Friday, July 8, 2011

Why Stainless Steel Chafing Dishes are the best?

Stainless Chafing dishes are a servery unit used to keep cooked food at a serve able temperature for either self service or buffet type presentation outlets. Chafing dishes have a very long history going back all the way to old Pompeii where they have been found in the ruins the early chafing dishes would have been made of earthenware and later on of brass or copper and would have used hot coals as a heat source since a roaring fire would have been too hot.

Stainless Chafing dishes still work in pretty much the same way by placing a heat source underneath a container filled with hot water, onto which a container filled with the food substance will be kept this keeps the food heated to a serving temperature. Stainless Chafing dishes are available as traditional flame heated versions (by lighted fuel cells) or electrically powered units. A wide variety of styles shapes and sizes are available on the market from square or oblong, to round and oval shapes

Chafing dishes are a very popular item for food service outlets, there a few guidelines that need to followed for the safe and correct operation of your chafing dish. It is advised that you always keep a minimum of half an inch to three quarters of an inch of water in the bottom pan before lighting the fuel burner. Also to keep your chafing dish in good working order avoid over heating and do not allow your chafing dish to boil dry by keeping the working liquid topped up on a regular basis. The Stainless Steel pan provided with your chafing dish can be used for cooking purposes and can be placed in an oven but should not be placed directly on to a stove top burner or open flame. When cleaning your chafing dish use a mild detergent in lukewarm water and never use a harsh abrasive cleaning product or scourer.

Chafing Dishes are an excellent product for dinner parties as the food can be prepared in advance and left to be served as a when guest get hungry freeing up the hosts time to enjoy the party and spend time with the guest instead of keeping an eye on the food. Food substances inside your chafing dish will require occasional stirring to evenly distribute the heat but you will rarely encounter any food becoming burnt in a chafing dish unless the bottom pan is allowed to boil dry. It is recommended that before the first use of your new chafing dish that you clean the inside with warm soapy water and rinse thoroughly to avoid the chance of any manufacturing chemicals or packing materials contaminating the taste of your food. Lids should always be replaced back onto the chafing dish at the soonest opportunity to add heat retention and also to keep any moisture locked in.

Stainless Chafing dishes in use today are normally used only for keeping food at a serving temperature but not so long ago chafing dishes were actually used to cook certain types of dishes and chafing cooking recipe books were commonly available.

What You Need to Know about Stainless Steel Chafing Dishes

What You Need to Know about Stainless Steel Chafing Dishes by Jacque Crook

If you are considering the purchase of stainless steel chafing dishes there are a number of well crafted products on the market from which you can use. There are also chafing dishes that are made from silver or aluminum. Although the design and sizes of these cooking accessories vary a great deal they all perform the same basic functions.

Stainless serving dishes are commonly seen in a number of restaurant settings. However you can also use these in your home or at a community gathering. In fact chafing dishes are a convenient and reliable way to keep foods warm when serving food to guests may take place over a long period of time.

There are two main sections involved when you are speaking about stainless steel chafing dishes. These are the two pans that are designed in a nested arrangement. Essentially the design is a modified double boiler.

The bottom pan functions as the boiler and it holds the water. The top pan, or the blazer, will hold your foods. Stainless serving dishes also have a wire frame for support when they are in use. The frame holds the chafing dishes above the table surface. This allows a heating source to be placed under these pans. The heat can be controlled and as a result you are able to warm the water to the desired temperature.

For the heat source most people use "canned heat" products such as Sterno. Other items can be used including electric heating units and even alcohol lamps.

The heat source and the wide variety of chafing dishes are generally used as a way to keep foods warm until serving time. However some people actually cook with chafing dishes. Today traditional styles of this type of cookware also include a long handle that is practical as well as functional.

These dishes first became popular in the 18th century. In the US a chafing dish was used by many cooks during the 1890s-1900s. For a short time they lost their appeal and they once again resurfaced during the 1950s. Today you will find that many restaurants, caterers and home cooks like the ease and convenience that stainless steel chafing dishes offer.

You can use this cookware to prepare a number of elegant, tasty dishes. Eggs, chicken and sauteed mushrooms can all be cooked in a chafing dish. Even rich sauces, dips and potatoes are able to be cooked using this type of cooking arrangement.

Some people point out the fact that stainless serving dishes can be used to let the chef to demonstrate their cooking talents out in front of an appreciative audience. This is certainly true because with this type of cookware you have the ability to move the cooking from the kitchen to the tabletop.

It should be mentioned that this type of food preparation can be difficult for those who are not experienced in using these heated dishes. Just a little misstep can utterly destroy a special meal that you have spent time and effort on. Unless you are using these pans to keep your food warmed you need to become very comfortable with the cooking techniques that are required before you prepare a meal for a crowd.

StainlessChafingDishes.com offers high quality, affordable stainless steel chafing dishes that are perfect for serving food at all events!



Article Source: ArticleCity.co.za








Why you should Buy your Catering Supplies Online

Why you should Buy your Catering Supplies Online

If you run your own catering business, then it is required that you maintain your catering supplies and replace those that are worn out as and when required. Whether you run your own restaurant or provide catering services at parties and wedding receptions, you need to provide excellent service when it comes to not only preparing the meals but also serving them up on time using the best of catering equipment. Chafer dishes are an absolute must so that the food remains warm and presentable. You don’t have to heat it by stirring again and again. So the look of your dishes is also well maintained.

Today you will find that there are quite a few concerns dealing with the supply of food. There is plenty of competition and you want to make sure that you get to the top and stay there you have to make sure that you customers always leave your restaurant or buffet with a big smile on their faces and some tasty food well presented in their stomachs. One of the most important things that you have to live up to is to provide delivery in time and excellent quality. If the food you serve up is cold, then it doesn’t matter how tasty it is. It will taste horrid and curb just about anybody’s appetite. Chafer dishes or chafing dishes have a bottom in which you can put water which can be heated with an electric component or with a portable flame. Of all your catering supplies these are the most important as they let your food stay warm without having to stir it and spoil the aesthetics.

Catering supplies like chafer dishes are now available online and you can choose from round chafing dishes, rectangular chafing dishes and oval chafing dishes. This kind of stainless steel chafing dishes make some of the best catering equipment as they are very good to look at and extremely easy to clean and maintain. They come in a wide variety and you can find some to suit your budget ranging from the cheap chafing dishes to the more expensive chafing dishes.

There will be times when your existing catering equipment as well as catering supplies will wear out and you need to buy new ones. You can get good quality chafer dishes if you know where to look. With the internet revolution you now have online stores which sell you the items at a much lesser price than you would find in the store in your local neighborhood. And the catering equipment you find there is not inferior; you could even get the same brands available at your local store. It’s just that these online stores do not have much overhead; they do not have to pay for showroom space nor pay sales people to wait on you so they can pass on some of these savings to their customers in the form of huge discounts.

Besides, you can shop anytime you please, whether during the day or night, on a working day or a holiday. No more changing into street clothes and driving down to the mall. Just shop for your catering supplies while in your night clothes in the privacy of your bedroom and choose from some of the best chafer dishes available.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/food-and-beverage-articles/why-you-should-buy-your-catering-supplies-online-1645727.html
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Choose from some of the best chafer dishes right here and while you are at it, check out the other catering supplies too!


Also check http://www.stainlesschafingdish.com for more information.