More Than Just Useful

Chefs can look down on the microwave oven, but as Ian Martin finds out, perhaps they shouldn’t. Its simplicity can hide the fact that it’s a valuable and flexible tool in the kitchen.

Its members have been supplying them to the industry for years and know exactly the value to a catering operation of a microwave oven. So the Catering Equipment Suppliers’ Association (CESA) knows what it’s talking about when it says microwave ovens are one of the most useful cooking appliances in a commercial kitchen.

Fast, energy efficient and suitable for use by unskilled staff, the commercial microwave is capable of reheating, regenerating, defrosting and even prime cooking, according to the association.

“The microwave’s speed is essential in many public sector facilities that have to provide high volumes of food in a limited time,” said CESA. “Yet it’s also ideal for low volume catering, for example in ward-level kitchens where staff, visitors or patients need to prepare snacks and meals for one or two people.”

Noting that most microwaves offer either manual dial controls or programmable touch controls, CESA added that the latter offers the ability to pre-set cooking times for popular menu items to reduce staff training needs and speed up service.

Bradshaw Microwave agreed that the appliances are “one of the most efficient found in commercial foodservice kitchens” as they require no preheating and heat only the food being cooked, leading to significant energy savings over standard ovens.

Shad Williams, equipment specialist at Alliance Online, elaborated: “They use about a third less energy as a conventional oven. The heat automatically stops the second the door is opened and therefore very little heat is wasted throughout the process.”

And Simon Merrick, Merrychef’s business development director for UK & Ireland, argued that speed cooking in a microwave has allowed caterers to reduce queue times to offer fresh food, cooked to order with very little wastage.

One of the big selling points for microwaves is their suitability for today’s lighter, brasserie-style menus, according to Zeena Hill at Panasonic.

Her company’s NE-C1275, for example, offers not only a microwave but can include a convection oven or a grill – all operating off a 13 amp, single phase power supply.

She says: “Designed to deliver traditionally browned results in a shorter time with no loss of quality, this high-speed performance can be achieved with ease as you download cooking programmes from your PC.

“The SD card function makes it ideal for use in staff catering establishments with set menus where consistent results and ease of operation are essential. If you want it, it’s also ideal for prime cooking such as roast joints.”

Panasonic offers it with full on-site training and pre-programmed for your menu.

Used mostly as a means of reheating food prior to serving in kitchens supplied from a central production unit, a microwave is far more likely to be used for a much wider range of tasks in a cook-on-site situation, said Valera specialist Chris Drury: “This includes defrosting and reheating individual dishes for diners with special dietary requirements.”

“In schools they are often used for reheating meals for children who turn up late and even for the softening of spreads. And in the on-site cooking environment, there may be dedicated microwaves for specific tasks such as desserts.”

Microwave ovens are “in great demand” partly because of the drive towards cost control and green efficiency, suggested David Watts, head of Samsung Professional Appliances. But he did not feel that caterers use microwaves to their full potential.

“Around 90% of operators use them just for reheating or defrosting foods. But they are great for ‘prime’ cooking too. For example, they are perfect for steaming vegetables and fish.

“By adding a little water and covering with a lid or cling film, it’s possible to get great results because the product retains its nutrients, colour and flavour. Microwaves are also great for scrambled eggs, and you don’t need to scrub the pan. They’re very good for cooking rice too.”

A distinction is drawn between microwave and combination microwave technology, with the former suitable for caterers wanting mainly to reheat and defrost foods whereas the latter is recommended for reheating and cooking food products.

“Items such as pastry will become soggy if reheated in a plain microwave. Using a combination microwave convection oven, the crisp golden brown and conventional finished result will be achieved in microwave speed.

“A combination microwave oven will not replace the need for a microwave oven and vice versa. It is also important to choose the correct microwave oven wattage - if too low, you can be frustrated by delays; and if too high, it will be difficult to judge the timing of small portions.”

Genuine commercial microwave ovens range from 1000W to 3200W; models up to 1900W can be run from a standard 13-amp socket while units above 1900W are designed for the reheating of larger portions.

“Sales of microwaves have grown significantly in the past year, due to new innovative products and the introduction of time-saving extras for some microwaves,” stated R H Hall’s managing director Ray Hall.

His company distributes Maestrowave products such as the iWave which, he said, exemplifies this innovation push and has proved particularly popular in the hospital sector.

The latest development – the MiWAVE1900P - is a 1900W table-top system operating off a 13-amp plug that offers full audit trail (e-reporting) and integral temperature probes.

“Every time an iWave barcode is scanned, the identity of the food or user is recognised and logged, and the information is sent to the iWave server via a wired, GPRS or wireless connection.

“Alternatively, information can be stored on the iWave and downloaded directly to a lap-top or PDA with an infra-red or Bluetooth connection.”

Of particular relevance to the health sector, the iWave will automatically generate detailed nutritional reports broken down by individual meal for each patient.

Also, it can automatically generate replenishment orders for food cooked that session, day or week; a caterer can choose to have this sent directly to a nominated food supplier or inputted automatically into the client’s existing purchase order software system for approval.

Furthermore, the iWave will automatically generate reports for food that reaches its use-by date before disposal.

Another microwave popular in the cost sector is the Sharp R1900M “Dual Control” for heavy-duty use which boasts 1900W of power and “extra-heavy-duty build quality”.

It can be run off a 13-amp plug, has two control panels and has the capacity to handle programming for up to 100 menus.

The 21-litre-capacity unit’s additional fan removes steam and heat from the oven’s cavity, thereby helping to prolong machine life as well as provide more continuous, reliable power with no drop-off in performance.

Words Ian Martin

This article originally appeared in Cost Sector Catering magazine www.costsectorcatering.co.uk

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