Servicing Your Steamer Unit
Many view steamers as a cooking tool for vegetables, but the fact of the matter is that they’re ideal for vegetables as well as seafood and other tougher items. The benefits of nutrient and moisture preservation combined with fast cooking times make it a prized niche product for many commercial kitchens. Ensuring that you’re servicing your steamer unit correctly can extend its life and keep it functioning efficiently for the duration. Here are 5 servicing tips for your commercial steamer.
1. Check Hinges and Gaskets. After constant use over time, hinges and gaskets will naturally suffer the regular wear and tear that any functioning parts to a commercial unit would. For steamers, a well-sealed unit is especially essential to the unit’s efficiency and proper function. Ensure a tight fit by regularly checking hinges and gaskets for tears, cracks, or weak points.
2. Use Soapy Water to Clean. The inside of the cooking chamber will accumulate grime and debris, so be sure to use a mild, soapy detergent diluted with water to clean it. Drain holes should also be cleared of any debris that may have accumulated.
3. Check the Drain Line. Your steamer unit will need to drain liquid to function properly, and if this line becomes clogged, you’ll want to call a technician to clear out the blockage as soon as possible.
4. Remove Scale and Lime Buildup. Because a steamer utilizes moisture, scale and lime buildup are just a fact of life. Buildup can ruin a steamer’s efficiency by driving up energy consumption and cooking times. Similarly, the boiler will need to work overtime to compensate, which can cut short the life of your unit. Drain the broiler and the reservoir daily, and de-lime the unit as directed by the manufacturer.
5. Check the Water Filtration System Regularly. The water quality of the incoming steam should be of top priority, as limescale buildup can wreak havoc on your system. At the same time, poor water quality can impact the flavors of the foods in the steamer unit. Investing in a water filter is essential to your steamer purchase.
Your steamer unit has a better chance of living out it’s full predicted usable life and at maximum efficiencies, if you service it regularly and check all working parts on a regular basis.
LENNY TELLER
Contract/Design/Engineering
CKitchen.com
E Friedman Associates
(917) 335-1127
lenny@efriedman.com
The benefits of making a combi unit a part of your cooking arsenal will open up many doors for your menu planning thereby enhancing your repertoire of cooking feats.
Steamed menu items are becoming popular as the health craze becomes more of a traditional player rather than a trendy fad. A steamer will do just that…steam foods. Frozen or raw products can be prepared and will result with the expected steam finish. Of course, foods once cooked in a steamer and stored in the “food bank” refrigerator can be reconstituted by the same unit to a perfect serving temperature . However, it will still have the same steam finish result. If that fits the bill, then a steamer would work just fine for you.
A breakdown of the most common steam cooking equipment and how you can build a strong lineup that is tailored to your operation.
In recent years, seafood sustainability has become more and more of a hot topic, and restaurant and food trends in general have swayed heavily towards environmental sustainability and transparency. The result is that customers are changing the way they select their seafoods, and these preferences are based on a variety of factors.
Read More
