This appliance is everything you need from a soft-serve machine: no assembly is required so setup is a breeze, yet it disassembles for easy cleaning, and all parts are dishwasher safe.  And putting the device back together after cleaning is equally uncomplicated—the parts are made so that it can’t be put back together incorrectly.  Simply fit the pieces with their proper counterparts and you are ready to start making ice cream again.  You need just 45 minutes to create a delicious, creamy soft serve treat.

This 1 1/2 gallon capacity machine boasts an internal memory, a gravity-draw serve spout with a 2 1/2 ounce chamber for easy portion control, and a dose counter for convenient tracking.  The Total Cold refrigeration system keeps product at a constant temperature, and with its night mode feature you don’t have to worry about emptying out the machine to preserve your product.

Measuring is simple, too.  Just remember that one gallon of mix equals 1 1/2 gallons of prepared product, whether a liquid or a powdered mix is used.  The machine is meant to hold 1 1/2 gallons of soft serve ice cream so all guess work has been eliminated.

There are two important things to note when using Vollrath’s Mini Soft Serve Countertop Freezer by Stoelting:  one, this is a dish-serve appliance only.  The finished product is not thick enough to use in cones.  And two, the machine should not be considered “self-serve”; while it is exceptionally easy to use, it does take some training in order to properly utilize the gravity draw chamber.

Is this the right soft serve machine for your customers?  Contact Inside Sales to see if it is the perfect fit for your retirement home, church, school, or anywhere a lightweight, portable ice cream maker is desired.

The post Summer Time is Ice Cream Time appeared first on Houston's Blog.

Straw Dispenser, image courtesy of Vollrath

Reduce

There are many ways to reduce waste in restaurants.  It could be as simple as making straws optional rather than laying them on the table to languish in food splatter and never be used, but must be thrown away.  Instead operators could look into getting a Vollrath straw dispenser to allow customers to choose if they want a straw.

To reduce energy consumption look at your kitchen’s equipment; as it may be time to either upgrade or replace it.  There are many things you should know before going green. Do some research on either an energy efficient option, or possibly something that better accommodates your usage.  Figure out what works best for your kitchen before you just buy the recommended equipment by the equipment company.  Remember, reducing energy isn’t only about Energy Star labels but rather labels but how the equipment is being used.

Restaurant managers could look at consolidating deliveries or purchasing products from a local and sustainable farm.  Consolidating deliveries will lower the business’s carbon footprint or make a kitchen more efficient with less time needed to unload and restock constantly.  A bonus is purchasing from local farms can give the restaurant a new edge in the farm-to-table trend.  However, each restaurant operator must do their research to make sure the farm’s values align with the business’s values.  For instance, if the farm uses pesticides that hurt bees and the restaurant is focused on no animal cruelty, it might be a little amiss to use that farm’s products.

Reuse

Earth Day is a great day to announce that your restaurant is moving away from disposable dishware and utensils to washable dishware and flatware.  Even some fast food restaurant chains are moving to using dishes and utensils, like Café Yumm!®.  It will take a little more time on the dishwasher’s end but it could also save money on purchasing disposable plates and utensils constantly.

Image courtesy of Torani

If you have broken dishes or product that is empty we have a few ideas from Pinterest and beyond that could take old bottles and cups to a new decorative level.  In Recycle! Alternative Uses for Product & Packaging we talk about options like making birdfeeders from used Torani® bottles, Libbey® wine glass candle holders, and jar lamps.  If any of your broken dishware is colorful it could be used as part of a mosaic for your walls or a new art piece.

Have you thought about reusing your food?  Yes, many of you just fainted with shock because of issues with the health department but I promise that isn’t the angle.  Does your business have too much food and won’t use or ship it all this week?  It may be time to talk to a non-profit or soup kitchen in your area to see if rather than throwing out your food you could donate it to them.  There are many options for donating to charity, so talk with your local charities to see how you can help. Remember this is something that not only helps keep the world clean but can possibly be deducted from you taxes.

Recycle

Recycle is the go-to idea whenever the topic of being eco-friendly comes around.  Yes, you could create a compost pile but there are many other options that restaurants have. For instance, make sure the products your restaurant purchases are either made from recycled material, or are compostable, biodegradable, or recyclable.

For those who just can’t shake using disposable dishware and utensils, WNA has utensils line EarthSense™ made from a product of corn and other vegetables that is compostable.  If you still need that Java Jacket® for your coffee then you can pick up a set made from recycled paper.  To clean up your act you could look at Zephyr’s SorbUp™ Mop Heads that are made of 100% recycled material.  Even the whipped cream chargers from iSi North America are made of 100% recycled steel.

Finally, maybe it is time that you look through your trash to see what is recyclable.  There could be glass or plastic bottles from Torani that can be put in the right bin.  It may be time to remind serving staff that if napkins were only used to clean up only a water spill they are still recyclable. Also remember that your fluorescent bulbs and old equipment may be recyclable as well; just check with your local electric utility office.

Ready for Earth Day?

There are so many ways to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.  Your restaurant or warehouse could make a few modifications to brag about on Earth Day.  But remember as ideas like eco-friendly and sustainability become more expected than trendy, it may be time to look and see if your business practices and values need updating too.

Call Houston’s today to see how our products can fit into your new environmental and sustainability plans.

The post Help the Planet and your Business appeared first on Houston's Blog.

But what is induction cooking, exactly? In simple terms, it is the heating of cooking vessels using electromagnetic energy. No heating elements or burners are used to transfer heat to the cookware. Rather, copper coils are placed just below the surface of the cooktop, and the copper interacts with the ferrous cookware placed on top. The current created by magnetic reaction between the coil and the cookware is converted into heat—inside the pot.

Because all the energy goes directly into the metal cooking vessel, none is wasted by heating the area around the pot. Gas stoves, according to the US Department of Energy, are approximately 40% efficient heaters, whereas induction ranges run upwards of 80% efficiency. No wasted heat equates into a cooler stovetop and therefore a cooler kitchen, a huge benefit when the ambient temperature in traditional commercial kitchens with gas burners can often soar well above 100° and often even hotter dependent on how busy the restaurant is, how the kitchen is ventilated, and other environmental factors.

And because the heat is not generated from the stovetop itself, the surface of the unit does not get hot. The benefit of this is two-fold: one, the risk of burns is drastically reduced. In fact, you can set an induction element to the hottest setting and then place your palm directly over it with no consequence—without the induction-ready pot or pan to cause a reaction, there is no heat from which to cause a burn, making safety an appealing feature. And two, cleanup of an induction range is immensely easier since there will be no baked-on food from surface spills. The cooktop simply does not get hot enough to cause this to happen.

It’s not hard to find advantages to induction cooking. Because the heat occurs in the pot itself, boiling water, for example, is very quick. Heating oils in pans for sautéing is more rapid than over gas flames. And once a user learns to control heat levels, its precision is remarkable. Induction ranges also boast the lowest low cooking temperatures, making it a perfect option for cooking sauces and sugars.

With all these benefits, then, how is it that induction cooktops haven’t overtaken the market? The answer may seem surprisingly simple: not everyone is sold. For busy chefs who have mastered the art of cooking over a gas range, induction units, though precise, are difficult to learn to control. Basics must be relearned in order to accommodate their rapid heating, and understanding the settings is not as easy as it may sound. It takes time and practice, and as the saying goes, you can’t teach old dogs new tricks. Some chefs shy away because cooking on gas burners has always worked for them, others because the task of learning a new method seems daunting. Either way, moving induction ranges into the commercial kitchen could take some convincing.

Another factor is that induction cooktops require ferrous cookware, and not all kitchens are equipped to make the transition. Above and beyond the cost of the stove—and though the price has fallen in recent years, the units are still typically priced higher than gas units of comparable value—one must take into consideration the investment of all new cookware meant to be used on an induction range. While there are converters on the market to handle the transition period, cooking on an induction converter disk offers up its own set of challenges.

Vollrath is standing at the ready, though, with some portable options to either allow you to try out induction cooking in general or to take advantage of the low, steady, precise temperatures for cooking sauces and sugars alongside your gas unit. Their Mirage® Cadet (with 20 power levels and a temperature range from 100-400°) and Mirage® Pro (with 100 power levels and a temperature range from 80-400°) single eye induction ranges are compact and mobile, allowing you to move them as needed in your kitchen. The Vollrath Intrigue® and Optio™ fry pans come to you induction-ready, with the Vollrath quality guarantee, to optimize your induction-cooking experience.

While induction cooking may take practice, and some relearning of the basics, there are many advantages to using this method of food preparation. Less wasted heat, cooler kitchens, less burnt-on food product, less risk of burns in the kitchen are just a few of the benefits. With Vollrath’s single induction ranges available, it couldn’t hurt to test the waters. You may love it, but you will certainly never know unless you try.

The post Induction Cooking: Hot or Not? appeared first on Houston's Blog.