Kitchen Tools and Equipment

• Kitchen tools and Equipment include cooking and processing equipment as well as utensils.

Rangetops

• Considered the most important cooking equipment in the kitchen.
• Many of the range's functions are taken over by tools like steamers, steam kettles, tilting skillets, and ovens.

Ovens

• Ranges and ovens act as the two workhorses of a kitchen; they are often found in the same unit.
• Ovens are enclosed spaces used to heat food, usually by hot air, microwaves, or infrared radiation.

Conventional Ovens

• Heats air within an enclosed space
• These ovens are a part of the range unit, however separate units or as part of a broiler unit are also available.
• Stack ovens are individual shelves or decks arranged one on top of the other.
• Temperatures are adjustable for each deck.
• Pans are arranged directly on the oven deck instead of wire shelves.
• Preheat thoroughly avoid excess energy use.
• Opening the door often results in a higher loss of energy and interruption of cooking.
• Space items well for heat circulation.

Convection Ovens

• Contain fans that circulate air and heat throughout the interior rapidly.
• Forced air enables food to cook quicker at lower temperatures
• Shelves can be placed closer together.
• Set the temperature 25°−50°F (15°−30°C) lower than a conventional oven for products.
• Watch cooking times closely, as forced heat cooks food faster, and dries out some foods if they are overcooked, causing roasts to shrink.
• Many models cannot be operated with the blower switch off, as the motor may burn out.
• Forced air may deform soft items.

Broilers and Salamanders

• Broilers are sometimes called overhead broilers, to avoid confusion with grills.
• Overhead broilers generate heat from above.
• Food items are arranged on a grate beneath the heat source.
• Steaks, chops, chicken, and other items are often prepared with a broiler.
• Salamanders are small broilers primarily used for browning or glazing the tops of some items.

Grills

• Grills perform the same operations are broilers but the heat source is located below the grid rather than above.
• Grilling creates a charcoal taste due to smoke from fat drippings.

Griddles

• Flat, smooth, heated surfaces used for the direct cooking of food.
• Pancakes, French toast, burgers, and more are frequently prepared on a griddle.

Deep Fryers

• Used to cook food in hot fat.
• Standard deep fryers are powered by gas or electricity and have thermostatic controls that maintain the fat temperature.
• Automatic fryers are equipped to remove food from the fat after a preset time.
• Pressure fryers are covered kettles that fry food under pressure so that foods cook faster at lower temperatures.

Steam Cookers

• Ideal for quickly cooking vegetables and other foods while maintaining nutrients and flavor.

Mixers

• Vertical mixers are versatile tools for mixing and processing jobs.

Agitator Attachments

• Paddle: A flat blade used for general purpose mixing.
• Wire Whip: Is used for beating cream and eggs, and making mayonnaise.
• Dough Arm: used for mixing and kneading yeast doughs.

Blender

• Consists of a motor with a base topped by a container with a spinning blade.
• Well-suited for mixing and pureeing liquids.
• Used to mix, purée, and emulsify liquids like soups, sauces, and batters.
• Can be used to prepare drinks

Hot Food Holding Equipment

• Keeps food hot for service, above 135°F (57°C) to prevent bacterial growth.
• Should only be held for a short period of time.
• Steam tables use standard-size counter pans or hotel pans as inserts that hold foods and use flat or domed covers. Check water often.
• A bain-marie is a hot-water bath, where containers are set on a rack inside a shallow water container powered by electricity, gas, or steam.
• Overhead infrared lamps used in service areas to keep plated food warm.
• Foods dry out under holding lamps, excluding french fries and fried foods.

Cold Food Storage Equipment

• Needed to maintain the quality of food.
• Refrigerators, known as coolers or boxes, keep food below 41°F (5°C) to prevent spoilage and bacterial growth.
• A walk-in is a room-sized refrigerator with built-in shelves.
• A reach-in is a standard upright refrigerator shape with no freezer unit.
• Small reach-ins and refrigerated drawers are used in prep and service areas.
• Refrigerated display cases are used in retail and dining areas.
• Freezers store food for longer periods of time and are available in walk-ins, reach-ins, and smaller units.

Kitchen Utensils

• A hand-held, hand-powered tool that is used to prepare food

Measuring Utensils

• Utensils that help correctly measure ingredients listed in a recipe.
• A recipe constitutes a set of instructions used to prepare food.
• Dry Measuring Cups
• Also known as graduated measuring cups
• Consists of 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, and 1 cup measurements.
• Used to measure flour, sugar, and semi-solid ingredients.
• Liquid Measuring cups measure milk and oil
• Comes in 1-cup and 2-cup.
• Use the appropriate size for the amounts measuring
• Measuring Spoons
• Measures small amounts.
• Come in sets ¼, ½, and 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon
• Straight Edge Spatula
• Otherwise known as a narrow spatula.
• Used to level dry ingredients in measuring cups/spoons.
• Kitchen Thermometer
• Used to measure the temperatures of foods.
• Different thermometers are needed for meats, candies, and deep fat frying.
• Kitchen Timer
• Used to measure cooking and baking time.

Cutting Utensils

• Divided food into smaller pieces or opens cans/packages.
• Paring Knife
• Used for small cutting jobs, like trimming vegetables and fruits.
• Chef's Knife
• Used to chop, slice, dice, and mince.
• Serrated Knife
• Has a sawtooth edge.
• Slices bread and tender vegetables.
• Peeler
• thinly peels carrots, potatoes, and apples
• Hand Held Can Opener
• Opens canned foods.
• Grater
• Grates cheese, shreds cabbage, and slices potatoes.
• Kitchen Shears
• Opens packages, snips herbs, and cuts soft foods.
• Cutting board
• Used to protect counters when cutting foods.
• Should be cleaned after each food.
• Typically made of plastic because wood is hard to clean.

Mixing Utensils

• Combines ingredients.
• Mixing Bowls hold ingredients being mixed
• Kitchen Spoon
• Also referred to as a "wooden" spoon.
• Mixes, bastes, and stirs.
• Utensils are not made of wood, as it cannot be properly cleaned.
• Rubber Scraper
• Otherwise known as a rubber spatula.
• Used for folding and cleaning the sides of mixing bowls.
• Sifter
• Adds air and removes lumps from dry ingredients.
• Wire Whisk beats, blends, and whips.

Cooking Utensils

• Handles food during cooking.
• Kitchen Fork
• Holds meat and poultry for slicing.
• Also Turns meat while cooking
• Turner
• The turner is also known as a wide spatula.
• Used to flip flat foods such as hamburgers, eggs, and pancakes.
• Tongs
• Turns bacon, chops, and other frying/broiling foods.
• Also used to lift some foods for serving
• Ladle
• Serves punches, soups, and stews.
• Other Kitchen Utensils are used for a variety of helpful tasks when preparing food.
• A strainer separates solids from liquids and drains canned food.
• A slotted spoon removes food from cooking liquids.
• Can/Bottle Opener – used to open canned foods
• Can/Bottle Opener – used to open canned foods
• Colander: used to wash fruits and vegetables, and can be used to drain cooked foods such as pasta.
• Rolling Pin- flattens dough into a thin, even layer used for pies and cookies

Cookware

• Refers to pots and pans used on top of the range.
• Sauce Pan, used for a variety of cooking chores and should have tight-fitting lids.
• Double Boiler: the small pan fits inside the larger pan and is used to cook delicate foods
• Skillet, also called a frying pan. Used for frying, pan-broiling, and pan braising. Dutch Oven (Pot): Used to cook large pieces of meats, soups, and stews on top of the range.

Bakeware - items used in baking.

• Square Layer Cake Pan - used to bake square layer cakes, coffee cakes and bar cookies
• Round Layer Cake Pan - used to bake round layer cakes
• Baking Sheet, or jelly roll pan is used to make sheet cakes, rolled cakes, and bar cookies
• Muffin Pan, bakes muffins and cup cakes.
• Cookie Sheet used to bake cookies and some breads.
• 31 Pizza Pan - Used to bake PIzzas
• Pie Pan - used to bake pies
• 9 Cooling Rack - Allows Air to circulate around baked goods causing them to cool faster and More Evenly
• Tube Cake Pan - bakes angel food, chiffon, and sponge cakes