A professional pasta cooker is an essential catering equipment for any place that wants to be efficient and pays attention to the quality of the menu cost ratio. There are many types, sizes and prices on the market and it is not always easy to choose among the different proposals. How to choose which is the right one for us? It depends on the quantity and types of the menu you offer, the level of energy savings you want to achieve and the way you are used to use the pasta cooker: just to cook pasta or for something else too?
In choosing the model and in evaluating the money to be spent, a lot depends on the type of menu that is offered in the restaurant: in high-level catering, the chef generally prefers a standard electric or gas professional pasta cooker, in order to have the complete management of how and when to refill the water; in fast/mass catering, such as in fast food restaurants or in shopping centres, the automated version is generally chosen, because it brings great advantages in terms of helping the staff and optimizing operations: once the cooking time has been set, the professional pasta cooker basket with food inside, it is immersed in the pasta cooker and then comes up automatically when the food is ready.
Choosing the professional pasta cooker according to its use
A professional pasta cooker is designed to cook large quantities of pasta and rice, even of different types and portions, without having to wait several times for the water to boil. As a kettle - its basic function - it also allows you to cook everything else that needs to be boiled, such as vegetables and eggs; however, the more sophisticated the tool is, the more are the possibilities for using it in a versatile way. Let's see an example.
Most models have level sensors inside the professional pasta cooker baskets: the low sensor is installed for safety, the high sensor for the refill of the water. In machines with automatic refilling, such as those of the Lotus pasta cooker line, when the lower sensor turns on because sensing an insufficient amount of water, the device automatically refills the water. By switching off the high sensor, the pasta cooker refills only up to the level of the low sensor and the pasta cooker becomes a steamer. The pasta cooker tank, filled with just a little bit of water, heats it generating steam with which it is possible to cook any type of food, both inside the professional pasta cooker baskets and on the surface, for example using a perforated tray positioned on top of the machine. A convenient way, for example, to delicately open molluscs, cook vegetables and carry out dietary cooking. Basically, you get two machines for the price (and space) of one.
Therefore, when you buy an electric pasta cooker or a professional gas pasta cooker, you should:
-choose the right model based on the final use you want to make of it
-consider the cost of the equipment in relation to the versatility and energy performance of the product.
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Energy saving: Electric pasta cooker or professional gas past cooker?
The cost of a professional pasta cooker should also be evaluated based on the energy savings it can achieve, given that it is a machine that is turned on all day long. The difference in terms of consumption is not due to the type of power supply of the professional pasta cooker, which can be electric or gas, but to the type and quantity of the daily cooking program and to the solutions offered by manufacturers of industrial kitchens to guarantee the best performance with the lower energy consumption.
Nowadays there are high-power electric pasta cooker models equipped with a single pressed tank with bottom grid and high-performance armoured heating element designed to work also with frozen (as well as dry and fresh) products, which quickly reach the boiling point and maintain it, reducing energy usage times.
Tank capacity and baskets for professional pasta cookers: the choice that makes you save money
Another element to be considered when evaluating the purchase of a professional pasta cooker is the capacity of the tank which can vary according to the water flow. The more litres of water are contained in the tank of the kettle, the bigger is the quantity of pasta that can be cooked. It is generally calculated that 10 litres of water are needed for every kilo of pasta. Therefore, choosing the right flow rate is also important to save purchase costs and use of energy, but it always depends on the use of the machine and the type of menu proposed: if you provide many courses of pasta, it is more convenient to choose a large capacity machine, if instead you don’t serve a lot of pasta, it is then better to opt for a 10/14 litre tank.
Equally important should be the choice of the baskets for professional pasta cookers. In some models of professional pasta cookers, they are included, in others they are not. The important thing is to evaluate the number of baskets needed for your catering business and the technical characteristics. The new Lotus professional pasta cooker basket is made of perforated stainless-steel sheet, an important detail design to allow you to cook in different ways at the same time with excellent results.
Do you want to have more information about the Lotus professional pasta cooker? Write to lotus@lotuscookers.it or fill in the contact form.