Food Service Tools & Equipment

In the commercial kitchen, hand tools and equipment are used to prepare food items to be served. Equipment is usually larger, heavier machinery placed in one specific location and is very seldom moved. Equipment used in the commercial kitchen is expensive and is always purchased by the establishment. It is imperative that individuals are trained properly on how to operate such equipment or when working with hand tools. Experience using the tools and equipment will definitely make the food preparation process become increasingly more efficient in the commercial kitchen.

Hand Tools

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Hand tools are hand-held implements used in preparing

food. 1. Knives and Other Cutting Tools

2. Food Handling Tools

3. Food Preparation Tools

4. Cooking Tools

5. Baking Tools

6. Measuring Tools

Knives & Other Cutting Tools

Knives are the chef’s most important tool. A set of knives should consist of chef (French) knife, a carving knife, a boning knife, a utility knife, and a paring knife. Other knives are available for specialized tasks.

Knives should be selected for quality and by personal preference. Like any tool, a high quality knife may cost more initially, but perform better and last longer. All knives must be kept sharp at all times. A sharp knife is safer than a dull knife because it requires less force to use and will not slip off the item being cut as easily. A steel or sharpening stone should be used periodically to keep the blade sharp.

Boning Knife

a short thin knife with a pointed blade to remove meat from bones.

Butcher Knife

a slight curved, pointed blade knife to section raw meat.

Butcher’s Steel

a round steel rod to maintain the edge on a knife (does not sharpen it).

Clam Knife

a short, flat round tipped blade to open clams.

Cleaver

a heavy, square blade used to chop bones.

Chef (French) Knife

a wide and tapered blade used for chopping, dicing, mincing, and slicing.

Slicer

a narrow flexible blade used to slice food.

Paring Knife

a short knife used to pare fruits and vegetables and remove eyes and blemishes.

Oyster Knife

a short thin dull edged tapered blade to open oysters.

Pie & Cake Knives

a wide flat blade that is tapered to a point and shaped like a wedge to cut pie and cake.

Potato/Vegetable Peeler

a loop shaped blade to allow peeling in two directions.

Utility Knife

a pointed knife used for a variety of cutting tasks.

Types of Knives & Cutting Tools

Types of Food Handling Tools Food Tongs

Two grippers with a saw-toothed grip to pick up and serve foods.

Grill Tender

Used to clean grills. Turner/ Metal Spatula

Wide flat offset blade with handle to turn foods while grilling.

Kitchen Fork

Two-pronged fork used for holding, slicing, turning, and broiling meats.

Can Opener

Mounted on a table to open large cans Ladle

Stainless steel cup, solid or perforated attached to a long handle to stir, mix, and dip.

Ladle Size Weight/Portion

¼ c. 2 oz.

½ c. 4 oz.

¾ c. 6 oz.

1 c. 8 oz.

Types of Food Handling Tools cont. Melon Ball/ Parisienne Scoop

Stainless steel blade formed into a round half-ball cup to cut fruits and vegetables.

Scraper/Dough Cutter

Wide rectangular metal blade with a handle for scraping meat blocks and cutting dough.

Skimmer

Flat stainless steel perforated disk connected to a long handle to skim grease or food particles from soups, stocks, and sauces.

Spoons and Spatulas

Used for stirring, serving, scraping, and spreading.

Slotted Spoon

Stainless steel spoon with three to four slots to serve large cut vegetables or whole items without the liquid.

Spatula

Flexible flat or offset blade used for mixing, spreading, and scraping.

Metal Paddles

Long handled paddles used to stir food in deep pots.

Types of Food Preparation Tools

Box Grater

A metal box with various size grids used to cut food into small particles.

China Cap

A pointed strainer used to strain gravies, soups, sauces, and other liquids.

Colander

A bowl shaped strainer used for washing and draining foods.

Hand Meat Tenderizer

A metal hammer like tool with a handle used to pound and break the muscle fibers of tough cuts of meats.

Strainer

Perforated metal bowl used to strain and drain foods.

Wire Whip

Used for whipping eggs, cream, gravies, and sauces. There are two types of whips …a French whip and the Piano whip, which is more flexible and is used for more delicate whipping procedures.

Types of Cooking Tools Bain-Marie

Stainless steel storage container with high walls to hold hot water and foods.

Bake Pan

Rectangular aluminum pan used for baking.

Braiser

A shallowed wall round pot used for braising, stewing, and searing meats.

Double Broiler

A double pot with hot water in the bottom pan used to heat delicate items such as cream, cheese, chocolate, and pudding.

Frying/ Sauté Pan

Round sloped shallow pan used to sauté meats and vegetables.

Iron Skillet

Thick heavy iron to withstand heat and used for broiling and frying foods.

Types of Cooking Tools cont. Mixing Bowls

Used to mix small and large foods. Stainless steel does not affect flavor of foods unlike aluminum with acidic foods.

Roasting Pan

Large rectangular medium to high walled metal pan.

Saucepan

Smaller, shallower, and lighter pot. Sauce Pot

Large round deep pot with handles. Used for cooking on the top of the range when stirring and whipping is necessary.

Sheet Pan

Shallow rectangular pan used for baking cookies, sweet cakes, and sheet pies.

Stock Pot

Large round high walled pot with handles used for boiling and simmering food items such as turkeys, hams, stocks and vegetables.

Types of Baking Tools Dough Docker

An aluminum or stainless roller with pins and a handle used to perforate dough to prevent uneven baking or blistering.

Flour Sifter

A round metal container with a sieve and a wheel to rotate as it removes lumps and adds air.

Pastry Bag

Cone shaped bag used to decorate cakes or pipe food like duchess potatoes and whipped toppings.

Pastry Brush

Narrow shaped brush with bristles used to brush on icing, sauces, or an egg wash.

Pastry Tips

Metal tips with various shaped openings used to decorate cakes and cookies.

Pie and Cake Marker

A round heavy wire disk with guide bars used to mark and cut cakes and pies.

French Rolling Pin

Solid piece of wood with narrower ends used to roll dough to the required thickness.

Types of Measuring Tools Measures

Metal cups are used to measure liquids and some dry ingredients. Measures are graduated in quarters and are available in gallons, half gallons, quarts, and pints..

Measuring Cups

Used to measure liquids and some dry ingredients. A set consists of one-quarter, one-third, one-half, and one cup measures.

Measurement Abbreviation

teaspoon tsp./ t.

tablespoon tbsp./ T.

pint pt.

quart qt.

gallon gal.

ounce oz.

pound lb.

bunch bch.

Measurement Equivalent

Pinch/Dash 1/8 t.

3 t. 1 T.

16 T. 1 c.

1 c. ½ pt.

2 c. 1 pt.

2 pts. 1 qt.

4 qts. 1 gal.

16 oz. 1 lb.

1 lb. (water) 1 fluid pint

2 lbs. (water) 1 fluid quart

Types of Measuring Tools cont. Portion Control Scoops

A scoop with a thumb-operated release lever. Scoops are available in specific sizes and are used to serve food in accurate amounts. Scoops are sized by numbers.

Cans

Many recipes call for food ingredients according to can size number (ex. #10 can).

Scoop # ~ Weight(oz.)

8 5

10 4

12 3

16 2-2 ½

20 1 2/3

24 1 ½

30 1 ¼

40 1

Scoop # Level Measure

8 ½ c.

10 2/5 c.

12 1/3 c.

16 ¼ c.

20 3 1/5 T.

24 2 2/3 T.

30 2 1/5 T.

40 1 3/5 T.

Can Size ~ Content ~Measure Product

# 10 6 ½ -7 lbs 3 qt. Fruits & Vegetables

# 5 2-3 lbs 1 qt. Fruit juice & soups

# 2 ½ 1 lb. 12 oz- 1 lb. 14 oz

3 ½ c. Fruits & Vegetables

# 2 1 lb. 4 oz 2 ½ c. Juices & Soups &

Vegetables

# 303 1 lb. 1 pt. Fruits & Vegetables

& Soups

#300 14 oz. – 16 oz.

1 ¾ c. Cranberry Sauce & Pork & beans

Equipment

Equipment is machinery or a larger tool that usually stays in one place. Unlike some hand tools, equipment is always purchased by the food service establishment. Equipment should only be used after proper

instruction by the supervisor. Always follow the manufacturer's recommendations for operation of any equipment.

Baker’s Scale

Equipment cont. Chafing Dish

Used to keep food hot on the buffet. A pan of water underneath keeps the food pan hot above.

Deep Fryer

Large automatic fry kettle used to deep fry food. Holds 25 lbs. - 50 lbs. of shortening at 200°- 400° degrees.

Food Processor

Appliance used to puree, chop, grate, slice, and shred food. It has a removable bowl, “S” shaped blade, lid, and a powerful motor.

Food Storage Boxes

Used to safely store food while maximizing the use of shelf space.

Equipment cont. Stand Mixer/Floor Mixer

Used to whip, grinds, shreds, slices, and chops food.

Portion Scale

A scale used for measuring food servings.

Proofing/Holding Cabinet

A cabinet used to keep food hot without drying it out or can be used to proof dough.

Slicing Machine

A machine that can be manually or automatically operated. It has a regulator for providing wide range of slice thickness.

Equipment cont. Pressure Steamer

Cooks food with steam under pressure that is in direct contact with the item being cooked such as vegetables and meats.

Convection Oven

Known as “air flow” ovens. Uses air that is circulated throughout the interior. Heat is distributed by this circulation method, allowing the oven to be loaded to its capacity and still provide the required heat.

Microwave Oven

Waves strike water molecules in the food causing heat energy. Food then cooks from the inside out as the heat spreads.

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