Since the beginning of time people have searched for ways to preserve the shelf life of food. Today we may take for granted that our refrigeration units offer a cold haven for food that would otherwise quickly spoil, but it wasn’t to long ago that we were seeking out caves, or drying out food to keep it stored.

Today 98% of US homes own a refrigerator, and 21% own two or more. But many people don’t know how these appliances work. (And many of us are not even sure if the light stays on when you close the door.) No matter if it’s commercial or residential the basics are the same, and during a recent meeting of our service department one of our helpful technicians showed the staff the sequence of operation for refrigeration.

The holiday season is swiftly approaching and chances are most of us will be frying turkey, chicken, ham, etc. Most use deep-fryers in order to fry a certain quantity of food in one instance. Deep-frying is very time-saving for a large group of people, and its cooking methods often retain a certain amount of flavor and juices in foods products.

Pouring wine at the table has long been considered the purview of high class and expensive restaurants. While you do need a bit of knowledge and a fairly well-stocked wine selection to justify performing the wine serving ritual, bringing the wine pouring routine out to the table will help to add a bit of interactivity and a touch of class to any restaurant. Here is a quick run-down of the process for anyone interested in serving wine at their customers’ tables.

Although manufacturer warranties have made the world of expensive consumer purchases a much safer place to shop, they can sometimes be tricky things. Many warranties come with sets of extenuating circumstances that can render them invalid if the product is used in the wrong way or in the wrong location. Restaurant equipment often includes several of these special-case details, so it is important to read through the warranty sheets on your new equipment before replacing any old machines.

You set a roast in your conventional oven to bake for 30 minutes at 350°. After that time, you pull out your roast and it is under cooked in parts. You cut into the roast and realize it is completely dried out! There is a possibility these missteps could have been avoided if only you had chosen to bake your roast in a convection oven instead.,

If you are browsing on our website, you will notice the majority of equipment we have is made of stainless steel. When it comes to commercial restaurant equipment this durable metal is the defining difference between economy and quality brand items. If you have noticed, some of our descriptions go into great detail about the types of stainless steel grades we offer.

Today a Bar-B-Que restaurant owner stopped by our showroom to have several of his knives sharpened on one of our M2100 Chef’s Commercial Diamond Hone Knife Sharpeners. A question arose from his visit. Which are better? Electric or manual knife sharpeners?

The leaves are turning and autumn is in full swing. Harvest festivals are here and with that comes caramel apples, cotton candy, funnel cakes and the like. Now you can bring the taste of fall to your home or business with a few of our concession products.

Earlier this week, J.E.S. was paid a visit by one of our representatives from the Holland Grill Company . He brought with him two of Holland’s best selling grills (the Epic and the Wrangler ) to demo some of their unique capabilities and features by cooking a variety of foods for the J.E.S. staff to sample. By the end of the evening, the grills had been used to prepare sausage, bacon, biscuits, cinnamon rolls, chicken, steak, pork, mushrooms, pizza, and even apple pie. Everything was delicious and perfectly cooked, and sampling the various items really proved the efficacy of Holland’s unique one-temperature convection grilling design.

For years, Blodgett, located out of Burlington, Vermont, has been a leading manufacturer in commercial ovens, priding themselves on their product’s sustainability and quality. Now they are stepping it up a notch by extending their warranties on a number of commercial ovens

A good set of kitchen knives is arguably the most important tool in any chef’s arsenal. No matter what is being cooked or prepared, it is inevitable that there will be some sort of cutting or chopping involved at some point, and those who have spent any time in a kitchen know how important it is to maintain the blades on your knives. Dull knives will not cut effectively and can be tiresome or even hazardous to use in situations that require precise and careful cuts. Keeping your knives sharp is a necessary routine for any amateur, professional, or home chef, but it is critical to your knives’ longevity that they be sharpened properly. Although they are used for all sorts of heavy-duty tasks in the kitchen, knives are actually fairly delicate implements, and improper or overzealous sharpening of a blade can be more detrimental than the wear from any period of use. Many restaurants and commercial kitchens regularly outsource their knife sharpening to a professional third party, but taking measures to keep your blades sharp on your own is an easily achievable way to avoid having to constantly send your knives away to be restored.

We noticed that a bizarrely large number of customers have called in recently asking us how to install new water filters in their ice machines—we’re talking like a sudden six-fold increase in filtration-related questions here—and we couldn’t help but wonder if maybe the universe is trying to tell us something. Now, the J.E.S. New Employee Corporate HR Handbook has a short section in it that warns employees against “needless attribution of unexplained phenomena [to] serendipity,” and then goes on to discourage “reading too much into, or explicitly trusting and/or believing in, so-called ‘Signs from the Universe,’ ” but, just this one time, we’ve chosen to ignore company policy and listen to our guts and take the time to draw up a diagram for y’all to use. We hope it helps!

Starting January 1, 2014, restaurants are no longer able to count automatic gratuity as tips for servers. The new rule actually passed in June 2012 and was implemented January 1, 2013 but the IRS is not enforcing it until January 1, 2014 to give restaurants time to adjust and comply to the change. The IRS now classifies automatic gratuity as a service charge which is considered part of the server’s wages, not a tip. Service charges for restaurants are a previously agreed upon price to be charged for services provided.

Stocking glassware for your bar or restaurant can often be a daunting proposition. With so many different types and styles of glassware , it is only natural to wonder if you are buying the “right” glassware to properly compliment your drink menu. Although the “rules” concerning what drinks go into what sort of glass are mostly arbitrary (reasonable customers will forgive you for not always having exactly the correct glass for every occasion), having a variety of different glasses in which to serve your various drinks will help add interest and flair to your beverage offerings. The types of glasses that you need, however, will ultimately depend on what sort of drinks that you are going to be putting into them. Here is a quick overview of the “necessary” glasses for different kinds of beverages.

Slip-resistant floor mats are a must in any commercial kitchen. Often called anti-fatigue mats, these mats offer a cushioned surface for your employees to stand on that is specifically designed to minimize the hazard of slipping, even when completely wet. Non-slip mats are often made of heavy rubber, so the idea of washing them every day can be a daunting and cumbersome proposition, but it is important to keep your mats clean and in shape to avoid any potential health and safety hazards. With proper care and a routine cleaning schedule, your floor mats should last you a long time.

You know that you’re neck-deep in the holiday season when your tables are perpetually close to capacity and your guests perpetually, splendidly tipsy. For about two months straight, your equipment must keep pace with a no-vacancy dining room, and if you haven’t adequately prepared, by like 12/23 the whole operation’ll be practically wheezing.

Salad spinners are a great way to clean and dry your lettuce in one container. Because these appliances use centrifugal force, they are a much more efficient and effective way to prepare leafy greens.  Rather than using a bowl of water and paper towels, which can leave your leaves still wet, a salad spinner gets rid of dirt and excess water. A salad spinner consists of three main parts. The outer bowl, the inner bowl, and the lid with the handle. The outer bowl is what collects the water and dirt from the lettuce. The inner bowl is where the greens go, and the lid keeps water from splashing out and the built in handle moves the inner bowl to clean the lettuce.

This Deal Has Since Expired.

Since 1921 Star Manufacturing has been producing durable, reliable, quality products for the foodservice and concession industries.

As anyone who has been paying attention to the food industry for the past several years has surely realized, food trucks and food truck culture have been becoming a more and more popular alternative to the traditional “sit-down” restaurant. While far from taking over the foodservice industry as some articles seem to claim, food trucks offer a quick and easy dining alternative – often with a unique theme or concept – for people eating on the go, and they can be found thriving amid the hustle and bustle of busy metropolitan areas around the world. But what of more relaxed environments? What of a summer trip to a nearby lake or a vacation to an island locale? Are these spots out of the question for establishing a profitable mobile foodservice business model?

Previously, we discussed convection and conduction methods of heat transfer. Radiant heat is emitted in waves, not direct contact. Waves from the heat source heat whatever object it hits. This is why a fire warms you without you having to touch the flames directly. In ovens, about fifty percent of the cooking is done via radiant heat. Some is through convection with moving hot air, and some through the heat of the pan or surface which is conduction . If a pan is darker, it will absorb the radiant heat a lot more quickly, whereas a lighter or shinier pan will reflect the heat waves.