Anti-Fatigue Mats - What to Consider

Choosing the correct anti-fatigue mats for your restaurant kitchen can be an overwhelming task. With so many different types of anti-fatigue mats available it can be difficult to know which anti-fatigue mat is suitable to your needs. Below are a few helpful points to consider before you purchase your next anti-fatigue mat from www.servu-online.com.

1. Rubber vs. Vinyl
Serv-U offers both rubber anti-fatigue mats and vinyl anti-fatigue mats. Vinyl anti-fatigue mats are known for holding up in harsh conditions, but should not be used in areas where they will be subjected to oil or animal fats. In areas of the kitchen where oil or fat is used for frying or cooking, look for a rubber mat that has been treated with a grease-resistor for ultimate performance.

2. Holes are ideal
Anti-fatigue mats that will be used in a commercial kitchen should have holes to allow liquid and food debris to fall below the walking surface of the anti-fatigue mat. Ensure that the holes are designed in a way that debris is able to fall completely through the holes when the mats are picked-up for cleaning.

3. Can the mats be lifted easily?
The weight of the anti-fatigue mats should be considered. Anti-fatigue mats that are heavy can be difficult to handle, especially when greasy. Anti-fatigue mats need to be completely lifted off the ground for cleaning, so choose mats that can easily be lifted and moved.

4. Consider the thickness of the mat
If an anti-fatigue mat is too thick, it may pose as a tripping hazard. Many individuals perceive a thicker mat to be a better quality, however that is not necessarily the case. Generally speaking, an anti-fatigue mat that measures 1/2inch in thickness is suitable for most commercial kitchens.

Stop Dollars from Dripping Away

According to a recent article on the NRA’s website, restaurants can use all types of sophisticated technology to conserve water and energy. But the most effective tool sometimes is a 50-cent washer.

Stopping faucet drips can cut a restaurant’s utility expenses by thousands of dollars. The Food Service Technology Center, an equipment-testing facility in San Ramon, Calif., has determined that full-service restaurants can lose $100 a week from leaky spigots in the kitchen, dish room and mop station.

As center officials note, any wasted water can be more than a drop in the bucket because restaurateurs pay for it at least twice: Once in their water bill and a second time in their sewer charges. If the water was hot, they also wasted the money to heat it

Experts advise restaurants to avoid wasting water through these simple actions:

• Look for leaks. Is a faucet or coupling dripping? Your restaurant might close at night, but the leak continues 24/7. Find it and fix it ASAP. Faucet replacement parts are available on Servu-Online.

• Stop flushing dollars. Look for leaks in a toilet by putting a drop of food coloring in the tank, advises the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. If the color seeps into the bowl, the rubber gasket likely needs replacement.

• Fill the sink. One restaurant advises its unit managers to fill the sink before cleaning pots and pans, instead of letting water run from the tap.

• Don’t use the tap as a defroster. Allow frozen foods to thaw in the refrigerator. 

• Install low-flow pre-rinse valves. Aerator-type devices do as good a job but use less water, the experts say. Find a wide selection of pre-rinse sprayers on Servu-Online. 

See the full article on NRA’s website.

Food safety is the one of the top priorities in the food service industry. Nothing can destroy a restaurant faster than food borne illness as a result of poor food safety techniques. Here at Serv-U, we strive to not only supply our customers with top quality restaurant equipment, bar supplies, restaurant supplies, and bar equipment, but we also recognize the importance of sharing food industry information. Today we present the eleven rules for improving food safety in your restaurant. You’ve seen them before, but they are well worth repeating:

1. Educate all employees in the technique of proper hand washing. Provide a soft nailbrush to clean fingertips and instill the importance of washing hands for twenty seconds. Keep track of your employees’ hand washing techniques and encourage proper hand washing practices.
2. Require strict personal hygiene practices. Every employee should have a clean uniform and proper hair covers. Items such as jewelry and false nails should not be worn in the work area and any crew member that is ill should be removed from any task that would require them to handle foods.
3. Encourage a policy of not using bare hands when in contact with prepared food. Instead invest in restaurant supplies that will promote this policy; such as disposable gloves, clean utensils or paper wraps to handle all ready-to-eat foods.
4. Obtain food and restaurant supplies from reputable approved sources. Food should be inspected for spoilage and temperatures should be checked during all stages of preparation. This includes when food is received from the supplier, is placed in cold storage and is being prepared on the prep tables. If there is any question that food or restaurant supplies have been contaminated, properly dispose of them immediately.
5. Identify all potentially hazardous foods on your menu and keep them as cold as possible during storage and preparation. An internal food temperature ranging from 35 to 38°F is optimal; never higher than 41°F. Keep frozen food at a temperature of 0°F. Safely thaw foods a day in advance under refrigeration.
6. To prevent cross-contamination observe time & temperature guidelines when storing and handling prepared food. Label prepared foods with product, preparation date and time, and optimal temperature.
7. Keep foods out of the danger zone (41° to 140°F). Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold! Teach all restaurant employees to use temperature charts and a stem thermometer. Check food temperature in two places -- the thickest portion and the center. Sanitize the thermometer stem before and after each use with the proper restaurant supplies such as an alcohol swab.
8. Cook and heat-process food to above recommended minimum temperatures (usually 145°F, 155°F or165°F depending on the food). Memorize your minimum cooking temperatures. Post a chart in an easy to locate place for all your restaurant employees.
9. Rapidly chill hot food to below 41°F within 4-6 hours! Techniques to reduce cooling time include using an ice bath or shallow pans, cutting or reducing food, stirring food and keeping food uncovered. Be sure to check local regulations.
10. Reheat food to 165°F + within 2 hours and hold at this temperature for 15 seconds. Hold hot foods at 140°F.
11. Avoid cross-contamination of raw and ready-to-eat foods by hands, utensils and restaurant equipment. Wash, rinse and sanitize all food that comes in contact with restaurant equipment. Keep raw products separate from ready-to-eat foods.

If you would like to learn more about how Serv-U can help you improve your restaurants food safety techniques, please call us at 1-800-797-3788 or chat with us online by clicking the “live chat” icon in the upper left hand corner of each page.

How to Clean and Disinfect Wooden Cooking Utensils

Steps

1. Analyze just what kind of dirty your utensil is. If you find a wooden spoon floating down the street during a flood, burn that spoon. There is no process of cleaning that will remove deadly toxins from this utensil. This type of wooden utensil should be considered dangerous.
2. Prepare for disinfecting your wooden utensil. When cleaning wood, remember that washing by hand is most thorough and that bleach is your friend.
3. Place some bleach into a soaking tub (sink, large bowl, dish pan) and fill the remainder with hot water. A good ratio is one part bleach to 20 parts water. Place the utensil in the water.
4. Allow your utensil to soak for at least an hour. As a rule, you do not want to soak wooden utensils often, but periodically it is important to thoroughly disinfect a utensil, and the initial disinfecting is critical.
5. Remove the bleach solution and fill the same tub with a mixture of mild detergent, such as dish soap, and hot water.
6. Wash the utensil by hand, and then allow it to sit in the soapy water for 15 minutes or so. Allow sufficient soaking time to remove any bleach smell on the utensil.
7. Feel the utensil. If it feels fuzzy, it is probably because the grain of the wood has been raised from the soaking. Simply take a fine grit sandpaper (or even steel wool) and gently smooth the utensil.
8. Rinse the utensil off again. This time, you can wash it like you would any other utensil in your kitchen. Only follow the above steps if you need to thoroughly disinfect a utensil. Otherwise, wash wood with a gentle detergent and dry it off quickly.
9. Renew and retain the vibrancy of the wood in your utensil by periodically oiling it. You can use a paper towel or a small piece of clean cloth to administer the oil to the utensil. Use mineral oil, a food safe oil that is commonly used by restaurants to increase the longevity of wooden utensils. Mineral oil is a minor laxative, but even regular use of such small quantities will cause no adverse effects. If you are worried, you can simply allow the oil to soak in and then re-wash the utensil.
   
   
   

Tips

• If a spoon is rancid, don’t try too hard to disinfect it. The cost of a new utensil is generally less than the possible adverse affects of using a contaminated kitchen tool when preparing food.
• Taking care of your wooden utensils will pay off in the long run. Wooden utensils are among the first cooking utensils, and with proper care they can last a lifetime.
• Don’t be afraid to allow your utensil to soak for a spell. Because wood is porous, it may take a while for your cleaning solution to thoroughly sanitize the utensil. Do not, however, make a habit of soaking wood utensils, as soaking can shorten their useful lives.
• Some say that lemon juice is a great way to keep your wooden utensil constantly fresh and sanitized. Use this method only after thoroughly sanitizing with bleach, though.
• Hard wood utensils are the easiest to sanitize, and they also last the longest. The tight grains in the wood make for a less porous and more rigid construction.
• Consider using a microwave to both dry out and sanitize a wooden utensil. You can also place a wooden utensil in boiling water to help in the disinfecting process.

Warnings

• Wooden utensils are more porous than their plastic or metal counterparts. They are therefore more susceptible to carrying germs and bacteria.
• Don’t put wooden spoons in the dishwasher, especially not on a regular basis. They may crack. They are also a fire hazard if they fall on the heating element during the drying cycle.
• Do not use a wooden utensil if any part of the wood is soft or dark and mushy. These characteristics are often associated with rotten wood, and wood in this state will attract and retain germs and bacteria.

Related wikiHows

• How to Clean Dishes Without Soap
• How to Organize a Kitchen
• How to Properly Load a Dishwasher
• How to Clean a Fondue Pot
• How to Avoid an H. pylori Bacterial Infection

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            I bet most people aren’t aware of the wide range and variety of gadgets and supplies you can stock your kitchen with. There are so many different types of foodservice equipment that are available to make cooking/baking easier. Here a few examples of uncommon kitchen supplies: Pancake dispenser, patty molder, onion bloomer or a restaurant quality lettuce chopper/shredder. Now don’t worry I will give detailed descriptions to match these fascinating and uncommon kitchen supplies and explain how each one works and how beneficial they can be in your kitchen.

            I’ll start with the pancake dispenser. Here at Serv-U we carry one with 2 options; you can get one made of aluminum or stainless steel. Now, how to use: pour your pancake batter into the dispenser and choose from 1 of 8 different portion control options to dispense a round ideally shaped pancake onto your griddle. The portion controls range from ½ oz to 3 oz, more popularly known as dollar to king size. This piece of foodservice equipment makes serving pancakes at breakfast a whiz and a lot less of a mess!

            On to our next kitchen supply item; the adjustable patty molder … Anyone who has cooked and prepped burgers before knows that it is a chore to make the perfect patty. The adjustable patty molder is chrome plated, easy to clean, 4 ½ inches in diameter, and can be adjusted to your desired thickness. All you have to do is load the molder with the appropriate amount of beef, adjust to your preferred thickness, and press! Burgers cook evenly throughout because they are a consistent thickness.

            Serv-U actually offers two versions of a lettuce chopper/shredder so you can choose which of these kitchen supplies fits your business best. The first is a product by Redco. This lettuce chopper/shredder shreds lettuce into 3” strips without bruising the lettuce. These strips are great for sandwiches, salad and Mexican food. This also cuts your prep-time in half! The other shredder also made by Redco, the Lettuce King IV chops the lettuce into 1” squares without bruising the lettuce as well. This item is also NSF certified. It also comes with an optional container for catching the cut lettuce for immediate storage.

            Ever wondered how your favorite chain restaurant makes that fantastically breaded and deep fried onion blossom? Well the batter and fry part… that’s easy. It’s making the onion “bloom” shape that seems impossible. The truth is that part is pretty easy too with the use of the Insta-Bloom also made by Redco. It is a device that cuts one whole onion into a perfect flower blossom with one push! It is made of heavy-duty cast aluminum and designed for easy cleaning. See… you do learn something new everyday!

            It’s amazing all of the different kinds kitchen supplies designed to make operating your kitchen easier. There are many more types of  foodservice equipment. I just wanted to feature some of the less common kitchen supplies to broaden your kitchen’s horizon.