Combi Ovens : CESA Energy Efficient Catering Equipment Showcase

Energy Focus

August 08 - Fast Food

Fast food has become a bit of a misnomer: associated with burgers and chips, it equally applies to a host of other quick, easy to serve meals. Quick service is a more accurate description. It can be prepared quickly and covers a wider range from fries to salads, burgers to baguettes. Full article ...

WEEE

Advice to Final Users

WEEE stands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. The legislation took effect from 1st July 2007 and states that, under certain circumstances, the final user of a piece of electrical or electronic equipment (EEE) can get it collected and recycled at no charge at the end of its life. Full article ...

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In addition to conventional heat, combis rely intensively on steam generation, either through an integral water/steam tank, or by direct injection into the cabinet. Combi manufacturers are now keenly addressing the issue of power and water consumption, for example by improving insulation and recycling waste heat to reduce the cost of steam generation.

Gas versions of combi are also available, although the benefits for these are not so much in reducing running costs as in avoiding overloading electricity supplies.

When you come to chose a combi, energy consumption can be measured easily. Paradoxically, for the chef this can be one of the least important factors. It's tempting to relegate simple financial figures and choose the more subjective features, such as cooking quality or ease of use in the belief that these will elevate your cooking and performance. But in selecting a combi, energy efficiency remains the single most important factor of total cost of ownership.

Combi Ovens

Versatility

Combi Ovens There's possibly no more versatile item of cooking equipment in the kitchen than the combi oven. It's capable of performing most cooking processes; not just roasting and baking, but steaming, poaching, blanching, simmering, regeneration and holding - and often specialist techniques such as proving and rotisserie. Some even offer 'frying', although this relies on prepared pre-fried food. Used properly, the combi can be an astonishingly flexible and creative cooking tool.

Cooking Quality

The essence of a combi is the application of heat and moisture, carefully controlled to give the optimum for each type of food. Since its invention in the 1970s, the combi has developed to the point of being highly computerised, with microprocessors controlling most functions, from cooking programs to humidity control and temperature logging.

Getting The Most From Your Combi

A quick and simple clean at the end of each cooking cycle will help slow down accumulated dirt, and a daily cleaning is essential at the end of each shift to stop the 'baking on' of food residues. Most combis now have spray hoses to aid regular cleaning, while the more sophisticated even have automatic cleaning cycles that can run unattended overnight.

An important feature for reliability and energy saving is the condition of door gaskets. These soft and flexible seals are built to withstand heat and hard use, but they will still be the most delicate part of any combi, and need extra care and regular checking and replacement. Catering managers and head chefs should cultivate an ear for abuse of door gaskets!

A small but significant feature is the fat drain, where the excess fat is stored automatically below the unit before disposal. You normally have to check the drain at the end of each day to prevent it clogging up and becoming a bacteria trap.