At Wasserstrom, we learn something new every day. In 2019 we not only helped our customers succeed and grow, we also continued to expand our foodservice knowledge. After 100 years of partnering with both small businesses and large restaurant chains, we’ve realized the only thing more fun than discovering something new is sharing it with our friends in the foodservice industry.
This past year, we’ve covered a wide range of topics. From Sous Vide to Holloware and from ugli fruit to flywheeling. Don’t worry, if you didn’t get a chance to read every article, we’re not going to quiz you… Actually, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. We’ve pulled together some fun questions to see what you’ve learned from our blog in 2019!
True or false: This is considered a bundt pan.
Just because there is a hole in the center doesn’t make it a bundt cake! The rounded bottom is ideal for heavier, dense cakes that don’t have as much of a risk sticking to the bottom of the pan. This is why angel food cakes and other sponge cakes must be baked in a flat-bottomed baking pan. Quiz: Do You Know Your Baking Tools?
True or false: Conveyor dishwashers can often require a larger warewashing area.
While this is true, with the assistance of a trained warewasher operator, you will always have clean dishes, even when your establishment is packed and there’s a line out the door. Even so, be sure to check the spec sheets to ensure your booster heater can handle the desired throughput. Commercial Dishwasher Buying Guide
True or false: One way to prevent food poisoning in your kitchen is to cook all meats to at least 100°F.
Each meat is different, but most cooking temperatures are at least 145°F but some require up to 165°F! It just depends, so be careful when cooking meats rare. Salmonella Prevention: Going From Scary to Safe
True or false: Properly maintaining your oil will ensure the flavors of your food taste fresh.
Commercial fryer oil bookends your maintenance process. Thorough fryer maintenance begins with extracting dirty oil, and it ends with adding clean oil. Commercial Fryer Maintenance
True or false: Ugli Fruit is a tangerine/orange and grapefruit hybrid.
Ugli fruits can be prepped like oranges in your kitchen and topped onto yogurts and fruit salads. 6 Crazy Fruit & Veggie Hybrids That Will Freshen Up Your Menu
True or false: The order to cook a perfect sous vide entree is first cook in water bath, then vacuum seal pouch, then eat.
1. Vacuum seal your food 2. Cook in a water bath at a specific, specified temperature 3. Remove food from sealed pouch and sear the surfaces 4. Enjoy steaks, chicken, and fish cooked to perfection every time Sous Vide: The Affordable Way to Start in Your Commercial Kitchen
True or false: Food processors are the most efficient way to grind spices.
Many chefs use retail coffee grinders to grind up their spices, which is a bad (and costly!) idea in the long-run. Coffee grinders quickly burn out when grinding spices. If you’re putting a whole nutmeg into a coffee grinder, it may only last a couple of months before failing. Waring Commercial Food Processors: Questions to Ask When Shopping
True or false: Grains that can be substituted for gluten include cornmeal, soy, and rice.
Meeting demands for this dietary restriction can be a good business decision. Potato, rice, corn, soy, and bean-based flours can also be used for substitutes for regular gluten flours as well. Dietary Restrictions for Restaurants: Understanding Fads, Trends & Lifestyle
True or false: For a commercial dishwasher to reach a temperature of 180°F, most commercial buildings will need an external booster heater.
Most commercial building water heaters are set between 115° to 120°F, the hot water needs a boost to reach temperatures that kill bacteria and sanitize. Commercial Dishwashers: The #1 Thing Everyone Forgets To Ask
True or false: Paring down your restaurant menu is an easy way to manage a small kitchen space.
Small kitchens require small menus. When you have limited storage space for ingredients, you are already paying a bit more in food costs since the option to buy items in bulk quantities isn’t there. 4 Space Saving Tips for Small Restaurant Kitchens
True or false: To create a welcoming outdoor dining experience, make sure to create a cool breeze directly at customers with large fans.
You want to be sure not to aim the fan directly at the customer. Create paths of moving air that flow around the customers. You can also position fans lower to the ground to create streams of moving air below the table tops. This will help prevent napkins from blowing off the table. Top 5 Ways to Enhance Your Outdoor Dining Area
True or false: Holloware refers to a variety of pieces of tableware that are hollow, with a hole or empty.
Holloware refers to a variety of pieces of metal tableware used in serving. This includes things such as platters, sugar bowls, coffee pots, soup tureens and more. Another defining feature is that the holders are made of metal. Traditionally, they are made of silver or silverplate. In the modern context, we see stainless steel versions as well. What is Holloware?
True or false: Foodservice flywheeling involves the conservation of thermal energy.
As it applies to commercial refrigeration, flywheeling is when operators leverage the frozen contents of their freezer to maintain cold temperatures without electricity. How is Flywheeling Used in Commercial Cold Storage?
True or false: Most larger capacity fryers will require a full hood with fire suppression system.
An important consideration when choosing a floor-model fryer is the need for hood ventilation. It is imperative that you check your local ordinances and get expert advice when attempting to install a floor fryer for the first time. What Type of Commercial Fryer Do You Need?
True or false: The approximate time for deep frying chicken fingers is 2-3 minutes at an oil temperature of 475°F.
Chicken fingers should be cooked for 6-8 minutes at an oil temperature of 350°F. While pieces of chicken should cook 13-20 minutes at an oil temperature of 375°F. Choosing the Right Size Commercial Fryer
True or false: Stainless steel is non-porous, therefore a steel pan won’t discolor delicate sauces, unlike aluminum.
When food-presentation is such an important part of courting customers back to your venue and generating repeat business, it’s critical to always have stainless steel cookware as part of your kitchen’s arsenal for acidic foods such as tomato sauces, vinegar-heavy marinades, and citric glazes. Commercial Cookware Metals: How To Pick The Right Type for Your Kitchen
True or false: Weather isn’t the most important factor in how customers perceive their restaurant experience, but it does appear to have an influence.
Researchers at the Ohio State University Hospitality Management program conducted a series of studies that uncovered the relationship between weather and negative restaurant reviews. Restaurant managers may see more than the usual bad reviews on certain days, and it may have nothing to do with the service or the quality of the food. Weather Influences Negative Restaurant Reviews
True or false: Every dollar spent by consumers in restaurants generates 60 cents more spent on the US economy.
It is actually $2.05! And of that $2.05, 48% of each purchase at a local independent business is recirculated locally. Quiz: 15 Restaurant Industry Stats You Need To Know
True or false: For fry pans without non-stick coating, always use steel wool or stainless steel scrubbing balls.
For stainless, aluminum, stock pots, pans, sauce pans fry pans without non-stick coating, you might be tempted to just hammer on them with steel wool or stainless steel scrubbing balls. But these techniques can come with unexpected consequences. Avoid stainless steel scrubbing balls in commercial kitchens because they can harbor food, do not rinse clean, grow bacteria, and break apart and attach to your pan or go down the drain or garbage disposal. Scouring Pads: Picking the Right One for the Job
True or false: For best cleaning results, wash immersion blender shafts immediately after use.
With fixed shafts units, all it takes is hot soapy water. In contrast, with removable shafts, it just needs to be detached and put into the dishwasher. Waring Immersion Blenders: Questions to Ask When Shopping
