Hand notes on Kitchen equipment

What is large equipment?

• Main pieces of cooking, storage and preparation equipment found in kitchens.

• Normally static, fixed and directly connected to fuel/power supply.

• Includes:

• Ranges, stoves and ovens

• Steamers, boilers, fryers and grills

• Mixers, peelers and processors

• Fridges, freezers and hot cupboards.

• Ranges: collection of equipment together, stoves and ovens of various sizes and designs.

• Stoves/hobs: open gas, solid top, induction, halogen.

• Ovens: deck, convection, fan-assisted, combination, microwave.

• Steamers: atmospheric, pressure and dual, also combination ovens.

• Boiling pans: various sizes, gas, electric, steam jacket.

• Fryers: deep fat fryers, bratt pans.

• Grills and griddles: salamander, under-heated, contact grill.

• Mixers: food mixers, table or floor mounted.

• Peelers: potato or vegetable preparation machines.

• Food processors: chopping, mincing, slicing, blending, juicing equipment.

• Dishwashing: for equipment, crockery and glass cleaning

Use, hazards, care and storage

 Compliance with operating instructions and workplace polices; seek training before using for
first time.
 Hazards: hot surfaces during use; use of gas, electricity or steam; loading and unloading; use
of hot fat/oil.
 Care: regular maintenance and cleaning schedules; follow manufacturer guidance; wipe up
spillages.
 Storage: clean down before periods of close down.
What is small equipment?
• Items and utensils for cooking, storage and preparation found in kitchens.
• Normally portable, in various sizes and types of materials.
• Includes:
• Cooking pots and pans
• Trays, cooking and storage
• Utensils
• Boards.
Cooking pots: braising pans, casserole dishes, fish kettles, saucepans, various sizes and materials.
• Frying pans: non-stick, griddle, omelette, pancake, wok, various sizes and materials.
• Sauté and sauteuse pans: small pans used to finish dishes in restaurant kitchens
Cooking trays: roasting (deeper sides), baking tray/sheet/tins, various sizes and depths.
• Cooling racks: various sizes, in mesh to allow baked items to cool quickly.
• Storage trays: cafeteria (flat tray), gastronome, various sizes and depths.
Cooking utensils: moulds, flan rings, frying baskets.
• Straining utensils: chinois, conical strainers, colanders, sieves, spiders.
• Hand-held utensils: whisks, mashers, corers, rolling pins, spoons, slicers.
• Cutting utensils: graters, mandolins, peelers.
Boards are used for preparing foods within the kitchen.
• Polyethylene and plastic are most common but wood is still in use.
• Colour coded: helps to minimise potential cross-contamination in kitchens.
• Cleaning: hot detergent, rinse well and then dry.
• Storage: stand on side and allow air to circulate between boards.
Use, hazards, care and storage

• Compliance with workplace polices and practices.

• Hazards: lifting heavy and hot pots and pans; hot liquids or fats/oils.
• Care: correct cleaning; dry-wipe frying pans.
• Storage: dry after cleaning and store, allowing air to circulate.

What knife to use?

• Knives have many different purposes and have been designed accordingly.
• Always select the correct knife for the task.
• Variety of shapes and sizes, materials and handles available.
• When purchasing, check for balance and weight in hand.
• Always maintain and keep sharp.
Basic preparation knives
• Paring knife: small-bladed knife used to prepare fruit and vegetables
• General chef’s knife: multi-purpose knife, variety of lengths, used for chopping and
slicing
• Filleting knife: medium-length blade, pointed at the end and flexible blade
• Boning knife: short-to-medium length blade, pointed and firm blade, rigid so as not
to bend.
• Specialist preparation knives
• Turning knife: small, curved blade used to shape and prepare fruit and vegetables to
enhance presentation
• Carving knife: usually a long, thin blade for slicing meat and/or fish
• Serrated knife: long, thin blade, designed for cutting specific foods, e.g. bread and
pastry goods
• Palette knife: flat, flexible blade with rounded end for spreading or turning food.
• Cutting equipment used in the kitchen
• Cleaver: heavy, thick blade to cut through bone
 • Scissors: specific kitchen use to cut fins from fish or through small bones without
buckling
• Butcher’s saw: to cut through bones when preparing meat for cooking
• Vegetable peelers: usually double-bladed for left- and right-hand use, for removing
skin from vegetables.
Maintenance and care
• Knives that are kept sharp are safer:
• Will cut efficiently and cleanly.
• It is harder to control a blunt knife:
• Requires more pressure or force to cut.
• Sharpen regularly to keep the blade honed:
• Use a butcher’s steel or whet stone.
• Keep knives sharp, sharpening regularly on a steel.
• Always pass by the handle.
• Never place and leave in a sink of water.
• Never run with knives.
• Always carry with the blade pointing down and backwards.
• Store knives safely in carry case or rack.
• Wash and dry knives between tasks.
• Do not use the same cloth to clean knives between tasks.
• After preparing raw meat and poultry, clean and disinfect knives.
• Wash, rinse and dry knives thoroughly.
• Check handle area is cleaned too.

Air fryer

Fried food is the bad houseguest of cooking techniques: It’s a crowd-pleaser, but behind the kitchen
door it’s messy, temperamental and leaves a foul stink. We wondered if there was a better way to
indulge our fried fetish at home, so we bought an air-fryer and cranked up the oven to see whether we
could fake it using either appliance.

The air fryer reliably produced crispier surfaces and did a much better job replicating that special feat
of frying: creating food with a dry crust and a moist center.

In the oven, breaded items fared worst, with the coating occasionally sloughing off before we got food
to the plate. Even when food came out well, no one would have mistaken it for fried.

Both options require substantially less oil, offering healthier alternatives to deep-fat frying.

The main reason people love air-frying is that, compared with deep-frying, it significantly
reduces overall calorie intake. In fact, most people reduce their calorie intake by 70 to 80
percent, on average, when using air fryers.

Air fryers are also time-efficient. You can bake a chicken breast faster in an air fryer than you
can in your oven, and clean-up is typically easier.