While almost every household is sure to have a microwave oven, those home varieties differ greatly from their commercial counter-parts, like those found at Culinary Depot. The power of a commercial microwave oven is much greater, and the inner cavity of the oven is usually much wider, deeper and higher than a house-hold model, allowing for more product to be heated in a shorter amount of time.

Commercial microwaves can operate on 120 volts, but some larger models require 208 to 240 volts. A smaller unit can produce about 700 watts, while larger units can pump out close to 3200 watts.

Most microwave ovens are made of stainless steel and have powder-coated handles. Standard features usually include programmable memory pad selectors, see-through doors, a cycle counter, and a lighted inner cavity, and an automatic shut-off system to avoid over-heating. Doors are required to have individual, but inter-locking systems that automatically turn the oven off when opened.

A new heating technology found in commercial microwaves allow constant energy to penetrate the center of the food, allowing for more even cooking and less burning around the edges of the product. This new technology also allows for keeping food warm longer after heating. 

While microwaves do not require hoods, the operator should take into consideration the overall usage of the unit. For example, users that spend a great deal of time defrosting products rather than simply heating them, should consider a unit with higher voltage capabilities to avoid wear on the machine. Also, since a microwave is an electronic device, it requires ventilation space for the hot air to escape and avoid over-heating, so take care not to place a microwave directly over a fryer or steamer, and all manufacturers warn not to turn on a microwave when it is empty.

For all your commercial microwave needs, please visit www.culinarydepotinc.com, stop by our showroom, or call us at 877-863-3630.

One of the best-selling and most popular part of any restaurant’s menu is their fried foods section. From french-fries, doughnuts and other starches, to fried chicken and other proteins, to tempura and other vegetable dishes, and more recently, even fried oreos and twinkies, there is almost no food that can’t be fried.  When done properly, frying adds a crispy, crusty exterior, while keeping the food inside moist and flavorful. In truth, one of the first items on a new restaurant’s equipment list is always the deep fryer, and one of the first places they search for fryers is Culinary Depot.

While some fryers cook through induction or infrared heating, the traditional fryer uses gas or electric to heat a pool of oil for dropping foods into. Electric fryers usually come in 120, 220 or 240 volts, while gas fryers produce between 30,000 and 150,000 BTU per hour.

Fryers come in a variety of sizes and depths and can be placed on a counter-top or used in a stand-alone variety. Smaller fryers have capacities of 11 pounds of oil up to about 50 pounds of oil, while larger, stand alone fryers can hold more than double that. The general rule to follow when figuring out how much food a fryer is able to produce per hour is that a fryer can usually handle 1.5 to 2 times the amount of oil it holds, so a 50 pound fryer can usually produce 75-100 pounds of food per hour.

Standard fryer features include a heavy gauge stainless steel fryer tank, a full-port ball drain for removing oil, stainless steel front and sides and lockable casters. New features on some fryers include heat exchanger systems that help bring oil back to temp faster after food is dropped in, advanced electronic switching, and specially designed heating tubes.

Many common accessories purchased when also buying a fryer include a filtration system, fryer baskets of multiple sizes, tank covers, crumb scoops, splatter shields, and tank brushes for cleaning.

General maintenance suggestions to extend the life of your fryer include frequent draining of a tank’s oil and cleaning of the inner tank, as well as avoiding dumping frozen foods into fully-heated oil, scorching the frying medium and stressing the heating elements.

For all your fryer needs, from counter-top models to stand-alone versions, and all your fryer accessories, visit www.culinarydepotinc.com, or call 877-863-3630.

For some diners, nothing beats the taste of tender rotisserie chicken, meat, fish and vegetables, and the only way to get that authentic slow-cooked flavor is by using a commercial rotisserie, like those found at Culinary Depot.

Rotisseries are generally found in two varieties, Batch-Cookers and Continuous-Cookers. Batch-Cookers are meant to cook a certain amount of chickens in a batch for specific serving times, like a big lunch rush, and feature skewers that are placed through the cavity of the chickens. Continuous-Cookers are meant to cook chickens and keep them warm through-out the day for continual serving, and usually feature baskets that cradle the chickens and rotate them around the heat source so as not to burn the poultry.

Some models feature an aesthetically pleasing fireplace effect, where logs are burned off to simulate cooking over an open flame, but almost all rotisseries rely on either gas or electric heat sources to cook the chickens. Rotisseries are found in a number of sizes, from small counter-tops to models that can cook 80 or more chickens at once.

Most rotisserie bodies are made of galvanized sheet metal coated with stainless steel, while featuring glass doors or walls for easy viewing and access to the meat inside, and all rotisseries feature a small motor that rotates the spits or baskets around the heat source as the hot air produced slowly cooks the poultry, meat, vegetables or fish, creating that caramelized sheen that customers have grown to expect and love.

While most rotisseries operate the same way, some newer models have added optional features as stay-cool doors, holding and warming options, vent-less hoods, self-clean modes, and a constant water drip bath for removing grease as the food cooks.

At Culinary Depot, we offer a wide variety of both gas and electric rotisseries in either the batch-cooking models or in continuous-cooking versions. We stock all the major manufacturers of rotisserie machines, accessories and parts, and our knowledgeable staff can help select the proper machine for your establishment, so call us at 1-877-863-3630 or visit our website at www.culinarydepotinc.com for all your slow-cooking rotisserie needs.

The main function of a char broiler is to cook food at a consistent temperature and a high production level with as short a recovery time as possible, while presenting a pleasing cross-mark presentation on the food itself. Char-broilers can use any of four sources of heat, gas, electric, wood, or charcoal. The general structure of a char-broiler features an adjustable grate on which the chef can place food orders. This grate is suspended over a localized heat source, which, in the case of gas or electric char-broilers may also be adjusted for temperature control.  This tray can be angled to allow for grease to be sent to a trough or tray rather than causing flare-ups from direct contact with the heat source.

Depending on the type of heat source the char-broiler uses, conducted heat is transmitted through the top grate, while convected heat is carried by circulated air. Infrared rays emanate from the heat source, use less gas and reach operating temperatures in 90 seconds. Some models offer variable front-to-rear control of heat sources for more precise cooking control. Gas models have a Btu range from 17,000 up to 217,500, depending on their size. Economy models may feature heavy, cast-iron radiants for even heat distribution and to hold cooking temperatures in excess of 700 °F, however most char-broilers are most efficient when used between 550 °F and 625 °F.

While many chefs prefer to use a lava rock or ceramic briquette heat source for their char-broiler, this can accumulate large amounts of carbon and grease and experts recommend replacing both the heating elements and the grates as often as twice per year. Some other models offer self-cleaning elements and do not need to be replaced.

Char-broilers come in a variety of sizes and can be floor-standing or counter-top to accommodate even the smallest kitchen. Some other forms of char-broilers include cheese-melters and overhead salamanders. 

Exhaust requirements are highly important to consider when purchasing or using a char-broiler. In the case of a drop-in model, exhaust requirements range from 900- to 1,200- cu.-ft. per minute. These units must be also be installed 1” from any side wall, at least 5” from a back wall and about 4” from any other piece of countertop equipment. Proper ventilation and frequent cleaning are equally important to consider.

At Culinary Depot, we carry a wide variety of char-broilers, cheese-melters and salamanders, both in floor variety and in counter-top size. Culinary Depot stocks a number of sizes and manufacturer varieties of the broilers and can even help you plan out your kitchen design to allow for ventilation concerns and city/state codes. Visit us today at www.culinarydepotinc.com, or call us at 1-877-863-3630 for more information or questions about our broilers and other commercial kitchen equipment and supplies.

Blast chillers are growing in popularity because foodservice operators are learning how to expand the foods that can be blast chilled. Blast chillers are also as popular with small operations as they are with high-volume kitchens and, clearly, blast chillers’ use is on the rise because its technology is being successfully utilized in all types of foodservice kitchens.

Using a blast chiller also involves appropriate placement. Position your blast chiller close to your cook lines to reduce food transport times from safe chilling to heating. Also, enhance safety by using smaller blast chillers that are stocked with meal components and that are placed behind serving lines, helping to ensure food is as cold as possible when placed on refrigerated tables or in display cases for sale over time and with the intention of being consumed later.

Because blast chilling is among the best food preservation and food safety technology available and because they are now available in many sizes and capacities for a growing range of foodservice programs, they work well in just about any kitchen environment. What’s more, because they help prevent foodborne illness outbreaks and enable increased productivity, decreased labor, and extended food storage time, blast chillers ultimately pay for themselves.

Blast chillers enable you to take food cooked in larger quantities and rapidly cool that food to safe temperatures so that you can inventory food in cold storage for future use with minimal or little degradation. Food safety is of optimal concern in any kitchen, and blast chillers help maintain food safety, a challenge when cooking and storing in quantities.

Blast chillers reduce the internal temperatures of foods from above 160 degrees to below 38 degrees Fahrenheit, even lower, faster than it takes for foodborne pathogens to reproduce. Blast chillers help you create meals that can be reheated or served cold with a significantly reduced risk of food spoilage by bringing food through the temperature danger zone rapidly, which not only discourages foodborne pathogens, but also prevents cell-bursting ice crystals from forming and damaging the taste and texture of food.

Blast chillers also help to reduce food shrinkage and extend food shelf life by up to three weeks, allowing you to prepare and chill foods less frequently and in larger quantities. This helps you save on labor and become more efficient in how you inventory food and plan menus.

A necessity for any kitchen of any size interested in maintaining food safety and improving performance, blast chillers are also indispensable to kitchens that prepare food for inventory; serve to remote satellite areas, banquets, and buffets; and that have to reheat menu items.

If you own a business involving food, you know how important it is to invest in the best equipment to maintain your food and you know that one of the largest and most significant problems is spoiled food, which is like tossing money in the trash. Investing in quality freezers will ensure that you can maintain your foods safely and longer, enabling you to maximize on your food investment and help you prefer meals that are as delectable as they are safe.

Traulsen has been providing the food service industry with quality refrigeration equipment for over 70 years. The G-Series units, which are on sale, have anodized aluminum sides and interiors and a holding temperature of 34 to -38 degrees Fahrenheit. All G-Series Traulsen freezers have earned the Energy Star rating, which means that you can purchase and operate these appliances with the confidence of knowing that you are saving energy, lowering your electric bills, and protecting the environment. All Trauslen freezers are equipped with technology such as microprocessor control for years of reliable and energy efficient operation in commercial facilities.

Victory was the first foodservice equipment maker to be named an Energy Star Manufacturing Partner of the Year and has been a leader in the freezer and refrigeration industry for over 60 years, offering innovative, durable, energy efficient, quality appliances that are constructed for maximum efficacy in the heavy duty conditions of any commercial kitchen and restaurant. With 100 percent stainless steel fronts, Victory freezers remain attractive even after years of intense use.

Always with an eye toward protecting the earth and increasing and improving greening operations, Culinary Depot Inc.’s current catalog offers Eco-Takeouts, environmentally friendly, reusable food containers that are both NSF approved and constructed with Microban. These containers come in an array of sizes and, because they are both sturdy and reusable, reduce landfill waste and are dishwasher safe and break resistant.

If you are a caterer or a facility that feeds colleges, hotels, conventions, and “brown bag” events—to name just a few—these containers are perfect. Be sure to add your corporate logo and other contact information so that potential customers will remember you every time they use these products.

If you move food, consider our Dual Temp Transport Carts, manufactured by Lakeside, that enable you to transport foods that separately require heat and cold, all in one convenient unit. What’s more, both sides will maintain your food at safe temperatures without power for up to 30 minutes, a great benefit to any food transporter professional.

Easy to service, practically maintenance free, and constructed with stainless steel interiors and exteriors, these transport carts are a wonderful appliance that keeps a range of foods safely stored when being moved. Even when unplugged, thermostats and read-out functions remain fully operational.

Interested? Give us a call, toll-free, at 1.877.863.3630. We are always happy to help you make your business run more efficiently with products that are priced reasonably and made by the very best manufacturers in the industry.

For instance, you might want to consider our Refrigerated-Heated Cabinets by Victory. These Spec Line cabinets are offered in one section with self-contained refrigeration, stainless steel interiors and exteriors, solid half doors, and a standard depth cabinet. Choose from a number of Victory options.

If you prefer a Two-Section device, consider what we have to offer from both Victory and Traulsen.

Traulsen’s spec-line refrigerated/heated dual temp cabinet is a reach-in with a single section. Constructed with an aluminum interior and stainless steel exterior, this device offers a roomy 32-inch deep cabinet and wide half-height or full-height doors (depending on the model). Some models also offer microprocessor control and remote refrigeration. Choose from any one of about one dozen of our Traulsen Spec-Line Refrigerated/Heated Dual Temp Cabinets.

The Victory Spec Line Refrigerated Two-Section Refrigerated/Heated Cabinets also offer dual temperatures and two sections. In this line, you will also receive a device constructed with self-contained refrigeration, stainless steel exteriors, and standard depth cabinets. Depending on your choice, there are models with solid full doors, solid half doors, pass-thru construction, and aluminum or stainless steel interiors. Choose from any of eight models.

If you need help deciding what works best in your kitchen, feel free to call us, toll-free, at 1.877.863.3630 for all of refrigerated/heated cabinet and catering needs. We have virtually everything imaginable to make your catering business more efficient and productive at reasonable prices from only the best manufacturers.

There, you will find Chairs and Stools, Hi-Chairs, and Tables. We offer bar stools with a two-inch padded, black vinyl seat and two–ring frame by Winco. Also by Winco, we offer swivel bar stools in two size options. Choose from 18 ½ by 4 ½-inch bucket seats in black vinyl with attractive black powder coated legs and a chrome ring or the 19 by 18 ¾-inch high back with a three and a-half-inch bucket seat in black vinyl and constructed with black powder coated legs and chrome ring.

We also have two banquet stacking chairs from which to choose: Winco stacking chairs in a two-inch black or red pad. Winco stacking chairs with a rounded long back, a hand hold, a 2 ½-inch upholstered seat in either black or burgundy vinyl, and a black powder coated frame are also available. We also offer a black Winco banquet stacking chair with a curved long back, a convenient hand hold, a comfortable 2 ½-inch upholstered black vinyl seat, and a black powder coated frame.

If you prefer booster chairs, we have plastic and wood choices in a huge selection of colors, with and without height options, straps, release mechanisms, and antimicrobial protections, to name just a few available. We also offer booster chair parts, including chair straps by Winco and youth seat trays by Rubbermaid.

As for tables, choose from drop-leaf, round or square tops, and plastic laminated tables in a variety of heights and diameters to suit your kitchen’s needs.