Walk into virtually any commercial kitchen and you will find a traditional open-top six-burner oven range. Ranges have been the cooking device of choice for decades for very good reasons: they are highly versatile and give precise temperature control.
A range can either be gas or electrically powered and primarily consists of either a conventional or fan-assisted oven under a top with elements or burners for heating pots and pans.
These days there’s a wide choice of tops to suit different applications and budgets. The solid top, with an extremely hot centre and cooler zones towards the edges, is a very convenient solution as pans can simply be moved to the preferred heat zone to adjust cooking temperatures.
They also accommodate more pans than conventional burners or rings. If you’re not likely to need the whole cooking area all the time, look for a model offering the energy saving option of only heating up part of the top.
If you’re stick of scrubbing, try a Plancha top. Food is cooked on a raised flat surface, which allows fat and debris to be scraped quickly into the surrounding drain. They are fast, effective and cut out the need for frying pans. Griddle tops, on the other hand, are especially useful where a menu includes large quantities of burgers, steaks or pancakes.
Induction hobs provide a highly energy efficient solution. As well as using less power, they are easy to clean, safe, fast and have immediate ‘controllability’ similar to gas.
Range Ovens – Buy Online!
The above is taken from Eat Out Magazine’s Catering Equipment Buying Guide in association with CESA and Caterquotes.
