Tools and Equipment Flashcards
Range Top- Open Elements (Burners)
Either electric coils or gas flames. These tops are the fastest to heat and can be turned off after short use. However, cooktop space is limited to one pot per burner.
Range Top- Flattop (Hot Top)
(Lightweight). Burners covered with steel plate. More cook space is available. Top supports moderately heavy weights.
Range Top- Heavy-Duty Flattop
Burners covered with heavy cast steel. The top supports many heavy pots. A thick top requires longer preheating. Set burners for different levels, and adjust cooking heat by moving pots to different spots on the top. A ring-top range is a type of flattop that has removable rings, allowing access to even more intense heat from the flames below.
Range Top- Induction Cooktops
The top of this cooktop doesn’t become hot. Rather, it works by magnetically agitating the molecules in steel or iron cookware so the cookware becomes hot. As a result, much less energy is used and the kitchen stays cooler, because only the pots and pans and their contents become hot. There are no hot surfaces or open flames. Also, no warm-up is required. The top can be turned instantly on or off. Small, easily portable induction burners are available. These are useful for off-premise catering operations, for buffet service, and even for table-side heating and cooking.
-The disadvantage of this cooktop is that only iron or steel pots can be used. Traditional aluminum or copper cookware will not work. There are now pots and pans made of aluminum sandwiched between layers of stainless steel.
Conventional Oven
Operate simply by heating air in an enclosed space. The most common ovens are part of the range unit, although separate oven units or ovens as part of a broiler unit are also available.
-Stack ovens are units that consist of individual shelves or decks arranged one above the other. Pans are placed directly on the oven deck rather than on wire shelves. Temperatures are adjustable for each deck.
Convection Oven
Convection 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.
Slow-Cook-and-Hold-Oven
With computerized electronic controls and special probes that sense when a roast is done and tell 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 200°F or lower and to hold foods at 140°F for long periods. Large cuts of meat take many hours to roast at a low temperature like 200°F. 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.
Revolving Oven (Reel Oven)
Large chambers containing many shelves or trays on an attachment like a Ferris wheel. 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.
Combination Steamer Oven (Combi Oven)
Can be operated in three modes: Convection Oven, 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 reduce shrinkage and drying.
- Programmed for multiple changes of temperature and humidity during the cooking cycle, customizing the program for each product to be cooked.
- Built-in temperature probes to be inserted in the product being cooked can be set to turn the oven off or change it to holding mode when the desired temperature is reached.
- Some special units are also equipped to inject smoke into the oven.
- The precise temperature control can be set for very low cooking temperatures, making it suitable for some sous vide cooking.
Barbecue Oven (Smoke Oven)
Like conventional ovens, but with one important difference: They produce wood smoke, which surrounds the food and adds flavor while it bakes or roasts. Special woods such as hickory, mesquite, or fruitwoods 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 heating element that heats small blocks or chips of the wood so they are hot enough to smoke but not hot enough to burst into flame.
Depending on the model, these ovens may have smokeless roast/bake cycles, cold-smoke cycles (with the smoke element on but the oven off), holding cycles, and broiling capabilities.
Not be confused with a smoker, used for making hot-smoked and cold-smoked foods
Infrared (Reconstituting Oven)
Contain quartz tubes or plates that generate intense infrared heat. These 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.
Wood-Burning Oven
Ancient ovens were made of heavy masonry, brick, or clay and heated by building a wood fire inside them. In this type of oven, the brick absorbs the intense heat of the fire and cooks foods long after the fire has gone out and the ashes removed. Items such as breads and pizzas are baked directly on the floor of the oven, just as in modern deck ovens.
Mostly used in specialty restaurants that feature roasted meats, pizzas, and similar items. The foods absorb some of the appealing wood-smoke flavors and aromas.
Because a traditional wood-burning oven lacks a temperature control knob, some experience is needed to produce baked goods of consistent quality. During the firing of the oven, a wood fire is built directly on the hearth inside the oven. The flue and the door are kept open to allow the smoke to escape. After the fire is stopped, the ashes and embers are swept out. The door and flue are closed to allow the heat to equalize inside the dome of the oven. Initial temperatures inside the oven at this point may be as high as 900°F. Pizza can be baked at this temperature. For meats and breads, the oven is left to stand until the temperature gradually drops to the desired range. Alternatively, a fire can be kept going in the back of the oven while foods are roasted toward the front, with the flue kept open.
Combination ovens, also available, are more controllable. These can be fired by gas alone, by wood alone, or by gas and wood together.
Microwave Oven
In these ovens, special tubes generate microwave radiation, which creates heat inside the food.
Broiler
Generate heat from above, and food items are placed on a grate beneath the heat source. Broiling is a favorite way of preparing steaks, chops, chicken, and many other items.
Produce a very high heat and consume vast quantities of energy. Some broilers are said to go as high as 2,000°F 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.
Salamander
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.
Usually mounted above the range.
Grill
Used for the same cooking operations as broilers, except the heat source is below the grid that holds the food rather than above it.
Gives foods a distinct charcoal taste, which is created by smoke from meat fats that drip into the heat source.
Wood-smoke flavors such as hickory or mesquite can be added to foods if those woods are burned, if it designed for such.
Griddle
- Flat, smooth, heated surfaces on which food is cooked directly. Perfect for pancakes, French toast, hamburgers and other meats, eggs, and potato items.
- Available as separate units or as part of a range-top.
- Clean surfaces after every use so they will cook at peak efficiency. Polish with an appropriate stone or cloth until the surface shines. Follow the grain of the metal to avoid scratching.
- Condition after each cleaning or before each use to create a nonstick surface and to prevent rusting.
- Conditioning Procedure: Spread a thin film of oil over the surface and heat to 400°F. Wipe clean and repeat until griddle has a smooth, nonstick finish.
Rotisserie
- Cooks meat and other food by turning them slowly in front of electric- or gas-powered heating elements. Even though classical cooking theory categorizes this as roasting, these cookers are more closely related to broilers in that the foods are cooked by the infrared heat of the elements.
- Both enclosed (ovenlike) and open or unclosed units are available. Small units hold about 8 chickens, and sizes range all the way to very large models that can hold as many as 70 chickens.
- Because 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.
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.
- Standard 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 fat temperature.
Tilting Skillet
- A versatile and efficient piece of equipment, that can be used as a griddle, fry pan, brazier, stewpot, stockpot, steamer, and bain-marie or steam table.
- It’s a large, shallow, flat-bottomed pot. To look at it another way, it is a griddle with sides 6 inches high, plus a cover.
- It has a tilting mechanism that enables liquids to be poured out of it.
- Power may be gas or electric.
- Clean immediately after each use, before food has time to dry on. Add water, turn it on to heat it, and scrub thoroughly.
Tilt Steam-Jacketed Kettle “Trunnion”
- Heat much more quickly and have more uniform and controllable heat than pots on the range. Range in capacity from 2 gallons to over 100 gallons. Some large institutional kettles hold 4,000 gallons.
- Can be tilted for emptying, either by turning a wheel or by pulling a lever.
- Heat is controlled by regulating the steam flow or by adjusting the thermostat. Steam may be from an outside source or self-generated. Exercise caution when operating all steam equipment. Steam can cause serious burns.
- Clean immediately after use to avoid food drying on surfaces.
Non-Tilt Steam-Jacketed Kettle
- Heat much more quickly and have more uniform and controllable heat than pots on the range. Range in capacity from 2 gallons to over 100 gallons. Some large institutional kettles hold 4,000 gallons.
- Emptied by a spigot and drain on the bottom.
- Heat is controlled by regulating the steam flow or by adjusting the thermostat. Steam may be from an outside source or self-generated. Exercise caution when operating all steam equipment. Steam can cause serious burns.
- Clean immediately after use to avoid food drying on surfaces, disassemble the spigot and drain, and clean with a bottle brush
Pressure Steamer
Cooks food under a pressure of 15 pounds per square inch in high-pressure steamers or 4−6 pounds per square inch in low-pressure steamers. They are operated by a timer, which shuts the equipment off after a preset time. The door cannot be opened until the pressure returns to zero.
Pressureless (Convection) Steamer
-Jets of steam are directed at the food to speed the heat transfer, just as the fan in a convection oven speeds cooking. The door can be opened any time during cooking.
All steamers hold standard-size counter pans (12 × 20 inches) or fractions thereof. Their capacity varies from one to many pans.
-Steamer operation varies greatly depending on the model. Check the operating manual and be sure you understand a particular model well before attempting to operate it.
Caution is important with all steam equipment because of the danger of severe burns
Small Table-Model Mixer
Range in capacity from 5 to 20 quarts.
Vertical mixers are important and versatile tools for many kinds of food mixing and processing jobs, both in the bakeshop and in the kitchen. (The kind of mixer shown here is called the planetary mixer, because the beater attachment revolves on its own axis as it also rotates around the bowl, like the motion of planets around the sun.)
Adaptor rings enable several bowl sizes to be used on one machine. Most mixers have three operating speeds.
Large Floor-Model Mixer
Available as large as 140 quarts.
Vertical mixers are important and versatile tools for many kinds of food mixing and processing jobs, both in the bakeshop and in the kitchen. (The kind of mixer shown here is called the planetary mixer, because the beater attachment revolves on its own axis as it also rotates around the bowl, like the motion of planets around the sun.)
Adaptor rings enable several bowl sizes to be used on one machine. Most mixers have three operating speeds.
Paddle Mixer-Attachment
Flat blade used for general mixing.
Wire Whip Mixer-Attachment
Used for such tasks as beating cream and eggs and making mayonnaise.
