbital mixers, these are useful for a bakery or patisserie
section of a kitchen and heavy mixing jobs in the main kitchen such as
mashing potato. If a kitchen wishes to bake its own bread, it may be
worth thinking about a dedicated dough-mixer, otherwise, a standard
bowl mixer will do both dough and batter beating.
Look After It!
Commercial food preparation equipment is manufactured for high
performance and long, hard use. That brings with it the temptation to
think it is so robust it does not need the same level of care as more
expensive and technically complex items in the kitchen such as the
combi-oven or the automatic coffee machine. Food preparation equipment
will last a long time and give consistent high performance, but only if
it is used properly and looked after properly. This is how to get the
best from some of the popular pieces of food preparation equipment.
Potato peelers – These are very low maintenance. The main
regular check to do is that water outflows are not clogged with
peelings. The electric motors in commercial potato peelers are built to
withstand long and regular use, but what can cause excess wear on the
motor is if the peeling tank is consistently overloaded with potatoes.
This not only puts strain on the motor, but will prevent the potatoes
from being peeled efficiently.
Eventually, the grit wheel or the walls of the tank will need
re-gritting. The time when needs to be done is for most kitchens
measured in years. To maintain food costs, when a potato peeler has
been re-gritted, kitchen staff need to be advised that peeling times
will be much shorter than they have been used to and a careful watch is
needed in the first few weeks of vegetable peeling to establish new,
shorter peeling times.
Gravity Slicers – These are almost always used for slicing
cooked foods, so thorough cleaning is not just looking after it
mechanically, but for food safety. Sharpening of slicing blades should
not be necessary through the lifetime of the unit unless raw meat
containing gristle and bone is regularly being cut. Even then, the
speed of the cutting wheel on a good quality slicer will be able to
perform with some slight dulling of the edge.
Stick blenders – These work tirelessly in pulverising sauces,
but the most common cause of motor burn-out is using too small a
blender for the food in the pan. Hand blenders are available in a wide
range of size and motor powers. To get long life from the blender, go
big. This is particularly true with pulsing heavy sauces. Beyond
cleaning, there is no maintenance needed on stick blenders.
Food processors – Providing a commercial model has been
bought, these are very easy to maintain. Blades are very robust and as
long as the right food is matched to the recommended blade there is
unlikely to be any maintenance problems. Even if a blade is being
regularly used to chop an unusually tough ingredient and becomes blunt,
replacement blades are available. It is good practise to retain one
fine chopping blade which is for chopping fine herbs such as parsley so
it remains sharp.
Bowl mixers –Commercial models are extremely reliable and can
be almost maintenance-free for many years apart from a regular safety
check and greasing of the gearing by a service engineer on a scheduled
visit. The main thing which will accelerate wear on the motor is
overloading or putting dense product on a high-speed action instead of
working through the gears until the mix becomes well broken. Care
should also be taken that if a safety guard is fitted to prevent hands
being put into the bowl during mixing that it is always working. For it
not to be could be a serious health and safety issue for employees.
In brief
Do
Clean gravity slicers daily
Periodically check the grit in peelers
Cut frozen food on a gravity slicer
Check for stove singeing on blender power cables
Allow food debris build-up on gravity slicers
Don’t
Overload potato peelers
Allow meat bones on a gravity slicer
Use low power blenders for high power jobs
Have faulty hand guards on bowl mixers
Allow peeler drains to become blocked
Understanding Food transport, Holding and Regeneration Systems
Service points are often some distance from the kitchen and food needs
to be kept hot between leaving the kitchen and presentation to the
customer. If the food has been pre-cooked and chilled the trolley needs
not only to transport the food under chill, but to also heat the food
back up to a safe and pleasant to eat temperature. Trolleys can
transport individual plated meals or bulk dishes.
While food transport, holding and regeneration systems are often
associated with public sector catering they offer huge benefits to the
profit sector. Function suites, hotels with banqueting suites,
conference centres, outside event caterers – anywhere that
food needs to be safely transported and either kept cool or re-heated
find them invaluable. While their image is of keeping food hot or
heating up food, many of them are just as good as keeping food cool.
There are different types of hot-holding food trolleys.
Mobile hot cupboard trolleys – These are well insulated which
maintains food temperature during transport to the service point and
have internal heating elements which can be plugged into an electricity
supply on arrival to main food temperature. Some have a steam
generation system which in addition to keeping the food hot, will keep
it moist, preventing drying out and skinning of sauces.
They can also provide a full meal service with options of a bains-marie
for hot sauces, over-counter lighting and service areas and an outward
finish which can make them look part of the board room furniture
Regeneration trolleys – These have a much more powerful
heating system. They are designed to accept chilled or frozen food,
keep it chilled during transport, then heat it back up to a safe and
pleasant serving temperature close to the point of service. They can
take either individual plated meals or bulk food dishes and the heating
process begins when the regeneration trolley is plugged in to an
electricity source close to the point of service.
The more advanced trolleys have split and insulated compartments so
that while food intended to be served hot is heated, that which needs
to be kept chilled, such as sandwiches, desserts and salads, is held at
chill temperature. Most of them will take food from chill to serving
temperature in one hour.
Big users of this regeneration trolley system are hospitals and
schools, where food may be prepared in a central production kitchen and
transported across a large site.
Thermal Boxes - Transportation boxes are insulated containers which can
range from units which hold just a few food boxes to those which are
capable of holding gastronorm-size containers and include a plug-in
heat facility. It is also possible to get them with a chilling mode for
transporting food under refrigeration.
The basic construction is normally a plastic case with a double skin
and a high density insulation between the skins. Commercial holding
boxes are far superior in construction and insulation properties to
leisure cool boxes, which should not be used for professional food
service.
Cleaning of the boxes is paramount, so examining for internal corners
where food debris may collect is important and it is very useful if the
box and lid can pass through a commercial dishwasher.
Features to look for when buying
What is the regeneration time? With a fleet of trolleys possibly in use
twice a day, a few minutes extra on regeneration time can add up to a
substantial additional energy cost over a year.
Have someone with a detailed knowledge of energy costing calculate the
cost of bringing food up to temperature. A trolley may have an
impressive heat-up time, but may be very heavy on energy use.
Examine the ease of cleaning on both hot-holding and regeneration
trolleys, which can be expressed as a labour cost in a viability plan.
Is there a good serving area on top of the trolley and are there
optional extras of a gantry and table extension for service?
Look after it!
Regeneration trolleys have been a major step forward in the last 10
years in delivering high-quality and hot food at every level of
foodservice, from banqueting to hospitals. Yet any item of equipment
which involves chilled food and reheating chilled food has to have a
double levels of preventative care. Care of the equipment itself and
care that the highest possible standards in food safety and hygiene are
maintained.
Every regeneration trolley should have a thorough cleaning after every
service. There are different systems in use which need different
cleaning routines, but the manufacturer will have clear cleaning
guidelines and all staff members should understand and follow them.
Food holding systems are similar to regeneration trolleys in that they
are usually transportable around a site, but their use is to keep hot
food hot without drying out, rather than bring frozen or chilled food
up to a serving temperature. The same high regard for thorough cleaning
is needed to remove any food debris, but since more advanced hot
holding trolleys may have steam injection to keep food moist and
prevent skinning and drying, the point where the steam comes in must
also be kept clean.
Regeneration trolleys are relatively trouble-free. The main point to
watch is that the thermostats and heating elements are correctly
working. Regular probing of food with a digital thermometer as part of
good handling practice will show if an engineer needs to visit as well
as being a requirement under HACCP.
The biggest cause of repairs to regeneration trolleys is miss-handling
by staff, bumping trolleys against each other or into solid objects
such as walls. Many trolleys are fitted with bumpers to cushion rough
handling, but there are always lots of protruding objects and surfaces
around a kitchen which can collide with dials and connection points on
the trolley if staff are careless with movement of the trolley.
Castors can also be subject to abuse by rapid movement over very uneven
floors. Castors are designed to last as long as the trolley and if one
needs replacing, then miss-use is almost certainly the reason.
In brief
Do
Thoroughly clean after each use
Keep castors lubricated
Regular temperature probe checks on cabinet heat displays
Use very hard water with steam injectors
Train staff on the correct way to transport trolleys
Don’t
Let mobile trolleys be moved while still plugged in
Overload beyond manufacturer’s recommendations
Knock into walls during transit
Run without any food in
Serve food until it has reached correct serving temperature
Understanding Heavyweight Food Production Equipment
For many caterers the demand on kitchen equipment is not just for
heavy-duty, but for high volumes. To meet this need, equipment
manufacturers produce a wide range of equipment that will cook large
volumes of food. Typical situations where high volume cooking is needed
is hospitals, universities, large banqueting operation, cook-chill
units and prisons.
However, manufacturers of high volume equipment have begun to realise
there is a demand for the same style of cooking equipment for slightly
lower volumes for large hotels, staff restaurants and residential
schools.
Bratt pans
A bratt pan gets its unusual name from the German word brat meaning to
fry, though they are not called bratt pans in German, but kippentopf,
meaning tilting pan and do far more than fry. Bratt pans are deep,
rectangular cooking pots with a counter-balanced pull down lid. The
heat source to the base of the pan can be gas or electric. They all
have a tilting feature, operated electrically or by a hand-driven
mechanism, so food that has been cooked can be poured into containers
through a “vee” in the top edge of the forward side.
Bratt pans are a versatile piece of high production equipment, able to
perform eight cooking functions: braising, boiling, steaming, poaching,
stewing, roasting, deep-fat frying and shallow frying. Not all bratt
pans are suitable for all eight functions, but looking at a model
specification sheet will show what is possible.
They can be used for multi-function cooking of one product, such as
browning-off meat with the pan set at a fry temperature with the lid
open, then liquid added, the temperature turned down and the lid closed
to softly braise. Soups and sauces can be similarly prepared using
multi-cooking temperature modes.
At the end of cooking the tilt feature is very useful for emptying the
contents out and helps wish washing the pan. Most bratt pans offer the
option of being plumbed in so that a swivel tap is connected to the
unit to allow water to be added both for adding liquid for the cooking
and for washing out.
In addition to bratt pans that work at normal atmospheric air pressure,
a more advanced version is a pressure bratt pan. This performs all the
same functions as a standard bratt pan, but the lid can be clamped
tightly shut for cooking at a higher water temperature than 100 deg C.
As with any pressure cooker, the increase in pressure means the food is
cooked much quicker and tenderised, so is very suitable for dishes
which use tougher cuts of meat. A pressure bratt pan can also be used
in atmospheric mode.
Boiling kettles
Boiling kettles work in a similar way to bratt pans in that they are
large multi-function heated cooking pans. The main differences are that
instead of the flat cooking bed of a bratt pan, the boiling kettle is
an upright cooking pot with an in-built heating system.
An added feature of most boiling kettles is that while they have a
tilting mechanism, they may also have a drain tap at the bottom of the
kettle. This will be a wide-mouthed tap from which wet dishes such as
sauces and soups can be drawn off with the need to tilt the kettle.
The popular use of boiling kettles is not actually to boil, but to
gently simmer dishes such as soups, sauces, custard or stews. There are
three types of heat source. It can be a direct heat applied to the
underside of the kettle, which can cause burning on thick sauces such
as custard. The more versatile heat source is indirect heating through
a water jacket, a double pan arrangement as with a bains marie. This
indirect water-based heat system can work with hot water or steam.
Burning of delicate sauces is virtually eliminated and the cooking and
holding process can go on with out constant attention.
Most boiling kettles will come plumbed-in with a swivel tap for adding
water for cooking and cleaning. They often come configured as a double
unit so that two products can be cooked from a single footprint.
How to find out more about Heavyweight Food Production Equipment
Email sales@justcatering.com
Web site www.justcatering.com
Email sales@justcooking.co.uk
Web site www.justcooking.co.uk
Email sales@justwaste.com
Web site www.justwaste.com
Email sales@justbars.com
Web site www.justbars.com
Understanding Kitchen knives
As with cooking pans, kitchen knives reflect designs and cooking
techniques that follow tradition in the part of the world where they
were developed. As with all professional kitchen equipment, quality is
reflected in the price.
The most common way of making a knife blade, bolster and tang is to
drop-forge it, which means putting a piece of red-hot stainless steel
in the lower half of a mould and stamping down on it with a huge force
to form the basis of the knife. Some manufacturers prefer to fuse
together three different grades of metal for the three parts of the
knife, believing that each part needs a different steel quality.
The blade is then tempered with heat to create extra hardness,
polished, fitted with a handle and sharpened. The higher quality the
steel, the sharper will be the edge and the longer it will remain
without needing re-sharpening. Low grade stainless steel kitchen knives
are unable to hold an edge much beyond first using and hand-steeling
will fail to bring back the edge. It pays in the long term to invest in
quality kitchen knives.
The traditional way to fit a handle is to rivet a solid handle in two
halves, but cheaper knives will come with a single-formed solid plastic
handle. A plastic handle is not always an indicator or poor quality
blade steel any more than riveted handles are a signal of high quality.
Balance is very important in kitchen knife construction. There should
be a good counter-balance between handle and blade so that the knife
sits level in the hand for quick and comfortable working.
There are basically two styles of kitchen knives; Eastern and Western.
Eastern style knives such as Japanese are made from very hard steel,
the blades are significantly thinner, producing a lighter weight knife
and the bevel angles are more acute. These knives will hold an edge for
longer, but will also take longer to sharpen. They are good for cutting
where accuracy is important, such as preparing Sushi or doing
decorative work.
The Japanese also make knives that incorporate a chisel grind. This is
a bevel on one side with the other side flat. These are usually made
from what is called sandwiched steels, where a hard steel for edge
retention is sandwiched between soft steel or even iron to provide
better toughness. They do an excellent job with Eastern style cooking
where there is much fine chopping, but their sharpness is also a
feature many Western chefs like.
Western knives are made from tough steel, but slightly softer than
Japanese knives which makes them easier to maintain a sharp edge on.
They tend to be thicker and heavier with a more obtuse bevel angle.
These are perfect for chopping and for those jobs where a heavier knife
is an advantage.
There are three types of steel used in kitchen knives
High carbon steel - An excellent material, providing toughness and the
ability to take a very sharp edge. However, carbon steel is not stain
resistant. It can rust and will discolour from use. After much use,
high carbon steel kitchen knife blades will actually become black. This
discoloration is purely cosmetic and does not affect the performance of
the knife in any way.
High carbon stainless steel - The most popular steel for kitchen
knives. It has a high content of carbon for hardness, but chromium and
nickel to keep it looking clean. High carbon stainless will take a
sharp edge and maintain it well.
Titanium enhanced knife blades will hold an edge longer than most other
steel alloys. The alloy mix allow the blades to be heat treated to a
high level of hardness. The blades are more flexible than standard
steel blades so work well for boning, and filleting.
Ceramic is not a steel at all, but a very hard ceramic material called
zirconium oxide. These blades are so hard that they will maintain a
sharp edge for months or years with no maintenance at all. On the
negative side, they are more brittle and they require diamond
sharpening tools to maintain.
Knife styles
The range of blade designs is very wide and this is just a selection of
the more widely-used blades designs and their use.
Cook’s knife - The basic kitchen knife for doing a wide range
of cutting and chopping jobs. It has a pointed blade and comes in a
wide range of blade sizes.
Turning knife - A short-bladed knife with a downward-pointed hooked end
which makes for easy turning of vegetables in the classic French style.
Scalloped edge - A long thin knife with a scalloped edge. The scallops
allows air to pass around the blade as it cuts very thin slices making
this blade style suitable for cutting cold meats or smoked salmon.
Serrated edge - The feature of serrated blades is that they tear as
well as cut. Narrow serrated blades are suitable for soft foods such as
tomatoes or cucumbers. Wide serrated blades are used for cutting hot
meats (carvery) and bread.
Fish filleting knife - This needs to be a thin slender and slightly
flexible blade to allow for filleting of flatfish such as turbot and
working around the skeletal frame of round fish such as cod.
Hachoirs or Mezzalunas - These are curved blades, usually double
bladed, but can be treble bladed, with a handle at either end. They are
the traditional way of finely chopping herbs, vegetables and meat. They
can come with a specially curved wood bowl to fit the cutter or just
rocked under pressure on a chopping board. The quality of the steel has
to be very good to maintain the edge for chopping herbs such as
parsley. However, their use is not so widespread now since food
processors have become popular. Some chefs will argue that a hachoir
properly cuts herbs and meats while a food processor pulverises them.
Sharpening them is not easy due to the closeness of the blades, another
reason to buy quality steel.
How to find out more about Kitchen Knives
Email sales@justcatering.com
Web site www.justcatering.com
Email sales@justcooking.co.uk
Web site www.justcooking.co.uk
Email sales@justwaste.com
Web site www.justwaste.com
Email sales@justbars.com
Web site www.justbars.com
Understanding Hot Holding Equipment
Warming cold food such as pies or sausage rolls or keeping food which
has been freshly cooked at serving temperature needs careful food
safety handling and the right equipment. It is not just about
maintaining the heat to help keep the food safe to eat, but to keep it
in a fresh condition.
Dry heat will keep food warm, but if the food is susceptible to drying
out, then dry heat will over a period of time fail to deliver food
items in the best condition. Foods with have a high moisture content
such as pasta dishes, or a high fat content such as pies and sausage
rolls, will keep well in dry heat cabinets. Food items such as cooked
chicken will hold over a short period of time in a dry heat display
cabinet, but are better stored in a cabinet that has a humidifier that
injects a small amount of moisture in the cabinet to prevent drying
out, but not induce sogginess.
Food can also be held hot in serving dishes using underneath heating
units or in the traditional chafing dishes which use spirit lamps for
heat. These are some of the ways in which food can be held hot.
Snack warmer cabinets
These are not just warming cabinets, but merchandisers, so the food
being held must appear attractive in order to assist sales. Apart from
an attractive cabinet with good all-round vision, lighting in the
cabinet will add to the appeal of the food. If the cabinet is fitted
with a humidifier, the foods in the cabinet will stay fresher and moist
for a much longer period than in a dry-heat only cabinet.
Humidifiers can be something as simple as a built-in water trough which
causes water vapour to be released into the cabinet. The more
sophisticated models will have atmospheric as well as temperature
automatic control. Check to see if there is a feature on the unit which
prevents misting up, preventing the food from being properly viewed.
Doors on two sides can be useful in self-service situations, with food
being loaded from the back and the customer taking from the front.
Chafing dishes
These the traditional way of serving hot food at a self-service buffet.
They should be gastronorm compatible to allow for a full tray of food
to be inserted over the water bath. A spirit lamp underneath the unit
keeps the water hot, but it is possible to get electrically heated
chafing dishes. These are potentially safer, but there is less mobility
with the need for a power socket.
Cheap chafing dishes will have lift-off lids, which are awkward for the
customer. Better units will have a roll-over lid allowing the customer
to hold a plate with one hand and a serving spoon with the other.
Electric heat pads
These are flat pads with an electric heating element inside. The base
should be insulated to prevent undue heat loss, but it may still be
necessary to place a protective mat underneath if
the pad is sited on wood. The advantage of them is that food that has
been prepared in an oven dish such as fish pie that cannot easily be
transferred into a chafing dish can be on the menu.
While standard electric heating elements are the norm, it is now
possible to get heat pads which work using induction heating. While the
heat can be set high for theatre cooking in front of the customer, some
have a hold-only mode which just emits a gentle heat.
Hot cupboards
Traditionally, these would be fixed units in the kitchen into which
plated hot meals would be placed in stacks separated by a plate ring
with a top cover on top to help prevent drying out.
While fixed hot cupboards are still widely available, they are much
more versatile if they are on castors with a brake mechanism. The
shelving arrangement can be flexible, with many shelves to take single
plates or to use the stacking system. Gastronorm size compatibility is
useful for keeping batches of food warm.
The top can be a solid work surface or have dry or wet heated bains
marie so that things such as saucing, gravy or custard can be added at
the point of delivery to prevent skinning.
Ease of cleaning is very important, as food debris not wiped up is a
serious food hygiene risk. There is often a range of accessories for
hot cupboards, including tray slides, sneeze screens and digital
temperature display.
How do I find out more about Keeping Food Hot?
Email sales@justcatering.com
Web site www.justcatering.com
Email sales@justcooking.co.uk
Web site www.justcooking.co.uk
Email sales@justwaste.com
Web site www.justwaste.com
Email sales@justbars.com
Web site www.justbars.com
Prime cooking equipment
Down to Basics
The Catering Equipment Suppliers Association (CESA) has drawn up the
following basic explanation of the main cooking equipment in a
professional kitchen.
(Note: Combi-ovens, ranges, microwaves and fryers are covered in
separate guides)
Convection ovens
While many ovens underneath cooking ranges rely solely on the natural
convection of hot air in the oven cavity to spread the heat, in a
convection oven, the heat is spread very evenly around the cavity by
means of an electric fan built into the wall of the oven. This gives
very even cooking for all foods, but it is especially important in
bakery and dessert work where evenness of temperature is critical.
Because the heat is forced around the oven cavity, cooking is faster,
so on standard recipes either the cooking time or the temperature needs
reducing. While a combi-oven will perform all the functions of a
convection oven, if a lot of dry air baking and roasting is done, it
pays to buy a convection oven to free up the combi-oven for cooking
tasks which require its steaming function.
Key points to look for
Is there a humidifier feature that will inject a moderate amount of
steam to aid crisping on baked goods?
Is there variable fan speed to allow for cooking delicate goods?
Is there a timer/programming facility?
Will it do cook and hold?
Grills and salamanders
These are two words for the same item of equipment and there are two
types available. The conventional grill is usually gas powered in the
UK, but electric models are available. Some have variable heat settings
that adjust the cooking temperature, but raising or lowering the grill
tray with the heat full on is the usual method as this keeps
cooking even. An additional item popular for meat grilling is a
branding plate. This is a ridged cast ironplate that sits on the grill
pan. When a piece of meat is put on the brander plate it cooks from
both sides and has a char-grilled appearance.
The less common type of grill is a pull-down grill. These are usually
electric and work the reverse of a conventional grill. The grill plate
is static while the radiant head is pulled down towards the food. They
are popular for gratineeing and browning cheese-topped dishes.
Key points to look for
Cleaning is a big headache with grills. See how easily it strips down
and to remove traces of carbonised food and fat.
Griddles and char-grills
Griddles are a very simple item of cooking equipment, popular for
breakfast preparation, burgers and any thin food items, but are slow to
cook thick portions of meat such as steaks or chops. There are two
surfaces to choose from. Steel is the cheaper and most popular, either
as carbon steel or stainless steel. Chromed griddles cook the same, but
tend to be less prone to food sticking and are easier to keep clean.
Char-grills are popular for the barbecue look and taste they bring to
meat, fish and vegetables. There are two popular systems of delivering
the heat, almost always coming from gas. Lava rock is the most common
and gives a traditional barbecue taste and smell. Its drawbacks are
that the lava rock can become impregnated with food, which when it
burns off creates a lot of smoke in the kitchen and distribution of the
lava rock has to be very level to give even cooking when the char-grill
is full.
The other system is not to use lava rock at all, but to have
upward-facing gas jets that are shielded by a protective steel shroud
to prevent fat falling into the jets and clogging them. As the fat
falls onto the hot protective covers, it carbonises and gives of the
smoke that brings the barbecue flavour. This system is easier to clean.
Key points to look for
With griddles, check how easy it is to clean the fat chute and
collection tray and ensure the heat settings meet the purpose for which
you mainly intend to use it. Check the uniformity of heat across the
full cooking surface. If you need it, see if there is both manual heat
control and thermostatic control.
With char-grills, cleaning is a big issue, ensure there is easy access
for cleaning. See if there is a split level facility to enable part of
the grill irons to
be lifted for cooking more delicate foods or those which require longer
cooking time.
Steamers
Steamers lost some popularity with the advent of combi-ovens, but are a
very useful item of equipment where a lot of steaming is done in the
kitchen such as with fish, vegetables or steamed puddings. Having a
dedicated steamer prevents tying up the combi-oven for long periods of
steaming when it is needed for other cooking modes.
There are two types of steamer. A pressureless steamer cooks with steam
at normal atmospheric pressure and is very gentle for items such as
fish. A pressure steamer is like a domestic pressure cooker, working
with a sealed chamber that allows the steam temperature to rise, so
cooking faster and able to tenderise tough cuts of meat.
How do I find out more about prime cooking equipment?
Email sales@justcatering.com
Web site www.justcatering.com
Email sales@justcooking.co.uk
Web site www.justcooking.co.uk
Email sales@justwaste.com
Web site www.justwaste.com
Email sales@justbars.com
Web site www.justbars.com
Understanding Refrigeration
A fridge is an insulated cabinet with an electric pump or a compressor
which moves a refrigerant liquid around the cooling bars. When the door
is opened, the cold air falls out to be replaced by warm air in the
kitchen, which triggers the pump to circulate the refrigerant liquid
and cool down the internal temperature and keep the food safe.
Domestic fridges and commercial fridge look similar, but are not. With
a domestic fridge, the power of the compressor is designed around the
few number of times a domestic fridge door is opened during the day. A
quite modestly-powered compressor will be able to cope with the heat
loss without food safety risks. The construction of both the cabinet
and the motor is only robust enough for light domestic use, so used in
a commercial environment, not only do they pose a food safety hazard,
they need replacing far more often than commercial fridges, so are not
even cost effective.
With a commercial specification fridge in a busy working kitchen, the
door is going to be opened very regularly and probably be exposed to a
far hotter kitchen. The compressor needs to be powerful enough to
rapidly pull down the internal fridge temperature to replace heat loss.
Most commercial fridges also incorporate fans which evenly spread the
cool air through the cabinet, a feature domestic fridges do not have.
Commercial fridges are better insulated, designed for easy cleaning and
some are able to electronically record temperatures which can be used
as proof of due diligence in food safety procedures should a food
poising claim be made. As well as freestanding fridges it is also
possible to get walk-in fridges which can be built to fit a specific
kitchen area.
Freezers
Commercial freezers share all the high specification features of
commercial fridges and should always be used for the same performance,
food safety and cost efficiency reasons.
Blast chillers and freezers
These are refrigeration cabinets which use fiercely-driven cold air to
rapidly pull-down the temperature of hot food so it can be safely
stored either in chilled or frozen form for future re-heating. Allowing
foods to cool without refrigeration can be extremely dangerous as it
will allow harmful bacteria to develop during the long cooling process.
Cooling hot foods in a fridge already containing chilled food is also
very dangerous as it will raise the temperature of all the food in the
fridge and pose a food safety risk. Any kitchen which wants to have
pre-cooked, chilled food as a major part of the provision must have
blast refrigeration.
How to choose the right fridge or freezer
Talk to a manufacturer who will look at the type of operation you are
running, the mix of fresh, chilled and frozen food you serve, the
volume of meals you are preparing. This will identify the capacity of
unit you need and the power of it. It is the same with ice cube needs
– let someone else do the specification sums. The advice will
be free.
Look After It!
The outward construction of a piece of refrigeration equipment appear
simple, but while operation seem trouble free, miss-use can lead to
under-performance and add unnecessary cost to maintenance bills as much
as any other equipment in the kitchen.
Overloading shelves and above marked levels in a refrigeration cabinet
will affect performance with the potential to interrupt the cold
airflow. Commercial fridges should always be fitted with circulatory
fans, but if food is pushed up against the fan, the cold air is not
going to circulate properly. This is not just a food safety issue, but
can cause the fridge fan to run faster than it needs to leading to the
possibility or replacement earlier than should be.
The siting of any refrigeration equipment is important. Fridges
designed for use in temperate climates such as the UK and most of
Europe work on a maximum ambient temperature of 28 deg C. That means
that while the atmosphere in the kitchen will always fluctuate
according to he cooking going on and the outside temperature, the
thermometer does not rise above 28 deg C.
If it does, then the compressor in the fridge, which is the motor that
pumps the cooling fluid around the cooling bars, will be overworked.
This could lead to premature burn out of the compressor and have a food
safety risk. Where ever practical, refrigeration units should be sited
away from direct cooking heat.
It is good working practice to regularly check the temperature of the
fridge using a digital thermometer. A service engineer will do this as
routine, but if the fridge is beginning to lose power, then the
engineer will need to be called out quickly to prevent food from the
risk of contamination. Many commercial fridges have digital temperature
displays, but it is still useful to perform this occasional check.
As part of the regular thorough cleaning of the kitchen, include using
an appropriate attachment to a vacuum cleaner to clean the area around
the compressor if it is accessible. This will prevent excess dust and
fluff from getting inside the compressor and being a damage risk.
Because of the constant opening and closing of fridge doors, door seals
will wear out. A damaged door seal will force the compressor to work
harder than its needs to, which apart from anything else will increase
energy use. The service engineer will check them on a routine
inspection, but it should be part of a fridge clean-down to inspect the
seals for any sign of damage. It will also prolong the life of door
seals if staff are encouraged to close doors and not slam them shut.
In brief
Do
Check and clean door seals weekly
Clean up spillages immediately
Visually check compressor fins and vents monthly
Defrost freezers to manufacturers’ instructions
Check working temperature monthly
Don’t
Overload the fridge
Allow fans to be obstructed
Leave the door open
Put hot food in
Slam doors
How to find out more about refrigeration equipment
Email sales@justcatering.com
Web site www.justcatering.com
Email sales@justcooking.co.uk
Web site www.justcooking.co.uk
Email sales@justwaste.com
Web site www.justwaste.com
Email sales@justbars.com
Web site www.justbars.com
Understanding Refrigeration
A fridge is an insulated cabinet with an electric pump or a compressor
which moves a refrigerant liquid around the cooling bars. When the door
is opened, the cold air falls out to be replaced by warm air in the
kitchen, which triggers the pump to circulate the refrigerant liquid
and cool down the internal temperature and keep the food safe.
Domestic fridges and commercial fridge look similar, but are not. With
a domestic fridge, the power of the compressor is designed around the
few number of times a domestic fridge door is opened during the day. A
quite modestly-powered compressor will be able to cope with the heat
loss without food safety risks. The construction of both the cabinet
and the motor is only robust enough for light domestic use, so used in
a commercial environment, not only do they pose a food safety hazard,
they need replacing far more often than commercial fridges, so are not
even cost effective.
With a commercial specification fridge in a busy working kitchen, the
door is going to be opened very regularly and probably be exposed to a
far hotter kitchen. The compressor needs to be powerful enough to
rapidly pull down the internal fridge temperature to replace heat loss.
Most commercial fridges also incorporate fans which evenly spread the
cool air through the cabinet, a feature domestic fridges do not have.
Commercial fridges are better insulated, designed for easy cleaning and
some are able to electronically record temperatures which can be used
as proof of due diligence in food safety procedures should a food
poising claim be made. As well as freestanding fridges it is also
possible to get walk-in fridges which can be built to fit a specific
kitchen area.
Freezers
Commercial freezers share all the high specification features of
commercial fridges and should always be used for the same performance,
food safety and cost efficiency reasons.
Blast chillers and freezers
These are refrigeration cabinets which use fiercely-driven cold air to
rapidly pull-down the temperature of hot food so it can be safely
stored either in chilled or frozen form for future re-heating. Allowing
foods to cool without refrigeration can be extremely dangerous as it
will allow harmful bacteria to develop during the long cooling process.
Cooling hot foods in a fridge already containing chilled food is also
very dangerous as it will raise the temperature of all the food in the
fridge and pose a food safety risk. Any kitchen which wants to have
pre-cooked, chilled food as a major part of the provision must have
blast refrigeration.
How to choose the right fridge or freezer
Talk to a manufacturer who will look at the type of operation you are
running, the mix of fresh, chilled and frozen food you serve, the
volume of meals you are preparing. This will identify the capacity of
unit you need and the power of it. It is the same with ice cube needs
– let someone else do the specification sums. The advice will
be free.
Look After It!
The outward construction of a piece of refrigeration equipment appear
simple, but while operation seem trouble free, miss-use can lead to
under-performance and add unnecessary cost to maintenance bills as much
as any other equipment in the kitchen.
Overloading shelves and above marked levels in a refrigeration cabinet
will affect performance with the potential to interrupt the cold
airflow. Commercial fridges should always be fitted with circulatory
fans, but if food is pushed up against the fan, the cold air is not
going to circulate properly. This is not just a food safety issue, but
can cause the fridge fan to run faster than it needs to leading to the
possibility or replacement earlier than should be.
The siting of any refrigeration equipment is important. Fridges
designed for use in temperate climates such as the UK and most of
Europe work on a maximum ambient temperature of 28 deg C. That means
that while the atmosphere in the kitchen will always fluctuate
according to he cooking going on and the outside temperature, the
thermometer does not rise above 28 deg C.
If it does, then the compressor in the fridge, which is the motor that
pumps the cooling fluid around the cooling bars, will be overworked.
This could lead to premature burn out of the compressor and have a food
safety risk. Where ever practical, refrigeration units should be sited
away from direct cooking heat.
It is good working practice to regularly check the temperature of the
fridge using a digital thermometer. A service engineer will do this as
routine, but if the fridge is beginning to lose power, then the
engineer will need to be called out quickly to prevent food from the
risk of contamination. Many commercial fridges have digital temperature
displays, but it is still useful to perform this occasional check.
As part of the regular thorough cleaning of the kitchen, include using
an appropriate attachment to a vacuum cleaner to clean the area around
the compressor if it is accessible. This will prevent excess dust and
fluff from getting inside the compressor and being a damage risk.
Because of the constant opening and closing of fridge doors, door seals
will wear out. A damaged door seal will force the compressor to work
harder than its needs to, which apart from anything else will increase
energy use. The service engineer will check them on a routine
inspection, but it should be part of a fridge clean-down to inspect the
seals for any sign of damage. It will also prolong the life of door
seals if staff are encouraged to close doors and not slam them shut.
In brief
Do
Check and clean door seals weekly
Clean up spillages immediately
Visually check compressor fins and vents monthly
Defrost freezers to manufacturers’ instructions
Check working temperature monthly
Don’t
Overload the fridge
Allow fans to be obstructed
Leave the door open
Put hot food in
Slam doors
How to find out more about refrigeration equipment
Email sales@justcatering.com
Web site www.justcatering.com
Email sales@justcooking.co.uk
Web site www.justcooking.co.uk
Email sales@justwaste.com
Web site www.justwaste.com
Email sales@justbars.com
Web site www.justbars.com
Understanding Pizza Equipment
Pizza represents huge business for caterers. It provides a focused
menu, fast throughput of customers, has global appeal and does require
the kind of kitchen staff training that a full service restaurant
needs. There is also a range of dedicated kitchen equipment available
which makes preparation and cooking of pizzas consistent and quick.
Dough mixers
There are three types of mixers - planetary, spiral and vertical cutter
mixers. The spiral mixer has a large bowl and an agitator that looks
like a giant corkscrew. These are excellent for mixing dough, but some
do not have attachments for additional preparation work such as sauce
preparation, cheese grating or chopping vegetable toppings.
Vertical Cutter Mixers
These are high speed mixers with agitator speeds at about 1700 rpm. The
dough mixing times for vertical cutters is between 75 to 120 seconds.
This is useful if you like to mix your dough fresh during the day
rather than a large batch done ahead of opening time. This type of
mixer can also be used to grate cheese, but is not recommended for
sauces because they can pulverise items such as chunky tomato sauce.
Planetary Mixers
A planetary mixer consists of a large bowl for ingredients and a dough
hook agitator that stirs the dough. There is also usually an attachment
point for driving a grater or vegetable preparation equipment. The
planetary action causes the agitator to move in a figure-eight motion,
allowing the dough to uniformly mix.
Rolling and forming
Low volume outlets can weigh out a doughball and roll with a wooden pin
doing work and turn to fit the baking dish or required diameter.
Hand-tossing is wonderful cooking theatre, but requires great skill by
the pizza chef.
Using mechanical presses gives a uniform shape and thickness. There are
three types of mechanical pizza press, the sheet roller, the cold press
and the hot press. The sheet roller is a type of pastry roller, through
which dough is fed to produce a large flat sheet. A hand cutter is then
used to cut out the required diameter of pizza dough and the leftover
dough goes back into the roller. This is for very high volumes of fresh
pizza.
A cold dough press has a portion of dough placed on a baking dish and
the dough is pressed to shape. Cold pressing gives a very uniform crumb
structure, more like a bread than a crispy thin pizza. Hot pressing
forms a skin on the pizza dough, which can allow for a rising up of the
edges (deep-pan) and give a more crispy finished base after cooking
than cold pressing does.
Refrigerated preparation tables
These are essential for any busy pizza operation. They combine three
things for speed and food safety. There is a flat surface for working,
usually in stainless steel but can be in granite or Corian, which is an
acrylic polymer which has many of the features of granite. At the back
of the work surface should be pick-bins, which will contain all the
ready-prepared toppings such as onion, tomato base, olives, ham, etc,
and all within reach for the pizza maker. Below
the preparation surface will be refrigerated drawers for items that
need keeping under refrigeration, such as extra cheeses, speciality
ham, tuna, prawns, etc, as well as dough balls for rolling out. Most
pizza preparation units are standard zero-plus refrigeration, but it is
possible to get them with both freezer and refrigerated compartments.
Pizza Ovens
The way the pizza is cooked is as important to the finished quality of
the pizza as is the dough. There are traditional stone ovens and
high-speed ovens – the choice is as much about the volumes
needed as the style of pizza offering and restaurant ambience. The
fastest type of pizza oven is the conveyor oven, either radiated heat
or forced hot air (impinger ovens), both of which are covered in the
fast food cooking systems section of this guide. These are the fastest
ways to cook pizzas from scratch, but they may not deliver the final
taste, appearance and restaurant atmosphere the high end of pizza
restaurants want.
There are two speciality pizza ovens, the deck oven and the traditional
stone oven.
Traditional stone ovens
Open brick ovens are wonderful theatre reminiscent of old Naples and
produce a pizza with a great taste and crispness, but require more
effort and experience by the operator. They can come as wood-fired, gas
or electric ovens.
The taste varies from pizzas cooked in conveyors because the pizza is
placed directly on the cooking surface and bakes the bottom crust
differently. Another difference in the crust is that the bottom is
usually coated with flour or cornmeal to prevent the pizza from
sticking to the surface, which adds a different texture, appearance and
taste.
Stone baking surfaces have several advantages. Because pizza is best
cooked from the bottom up to get a crispy crust and cook toppings,
stone works well. Stone holds heat on the surface better than metal, so
less heat is lost in cooking. Another advantage to stone is that it
absorbs oils and moisture that is released from pizzas making them
dryer. These ovens can be used for much more than pizza, such as
toasting the surface of a lasagne, making garlic bread or cooking meat
and fish in a cooking dish.
Pizzas cooked in wood-fired ovens look and can taste different and are
generally darker in colour than those cooked in other styles of ovens.
Partly because they absorb some of the smoke, depending on the type of
wood used, and the bottom crusts tend to be a little crispier because
of the intense heat of the cooking stone.
Deck ovens
These are multi-level conventional-style ovens each with their own
door. There may be as few as two decks or as many as five or even more.
This allows many pizzas to be cooked in the one unit with different
start and finish times. Because they are for pizza production, each
oven is quite shallow. The base is usually stone or ceramic tile, so
the effect on the finished pizza is similar to the traditional. They
are controlled in the same way as a conventional oven and have a door
to keep the heat in.
How do I find out more about Pizza Production?
Email sales@justcatering.com
Web site www.justcatering.com
Email sales@justcooking.co.uk
Web site www.justcooking.co.uk
Email sales@justwaste.com
Web site www.justwaste.com
Email sales@justbars.com
Web site www.justbars.com
Understanding
Microwave Ovens
Microwave ovens are a hugely important part of every professional
kitchen. As a standard microwave-only oven they can perform essential
functions such as safely re-heating frozen or chilled food, which is at
the heart of many menus in informal dining restaurants and pubs or in
room-service for hotels.
Where they get much more versatile in when they become a combination
microwave oven. The combination is the addition of convection hot air
and a grill. This transforms a simple re-heating cabinet into a
multi-function cooking oven. Jacket potatoes can be softened then
crisped, pastry dishes can be reheated and crisped, in fact almost all
of the functions of a standard oven can be performed in the combination
microwave oven. The main limitation is of load capacity and the absence
of steam in a standard-size microwave oven. Although it is possible to
buy a combi-oven which incorporates microwave energy.
A general rule of thumb is that microwave only is for re-heating,
combination microwave ovens are for reheating and primary cooking.
There is a minority view among caterers that all microwave ovens are
the same, the only difference between commercial ovens and domestic
ovens being the power and price. This is completely untrue. There are
clear cooking, construction and food safety differences between
microwave ovens designed for domestic use and those designed for the
professional kitchen.
Domestic microwave ovens are often low power, which means they will
take far longer to reheat, defrost or cook food than a commercial oven.
While domestic ovens have a power rating from 600 watts to 900 watts,
commercial microwave ovens can be up to 2000 watts. The term watts is a
unit of measurement for the heating power of a microwave oven.
The device which produces the energy waves which heat food in a
microwave oven is called a magnetron. Domestic microwave ovens usually
just have a single magnetron while commercial microwave ovens usually
have two magnetrons which are built to a higher specification, making
them faster, more efficient and longer lasting.
A commercial build microwave oven is built to withstand hard use every
day, while a domestic is designed to be used just a couple of times a
day, which repeated use of a domestic microwave oven can lead to a loss
of power with the associated food safety risks.
Microwave energy needs to be evenly spread around the oven cavity to
ensure that all parts of the food inside are safely heated. Where
chilled or frozen food is not thoroughly heated, harmful bacteria
within the food is unlikely to be killed, risking food poisoning. Many
domestic microwave ovens use simple turntables to try to distribute the
microwave heat, while commercial microwave ovens have sophisticated
heat mixing systems in the oven cavity.
The casing of most domestic microwave ovens is painted mild steel which
will chip, corrode and cause food safety hazards. Most professional
microwave oven have casings made with hard-wearing stainless steel
which is easy to keep clean and will not corrode. Commercial microwave
oven are likely to have far more sophisticated cooking programmes,
often push-button pre-sets, so staff can reheat properly and easily
every time. The oven cavity size on a commercial microwave is usually
based around the gastronorm system, making it easier to accommodate
industry standard sized food dishes.
Most commercial microwave ovens have a cavity space of ½
gastronorm, but they are also available in 2/3 gastronorm and full-size
gastronorm.
Manufacturers group commercial microwaves into four power bands.
Light-duty - The oven will have a power ranging between 900 watts and
1100 watts. This is suitable for use where demands are light, such as a
café, satellite kitchen or petrol filling station.
Medium-duty – A power rating of 1100 to 1500 watts,
proportionately more robustly built than a light-duty oven and suitable
for restaurants where the microwave is only in occasional use, busy
cafes, pubs or leisure centres.
Heavy-duty – Powered from 1500 to 1900 watts and the most
popular power range used in catering. Suitable for busy pubs, hotels,
busy restaurants or staff catering. Built to withstand hard and heavy
use.
Extra heavy-duty – these are usually where large quantities
of food are needed to be reheated quickly rather than just individual
portions. They can take up to a full gastronorm tray. While all other
power bands are connected to a 13amp socket, this very heavy duty oven
will need hard wiring into the mains.
While the general rule is the high the wattage the faster the food will
be heated, much beyond 2000 watts and food risks being burned on the
outside before it is heated on the inside.
Look After It!
Microwaves oven can become quite dirty with food debris during a
service and a full clean-down every day is essential to maintain food
hygiene. Cleaning materials should only be those recommended by the
manufacturer.
Regular safety and maintenance checks in accordance with
manufacturers’ instructions are vitally important with
microwave ovens. Any slight drop in power output and food will begin to
be incorrectly re-heated, disappointing customers and presenting a food
safety hazard.
Looking after a microwave oven is not difficult and they are one of the
more reliable pieces of cooking equipment in the kitchen, but not
without some look-after rules. Regular and thorough cleaning is the No.
1 rule of microwave ovens. The intense heat they put into food
inevitably leads to some food spatter around the oven cavity.
If this is not wiped out regularly, but left, it will bake on with the
heat of the microwave energy and give an even greater cleaning problem.
Kitchen staff using a microwave oven should be trained to wipe off any
spillage or spattering as soon as the food item has been taken from the
microwave. At the end of shift the microwave needs a thorough wipe down
with a detergent on a non-abrasive cloth, then sanitising.
Non-abrasive cloths are very important, as the internal coating on the
cavity of a microwave oven is tough, but not resistant to constant
scratching. If the internal cavity walls become scored or damaged, then
the repair might be so expensive that it will call to question whether
to repair or replace. Both questions would not arise with careful use.
The exterior casing of a commercial microwave oven is usually stainless
steel, but there will also be plastic or toughened glass used in fascia
panels and controls. The exterior can withstand a tougher scrub, but if
the oven exterior is regular cleaned at the end of a shift there should
be no need to.
Beyond regular cleaning and careful cleaning, there is little to go
wrong with a commercial microwave oven. Repairs are usually caused by
operator miss-handling, either rough cleaning or damage to door hinges
and closures through constant slamming. A microwave oven is like any
item of kitchen equipment in that the door will prematurely break down
through slamming abuse. Staff should be trained to know that a positive
push closes the door of a microwave oven just as effectively as a heavy
slam.
It is easy to think that the simplicity of operation of a microwave
oven means there is not the need for a high maintenance schedule as
there might on kitchen equipment using water and gas. Professional
microwave ovens are relatively low in maintenance costs, but they must
never be excluded from the regular maintenance cycle. It only takes a
service engineer a few minutes to check for leakage of microwaves
through door seals, but it is a vital part of regular maintenance for
staff safety and efficient operation.
Take care not to operate the oven with little or no food in it
– this will reduce the life of the magnetron which is the
component that produces the microwave energy.
In brief
Do
Clean regularly, but gently
Avoid letting food debris burn
Have the oven regularly serviced
Train staff on the fire hazards
Allow for proper rear ventilation
Don’t
Slam doors
Use metal containers
Scratch the insides
Use abrasive cleaners
Run the oven without food
How to learn more about microwave ovens
Email sales@justcatering.com
Web site www.justcatering.com
Email sales@justcooking.co.uk
Web site www.justcooking.co.uk
Email sales@justwaste.com
Web site www.justwaste.com
Email sales@justbars.com
Web site www.justbars.com
Understanding Kitchen Ventilation
In the kitchen, a ventilation system removes heat and grease coming
from cooking equipment, steam from ware washing and boiling and
dangerous carbon monoxide fumes produced from the combustion of gas
cooking equipment. Front of house, a ventilation system removes smoke,
keeps the restaurant or bar at a pleasant temperature and reduces
humidity. Externally, it can remove cooking smells, which are being
discharged into the atmosphere to the annoyance of other businesses or
houses in the vicinity.
A kitchen ventilation system, incorporating extract and supply air is
not an optional extra any more, but a legal requirement. Legislation
regarding health and safety in the workplace insist on kitchens being
well-ventilated and comfortable to work in. This is not met by just
opening a window or door, which in itself would give access to airborne
pollution. Tobacco smoke in public areas is a huge issue both for
customers and staff. Any cooking smells being discharged into the
outside is not just a nuisance to neighbours, but also a reason to be
refused planning permission for any kitchen redevelopment or the
subject of an enforcement notice for an existing kitchen.
It is now a requirement to comply with BS-6173 to have the gas supply
interlocked with both the extract and supply air systems. This
automatically switches off the gas supply should the extraction system
stop working for any reason and a fire occur in the extraction canopy.
There are two main types of kitchen ventilation, canopy or ventilated
ceiling. Canopies are the most popular in commercial kitchens. Both
systems involved a system of filters and fans, exhausting the heat,
dangerous gases and humidity and trapping particles of food and fat
debris while at the same time introducing cleaned and cooler air into
the kitchen.
The system to fit depends on the nature of the kitchen operation, the
available space and nature of the cooking. One of the variable features
of a kitchen ventilation system is the type of filtering system used to
remove food debris, notably grease. Grease is not just an unwanted
smell; it is also a high fire risk within the extraction systems. There
are six types of grease filter available.
Mesh filters – These are layers of metal mesh onto which the
grease particles are deposited as they are drawn through the system.
They require regular washing, are not efficient at removing high levels
of grease and in a high-fat kitchen can pose a fire risk in the
extraction system. These types of filters should only be used where
there will be little or no grease held in suspension within the exhaust
gases, therefore, these filters should not be installed above deep fat
fryers, chargrills, griddles, salamander grills or bratt pans to be
used for shallow frying. Cleaning of these filters is done by soaking
them in very hot water with a de-greasing detergent, although this will
eventually destroy the internal mesh and require the filter to be
replaced.
Baffle filters – More efficient than mesh filters, as they
work by making the air change direction and velocity, which separates
the grease from the air stream with the deposited grease running off
into grease collection troughs. These types of filters are suitable for
general cooking with moderate grease load applications. These filters
should only be manufactured from stainless steel. Cleaning procedure is
very simple as they can be simply washed in a commercial dish washing
machine.
Cartridge filters – These types of filters should not be
confused with disposable filters, as disposable filters should never be
used in commercial kitchen extract systems. Cartridge filters are
stainless steel filters, which are more efficient than baffle filters
as they are intended for moderate to heavy grease load applications.
These types of filters will be cleaned, like the baffle filters, by
running through a commercial dishwashing machine.
Water wash – A more advanced cartridge system where the
filters are subject to an automatic internal washing cycle to clean
them, usually at the end of the working day. They need a hot water
supply and are among the more expensive systems, but are very good at
extracting grease.
Continuous water mist - Regarded as one of the most effective of grease
extraction systems, but requires plumbing and is expensive. There is a
continuous mist of cold water sprayed into the extraction system that
emulsifies the fats and causes it to drop into a collection trough.
Ultra Violet UV-C - The latest technology for the efficient elimination
of grease from within kitchen ventilation systems is the combination of
Cartridge filters and Ultra Violet UV-C light. This will give grease
and odour removal efficiencies in excess of 98%.
Fire risk
The large amount of grease drawn into a kitchen ventilation system
creates a fire risk. One of the most common causes of commercial
kitchen fires is through sudden combustion of grease-laden air in the
extraction system. It can happen very quickly with no obvious cause to
the kitchen staff. Where more than moderate grease extraction is
happening, a fire suppression system needs to be built into the
ventilation system.
Most fire suppression systems use either wet or dry chemicals that are
activated automatically in the event of a fire, which originates in any
one item of cooking equipment. In the event of a fire in the
ventilation system, there should be a trigger mechanism that shuts off
gas and electricity supplies to prevent making the fire worse. The
Association of British Insurers has produced a Fire Risk Assessment
document for kitchen ventilation systems.
Cleaning
Cleaning of extraction systems is essential on both hygiene and fire
safety grounds. If there is a high level of frying within the kitchen
the essential cleaning may be as frequent as weekly. The kitchen
designer or installer will advise on the frequency of cleaning. Failure
to follow laid-down ventilation system cleaning routines could render
insurance invalid in the event of a kitchen fire.
How to find out more about ventilation and air conditioning equipment
Email sales@justcatering.com
Web site www.justcatering.com
Email sales@justcooking.co.uk
Web site www.justcooking.co.uk
Email sales@justwaste.com
Web site www.justwaste.com
Email sales@justbars.com
Web site www.justbars.com
Understanding Waste Management
Kitchen waste has a double hit on kitchen costs. Food not sold and
thrown away immediately hits the bottom line of profit, but the second
hit is the charge of removal for both kitchen waste and plate waste.
Most local authorities will charge for both packaging and food waste
removal and waste cooking oil often carries a removal and recycling
cost from specialist oil recycling companies.
There is not uniformity across the UK with waste disposal regulations
and different local authorities and water companies have conflicting
policies. But one aspect of food waste management common to all is that
food waste cannot go for animal feed as it once did.
While not always illegal, tipping old cooking oil into the sewerage
system is a serious pollution and if it caused a mains drain blockage
leading from a kitchen, the restaurant could be charged for cleaning
and repairs to the drain by the local authority. Some water authorities
take a harder view than others on it. It is a feature of most local
authority building regulations for commercial food premises that a
grease separation system be fitted in all new or refurbished kitchens,
but the legislation is not retrospective.
While plastic sacks are adequate for non-food waste in small premises,
no waste food should ever be stored in plastic sacks which vermin can
easily tear open. The most practical means of holding all waste not
destined for recycling are heavy-duty wheelie bins with lids that are
too heavy for vermin, feral cats, dogs and foxes to lift. Wheelie bins
come in a range of sizes and can be bought outright, leased or loaned
as part of a collection scheme.
Since waste collection is charged by the wheelie bin it makes economic
sense for premises which produce a lot waste to invest in a waste
compactor. Typically, the wheelie bin is pushed up against the
compactor and bulky items such as packaging waste will compress to a
quarter of the space. The cost of buying a compactor can easily be
recouped by a busy operation in under a year.
While commercial wheelie bins are efficient in holding waste, they can
be unsightly and smelly. Screening hides the view, but not the smells
in summer. One way to contain both sight and smell is to invest in a
dedicated walk-in cold-room for food waste with a constant temperature
of 8 deg C.
Blocked drains in kitchen premises caused by food waste and fats that
wash off dirty plates can be a very expensive service call and can be
avoided through fitting a fat separation unit or grease trap to the
water outflow system.
A grease trap works by slowing down the flow of warm or hot greasy
water coming out of a dishwasher and allowing it to cool. As the water
cools, the grease and oil separate and float to the top of the grease
trap. The cooler water containing less grease continues to flow down
the pipe to the sewer. The grease is trapped by baffles, which cover
the inlet and outlet of the tank, preventing grease from flowing out of
the trap. The baffles are regularly removed for cleaning and the grease
put into general waste.
Different local authorities have different views on the siting of a
grease trap. Some say it must be outside of the kitchen, other are
happy for it to be in the kitchen. Where a grease trap is taking water
from a dishwashing system, it has to be sited sufficiently far away
from the dishwasher to allow the emulsified fat to cool and split out
from the water. A popular way of reducing the amount of food waste
going into wheelie bins is to fit a waste disposal unit.
Food waste is pulverised and discharged into the sewerage system,
reducing the cost of waste management.
Some local authorities will not allow food waste that has been
pulverised in an under-sink waste disposal unit to be discharged into
the sewers and the normal way of complying with this regulation is
through a dewatering system. This quite simply separates out the water
from suspended solids. The water goes into the drains and the slurry
disposed of through other means.
How to find out more about Waste management Systems
Email sales@justcatering.com
Web site www.justcatering.com
Email sales@justcooking.co.uk
Web site www.justcooking.co.uk
Email sales@justwaste.com
Web site www.justwaste.com
Email sales@justbars.com
Web site www.justbars.com
Understanding Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is one of the main construction materials of every
professional kitchen. It is tough, easy to clean and resistant to
corrosion. It used in cutlery, prime cooking equipment and utensils,
but its most visible use is in shelving, tables and sinks. Not the most
glamorous areas of the kitchen, but where stainless steel plays a
pivotal role in durability of work surfaces and kitchen hygiene.
Steel is made by mixing molten iron with carbon in a furnace. Adding
the carbon gives greater strength, but does not overcome the problem of
rusting. By adding nickel, chromium or both metals to the molten iron
in addition to carbon, rusting can be controlled, though not totally
eliminated.
There are international standards laid down for the making of stainless
steel so that metal from different parts of the world is consistent.
The two main grades of stainless steel used in catering equipment are
grade 304 and grade 430. The grade rating indicates the mix of metals
in the stainless steel alloy.
Grade 430 is the cheaper stainless steel, containing just chromium.
Grade 304 contains both chromium and nickel and is more corrosion
resistant, but more expensive.
The benefit of 430 stainless steel is that being cheap, it is useful
for the manufacture of tables and pressings such as sinks where low
cost is an important part of the specification, but corrosion will be a
problem in the long term.
Another important consideration when buying stainless steel tables and
sinks is the thickness of the steel. A thin gauge metal will not be as
durable as a thick one. The usual thickness for stainless steel tables
and sinks is 1.2mm. It is possible to buy .9mm stainless steel, but
don’t expect a long life from it. The top end of stainless
steel for very heavy use is 1.5mm thickness. One way of making a medium
thickness stainless steel used in tabling much stronger is to seal in a
layer of medium density fibreboard (MDF). This manufacturing process
also reduces vibration and noise.
There are no international standards on the polished finish of
stainless steel, but there are manufacturer descriptions which indicate
the type of surface. Satin finish is a fairly dull looking surface
which is suitable where the appearance of the tabling or sinks is not
important. This is a very hard-wearing surface which does not show
scratch marks as much as a highly-polished stainless steel.
A high polished finish is often used where the stainless steel is on
public display such as in serveries and counters, though for economy
reasons, the underside may be satin finish. The stainless steel finish
gaining popularity for its looks and ease of cleaning has the generic
name of superbrush. This has a close grain finish, does not show
fingerprints so easily and is easier to keep clean than other stainless
steel surfaces.
Popular logic says that pressing a sheet of stainless steel to form
sinks or tabling will produce weak spots in the bends. The science of
metal says different and folds in metal can actually increase the
strength. Where weak points in the fabrication can occur is with cheap
welding. With 304 stainless steel it is important that the welding rods
are also 304 stainless to avoid the weld becoming a vulnerable area.
One of the principal benefits of stainless steel is its ability to keep
clean, yet with sinks and work tables, the cleaning is often the cause
of damage. No detergent with bleach or any
chlorine content should be used on stainless steel. Chlorines attack
the surface of stainless steel and will lead to rust spots. The best
way to clean any stainless steel table or sink is soap and hot water.
Harsh abrasives such as wire wool pads will also damage stainless
steel. Nylon scouring pads are better, but if they are too rough they
will still score the surface and spoil the polished sheen.
How to find out more about stainless steel
Email sales@justcatering.com
Web site www.justcatering.com
Email sales@justcooking.co.uk
Web site www.justcooking.co.uk
Email sales@justwaste.com
Web site www.justwaste.com
Email sales@justbars.com
Web site www.justbars.com
Understanding Snack Equipment
This is the lightweight equipment that can perform a heavyweight
performance in a wide range of catering operations, from cafes and pubs
to hotel restaurants. Snacks are by definition a light bite, but
business can be frequent and busy, so using anything less than
commercial equipment means that it will not perform or last.
Toasters
One of the most commonly used items of snack equipment and one of the
most heavily used. For this reason alone buying anything other than
commercial specification is pointless. Commercial toasters are built to
withstand prolonged heavy use with heavy-duty elements unlike domestic
toasters, which often toast unevenly, will have no spare parts
available and the toaster is unlikely to have the versatility to cook
toasted sandwiches, a very lucrative revenue opportunity.
The peak demand time for toast is around breakfast and for hotels this
will usually be focused into a tight window around 7.30am to 8.30am or
for staff restaurants and cafes 8.30am to 9.30am. The size and type of
toaster needs to be able to cope with that peak demand as breakfast is
seldom a leisurely affair.
The fastest toasting production comes from conveyor toasters, which is
what hotels need to deliver toast quickly and hot. Conveyor toasters
are available as single slice belts, double, treble or even wider for
really high toast production. Output can be awesome, with up to 400
slices an hour from a single conveyor belt.
Features to look for include an adjustable belt speed and heat setting,
the facility to toast bread buns or muffins if needed and a toast rack
on top of the unit for holding the toast warm.
Pop-up toasters can still produce lots of toast through having more
than the traditional two slots. Pop-up toasters are available with up
to 12 slots, which in output per hour is not far behind a single-belt
conveyor toaster.
If toasted sandwiches are on the menu, it’s possible buy
toasters with an extra wide slot and a sandwich clamp for making
toasted sandwiches or toasters with extra wide slots for toasting bread
buns or muffins. A useful variation for hotels where the breakfast is
self-service is to have a four-slot toaster where two slots are
independently controlled, allowing two customers to use the toaster at
the same time.
Bains marie
Often incorporated into modular island cooking suites or serveries,
bains marie are also available as stand alone individual units usually
holding between one to four flush-fitting tubs. The name comes from a
French housekeeper called Marie who wanting to keep her
master’s food hot until he came home so sat small pans in
bigger pans of hot water to keep the food hot. The French word for bath
is bain, hence bain marie.
They can powered by LPG, which is useful for outside catering
situations, but most are electric. There are two types, wet heat and
dry heat. Both types will have thermostatic and adjustable heat
controls with a maximum temperature of 90 deg C to avoid either the
product boiling or burning or in the case of a water bath bain marie,
the water boiling dry. Water bath models should have a drain tap to
allow for emptying and thorough cleaning at the end of a service
session. It also possible to get bain maries that are refrigerated for
holding cold food safely.
Potato ovens
Baked potatoes are a British institution and while they can be cooked
back of house and held in a warming cupboard, the popular way is to
have a counter-top potato oven which acts as a cooker, a holding
cabinet and a merchandiser. Most are made using enamelled cast iron to
give that traditional appearance.
The cooking is done on racks using gas or electric convection. The
holding drawer or cabinet should be matched to the cooking capacity, so
an oven that can cook 30 potatoes in an hour has a holding drawer that
can also take 30 potatoes to ensure a cooking and delivery cycle.
The normal way to operate them is for the first batch to go into the
cooker one hour before service commences, then those stored for sale
and a fresh batch loaded into the oven. If demand is high, extra
potatoes can be cooked in a kitchen in the oven and leaded into the
holding drawer while the potatoes in the oven are cooking.
An additional feature that is available is to have the oven with a
built-on bain marie to hold toppings such as baked beans or curry sauce
or a refrigerated bain marie for holding grated cheese and coleslaw. A
flat surface around the bain marie makes for a cutting and topping work
station. It is also possible to get merchandising accessories such as
menu boards setting out prices and toppings available.
Hot dogs
Hot dogs are ready cooked and come in ambient tins or tubs, but need
heating. There are three ways of heating the sausages: on a roller
grill, in a hot dog steamer or in hot water. Hot water is not
recommended as it leeches out the flavour and seasoning from the
sausage.
Hot dog steamers are a type of table-top bain marie. The base has a
heated water bath and suspended over it is an inner pan with water in
which the sausages are held. The advantage of this double pan system is
that the temperature of the sausages never rises above 75 deg C. Beyond
that temperature there is the risk of the skins splitting, particularly
with high-quality sausages which are using natural skins as opposed to
synthetic. This style of hot dog machine tends to be where demand is
heavy.
The best cooking theatre and merchandising comes from dog rollers where
the customer can see the hot dogs rolling around. The heat comes from
heating element running through the rollers, which can be gas heated,
but more commonly is electric. Buying one with non-stick rollers
prevents sticking, which can occur if the sausages get too hot. A
useful accessory is a bun warmer, which can be sited underneath the
roller to hold ready split finger rolls. Also very useful is a sneeze
guard to maintain high standards of food hygiene.
For smaller operations, such as pubs or cafes an alternative theatre
style of production is combined bread and dog warmers as a table-top,
plug-in unit. The sausages are heated in a vertical heated glass
container surrounded four heated spikes. The system is to cut off one
end of a small baguette, spike it for a short while to heat the bread,
then slide a hot sausage into the cavity made by the spike. For use
with traditional finger rolls, an alternative bread warmer is a heated
clamp. Both sausage warmers and bread warmers are available as separate
units.
How to find out more about Snack Equipment
Email sales@justcatering.com
Web site www.justcatering.com
Email sales@justcooking.co.uk
Web site www.justcooking.co.uk
Email sales@justwaste.com
Web site www.justwaste.com
Email sales@justbars.com
Web site www.justbars.com
Understanding Shelving and Storage Equipment
When it comes to enough space to work in, most chefs will say the
person who designed the kitchen was never going to have to work in it,
or the kitchen was designed when food sales were not as busy as the
present. That means the maximum use of available space is important
which means efficient shelving and storage.
Not only must there be efficient use of space with shelving, but it has
also to conform to good food safety practice and increasingly, to
employee health and safety requirements. Lifting from high shelves
involving stretching or standing on a raised surface could be viewed as
an employee safety risk.
With walk-in coldrooms and freezer rooms it is important to maximise
the storage areas through good racking and shelving, since the running
costs over a year will be very similar for a coldroom under-stocked and
one that has shelving which utilises as much space as possible.
Shelving fixed to the walls of the kitchen or the dry store area is
still widespread, but it is impractical to move it, cleaning is more
difficult and since all kitchens evolve in layout it does not make for
sensible use of the storage area.
The most effective shelving is a modular system. This usually comes as
a flatpack or semi-fitted. As part of a new kitchen or refurbishment,
the installer will put the shelving together, but it is literally snap
and click, often without any nuts or bolts to fix. Self-assembly is
very straightforward.
Advantages of modular shelving systems include mobility, versatility
and the ability to remove shelving for washing, either through a
dishwasher or in a sink. The uprights on modular shelving have anchor
points for shelf support brackets, so many or just two or three shelves
can be fitted according to the goods in store and their size.
Changing shelf height is very simple and additional shelves and support
brackets can be bought. A good system will allow for shelving to be
fitted around a corner, often without the obstruction of a support post
on the leading edge of the corner, further increasing the versatility
of the unit. Where transporting of shelving is a feature needed in a
kitchen, modular racking systems mounted on castors are available.
The materials available
There are a wide range of materials used in shelving, each with their
advantages, but the one material which has a food safety question mark
against it is wood. In theory, wood is cheap and for dry goods storage
such as tins presents no food safety risks. But things other than tins
get stored on wooden shelving and it can become soiled and be a
breeding ground for bacteria. A regular and thorough cleaning routine
using a sanitiser will keep the wood clean, but in practice this is
unlikely to happen.
Zinc chromate - Usually the cheapest material for shelving, useful
where cost is very important to the buyer. It performs well for ambient
dry goods storage, but if used in the damp environment of a coldroom
over a period of time it can produce a type of white rust which needs
to be cleaned off.
Coated wire – This is metal, usually as a mesh or parallel
bars, which is given a plastic coating, similar to the racking used in
a domestic fridge. This is a versatile material which can
be used in both coldrooms and for ambient racking. Care has to be taken
that in a coldroom rust does not begin to break through at bends and
joints. In a coldroom environment, cracking can occur in the plastic
coating, which as well as allowing corrosion to break through, gives a
cleaning problem.
Anodised aluminium – This is one of the less expensive
materials and has strength, stain resistance and the anodised coating
makes it easy to keep clean. Can be used in both dry goods storage and
in coldrooms and freezer rooms.
Stainless steel – The most durable of construction materials,
good to keep clean and corrosion problems are very rare. The choice of
kitchens where there is a desire for high performance and the
willingness to pay for it.
Shelf construction
There are several construction forms for the actual shelf, but they fit
within two types – solid shelves and slatted shelves. A solid
shelf is useful if small items are being stored, such as cooking
utensils or small jars which would topple over on a slatted shelf.
Slatted shelves are the more popular. These allow air to circulate
freely around food, important in storing fresh food at ambient
temperature and for coldroom storage. The slats allow for a good
circulation of the cold air around the food. For use in wine storage,
then round slats are useful as they allow bottles to be racked
horizontally and put on top of each other.
Dunnage racks
Dunnage is a technical word that describes a low-sited ambient racking
system that keep heavy items just off the ground to prevent moisture,
heat and cold from rising up through the ground and spoiling product.
Having foodstuffs raised off the ground also helps to be a barrier to
walking and crawling pests. Typical products stored on dunnage shelving
are sacks of potatoes and other bulky vegetables such as onions and
carrots. Dunnage shelving needs to be very robust, able to withstand
heavy and prolonged weights being stored on it.
Cleaning shelving
With modular shelving, the slatted shelves can be lifted out and in
most cases put through a dishwasher. For parts of modular shelving
which cannot be put into a dishwasher such as the upright frame, a
medium bristle brush with hot soapy water will clean off spillages and
a sanitising spray will help remove residual bacteria. A hot power wash
spray gun normally used for cleaning solid floors is another way of
cleaning shelving, but check with the manufacturer’s
instructions.
Immediate cleaning should be done when there is a spillage of cooked
food or leaching of fluid from meat and fish.
How do I find out more about Shelving and Storage Equipment?
Email sales@justcatering.com
Web site www.justcatering.com
Email sales@justcooking.co.uk
Web site www.justcooking.co.uk
Email sales@justwaste.com
Web site www.justwaste.com
Email sales@justbars.com
Web site www.justbars.com
Understanding Servicing
Modern catering equipment is manufactured to high engineering
standards, designed for the punishing routine of a professional
kitchen. Yet it is not indestructible and just as a car needs regular
servicing to perform well and last, so does catering equipment.
Regular servicing is life enhancing and can spot potential problems
before they cause a breakdown, which is likely to be far more expensive
than the cost of servicing. Servicing will also highlight any impending
dangers, such as worn gas connections or loose electrical wiring, which
could be a hazard to both staff and premises.
Lastly, failure to have regular servicing in accordance with
manufacturer’s instructions and with service records to prove
it, could work against a business in the event of any insurance claim
for either damaged premises or injured staff.
Types of service arrangements
Most catering equipment comes with a manufacturer’s warranty.
The terms and guarantee period will vary, but both parts and labour are
likely to be included. However, That warranty is for the unlikely event
of a manufacturing defect occurring, it does not cover servicing or
replacement of parts that have worn out through fair wear and tear or
misuse. Failure to follow the manufacturer’s servicing
guidelines will also result in invalidating the warranty.
The recommended way of ensuring proper maintenance is carried out by
professional engineers is to take out a service contract through the
manufacturer, supplier of the equipment or a catering equipment service
company. The service contract will cover all the kitchen equipment with
varying levels of charging.
Charges vary by reasons such as servicing only, servicing and any
labour charges for repairs needed, speed of response time, number of
service visits a year, amount of equipment in the kitchen and location.
The temptation to only call a service engineer out when something
breaks down is how to learn just how far down the pecking order in
call-response time someone without a service contract is. With busy
service engineers, their own service contracts and
manufacturers’ warranty work will take precedent, with random
calls for help at the back of the queue.
Ensure all the detail of a contract is understood before signing it.
Things such as mileage charges, is engineers’ time charged by
the quarter hour or full hour, are there premium rates for evening or
weekend call-outs, what are response times, what exclusions are there
and is there any minimum charges?
Can anyone repair catering equipment?
Definitely not. Gas equipment in particular is governed by strict laws.
Only engineers who have a certificate of competence from the Council
for Registered Gas Installers, better known by its acronym of CORGI,
can work on gas equipment, both mains gas and LPG.
There is separate certification and rules for working on domestic and
non-domestic appliances. Domestic certificated gas engineers are not
allowed to touch catering equipment. Evidence of the correct
certification should always be asked for on any first visit.
Gas-fired cooking equipment is divided by CORGI into five individual
certifications, each with their own piece of training and
certification. For practical purposes, this means a catering engineer
needs to be trained in the appropriate category for the equipment being
serviced.
The main types of equipment in the five categories of catering
competence in gas-fired catering equipment are:
Category 1: Boiling tables, open and solid top ranges, convection
ovens, combi-ovens and bains-marie.
Category 2: Water boilers, boiling pans, steamers and dishwashers.
Category 3: Deep-fat fryers, bratt pans, griddles and grills.
Category 4: Fish and chip ranges
Category 5: Forced draught burner appliances, such as impingers and
conveyor ovens.
Keeping servicing costs down
There are two factors that contribute greatly to servicing and repair
costs. Abuse and misuse by kitchen staff can be very costly and is
avoidable. Oven and fridge doors should be firmly closed, not slammed,
equipment should not be loaded beyond recommended capacity or run empty
if manufacturer’s guidelines say it should not be. Water
filtration systems should be installed to remove limescale before it
gets into cooking and washing equipment pipework.
Proper daily cleaning routines will also contribute greatly to reducing
servicing and repair costs. Any spillages should be cleaned
immediately, particularly if food has spilled into gas jets, where the
heat will carbonise the food and block the jets. Microwave ovens should
be thoroughly cleaned at the end of every shift, door seal gaskets
properly wiped down. Staff may be eager to go home, but neglecting
cleaning will cost money.
How to find out more about servicing catering equipment
Email sales@justcatering.com
Web site www.justcatering.com
Email sales@justcooking.co.uk
Web site www.justcooking.co.uk
Email sales@justwaste.com
Web site www.justwaste.com
Email sales@justbars.com
Web site www.justbars.com
Understanding Water
Treatment Systems
Water is commonly classified as hard or soft depending on the type and
amount of naturally occurring and harmless minerals and salts dissolved
in it. The most common ones are calcium and magnesium. When water has a
relative high content of dissolved minerals it is described as hard, a
low dissolved content and it is described as soft.
When mains water is heated it causes the dissolved salts to attach
themselves to any metal they come into contact with, forming a
creamy-coloured hard crust which builds up and is called limescale or
just scale. It’s a familiar sight on the heating elements in
electric kettles. In areas of the country where the water is naturally
soft, the build-up will take a long time to be noticed. In hard water
areas the build-up can be relatively quick.
The danger of limescale build-up is where it occurs in the internal
pipework or water heating elements of kitchen equipment which uses
running mains water and heating elements, such as dishwashers,
combi-ovens, coffee machines and vending machines.
Where scale build-up occurs in internal pipework it restrict the flow
of water causing serious and expensive damage to equipment. Where scale
build-up occurs on heating elements it will insulate the elements
forcing them to use far more energy than needed to heat the water,
leading to early burn-out.
The fact that a catering business may be in an area of the UK
officially classified as a soft-water region is not an excuse for not
fitting water treatment, because there is still a risk. There are
dissolved salts in all water and scale build-up will occur eventually.
While the normal water supply is regarded as soft water, should the
water be drawn from deep boreholes in times of drought, its hardness
level will change.
Also, water companies move water around from region to region through
underground pipework, which will also change the hardness level. Apart
from softening, water treatment systems will remove contaminants, which
can affect the taste of water in ice, mains water for the table and hot
beverages.
There are several different water treatment systems. A hotel may choose
to have a system which treats all water coming in through a central
treatment point. This will give purified and soft water not just for
the kitchen, but for all other parts of the hotel. A system may be
installed to serve all kitchen equipment or individual items of
equipment can be fitted with their own water filter.
Water softeners – These add a slight amount of salt to the
water, which has the effect of greatly reducing the amount of dissolved
limescale which will be released when the water is heated. Suitable
where the water is not directly for consumption, such as in dishwashing
or laundry. Not suitable where the water is to be consumed because of
the slight increase in saltiness. Can lead to streaking of glasses in
glasswashers and over time the salt can corrode welds on internal
pipework. The least expensive form of water treatment.
Carbon Filters – These will remove chlorine and
discoloration, but not hardness. So if the business is located in a
soft water area, but there is a wish to make the water taste better for
drinking or use in draught soft drinks dispensers, carbon filters are
an option.
De-alkalising units – Sometimes called calcium treatment
units because they remove the hardness. The water is passed through.
Suitable for combi-ovens, steamers, icemakers beverage machines and
vending machines.
De-mineralisation – This removes almost all the dissolved
minerals and hardness in the water and an option where the water is
very hard. Useful for glasswashers where there has been a history of
smearing on glasses due to high levels of dissolved salts in the
washing water.
Reverse Osmosis - While this sounds like high science, it is in
principle a fairly simple water treatment system. The water is forced
under pressure through a very thin filtering membrane, like a sieve,
which removes not just the harmful limescale but many other trace
elements, giving water, which is very pure, but total removal of trace
elements may change the flavour of beverages. For use in delivering
very pure water or where the water is exceptionally hard.
How to choose the right water treatment system
Email sales@justcatering.com
Web site www.justcatering.com
Email sales@justwaste.com
Web site www.justwaste.com
Email sales@justbars.com
Web site www.justbars.com