Kitting out the kitchen with professional restaurant appliances
One of the great things about open kitchens in restaurants is that you get to see the professionals at work. It also means that if you have an interest in cooking, you can watch not only the workflow of the chefs, but also get a good idea of the equipment that they use. Some of the professional-grade appliances make certain styles of cooking much easier, and it’s good to know that there are companies such as Roller Grill that not only sell to restaurants, but offer these sorts of appliances to domestic kitchens.
Three items in the Roller Grill home range that are particularly interesting are the planchas, the infrared ovens and the stand-alone friers. These open up a whole realm of possibilities for the domestic chef.
Infrared ovens
Infrared ovens are particularly interesting. They heat is created by a special Alferon element in a siliquartz tube, and these release infrared radiation that enter the food and cook it at a high temperature (1050 ° C), without producing smoke or any other odour. The big advantage of this is that it retains the moisture in the food, and fat isn’t oxidised. It’s ideal for roasting chickens, or grilling meat, fish or vegetables. The big difference between an infrared oven and a conventional oven is that the former heats the food directly via the harmless infrared radiation, while the latter heats up the air that then cooks the food. So infrared ovens are also faster, as well as respecting the molecular make-up of the food better.
Planchas
Planchas (the Spanish name for a hot cooking plate) are rarely found in domestic kitchens, but they are common in restaurants, simply because they are so useful. These planchas are easy to clean, and are healthier than cooking over a flame because the food doesn’t come into contact with fire that could otherwise result in the build-up of non-healthy chemicals in the food. They are also easy to clean, and offer the advantage of making it possible to cook more than one thing at a time, with minimal use of fat or oil. Planchas are also a good option for barbecues, too, for similar reasons. If you travel to Australia, for example, many parks will have public planchas for people to enjoy their own barbecue in a communal space, with one of the great benefits being the ease of cleaning after use. Roller Grill offers both electric and gas-powered planchas for domestic use, both indoors and outdoors.
Electric Fryers
And while a fryer may seem a simple device, successful frying requires a professional electric fryer. It needs to have sufficient power that the correct frying temperature is maintained even when the food to be fried is introduced. It needs to be able to hold the ideal temperature. Critically, to avoid the wrong sorts of flavours being transmitted to the food, there needs to be a cold zone at the bottom below the frying zone, at least 100 °C cooler than the frying temperature. For this to occur, the heating element must be in the correct place. And the fryer needs to be operated without the lid on, which would cause condensation and then a lack of crispness in whatever is being fried. Roller Grill offer 4 litre and 8 litre options.
