Things from the professional kitchen that every home cook should have

[Marmish]

For example, I think every home kitchen would benefit from having a big roll of commercial food film (what we home cooks call plastic wrap). The large-format commercial rolls make a mockery of the ones you get at the grocery store.

I agree. I buy the Reynolds Film 904 food service wrap 1000 ft that comes in a sturdy box with a secured roller and a very sharp cutter. This wrap is easier to handle than the thinner ones and clings well to itself and can also be heat sealed.

I also buy butcher paper on the large roll - I find a lot of uses for it.

Ditto aluminum foil.

Parchment paper in sheets.

I used to buy the full size sheets when I still had the big Blodgett oven and cut them in half when I got rid of it until they were used up.

I recently bought another supply from the ebay source that I have used several times.

1000 sheets 1/2 sheet size

I use a lot of it and buying 1000 sheets, compared to 500 sheets, saves almost twenty dollars.

I no longer use the full size sheet pans for baking but as they fit perfectly on the industrial wire shelving, I have placed them where I am storing bottles, jars and etc., that do not set securely on the wire shelving.

(And if a bottle cracks or leaks, there are no drips onto stuff on the lower shelves.

I have a couple in a lower cabinet where I have some liquids stored (vinegars and etc.) also to catch drips and leaks to protect the wood.

Also have a few in my small pantry.

Dishers or ice cream scoops - me too.

Cambro containers - you bet. I have been writing about them in various topics for years. I have mostly the translucent ones - in my opinion they seal better and the cost is much less. They can go from freezer to microwave for defrosting and heating food and even my oldest ones are still in good condition.

I have every size from 1 quart/liter to 22 quart/liter.

I have a few of the square clear ones but as noted above, I have found that they do not seal quite as well as the round ones.

There are many more items that I have purchased over the years. I am very fond of Star Restaurant Supply in Van Nuys, Calif. I have been shopping there since 1967.

I also am a big fan of Smart & Final.

I did have a certified commercial kitchen for nearly ten years, did some catering and contract baking for some local cafes and a tea shop, so I did have a legitimate excuse for having the commercial items. However, I agree with some of the previous posts that many of the commercial utensils are made better and sturdier than the consumer types and are cheaper to boot.

that's where I get my parchment, too. Probably because you recommended it in some other thread.

[JAZ]

I think Steven mentioned this in passing, but a stack of side towels, easily accessible.

[AAQuesada]

Pint and Quart sized deli cups. From the freezer to the microwave to mise en place, to price. The best.

[andiesenji]

Higher gas pressure? Not really sure what the correct phrase is. Even on the hottest gas burner at home my stir-frys are never really stir frys, they're stir-boils. I have always assumed that the difference in taste between Asian style food from a restaurant and that cooked at home is not due to ingredients, but simply the temperature of the wok.

You need a bigger gas line and a permit to have it installed.

When I had my kitchen remodeled and got the Blodgett oven and the cooktop with high capacity burners, I had to have a bigger gas line installed and there was a minimum clearance over the burners required as well as a stainless steel hood that would adequately cover them and nothing flammable exposed on the wall.

[paulraphael]

You need a bigger gas line and a permit to have it installed.

What kind of permit? In most states, as far as I know, there's no official permit required. But insurance companies will sometimes throw a hissy fit (and if you don't tell them about the installation, which may violate fire codes, you void your insurance). Many commercial equipment sellers just refuse to do home deliveries or installations. They're afraid of potential lawsuits.

The biggest costs are that the installation of the 3/4" gas line, the commercial hood (absolutely required), and the masonry firewall behind the range (absolutely positively required). these will generally more than offset the cost savings.

That said, the performance advantages might be worth the price and hassle, depending on your outlook. Don't let anyone tell you that the quasi-commercial ranges (wolf, blue star, dcs, etc.) are similar to their commercial brethren in performance. They're not even close.

[andiesenji]

You need a bigger gas line and a permit to have it installed.

What kind of permit? In most states, as far as I know, there's no official permit required. But insurance companies will sometimes throw a hissy fit (and if you don't tell them about the installation, which may violate fire codes, you void your insurance). Many commercial equipment sellers just refuse to do home deliveries or installations. They're afraid of potential lawsuits.

The biggest costs are that the installation of the 3/4" gas line, the commercial hood (absolutely required), and the masonry firewall behind the range (absolutely positively required). these will generally more than offset the cost savings.

That said, the performance advantages might be worth the price and hassle, depending on your outlook. Don't let anyone tell you that the quasi-commercial ranges (wolf, blue star, dcs, etc.) are similar to their commercial brethren in performance. They're not even close.

Your local gas company can give you documentation about what is required by your local dept of building and safety.

My addition/remodel was done after the '94 earthquake and I also had a two-stage automatic safety cutoff installed at the gas meter even though I no longer had any appliances with standing pilot lights. It works if there is earthquake movement or if there is excess gas flow (caused by a broken secondary gas line in the structure). If there is a breach in the higher volume line, it can fill a building with explosive gas in a matter of minutes and any spark can set it off.

The cost for my system was less than 1000. but in my opinion safety costs are worth the expense. The gas company checks it once a year for free.

[Miranda]

All this talk of large size wrap made me dream of a table filled with gladwrap rolls that were 3ft, 4ft and five foot long, with similar sized foil rolls! Yes, I bought some....

[weinoo]

Once you start comparing any other state with what the state of California requires to satisfy "code," you're opening a big can of worms.

[Marlene]

flat sheets of parchment, as opposed to the crappy rolls which never stay flat.

Readily available to the UK domestic kitchen from Lakeland.

Different sizes of pre-cut circles and squares as well as rectangles ...

They do ship abroad, but not exactly cheaply, I'm afraid.

In Canada, you can get flat parchement sheets and rounds from Golda's Kitchen, and in the US, from King Arthur flour. These are standard in my kitchen.

[andiesenji]

I do buy some rounds - if I am going to be doing a lot of baking in cake pans, particularly the larger sizes, and it would be too time consuming to cut them myself.

I buy the 14-inch rounds from Sugarcraft (so I don't have to piece the parchment together) because their prices are better than King Arthur, or were the last time I ordered.

For tube pans I use the circle cutter to cut out the center round. I used to buy parchment liners specifically for tube pans (when I was baking commercially) but the vendor discontinued them a few years ago and I think that is when I began cutting my own rounds and I had that huge stack of parchment (full size) to use up.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Less stuff.

Commercial kitchens tend not to have a lot of extra stuff, because it costs money and has to be kept clean and maintained. I've got a lot of stuff, but I sometimes wonder if I might not be better off with less of it.

[paulraphael]

Less stuff.

Amen.

[gwl]

A decent thermometer or two...always checking internal temps of meats in the oven or on the grill. An instant read (fast) one is best.

[Raoul Duke]

A warming drawer would make me happy as a pig in s**t.

[Moopheus]

Sani-Tuff cutting boards.

[Holly Moore]

Great for rinsing off pots and dishes and for disciplining cats.

Commercial Dishwasher Pre Rinse Spray Hose

[RobertCollins]

Sheet pans are so useful. It's amazing to me that they're not a standard kitchen-store item, yet a lot of home stores only have cookie sheets.

Fat Guy says.

I ask, can you buy stainless sheet pans and if so please give me a brand name. I kind of like what I perceive as clean pans and mine die in the smoker or Webber and build up all the brown oil stains. I've tried to clean them as I do my pots and pans with lye [Easy Off] but find most of what I own in sheet pans are Aluminum; Al doesn't take well to a lye bath.

[andiesenji]

Great for rinsing off pots and dishes and for disciplining cats.

Commercial Dishwasher Pre Rinse Spray Hose

I had the commercial dishwasher itself for quite a few years. Now it is in the bakery/cafe of a friend and I have a Bosch - takes a lot longer but I don't have the volume I once did.

Loved the 90 second cycle, even though the sound effects were something else!

[jk1002]

All clad has stainless sheet pans wi aluminium core. I don't think you will find much stainless since it doesn't conduct heat.

I'd say stick to alu and put tinfoil between the food and sheet pan or something and change frequently.

Jk

[Fat Guy]

There are stainless sheet pans, for example: http://www.webstaurantstore.com/half-size-stainless-steel-bun-sheet-pan/327901318SS.html

[andiesenji]

I have a couple of the stainless steel half-size sheet pans and I don't like them as well as the aluminum (have a dozen).

The SS sheet pans often warp when the heat reaches a certain point (as when I'm roasted "blasted chicken" - which essentially flings the chicken to one end of the pan and spatters grease all over the top and sides of the oven.

Haven't had that problem with the aluminum.

I can only assume it's because the SS does not heat evenly.

[cbread]

Boy, I'd like more heat too. I have a wok burner that's more of a spherical warmer. Ugggh. The rating suggests far more volcanic satisfaction that one really gets.

Wouldn't mind more heat on other burners but they're about as much as available w/o a commercial unit / fairly tolerable but I'd still like to really rock the kitchen. I thought about just drilling out one burner head as a test, but visits from the appliance repair guy are expensive if my "improvement" was a bust ... Plus insurance concerns etc.

Higher gas pressure? Not really sure what the correct phrase is. Even on the hottest gas burner at home my stir-frys are never really stir frys, they're stir-boils. I have always assumed that the difference in taste between Asian style food from a restaurant and that cooked at home is not due to ingredients, but simply the temperature of the wok.

[cbread]

I did much the same with wood. I will never do a kitchen w/o same. I made mine so that Taylor and Ng hooks fit. Wonderful to live with. Everything accessible.

In my kitchen I created two long "rails" suspended from the ceiling, and all my cookware hangs from these on hooks. I bolted ceiling plates directly through into the studs, screwed in lengths of threaded bar, and fastened black pipe to the bottom using screw-together threaded O-rings. Has a kind of industrial-but-finished look to it that I like. And there's certainly nowhere else I could put all that stuff!

[Darienne]

I did much the same with wood. I will never do a kitchen w/o same. I made mine so that Taylor and Ng hooks fit. Wonderful to live with. Everything accessible.

In my kitchen I created two long "rails" suspended from the ceiling, and all my cookware hangs from these on hooks. I bolted ceiling plates directly through into the studs, screwed in lengths of threaded bar, and fastened black pipe to the bottom using screw-together threaded O-rings. Has a kind of industrial-but-finished look to it that I like. And there's certainly nowhere else I could put all that stuff!

Could there please be photos of the above posts. Thanks.

[jgm]

I would add in a commercial pan with a non-stick (i.e. Teflon) finish, which I intend to purchase soon at the local restaurant supply house.

I think the non-curling parchment is a great idea. It just prompted me to wonder: would Americans cook more from scratch if they had better equipment? Just a thought. A lot of equipment intended for home cooks is woefully inadequate, and especially in the instance of pots and pans, it can be so lousy that people become convinced they can't cook. But that's another thread.