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The following information is provided
courtesy of The Catering Equipment Suppliers Association.
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 pressure less 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.
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