April 2007
Tracking the Cutting Edge
By: The Editors

A blast chiller/freezer that matches an oven’s roll-in racks, a more energy-efficient combi-oven and a walk-in cooler with an extra-sturdy floor are a few of the innovative new products that have hit the market recently.

BLAST CHILLER PLAYS WELL WITH OVENS

Now you can roll racks of just-baked food out of your Convotherm oven and into a matching blast chiller/shock freezer. The ConvoChill by Delfield—available this year as a roll-in model—excels in flexibility. The units offer three levels of cold: soft chilling to 38°F for delicate foods; hard chilling to 38°F for denser, larger foods; and shock freezing all food types to 0°F. The chill cycle takes about 90 minutes to drop food temps from 189°F to 38°F, while the shock freeze cycle brings hot food to 0°F in less than four hours. ConvoChill’s easy-to-use electronic control package includes a cycle control with core probe, temperature and time display, status display, integrated on-board printer, preset programming capability of up to 99 programs and a hot gas defrost system. The chiller also comes with a UV lamp sterilizing cycle and HACCP record-keeping memory.

Delfield Co./Enodis
800/739-8821
www.delfield.com 

FULL COURT (SANDWICH) PRESS

From long-time blending equipment maker Waring comes a new hot-equipment item, the panini/toasting grill. You can use the grill, which debuted on the market last fall, to transform everyday sandwiches into hot, crusty gourmet-style sandwiches. The panini grills have ribbed cast iron plates for the grill mark look, while the toasting grills have flat cast iron plates. Both feature a brushed s/s body and removable drip tray; a hinged, self-balancing top plate to handle foods up to 3” thick; and temperatures of up to 570°F. The Large Panini Grill and the Italian-Style Toasting Grill have a cooking surface of 14½” x 11.”

Waring Commercial Products
800/492-7464
www.waringproducts.com

A COMBI WITH SMARTS

Henny Penny’s new SmartCombi, just introduced last December, gives you better food quality and greater energy efficiency than ever before. A temperature probe linked to the unit’s control system ensures product quality and consistency while taking away any preparation guesswork. Inside the cooking cavity, an integrated heat exchanger creates plenty of steam—without the de-liming problem faced by boiler-powered steamers. Other advances include the WaveClean self-cleaning system; auto-reverse fans that circulate heat evenly for uniform cooking results; and optional Crosswise Plus cooking pans that can boost capacity by more than 50%, the company says.

Henny Penny
800/417-8417
www.hennypenny.com

ONE TOUGH FLOOR

Got a lot of extra-heavy items to store in your walk-ins? You can avoid that dented-up feeling by installing a super-strong structural floor. In October 2006, Thermo-Kool introduced its new Dura-Floor. This product supports up to 12,000 lbs. per square foot of stationary floor load, according to ASTM Standard Designation specifications. Dura-Floor’s surface options include foamed-in-place 1/8” aluminum tread plate or smooth plate. Bring on the beer kegs!

Thermo-Kool/Mid-South Industries
800/647-7074
www.thermokool.com