Food Service Occupations 1 & 2 Tools and Equipment Food Service Occupations 1 & 2

Tools & Equipment Hand tools and equipment are used to prepare food items to be served. Equipment is usually larger, heavier machinery placed in one specific location and is very seldom moved. Equipment used in the commercial kitchen is expensive and is always purchased by the establishment. It is imperative that individuals are trained properly on how to operate such equipment or when working with hand tools. Experience using the tools and equipment will definitely make the food preparation process become increasingly more efficient in the commercial kitchen.

Hand Tools: Hand held implements used in preparing food Knives and Other Cutting Tools Food Handling Tools Food Preparation Tools Cooking Tools Baking Tools Measuring Tools •

Knives & Other Cutting Tools Knives are the chef’s most important tool. A set should consist of chef (French) knife, a carving knife, a boning knife, a utility knife, and a paring knife. Other knives are available for specialized tasks. Like any tool, a high quality knife may cost more initially, but perform better and last longer. A sharp knife is safer than a dull knife because it requires less force to use and will not slip off the item being cut as easily.

Types of Knives & Cutting Tools Boning Knife: short thin knife with a pointed blade to remove meat from bones. Butcher Knife: slight curved, pointed blade knife to section raw meat. Butcher’s Steel: round steel rod to maintain the edge on a knife (does not sharpen it). Cleaver: heavy, square blade used to chop bones. Chef (French) Knife: wide and tapered blade used for chopping, dicing, mincing, and slicing.

Types of Knives & Cutting Tools Slicer: a narrow flexible blade used to slice food. Paring Knife: short knife used to pare fruits and vegetables and remove eyes and blemishes. Oyster Knife: short thin dull edged tapered blade to open oysters. Pie & Cake Knives: wide flat blade that is tapered to a point and shaped like a wedge to cut pie and cake. Potato/Vegetable Peeler: loop shaped blade to allow peeling in two directions. Utility Knife: pointed knife used for a variety of cutting tasks.

Types of Food Handling Tools Food Tongs Two grippers with a saw-toothed grip to pick up and serve foods. Grill Tender Used to clean grills. Turner/ Metal Spatula Wide flat offset blade with handle to turn foods while grilling. Kitchen Fork Two-pronged fork used for holding, slicing, turning, and broiling meats.

Types of Food Handling Tools Ladle Stainless steel cup, solid or perforated attached to a long handle to stir, mix, and dip. Can Opener Mounted on a table to open large cans Ladle Size Weight/Portion ¼ c. 2 oz. ½ c. 4 oz. ¾ c. 6 oz. 1 c. 8 oz.

Types of Food Handling Tools cont. Melon Ball/ Parisienne Scoop Stainless steel blade formed into a round half-ball cup to cut fruits and vegetables. Scraper/Dough Cutter Wide rectangular metal blade with a handle for scraping meat blocks and cutting dough. Skimmer Flat stainless steel perforated disk connected to a long handle to skim grease or food particles from soups, stocks, and sauces.

Types of Food Handling Tools cont. Spoons Used for stirring, serving, scraping, and spreading. Slotted Spoon Stainless steel spoon with three to four slots to serve large cut vegetables or whole items without the liquid. Spatula Flexible flat or offset rubber blade used for mixing, stirring, and scraping. Metal Paddles Long handled paddles used to stir food in deep pots.

Types of Food Preparation Tools Box Grater A metal box with various size grids used to cut food into small particles. China Cap A pointed strainer used to strain gravies, soups, sauces, and other liquids. Colander A bowl shaped strainer used for washing and draining foods.

Types of Food Preparation Tools Hand Meat Tenderizer A metal hammer like tool with a handle used to pound and break the muscle fibers of tough cuts of meats. Strainer Perforated metal bowl used to strain and drain foods. Wire Whip Used for whipping eggs, cream, gravies, and sauces.

Types of Cooking Vessels Bain-Marie Stainless steel storage container with high walls to hold hot water and foods. Bake Pan Rectangular aluminum pan used for baking. Braiser A shallowed wall round pot used for braising, stewing, and searing meats.

Types of Cooking Vessels Double Broiler A double pot with hot water in the bottom pan used to heat delicate items such as cream, cheese, chocolate, and pudding. Frying/ Sauté Pan Round sloped shallow pan used to sauté meats and vegetables. Iron Skillet Thick heavy iron to withstand heat and used for broiling and frying foods.

Types of Cooking Vessels cont. Mixing Bowls Used to mix small and large foods. Stainless steel does not affect flavor of foods unlike aluminum with acidic foods. Roasting Pan Large rectangular medium to high walled metal pan. Saucepan Smaller, shallower, and lighter pot.

Types of Cooking Vessels cont. Sauce Pot Large round deep pot with handles. Used for cooking on the top of the range when stirring and whipping is necessary. Sheet Pan Shallow rectangular pan used for baking cookies, sweet cakes, and sheet pies. Stock Pot Large round high walled pot with handles used for boiling and simmering food items such as turkeys, hams, stocks and vegetables.

Types of Baking Tools Dough Docker An aluminum or stainless roller with pins and a handle used to perforate dough to prevent uneven baking or blistering. Flour Sifter A round metal container with a sieve and a wheel to rotate as it removes lumps and adds air. Pastry Brush Narrow shaped brush with bristles used to brush on icing, sauces, or an egg wash.

Types of Baking Tools CONT. Pastry Bag Cone shaped bag used to decorate cakes or pipe food like duchess potatoes and whipped toppings. Pastry Tips Metal tips with various shaped openings used to decorate cakes and cookies. Pie and Cake Marker A round heavy wire disk with guide bars used to mark and cut cakes and pies. French Rolling Pin Solid piece of wood with narrower ends used to roll dough to the required thickness.

Types of Measuring Tools Measures Metal cups are used to measure liquids and some dry ingredients. Measures are divided in quarters and are available in gallons, half gallons, quarts, and pints. Measuring Cups Used to measure liquids and some dry ingredients. A set consists of one-quarter, one-third, one-half, and one cup measures.

Measurement Equivalent Pinch/Dash 1/8 t. 3 t. 1 T. 16 T. 1 c. 8 oz. 2 c. 1 pt. 2 pts. 1 qt. 4 qts. 1 gal. 16 oz. 1 lb. 1 lb. (water) 1 fluid pint 2 lbs. (water) 1 fluid quart Measurement Abbreviation teaspoon tsp./ t. tablespoon tbsp./ T. pint pt. quart qt. gallon gal. ounce oz. pound lb. bunch bch.

Types of Measuring Tools cont. Portion Control Scoops A scoop with a thumb-operated release lever. Scoops are available in specific sizes and are used to serve food in accurate amounts. Scoops are sized by numbers. The number of the scoop indicates how many scoops in one quart. Scoop # ~ Weight (oz.) Level Measure 8 5 ½ c. 10 4 2/5 c. 12 3 1/3 c. 16 2-2 ½ ¼ c. 20 1 2/3 3 1/5 T. 24 1 ½ 2 2/3 T. 30 1 ¼ 2 1/5 T. 40 1 1 3/5 T.

Types of Measuring Tools cont. Cans Many recipes call for food ingredients according to can size number (ex. #10 can). Can Size ~ Content ~Measure Product # 10 6 ½ -7 lbs 3 qt. Fruits & Vegetables # 5 2-3 lbs 1 qt. Fruit juice & soups # 2 ½ 1 lb. 12 oz- 1 lb. 14 oz 3 ½ c. # 2 1 lb. 4 oz 2 ½ c. Juices & Soups & Vegetables # 303 1 lb. 1 pt. Fruits & Vegetables & Soups #300 14 oz. – 16 oz. 1 ¾ c. Cranberry Sauce & Pork & beans

Equipment Equipment is machinery or a larger tool that usually stays in one place. Unlike some hand tools, equipment is always purchased by the food service establishment. Equipment should only be used after proper instruction by the supervisor. Always follow the manufacturer's recommendations for operation of any equipment. Baker’s Scale

Equipment cont. Chafing Dish Used to keep food hot on the buffet. A pan of water underneath keeps the food pan hot above. Deep Fryer Large automatic fry kettle used to deep fry food. Holds 25 lbs. - 50 lbs. of shortening at 200°- 400° degrees. Food Processor Appliance used to puree, chop, grate, slice, and shred food. It has a removable bowl, “S” shaped blade, lid, and a powerful motor. Food Storage Boxes Used to safely store food while maximizing the use of shelf space.

Equipment cont. Stand Mixer/Floor Mixer Used to whip, grinds, shreds, slices, and chops food. Placed in a stationary area Portion Scale A scale used for measuring food servings. Proofing/Holding Cabinet A cabinet used to keep food hot without drying it out or can be used to proof dough. Slicing Machine A machine that can be manually or automatically operated. It has a regulator for providing wide range of slice thickness.

Equipment cont. Pressure Steamer Cooks food with steam under pressure that is in direct contact with the item being cooked such as vegetables and meats. Convection Oven Known as “air flow” ovens. Uses air that is circulated throughout the interior. Heat is distributed by this circulation method, allowing the oven to be loaded to its capacity and still provide the required heat. Microwave Oven Waves strike water molecules in the food causing heat energy. Food then cooks from the inside out as the heat spreads.