QUANTITY FOOD PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT

QUANTITY FOOD PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT

A.    Equipment required for mass/volume feeding

 Light equipment

Clean and wash all the light equipment thoroughly, wipe them and then use.

Care: All light equipment should be cleaned and washed with the hot soapy solution immediately after use. All small utensils should be wiped dry.

Pressure Cooker

Fill the cooker only 3/4 cover it with lid, check rubber and safety valve. Keep weight (whistle) on and keep it on slow flame. Do not keep the cooker on a high-pressure burner.

Care: Wash pressure cooker with soapy water, wipe dry. Check safety valve, rubber ring regularly.

Meat Mincer

a)   Fix attachments i.e., rotating rod, blade, sieve, and rings, tightly with the machine.

b)   Keep tray on, put vegetable dices / boiled potatoes/meat without fat in the tray.

c)   Put on the main switch, and then turn mincer’s switch.

d)   Slide vegetable or meat little at a time, press with a wooden rod.

Care: Remove all the attachments of the mincer. Soak in warm water for 10 minutes. Remove and wash with the soap solution. Rinse and wipe dry. Keep in the clean cupboard. Grease when necessary.

Masala Grinder

a)   Wash grinder and stone.

b)   Keep stone in the grinder, attach a belt to it put the masala ingredients in grinder with enough moisture.

c)   Put on the main switch of a grinder.

Care: Detach belt from grinding stone, remove all the masala from stone. Wash thoroughly and wipe dry. Grinder wash with warm water, wipe with a dry duster. Do over-hauling once in a month.

Do not nut on the stone in the grinder and start without putting masala or idli mixture etc. in it.

Dough Mixer

a)   Washbowl and dough kneading rod, or creamer or whisk.

b)   Fix bowl on the mixer, then attach rod or creamer as per requirement.

c)   Put ingredients in the bowl, lift up the bowl by turning handle anti-clockwise.

d)   Press green switch, increase speed by turning gear-handle clock-wise. After use reduces speed, press red switch lift-down the bowl by turning the handle clockwise remove mixing rod and then remove the finished product.

     Care: Put off the main switch of the dough mixer. Wash all the attachments. Check belt of the motor occasionally.

Potato Peeler

a)   Wash Peeler from inside tightly closes the door. Put potatoes from the top.

b)   Start the main switch as well as water supply. After peeling open door of the peeler, let all the peeled potatoes come out of the peeler. Switch off the main.

     Care: Detach upper deck of the peeler, wash it thoroughly with the scrubber, rinse and wipe it dry. Remove all the potato peels from it, scrub thoroughly with scrubber wash and dry completely. Fix upper deck and check for its function.

Griller – Hot Plate

a)     Wipe griller – hot plate with the damp duster.

b)    Put on the switch, once it becomes hot, put the pre-prepared item on it and cook.

Care: Cast iron grill plates may occasionally need scraping. After every season, it is the best to wash the plates with a mild detergent solution, rinse and dry.

Tandoor

a)     Put charcoal in tandoor separately light some coal on the gas burner.

b)    Pour live coal in tandoor. Keep the ash-pit half-open.

Care: Allow the tandoor to cool. Once in week coat the tandoor with a mixture of ash, earth and water. Season inside of tandoor with mustard and oil.

Deep Fat Fryer

a)   Clean and wipe deep fat fryer.

b)   Put oil/fat in containers, put on main switch turn temp, control knob, press operating switch.

c)   Once the oil reaches the desired temp, add frying food to the fryer.  When breaded foods are prepared, strain fat frequently.

d)   Load fry basket to one-half and never more than 2/3 of capacity.

e)   Never salt foods directly over the fat. Salt in the fat reduced its life.

f)    Discard fat as soon as it tends to bubble excessively before food is added gummy film collects on the frying basket or heating element.

g)   Raw, wet foods such as potatoes and oysters, should be drained or wiped dry before frying to extend the life of the fat.

     Care: Switch off the fryer and allow to cool. Drain all the oil in a normal way. Remove all debris and particle matter from the fryer. Fill the fryer compartment with a soap solution. Brush inside using a bristle brush (never use steel wool). Flush with clean water to which vinegar has been added. Dry with a cloth.

Tilting Pan

a)     Ensure that pan is tightly fitted by moving the handle of the pan.

b)    Switch on the main, then switch on an operating switch, turn temp. control on high.

c)     Start a gas connection. Press ignition switch for 20 secs. Put fat or oil and then use according to preparation.

            Care: The equipment should be cleaned thoroughly after use. Normally washing with hot soapy water and rinsing with clean water will be enough. Wire scoured or scouring powders are not recommended for models with an all-stainless-steel finish. If the pan has been used for frying, care should be taken to remove all oil film build-up. The tilting mechanism may require occasional greasing with a light non-toxic oil. This will ensure easy and trouble-free operation.

High-Pressure Burners Range

a)     Start the main connection of gas. Slightly turn the operating knob towards the left and light the gas with the help of matchstick or gaslighter.

b)    Do not increase gas pressure before lighting the burners.

Care: – Immediately wipe up all the spilling and boilers. If during cooking periods, spilling is left to bake and harden on hot surfaces the cleaning becomes much more difficult.

Convection Oven

a)     Switch on the oven, set the temp, once it reaches desired temp.

b)    Always load the lower compartment first. Always load each shelf evenly, spacing pan, trays away from each other and the side of the oven.

c)     Never add material to a section after food has already have started to bake. Open doors as seldom as possible

Care: The oven should be switched off. The oven should be allowed to cool until only warm. Remove all removable shelves or rack for separate clearing. Using a clean cloth soaked in a hot soap solution, wipe the oven. Rinse the cloth as necessary. The shelves and racks should be cleaned in the same way.

Refrigerator /  Deep Freezer / Walk-in Coolers.

a)     Once installed, the temperature is to be set as required and store food items at the proper temperature.

b)    Do not store items that tend to absorb smells from other food items such as eggs near a strongly aromatic food item.

Care: Refrigerating equipment always need to be kept clean. Remove spoiled food items regularly and defrost if necessary.

B.    Heat and cold generating equipment’s

Heat Generating Equipment’s

a) Range Tops- The range is still the most important piece of cooking equipment in

the kitchen, even though many of its functions have been taken by other tools, such as

steamers, steam kettles, tilting skillets, and ovens.

b) Ovens- The oven and the range top are the two workhorses of the traditional

kitchen, which is why the two are so often found in the same units. Ovens are

enclosed spaces in which food is heated usually by hot air or, in some newer kinds of

ovens, by microwaves or infrared radiation. In addition to roasting and baking, ovens

can do many jobs normally done on the range top. Many foods can be simmered,

stewed, braised, or poached in the oven, freeing the range top and the chef’s attention

for other tasks.

c) Conventional Ovens- These ovens operate simply by heating air in an enclosed

space. The most common ovens are part of the range the unit, although the separate oven

units or ovens as part of a boiler unit are also available. Stack ovens are units that

consist of individual shelves arranged one above the other. Pans are placed directly on

the oven deck rather than on wire shelves. Temperatures are adjustable for each

separate unit.

d) Convection Ovens- These ovens contain fans that circulate the air and distribute the

heat rapidly throughout the interior. Because of the forced air, foods cook more quickly

at lower temperatures. Also, shelves can be placed closer together than in

conventional ovens, without blocking the heat flow.

e) Revolving Ovens- These large ovens, also called reel ovens are large chambers

containing many shelves or trays on a Ferris-wheel type attachment. This oven

eliminates the problem of hot spots or uneven baking, because the mechanism rotates

the foods throughout the oven. Revolving ovens are used in bakeshops and in high

volume operations.

f) Slow-Cook-and-Hold ovens- While the traditional oven is nothing more than a

heated box equipped with a thermostat, some modern ovens have more sophisticated

features, such as computerized, electronic controls and special probes that sense when

a roast is done and tells the oven to switch from cooking temperature to holding

temperature. Many of these ovens are designed to be especially useful for low temperature

roasting. The sensitive controls make it possible to cook at steady,

reliable temperatures of 200oF (95oC) or lower and to hold foods at 140oF (60oC) for

long periods. Large cuts of meat take many hours to roast at a low temperature like

200oF (95oC). By setting the controls in advance, the operator can even let meats roast

overnight, unattended. These ovens are available as convection ovens and as regular,

stationary-air ovens.

g) Combination Steamer Ovens- A relatively new kind of oven is one that can be

operated in three different modes: as a convection oven, like a convection steamer, and,

with both functions on at once, as a high-humidity oven. Injecting moisture into an

oven while roasting meats can help to reduce shrinkage and drying.

h) Barbecue Ovens or Smoke Ovens- Barbecue ovens are like conventional ovens, but

with one important difference: they can produce wood smoke, which surrounds

the food and flavours it while it bakes or roasts. Special woods, such as hickory,

mesquite or various fruit woods such as apple or cherry must be added to the smoke-producing part of the oven, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. This device

is usually nothing more complicated than an electric the heating element that heats small

blocks or chips of the wood so that they are hot enough to smoke but not hot enough

to burst into flame. Depending upon on the model, various cooking features are

available. Thus, ovens may have smokeless roast/bake cycles, cold-smoke cycles

(with the smoke element on but the oven off), holding cycles, and broiling

capabilities.

i) Infrared or Reconstituting Ovens These units contain quartz plates that generate

intense infrared heat. Infrared ovens are used primarily for reconstituting frozen

foods. They bring large quantities of foods to serving temperature in a short time. The

heat is even and controllable.

j) Microwave Ovens- In these ovens, special tubes generate microwave radiation,

which creates heat inside the food.

k) Broilers and Salamanders- Broilers are sometimes called overhead broilers to avoid

confusing them with grills. Overhead broilers generate the heat from above; food items

are placed on a grate beneath the heat source. Broiling is a favourite way of preparing

steaks, chops, chicken, and many other items. Heavy-duty broilers produce very high

heat and consume vast quantities of energy. Some broilers are said to go as high as

2000oF (1100oC) at the burner. Foods must be watched closely to avoid burning.

Cooking temperature is adjusted by raising or lowering the grate that holds the food.

Salamanders are small broilers used primarily for browning or glazing the tops of

some items. They may also be used for broiling small quantities during off-peak

hours. Salamanders are usually mounted above the range.

l) Grills- Grills are used for the same cooking operations as broilers, except the heat

the source is below the grid that holds the food rather than above it. Many people favour

the taste of grilled foods, because of the “charcoal” taste that is actually created by

smoke from meat fats that drip into the heat source. Although smoke from meat

creates the taste that people associate with grilled foods, actual wood smoke flavours,

such as hickory or mesquite smoke flavour, and can be added to foods if those woods

are burned in the grill under the food. To do this, you must use a grill

designed to burn such fuels.

m) Griddles- Griddles are flat, smooth, heated surfaces on which food is cooked

directly. Pancakes, French toast, hamburgers and other meats, eggs, and many potatoes

items are the foods most frequently cooked on a griddle. Griddles are available as

separate units or as apart of a range top. Clean griddle surfaces after every use so that

they will cook at peak efficiency. Polish with a griddle stone or griddle cloth until the

surface shines. Follow the grain of the metal to avoid scratching. Condition griddles

after each cleaning or before each use, to create a non-stick surface and to prevent

rusting. Procedure: spread a thin film of oil over the surface and heat to 400oF

(200oC). Wipe clean and repeat until griddle has a smooth, no-stick finish.

o) Rotisseries- Rotisserie broilers cook meats and other foods by turning them slowly

in front of electric or gas-powered heating elements. Even though classical cooking

theory categorizes spit cooking like roasting, these cookers are more closely related to

broilers, because the foods are cooked by the infrared the heat of the elements. Although

they are especially suitable for chicken and other poultry, rotisseries can be used to

cook any meat that can be fastened to a spit. Both enclosed (oven like) rotisseries and

open or enclosed units are available. Small units hold about 8 chickens and size range

all the way to very large models that can hold as many as 70 chickens. Because of the

heating elements are on the side (or sometimes above), the fats and juices don’t drip

into the flames as they do with grills. Drip pans catch juices, which can be used for

basting or gravy making.

p) Deep Fryers- A deep fryer has only one use – to cook foods in hot fat. Yet because

of the popularity of fried foods, this function is an important one. Automatic deep

fryers are powered by either gas or electricity and have thermostatic controls that

maintain fat at preset temperatures. Automatic fryers remove food from the fat

automatically after a preset time. Pressure fryers are covered fry-kettles that fry

foods under pressure. Foods cook faster, even at a lower temperature.

q) Tilting Skillet- The tilting skillet, also known as the tilting brazier and tilting fry

pan is a versatile and efficient piece of equipment. It can be used as a griddle, fry

pan, brazier, stew pot, stockpot, steamer, and bain-marie or steam table. The tilting

skillet is a large, shallow, flat-bottomed pot. Or, to look at it another way, it is a

griddle with 6-inch high sides and a cover. This skillet also has a tilting mechanism

that enables liquids to be poured out of it. Power may be gas or electric. Clean the

skillet immediately after each use, before food has time to dry on. Add water, turn on

the skillet to heat it, and scrub thoroughly.

r) Steam- Jacketed Kettles. Steam-jacketed kettles, or steam kettles, are sometimes

thought of as stockpots that are heated not just on the sides as well. This comparison

is only partly accurate because of steam kettles heat much more quickly and

have more uniform and controllable heat than pots on the range.

s) Steam Cookers- Steam cookers are ideal for cooking vegetables and many other

foods rapidly and with minimum loss of nutrients and flavour. For this reason, they

are becoming more common in both large and small kitchens.

 Cold Generating Equipment

 a)  Walk-in / Cold Storage- Walk-ins are refrigerated compact areas where one could walk inside, and hence the name ‘walk-in’. they can be custom-made to any size suited for an operation. One could have walk-in refrigerators or freezers depending on the requirement. Certain companies are now specializing in modular shelving so that the storage of food can be as per food safety norms and HACCP.

 b)    Freezer / Deep Freezer- Freezers are available in various sizes and are very important for any bulk-cooking operation. As quantity cooking involves planning and advance mise en place, one needs sample refrigerated space to store the same until it is ready for cooking. These are available in various sizes depending on the requirement. Nowadays roll-in trolley style or the ones which have shelving.

 c)   Blast Chilling Equipment- Blast chillers and freezers are two of the most important equipment used in bulk-cooking operations. When food is cooked quickly, there has to be a process where the food is allowed to cool down to a temperature below the danger zone (below 3dg C). Blast chillers and freezers are the two types of equipment that are used for this purpose. These come in very handy in commercial establishments such as airline catering and cruise lines, as the food cooked needs to be frozen or chilled at a faster rate. The hot food can be chilled or frozen in less than 2 hrs, thereby maintaining food safety and hygiene.

C) Care & Maintenance of Equipment’s

‘Prevention is better than cure’ is a very old proverb and it holds true for the maintenance of kitchen equipment. The following points need to be kept in mind to take good care of kitchen equipment:

Training – Proper orientation should be given to any new staff to make them aware of the correct ways of using any equipment. Operating instructions of the machine should be placed near to them so that the staff could refer to the same in case of any doubt.

Maintenance- It is important to have all equipment periodically maintained to increase life and efficiency. There are mainly two types of Maintenance:

Reactive Maintenance- Machine is fixed only when it is broken down and immediately maintenance is required so that work will not suffer.

Preventive Maintenance- This is planned maintenance that is done by the engineering department in liaison with the concerned department in-charge.

Annual Maintenance Contracts (AMC’s)-Yearly Basis

All equipment large or small, heavy or light requires care in handling, use and storage

to extend its life to the maximum, minimize depreciation and maintain it in a

reasonably attractive and efficient condition while in use. In small catering

establishment the care and maintenance is generally entrusted to those who operate

the equipment as the types invested on is generally small or medium-duty pieces. In

larger establishments where heavy-duty equipment predominates, a maintenance

the department performs this function.

In the case of small pieces like cutlery, some metals needless care than others do.

Stainless steel is the most non-corrosive and easy to-care for material, while plated

cutlery tends to get scratched easily and with time requires replacing.

With kitchen tools like the chef’s knives, choppers, etc. care is limited to preventing

the blades from rusting in the case of iron blades, by keeping them dry and covered. It

is also common practice to rub them with a little cooking oil to protect them from

rusting through contact with air. With whisks and beaters it is the rotating parts or the

wiry ends which need special attention. It is good practice to prevent food materials

from on drying on the rotatory parts and posing a cleaning problem.

Money, time and effort spent on care helps to maintain equipment in continuous

working order, while that spent on repair can mean interruption in work causing

unnecessary strain on staff, in addition to extra costs.

It is beneficial to keep records of all amounts spent on care and maintenance of every

large equipment. This helps to estimate the depreciation every year. Excessive costs

shown through records for a particular year can help to draw attention to high

maintenance costs, which weighed against the cost of the equipment may result in a

the decision to change the model for a more efficient one. Records can also help to detect

inefficient in operation, or defects in design or manufacture.

Thus, if the equipment is cared for systematically and proper procedures followed,

maintenance follows on its own to prolong the life and optimum usage of the

equipment.