One of the most common questions we have regarding freezers is about how to get them down to their optimum temperature.

Many people will put food straight in the freezer still in the original packaging, but is important to remember that food in a cardboard box greats pockets of air which act as insulation and prevents the area inside the freezer reaching its lowest maximum temperature.

It would be good practice to remove food from its cardboard packaging and wrap individually or to put it in an open container such as a gastronorm.

Barbeque Summer

Step by Step guide to a successful barbeque

1.    When cooking with charcoal, spread it out in an even layer - more thinly in one area for food that needs to be cooked slower. Its important to light the charcoal well in advance as they need at least 20-30 minutes to get hot. If you cook before charcoal starts going white your food will most probably just char and not actually cook.
2.    Ensure you are properly prepared having all chopping boards, cook’s knives, basting brushes, tongs, kitchen paper, oven gloves, kitchen foil etc
3.    Keep it simple. For best results, use fresh, seasonal ingredients and prepare as much as you can in advance.
4.    Remove all meat, poultry and or fish from the fridge before starting the barbecue, as it will not only produce the best results out of your food but will also reduce the chance of overcooking
5.    Keep all raw meats separate and covered, keep in cool place until you are ready to start the bbq – never place separate raw meat or fish in the same marinade.
6.    Use separate chopping boards and knives to avoid cross contamination between raw foods.
7.    If using wooden skewers soak in water upto an hour before the bbq as this will help prevent thwm from scorching.
8.    To avoid a sticky bbq grease the bbq with the meats natural fat or olive oil.
9.    Use unbreakable enamel plates which are much easier to balance on your knees than paper.
10.    Between cooking you should let the bbq burn freely as this removes remains of the previous meats/fishes that were there, avoid fishy meat
11.    Leave a 1 inch or 2.5 cm gap between food on the bbq

And finally have a good barbecue
 

Vitrified crockery or hotelware is often preferred by restaurants and hotels where the appearance and quality of plates and bowls is of the upmost importance.

Vitrified crockery is double baked, during the baking process it is more susceptible to breakage compared to tableware that has been baked just the once, therefore the resulting price is often higher. However as the high end hotels and restaurants will testify this price is justified in the resulting product.

Items which are vitrified are tougher crockery, less likely to break, chip, or crack. They are also more likely to keep their crisp white colour where as some cheaper crockery may grey over time, this is ideal more hotels and high end restaurants. Another advantage vitrified has is that its less likely to show scratch marks from cutlery use often making regular plates appear much older than they may be.

At Buycatering have a number of vitrified products on offer, such as our range of Hunter Crockery.

There are a number of guidelines that need to be followed in order to ensure you are storing food in your fridge & freezer in a safe manner, and to also increase the lifespan of the food. We have outlined some of the main points you will need to consider.

Follow these guidelines!

- Aim to keep the coldest part of the fridge between 0°C and 5°C.

- The temperature of a household freezer should be set at a steady -18/-19°C, and industrial freezers should be set at around -21/-22°C

- Keep a fridge thermometer in the coldest part of the fridge and check the temperature regularly.

- Freezing food stops the growth of bacteria, it does not kill it. So if the freezer gets too warm bacteria can start to grow again. Let the freezer reach its optimum temperature before use.

- Transport chilled and frozen food as quickly as possible and put them in the fridge or freezer straight away.

- If frozen food has been taken out of the freezer it should be allowed to defrost and should not be re-frozen.

- Wrap or cover all raw or uncooked foods so that they can’t touch or drip on to other foods and contaminate them.

- Don’t overload the fridge: the cooling air that circulates to keep the fridge cold gets blocked and pockets of warm air form.

- Don’t put hot food in the fridge – let it cool first.

- Empty any part-used Can into a bowl and cover it before putting it in the fridge, otherwise the tin may contaminate the food.

- It’s important not to overload your fridge. Unlike freezers, which work more efficiently when packed with food, fridges should not be overloaded.

- Remember to keep the door open for as short a time as possible. Opening the fridge or freezer door warms up the air inside.

- Remember although water freezes at 0 Celsius most foods require much lower temperatures to freeze.