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Foodservice Equipment – Product Knowledge Guide: High-Speed Ovens

Source: Product Knowledge Guide: High-Speed Ovens – Foodservice Equipment & SuppliesPublished on Monday, 01 August 2016

Written by The Editors

High-speed or rapid-cook ovens refer to any oven that uses two or more heat transfer methods to reduce cooking time by more than 50 percent. This equipment may combine microwave technology with convection, impingement or radiant heating. Although units in this category don’t always include a microwave component, the majority utilize this technology for rapid heating along with another source for browning.

High-speed-14262215 The biggest benefits of this equipment are speed and versatility. These benefits make high-speed ovens popular in quick-service operations, schools, healthcare facilities and retail spaces, where operators prepare anytime meals, serve multiple dayparts or offer convenience-style foods.

These ovens support a variety of applications, but most often they heat and serve menu items at the front counter. Food that is already produced, such as pizza or appetizers that cook in the oven, can be finished or reheated in dual-technology ovens. Items that take more time to cook, such as soufflés, can be prepared quicker with the help of these ovens. Although the units also can be used for raw proteins, this is not common in commercial applications.

Larger operations commonly use high-speed ovens in conjunction with other cooking equipment, such as fryers, to increase speed of service. Units that combine microwave, forced convection and infrared radiant heat offer cook times that can be as much as 15 times faster than a conventional oven, which can help increase menu flexibility. Some compact microwave/convection oven models cook four times faster than conventional ovens.

These countertop units provide powerful, versatile operation in a small area, maximizing space for operations with limited footprints. With the increasing issue of limited back-of-house space, along with expanding menus, these ovens have become more popular.

The majority of high-speed ovens have stainless steel construction both inside and out and ceramic plates inside. This equipment may include adjustable, chrome-plated legs and ergonomically styled handles.

Another benefit is that these units are extremely efficient to run since most of the day is spent on idle. This drives operational costs down to just a few dollars a day on average for most operations.

Most high-speed ovens are designed for countertop use, with depths between 20 and 30 inches. Capacities vary, with units accommodating ¼- to ½-size sheet pans, full-size hotel pans and 12- or 14-inch pizzas.

These ovens are generally electric, requiring at least 30 amps and either 208 or 240 watts. Temperature ranges vary depending on the type of oven but are typically between 150 degrees F and 550 degrees F. Microwave wattage ranges from 1000 to 2000, depending on the unit.

It would be difficult to find a high-speed oven model that isn’t ventless, which is one of its biggest selling features and allows these units to be installed in virtually any operation or location. Most high-speed ovens are designed to be stacked, further maximizing space, capacity and volume.

These ovens generally provide multiple set point temperatures, with some models offering automatic programming for close to 400 menu items. The data keys allow for the electronic transfer of cooking programs, which can save cooking time and aid in product consistency. Many models are moving toward resistive or capacitive touch-screen controls, which are user-friendly and intuitive, rather than push-button interfaces.

High-speed-Ovens-78617757 Some high-speed ovens are Wi-Fi-enabled and can be connected to the internet for uploading recipes. This allows operators to leverage technology by sending menu updates to equipment in multiple locations and expand on limited-time offers more easily.

Operators may choose from various exterior colors with some models, which is beneficial for units used in the front of house. Some types also offer windows for users to view the cooking process taking place. An auto-unloading feature on some ovens presents the food to operators upon completion.

A number of high-speed oven accessories are available, including Teflon pans, sheet metal pans, baskets and pizza screens.

In the next few years, it is predicted there will be a switch from vacuum tube-style magnetron technology to solid-state technology for launching microwaves into these ovens.

Foodservice Tips – How Long to Cook Fish

Source: How Long to Cook Fish | LEAFtv

By Andrea Cespedes

Unless you’re eating sushi, no one wants undercooked fish. The amount of time it takes to cook fish depends on the type of fish you’re cooking, the size of the fish and the method that you’re using.

Methods, such as baking, sauteing, broiling, poaching and steaming, follow a 10-minute rule. For baking, set the oven to about 400 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Determine how thick the fish fillet or whole fish is at its thickest point. For every inch, plan for 10 minutes of cook time. So, if your fillet is 1/2 inch thick, you’ll need about five minutes.

Tips

Use the 10-minute rule for stuffed or rolled fish, too. Simply measure right before you put the fish in the oven, when the fish is completely prepped.

Turn the fish approximately halfway through the cooking time. But, if the fish is thin — less than 1/2 inch thick — turning is unnecessary.

The fish is safe to eat once it’s reached an internal temperature of 145 F when you insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest portion. Thin fillets — such as sole — can be visually inspected for doneness.

Tips

For fish that’s cooked en papillote, wrapped in foil or parchment paper, or in a sauce such as curried fish, add five minutes to the cook time. If you’re cooking fish straight from a frozen state — double the cook time. For example, a 1/2-inch steak needs 10 minutes.

A fish with pink or white flesh will appear opaque rather than translucent when fully cooked. The flesh should feel firm, but still look and feel moist. If you’re not sure, use a fork to break into the fillet. The meat should easily flake. Avoid overcooking fish as it dries out easily.

Fish steaks, including salmon and swordfish, respond well to grilling. They’re firm, so they stand up to the grates and this less precise method of cooking.

Preheat the grill. Ensure your grill is clean or you’ll risk having the fish stick and fall apart during the cooking process.

Place the fish steak directly on the grill in the hottest portion. Sear the outside for1 to 2 minutes per side.

Move the fish steak to a slightly cooler section of the grill to finish cooking. Use the 10-minute-per-inch rule.

Tips

If you’re grilling fish that still has skin attached, such as whitefish or coho salmon, place a greased layer of foil over the top of the grates and grill the fish, using the 10-minute rule.

To cook fillets on the grill, wrap them along with seasonings in foil and use the 10-minute rule. You should also wrap whole fish — and the 10-minute rule applies as well. Enhance the flavor of grilled fish with a flavorful marinade.

Holding pizza hot and fresh in a pizza warmer

The pizza market is a huge slice of the restaurant industry, reaching over $38 Billion in 2015 according to PMG Pizza Magazine. Pizzas are flying out of the ovens at an incredible rate as the restaurant industry is forecasted by the NRA (National Restaurant Association) to continue to grow. Millennials are leading the way in pizza purchasing power and Mintel is projecting them to account for 30% of all U.S. retail sales by 2020.

Millennials are a generation of foodies who want pizza, and they want it now. To keep wait times down and quality up, many pizza restaurants are using pizza warming cabinets. These pizza hot boxes are designed to keep pizza hot while maintaining a high quality, service ready product. The millennial foodie is aware of the quality products that are available; They know and seek out new, intense flavors, and textures of artisan dishes.

It’s paramount that pizzerias keep the high-quality product that they are turning out of their kitchens all the way through the sales processes. The investment and efforts that are put into the staple menu item should not be neglected in the few precious minutes before the customer bites into the slice. 80% of what makes that product great, is what happens between the oven and the plate.

Specially designed foodservice equipment such as pizza warmers, or holding cabinets, are made to maintain safe food temperatures while keeping the pizza as hot and fresh as it is right out of the oven. To do this, companies such as FWE / Food Warming Equipment have figured out the ideal temperature and humidity settings specifically for pizza. FWE has found that maintaining and holding pizza at 150°F – 160°F with a relative humidity* of 15% – 20% will keep the pizza at an optimal serving quality.

FWE’s hot holding pizza cabinets come with something very unique in the industry; They have a small removable water pan located by the heating elements and an air circulating fan, that allows for just the right amount of vapor to lift out of the water and humidify the cabinet. This heated holding environment is made with your pizza in mind. Being product specific when designed means they have engineered the correct wattage for food temperature, along with the correct air to moisture levels to maintain product consistency.

As the pizza industry is sure to continue to feed the generations following the millennials, the consumers are going to seek faster service and higher quality. Foodservice solutions are available to help as labor becomes difficult to find, and as customers become more informed and picky. Something as simple as a pizza warmer cabinet can help you get and keep that slice of pizza industry business.

* the amount of water vapor present in air expressed as a percentage of the amount needed for saturation at the same temperature.

Foodservice Equipment – Maintenance “Top 10” List

Maintenance is being treated as more than an afterthought in today’s restaurants, especially the big chains, and that’s a good thing. The well-maintained restaurant is seen by all as a cleaner, safer place to eat and work.

Here is a Top 10 List to get you on your way to having a properly maintained kitchen:

Read the warranty information supplied with each piece of new equipment to learn what the manufacturer recommends.
Put all literature supplied in a three-ring binder.
Assign the binder to managers and require new managers to review it.
Prepare a one-page maintenance sheet and post it where it will be seen.
List appropriate clean dates and a box to initial and date when cleaning is completed.
Insist that managers pay attention to maintenance schedules.
Post a list of local service agencies, their phone numbers, and which brands they cover.
Upon start-up of a new facility, place a list in the front of the binder containing make, model, serial number and date, along with the service and warranty period for each piece of equipment.
Set up service, cleaning, and inspection programs for all operational equipment with servicing agents.
Set up a regular exhaust hood and duct cleaning program to prevent fires.

It is critical to get staff members involved in your company’s efforts to care for the equipment.

Here are just a few ideas:

Reduce the damage caused by carelessness, abusive behavior, and vandalism by holding the staff accountable for the condition of the equipment when they complete a work shift.
Eliminate dents and gashes caused by carts and mobile equipment by providing adequate clearance around equipment. It’s not smart design to have people transporting items through what seems like a maze.
Protect equipment with rails, guards, and bumpers, which are offered as accessories, for both fixed and mobile appliances.
Catch little problems before they turn into big ones, with a weekly or monthly check of all kitchen workstations. Look for missing screws, damaged or worn wires and cords, bent panels or hinges. Get them corrected promptly.
Make your staff aware of what maintenance costs the restaurant. Make maintenance the topic of some staff meetings, in addition to training sessions. Solicit opinions from the staff about improvements that could be made.
Make an effort to get “clean” utilities—that is, do everything you can to protect equipment from power spikes with surge suppressors; treat or filter incoming water and air.

Source:
Katsigris, Costas, and Chris Thomas. Design and Equipment for Restaurants and Foodservice: A Management View. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2009. Print.
George Zawacki, senior associate, Cini-Little International, Inc. First appeared in Equipment Solutions, a publication of Talcott Communications Corp., Chicago, Illinois (March 2004).

Why Does Every New Restaurant Look Like A Factory? : The Salt : NPR

The stripped-down look of exposed brick, poured cement floors and Edison light bulbs is popular in restaurants across America. One reporter dares to ask, “Seriously, why?”

Source: Why Does Every New Restaurant Look Like A Factory? : The Salt : NPR

Foodservice – Labor Savings

There are less and less bodies coming through that revolving door to staff your kitchen. It’s not just your operation; it’s all over the industry. Skilled labor that not only comes to work but stays at work is rare. You’re probably already trying to figure out how to do more with less because frankly you are forced to. The quality employees that you do have are performing more and more tasks as fewer team members are around to pick up the slack. Stress is boiling over and the bad moral is showing its effects. If you can’t fix the lack of labor issue, you may want to consider looking into foodservice equipment that can cut down on labor time, stress, and save you money while doing it all.

It will take an investment, so when you make that investment, do your due diligences. Find equipment that has a low operating cost, that has been tested for energy efficiency and will cut down on waste and pay for itself over time. Energy efficiency seems like it’s the last thing that you need to be worrying about, but think about it, if a piece of equipment is designed to earn you more money the longer it’s on, it had better be energy efficient right? In fact, holding cabinets are some of the most energy efficient of any category of major kitchen equipment.
Cook and Hold Ovens, Retherm Ovens and hot food holding equipment have a major impact on streamlining your production process of a foodservice facility. Having your menu items ready and on hand to serve, eliminates spikes in production and labor stress during your peak periods of service. The result is less staff hours and lower labor overall costs. Preparing large batches of food ahead of time reduces the employee skill level needed to achieve the same menu as a cook to order production. The longer you can maintain high quality, flavor, and texture of your food while holding, the longer you can utilize that food product without sending it to the waste. This means less food waste due to degradation of food quality and happier more satisfied “yelp friendly” customers as a result.

Large or “full-size” holding cabinets can become a key cog of a reduced touch or reduced labor foodservice production process. There is a whole spectrum of holding cabinet sizes available that will assist you with the different applications in your operation. Pans of food can be removed from fryers, steamers or ovens and be placed directly into holding cabinets in order to avoid a cook/chill process.

Cooking with the intent to hold results in a more efficient production that often eliminates the need for some additional cooking equipment and staff. The staff that is on hand, are now free to focus on service, so more orders can be taken with less labor during peak meal times. Foodservice labor issues in commercial kitchens are forecasted to continue for the foreseeable future. Stay positive and explore your options, your employees and pocketbook will thank you.

Why Good Bars Spray Your Beer Glass With Water | VinePair

Why do bars wash your beer glass before serving you? The answer has to do with more than cleanliness.

Source: Why Good Bars Spray Your Beer Glass With Water | VinePair

If you’ve ever visited a nice beer bar, you may have noticed a small sink your bartender uses to rinse your beer glass before serving you. That sink looks like this:

It’s called a star sink, or a glass rinser. You press the glass rim down into the glass rinser, which shoots a mist into it. It looks super cool and it’s also an efficient way to prepare a beer serving glass. However, you might be asking yourself, “Why doesn’t the bar just prepare clean glasses beforehand? Why rinse them right before serving me my beer?” Well, the glass cleanser doesn’t give your glass a thorough cleaning. Rather, it’s used to blast away away lingering dish soap, or other crud that accumulates when you’ve left a glass out for awhile.

But this sink actually serves a greater purpose than just cleaning your glass.

When you rinse a beer glass, it becomes more slippery, and there’s less friction when beer fills it. This allows a more even, clean pour and a substantial, fragrant head. As we’ve established before, beer foam is actually a good thing, because it carries a great deal of your beer’s aromas, and smelling is half the fun. The other benefit of rinsing a beer glass is that the spritz can cool the glass down, because we know that pint glasses often have the tendency to prematurely heat your beer up.

So, the next time you see your bartender rinsing your glass out, tip your hat in appreciation of a better-smelling, cooler beer. Cheers!

Published: July 21, 2015
By: Aliza Kellerman
Via: VinePair

Don’t Let Them Go to Waste: 5 Steps to Kick-Starting Your Sustainability Efforts — Foodable Web TV Network

Source: Don’t Let Them Go to Waste: 5 Steps to Kick-Starting Your Sustainability Efforts — Foodable Web TV Network

By Tarah Schroeder, FCSI, principal at Ricca Design Studios

Creating a sustainability program can be overwhelming for foodservice operators, as it often brings up questions and conversations beyond the realm of foodservice. And with so much information available, it can be difficult for operators to sort through the noise and know where or how to start. If you truly respect innovation, creativity, people, and problem solving to include sustainability in your culture, then turning broad sustainability goals into reality requires thoughtful commitment and careful preparation. Developing a plan is the best way to truly reduce your impact to the environment, as well as build a stronger internal and external community. Read on to learn about the steps any foodservice operation can take to embrace sustainability.

Include sustainability in your mission statement.

A mission statement is a company’s touchstone, providing guiding principles that inform company objectives. Any restaurant or operation that wants to be more sustainable must start here to truly effect change in its culture before it can create achievable goals. Categories can include:

Resources — water and energy reduction
Community — waste as a resource, gardens, and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
Health — healthy menu options, healthy work environment

Snooze, an A.M. Eatery, a Colorado-based quick service restaurant chain serving breakfast and lunch, has created a mission statement of People, Profit, Planet, Pancakes to reflect both their culture and dedication to sustainability. It is no wonder that they have high employee participation in waste reduction and energy-saving initiatives.

Create a Baseline.

A baseline lets you know where you stand before making commitments on how to do better. In the past, the first step would have been to look at peers’ energy performance. However, it is now understood that differences in menu, operations, and style of service, make it too difficult and inaccurate to compare restaurants to each other.

It is better for restaurants to develop their own baseline from which they can improve upon, such as audits for existing restaurants and energy models for new projects. There are varying levels of energy assessment. The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has created three levels of audits on their website.

A level one audit is an internal checklist that starts with utility bills, and then continues to building characteristics, such as lighting, refrigeration, kitchen ventilation, and cooking equipment. A checklist can be used in conjunction with infrared thermometers and plug load data loggers, and many utility companies offer audit assistance. Overall, understanding these existing conditions are important because they provide a basis for recommending energy and water conservation measures.

A waste audit can be conducted much the same way, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has resources here. The first steps to creating a waste baseline are thinking about where your waste is going, how much and what type of waste is being generated, and where the majority of waste is coming from (pre-consumer versus post-consumer).

Write a Performance Plan.

A performance plan translates sustainability goals into an action plan. It takes short-term goals, such as retrofit and replacement decisions, and long-term goals, such as smart energy targets that can be reviewed and updated, and puts them into practice. Some examples of strategies for short-term goals include: implementing procedures to assure manual shutoff of systems after hours, timer shut-offs for load shedding, or consolidating preventative maintenance of like equipment. The Foodservice Technology Center is a great resource for strategies.

Long-term goals can be created based upon the baseline information with deadlines further down the road. For example, the goal might be to reduce energy use by 5 percent in four years. The strategies to achieve these goals could include a capital replacement program to purchase Energy Star-rated cooking and refrigeration appliances for replacement of old appliances on a life cycle cost basis, upgrading building automation system or metering to include kitchen systems, or creating a design protocol for any new buildings or projects that come online.

Harvard University was one of the first higher-education facilities to create a performance plan that had specific sections on dining services. This was due in large part to the President’s Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gases by 30 percent by 2016. Some strategies they used to contribute to this long-term goal included:

New dishwashers that have saved over 500,000 gallons of hot water annually
150-gallon stainless steel storage tank for waste vegetable oil
Diverting more than 95 percent of construction and demolition “waste” from landfills
Peak demand exhaust hood controls
Large skylights to improve lighting

Here’s a simple step-by-step breakdown for creating performance plans:

Step One: Make a commitment
Step Two: Assess performance
Step Three: Create an action plan
Step Four: Implement the action plan
Step Five: Evaluate progress
Step Six: Recognize achievements

Bring the right people together.

Sustainability champions are key to the success of any initiative, as they are enthusiastic about making change and will ensure that the conversation always stays relevant.

When building their new headquarters in Houston, Exxon Mobil wanted to make sure that sustainability and safety were important components of the overall project. A sustainability group that included operations, maintenance, and design team members was formed to review high-level decisions from an environmental impact point of view. Capital improvements such as waste to energy strategies, that are often value engineered out of a new project, remained intact and contribute to a successful operation today.

Re-evaluate and re-assess.

A plan can only work if it is constantly being updated and revised based upon current trends, culture, and circumstances. If you take the initiative to follow these steps, the only way to keep it relevant is through re-evaluating and re-assessing your goals and strategies.

It is these purposeful steps that will help you create a culture shift that is focused on sustainability.

Recipe – Smoked Ice

I wanted to come up with a way to add smoked items to bar menus. I have made Smoke Roasted Almonds and love them. The problem is that they aren’t all that interesting. I was talking to someone while bellied up at a bar about cocktails. He was drinking Scotch on the rocks and I was drinking a Manhattan. I explained that I love smoked food but really never cared for the smoky flavor in Scotch. I thought, hey why don’t I try smoking some Makers Mark and make a Manhattan with it. This stuck on my mind for a while. I thought it was a great idea but maybe not the best drink to do it with. I decided I would find away to infuse the ice with smoke so I could try a few cocktails. The best by far was the Bloody Mary, so that’s what I took pictures of.

Adding a smoky flavor to cocktails such as a Bloody Mary separates you as a bar. As the cubes melt, more of the smoky flavor is released into the drink. This encourages you to take your time and enjoy every sip as the drink evolves.

INGREDIENTS

o 5Lb Cubed Ice
o 1c Hickory Wood Chips

PREPARING THE ICE:

Place the ice in a perforated pan on one of the upper trays.
Under the perforated pan place a hotel pan to catch the water.

SMOKING THE ICE:

Smoke the ice for 120 minutes.
The heat from the smoke will slowly melt the ice into the lower hotel pan.
As the ice drips it will become infused with smoke flavor.
Dilute this mixture with fresh water at a ratio of 4 parts clean to 1 part smoked
Refreeze in trays for cubed ice.

A great Bloody Mary recipe to add this ice to

8 oz good tomato juice
3 oz vodka
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp celery salt
1 celery stalk
1 tbsp Sanford’s Kitchen All American Hot Sauce
fresh lime wedge
fresh ground black pepper

Serve over Smoked Ice and garnish with the lime, celery stalk, and ground pepper.

This makes such a delicious drink with a very unexpected flavor. This recipe was made with an FWE / Food Warming Equipment Cook and Hold with Smoker

Foodservice Equipment – Hot Food Holding & Moisture Control

Food is naturally mostly made up of water; since water is a common element in all fresh food, it only stands to reason that preventing the water in the food from evaporating will keep the food fresher longer. Preparing bulk food ahead of kitchen peak service times is a common way to allow the chef and kitchen staff to focus on other vital tasks during rush hours. When loading bulk food into a moisture controlled heated cabinet, such as a FWE MTU-12, the food is met with heated and humidified air that creates equilibrium with the foods natural moisture content.

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