At ShortOrder, we’re always looking for new ways to help the enhanced professional kitchen make the most of its restaurant equipment. This week, we’ve got some great steps your restaurant can take to become a sustainable business. Making a greater effort toward sustainability has many benefits. According to the National Restaurant Association’s president and CEO, Dawn Sweeney, “Many restaurant operators have been working on sustainable practices for years, finding it’s good for business by helping attract new guests, boosting communities, and driving savings as operations become more efficient.” With that in mind, read on for our top tips and tools for using your restaurant equipment and turning your business into an environmentally-conscious operation.

Turn off the Lights

Not all night, of course, but it’s a good idea to be mindful of when you have all of the lights on in your restaurant. Equipment in your kitchen use plenty of energy, so why not save a little on the electricity bill? Turn off the lights during breakfast and/or lunch hours, especially in the summer when the days are longer. If there are lamps on or above each table, make sure their bulbs are low-watt. Consider investing in LED lighting, which can save thousands of dollars per years in electric bills.

Use Efficient Restaurant Equipment

Part of being a sustainable restaurant includes saving energy wherever possible. One way to cut costs is to invest in quality, energy-saving restaurant equipment. Lower costs don’t mean you have to sacrifice value, however. Brands like Scotsman ice machines are Energy Star certified, meaning that they provide significant energy savings to consumers, have increased energy efficiency, and maintain a higher quality of performance than other products of its kind.

Maintain Your Restaurant Equipment

You should also be sure to regularly maintain your kitchen’s restaurant equipment so it remains in proper working order at all times. Equipment that uses up more energy than necessary can be a drag on your business’s expenses. For example, click here for energy-saving tips for your restaurant’s ice machines.

Donate Uneaten Food

A study by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases found that 40% of all edible food in the U.S. goes to waste. Restaurants can reduce this number by making an effort to donate or compost un-served food. Find out about “food-rescue” programs, including national organizations like Food Donation Connection, 2nd Harvest, and Feeding America in your area, or start your own program!

More Restaurant Equipment Tips

For more tips about keeping your restaurant sustainable and making the best use of your restaurant equipment, keep reading our What’s Cookin’ blog! You can also follow ShortOrder on Twitter and like us Facebook.

Have you ever been faced with a need to fill gluten-free requirements, but don’t know how to meet those needs with your restaurant equipment?  This week we offer some valuable tips about what gluten-free really means and how to incorporate it into your menus.

About Gluten-Sensitivity
Gluten is a protein composite (made up of two other proteins) found in foods processed from wheat and other grain-related species like barley and rye.  There are different levels of gluten sensitivity.  Those with only mild gluten sensitivities might be able to eat some things those with celiac disease (an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine that causes, among other things, a complete intolerance to gluten) can not.  For example, be extremely careful about cross-contamination!  If foods are cooked in the same restaurant equipment that was used to bake, cook, stir-fry, or dice a food with gluten in it, those with high gluten-sensitivity will be affected.  Likewise, a food that is technically gluten-free may sport a label that says “Processed in a facility that also handles wheat.”   You can’t tout your menu as truly “gluten-free” if you aren’t careful about exactly what goes into your dish.

Cooking with Restaurant Equipment Sans-Gluten
Before you plan a gluten-free menu, look up as complete a list as you can find of foods with gluten in them.  You might be surprised what makes the cut!  Favorite, seemingly harmless foods like soy sauce, certain lunchmeats, bouillon cubes, and salad dressings can all contain gluten or be contaminated by gluten.

Then, rather than focusing on the things that are not available to your restaurant equipment for a gluten-free menu, think about the things that are.  All kinds of meats, fruits, nuts, vegetables, and a myriad of spices can be incorporated into a gluten-free menu.  There are also, of course, many replacements for gluten-laden ingredients; corn, flax, buckwheat, soy, rice, and almond flour can all serve as suitable substitutes in plenty of recipes.

Gluten-Free Recipes for Restaurant Equipment
Searching for some ideas to add to a gluten-free menu in your restaurant?  Try these recipes out on your restaurant equipment.

Gluten-Free Brownies

These brownies from Jesika Rose of jesicakes.blogspot.com are moist and chewy, and are made incredibly decadent by the inclusion of dark chocolate and almond flour.  Add some mix-ins to make this brownie recipe your own.  Chocolate chips, peanut butter, and pecans can all add a twist to these brownies.

Broccoli Divan

Faith of anediblemosaic.com created a broccoli divan recipe that is vegan, gluten-free, and grain-free.  It relies on no meat substitutes and relies instead on seasonings, almond meal, and vegetables.  This dish, which is normally made with chicken, becomes a flavorful alternative.

Pistachio-Encrusted Salmon with Edamame Mash

Shauna James Ahern of glutenfreegirl.com has created a pistachio-encrusted salmon with edamame mash that is surprisingly sparse in its ingredients and takes very little time to make.  Shauna says you can replace the pistachios with another nut, or the fish with a different firm fish depending on your preference.  Give it a try and see what new creations you can come up with!

As you may already know, it’s National Oatmeal Month!  It’s time to break out your restaurant equipment and explore the wide world of oatmeal.  As a breakfast dish, it makes for a great start to the day, since it takes longer to digest and makes you feel fuller for longer.  Additionally, it is full of B vitamins and calcium, and may lower your risk of heart disease and high cholesterol.  There are plenty of ways to get creative with this great grain using your restaurant equipment.  Last week we showed you a breakfast recipe as an excellent example of how to prepare delicious oatmeal-oriented dishes, and you may also remember a holiday pie that incorporated oatmeal for a nice crunch.  Here are two more unique recipes that include oatmeal to cook up on your restaurant equipment.  Happy National Oatmeal Month from ShortOrder!

Peanut ‘N’ Jelly Muffin Cake

This food doesn’t know which meal it should belong to.  Is it a muffin?  A cake?  A sandwich?  Quaker Oats files it under “breakfast,” so we will too, but this unusual treat would also make a great snack cooked up in your restaurant equipment.

TOPPING

• 1/3  cup oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• 1/4  cup all-purpose flour
• 2  tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/3  cup peanut butter
• 1 tbsp. stick margarine or butter, softened

CAKE

• 1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour*
• 1 cup oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• 1/2  cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4  teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1 cup fat-free milk
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) margarine or butter, melted
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2  cup grape, strawberry, or raspberry jelly

Heat restaurant equipment oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch round metal cake pan with cooking spray.

For topping, combine oats, flour and brown sugar. Cut in peanut butter and softened margarine with two knives or fingertips until mixture is crumbly; set aside.

For cake, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl; mix well. In small bowl, combine milk, melted margarine, egg and vanilla; blend well. Add to dry ingredients all at once; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do not over mix!) Pour into pan. Spoon jelly by teaspoonfuls randomly over batter. Crumble reserved topping evenly over batter.

In restaurant equipment oven, bake 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and wooden pick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Cool 10 minutes in pan on wire rack. Cut into wedges; serve warm.

(Recipe via quakeroats.com)

Quaker Health Soup

This recipe is actually from a book of Quaker Oatmeal recipes from 1910!  The book promoted ways to incorporate oats into a daily diet.  It looks like the power of subliminal advertising isn’t just for the 21^st century.  Here is the recipe for “Quaker Health Soup”:

Bring 6 cups highly-seasoned white stock to boiling point; add 1/2 cup oats and simmer one hour; rub through sieve and strain through one thickness of cheese cloth; add 2 cups scalded milk and bind with 2 tbsp. butter and 2 tbsp. flour cooked together; bring to boiling point; add salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.

(Recipe via monthsofediblecelebrations.blogspot.com)

One of the most important things to do when preparing a menu is to keep your guests guessing, so consider dispensing with the usual ice creams or plain cheesecake.  Whether you are using your restaurant equipment to fry, grill, or bake your desserts, if you keep an open mind you can create unique menus year-round.  Below we’ve compiled a collection of unusual desserts for your restaurant equipment.

Fried Cookie Dough Bites
With restaurant equipment like Gen2 fryers, you can create sinfully fried delights.  One of our fried dessert ideas is fried cookie dough.  These little balls of sweetness satisfy even the most demanding sweet tooth.  Whatever you choose to coat your cookie dough bites with, be sure that it is extra crunchy.  (We recommend funnel cake batter and cornflakes.)  The contrast between the crunch of the shell and the warm, gooey dough on the inside is sublime.  Thanks to their richness, you only need to serve a few at a time.

Grilled Peaches
This dessert is simple and delicious.  Grilled peaches are a perfect summer treat.  Simply halve and pit the peaches, brush them with canola or grapeseed oil, and grill on your restaurant equipment grill until tender.  You can serve them alone, drizzled with honey, or with a side of yogurt, whipped cream, or ice cream for a little cooling contrast.

Fried Flowers
Though fried flowers are a seasonal dish, they made a unique addition to a menu.  Squash blossoms, orchids, roses, zucchini blossoms, and acacia are all popular flowers to fry, and the resulting dish has a delicate flavor.  To keep your flowers light, make sure that after you dip the flowers in batter that you shake off any excess to keep from masking the flavor.  Likewise, your oil should be sizzling but not smoking, otherwise the flowers may absorb too much oil.

Beetroot and Chocolate Cake
It may sound odd, but the addition of beetroot to a traditional chocolate cake creates a kick of sweetness that counters the bittersweet chocolate.  Adding crushed beets to a cake also has many other benefits: they moisten the cake, add a rich red tint, and retain some of their nutritional value.  There are also vegan versions of this cake recipe, which are useful for offering customers an alternative unusual dessert option.

Dessert Wontons
Wonton wrappers aren’t just for savory edibles anymore.  Use your restaurant equipment to fry up wontons stuffed with sweet things.  Any number of combinations is acceptable.  Try bananas and Nutella; a rhubard pie-like filling; peanut butter and jelly; walnuts, pears, and vanilla; raspberry jam and cream cheese; or peaches, pecans, and mascarpone cheese.  These hot, crispy treats make a great winter dessert.

Whether you are catering to the whole family clan or a big group of friends, the right restaurant equipment can help make Thanksgiving food preparation faster, leaving you with more time at the table.  When cooking for large numbers, efficiency is the name of the game.  Mixers, combination ovens, and even Gen2 fryers can make life in the kitchen easier.  Here are some things to consider when putting together your own delicious Thanksgiving feast:

Start cooking your turkey first so it is guaranteed to be finished by the time everyone is settled at the table.  There is nothing worse than a table (or two, or three) full of guests and no main course.

If you decided to deep fry your turkey, be absolutely sure it is completely thawed.  It will probably take 3 to 4 days in a refrigerator to take a turkey from totally frozen to fully thawed and ready for the fryer.   If you’re not sure it’s thawed… wait some more.  Trying to fry a frozen turkey results in splattering oil that can cause a major fire if it comes into contact with a flame.

Be sure to consider your guests’ food preferences and allergies.  Nuts, shellfish, dairy, eggs, and certain fruits are some common food allergies to be wary of.  Also, be careful to keep any allergy-friendly dishes apart from each other on your restaurant equipment.  Clean surfaces and containers thoroughly that may have been contaminated by the allergens.  Additionally, the kids’ table may be pretty picky, so in addition to your famous spicy Andouille sausage dressing have some kid-friendly sides on hand, too.

Be creative!  Think outside the box when it comes to your Thanksgiving meal.  Roast your sweet potatoes with lime and ginger, make a pumpkin coconut tart instead of traditional pumpkin pie, add a little curry to your macaroni and cheese, bake some garlic and sun-dried tomato corn muffins… the possibilities are endless.

Manitowoc, a city in eastern Wisconsin on Lake Michigan, gets its name from the Native American word meaning home of the Great Spirit. And it is with great spirit that the people that manufacture Manitowoc Ice Machines have embraced cutting edge technology and conservation since their beginnings in 1964. And with the Indigo series, Manitowoc Ice Machines now include intelligent diagnostics to provide more reliable and energy efficient monitoring, as well as streamlined cleaning, better ice quality and improved food safety.

With four pages featuring Manitowoc Ice Machines, our website offers a variety of models of Manitowoc Ice Machines, each with an excellent rating. One Editor’s Choice award goes to the Indigo™Manitowoc Ice Machine ID-0322A/208/1. With intelligent diagnostics, a space-saving design, programmable ice production, and a Duratech™ stainless, fingerprint-resistant finish, this model has it all and still makes about 350 lbs of ice per day. For those looking for more volume, the Manitowoc Ice Machine ID-1402A/B-970/208/1 will definitely satisfy, producing a hefty 1500 pounds of ice per day. You can’t go wrong no matter what model you choose, because of the 107 Manitowoc Ice Machines we offer, every single one has a rating of 4 stars or higher. Now that’s quality!

It feels great to purchase a high-quality piece of restaurant equipment from a company that has a history of performance and quality. True to its name, Manitowoc Ice Machines offer more than just quality equipment. They offer peace of mind and a great spirit of stewardship to the environment and to businesses like yours. At Short Order, we only work with companies we know will deliver quality, and Manitowoc is one of those companies. With Manitowoc Ice Machines, you know you are getting a great product from a great company. And that should put you in very good spirits!

There’s something to be said for consistency. Your customers rely on it, and so do you. Consistency is what makes your dishes famous and your customers coming back for more. Consistency is what allows you to turn on the stove and expect the flame to ignite every time. While we tend to overlook the simplicity of reliable performance, without it, where would we be? With Scotsman Ice Machines, you’ll get bin after bin of fresh, cold ice. In fact, almost every one of the Scotsman Ice Machines has earned our Editor’s Choice award and five star rating.

Scotsman Ice Machines are not only reliable, they’re efficient too. Prodigy® cubers like the Scotsman Ice Machine C0530MA-32B/B530S exceed both California and Federal regulations for the use of energy and water. And who says reliability has to be old fashioned? This machine has indicator lights to alert you when its time to sanitize or descale, operational data that can be shown onscreen or remotely and an ultrasonic ice control system that allows you keep ice levels exactly where you want them. And with a hefty capacity of 536 lbs, that’s a lot of flexibility in one piece of restaurant equipment.

Then there is the Scotsman Ice Machine AFE424A-1A. This guy fits under the counter, producing flake style ice up to 400 lbs a day, 80 lb bin storage capacity. So your produce and seafood stay fresh and chilled. Short Order carries Scotsman Ice Machines in just about every shape and size, ranging from the petite models with 24 pounds of storage to heads that produce 1900 lbs a day.

But when it comes down to it, whatever the size of the machine or the shape of the cube, and whatever your use. consistency is what you want most in an ice machine, and that’s where Scotsman Ice Machines take the lead. Thanks, Scotsman Ice Machines, for keeping the food industry that much cooler.

Steaming hot pancakes. Crispy bacon. Sizzling seared vegetables. Are you hungry yet? Can’t you just smell, hear and taste it? There is, perhaps, nothing more mesmerizing than fresh food sizzling on a hot griddle. For a restaurant owner, commercial griddles may just be the best machines ever invented. Across that expansive steel surface you can cook just about anything without ever dirtying a pan. Order after order can be placed to cook on the evenly heated surface of commercial griddles, all the while producing sounds and smells that will entice even the toughest customer. And if you want commercial griddles, boy have we got them.

Short Order offers a wide assortment of commercial griddles that cook like nobody’s business. One such beauty is the Vulcan Griddle RRE24D-208/1. These are electric-powered, countertop RRE griddles with stainless sides and tapered side splashes to protect from grease splatter. In fact, all of the griddles in the RRE series have received Short Order’s our Editor’s Choice award. Another favorite is Gen2. While the products vary greatly in price and size, every Gen2 Griddle has earned both the Editor’s Choice award and our 5 star rating. We also carry many electric, propane and natural gas powered commercial griddles offered by Vulcan and other brands such as APW, Turbo Air, Wolf and Garland.

When the stadium, theatre or convention lets out and all of a sudden you have a flood of hungry guests looking for an excellent meal, nothing works harder than commercial griddles to cooks numerous meals while keeping an even temperature and a consistent cooking surface, even in the highest traffic. And you don’t have to worry about fighting for burners, cleaning pots and pans, or waiting for your restaurant equipment to heat up. Commercial griddles keep it simple, making it possible to keep your focus on what matters most–making great food.

Imagine the low, cool tones of Barry White, accompanied by that groovy beat, sliding out over the dance floor like the smooth waves from a smoke machine. The disco ball spins white lights all over the floor. It’s the 1970’s, baby. That was when cool was hot. Cat’s were groovin’ to a rhythm that could take it’s time. Today, things move much faster. With all the electronic devices keeping us plugged in all the time, coolness  (the way it was meant to be) seems a thing of the past. Not so with Beverage Air Refrigerators.

Cue the funky music, mellow out, and take a moment to embrace this fabulous line of Beverage Air Refrigerators. Short Order carries over 120 models of Beverage Air Refrigerators, every one of them earning a 5-star rating. And with no less than 40 models carrying our highly -coveted Editor’s Choice award, you know you are getting high quality restaurant equipment, no matter what model you choose.

Take, for example, the Beverage-Air Undercounter Refrigeration UCRD119A-8. This boxy lady has 8 drawers of cool, rear-mounted self-contained refrigeration, all on top of six beautiful casters that let her slide right under the counter like it’s a limbo bar at the skate palace. And you get all the performance that Beverage Air Refrigerators promise for nearly $2,000 under the typical dealer price, and free shipping. Right on! If you’re looking for something a little smaller, but still boss, check out the Beverage-Air Worktop Refrigeration WTR27A. This little dude can chill with the best of them. With casters and a worktop surface, this guy is one useful piece of kitchen equipment. And just like all of our Beverage Air Refrigerators, the price is outta sight!

So whether you are a the owner/chef of a small local food trailer or the executive chef of a five-star restaurant, you too can hang loose, knowing that, with Beverage Air Refrigerators, your refrigerator will keep on truckin.’ Can you dig it?

Viddles–It’s a term coined in the deep south to mean vegetables or any food that nourishes the body. It’s a vestige of a past generation that means old fashioned good cooking. Today, the word is hardly used except to quote Granny Clampett from the Beverly Hillbillies. But wherever you’re from, you know that there is nothing more satisfying than a well-cooked meal. And good cooking requires two things: know-how, and good restaurant equipment. that’s where Gen2 Griddles come in.

And, pardon the rhyme, but nothing cooks viddles like Gen2 Griddles. Gen2 Griddles are the generation of cooking equipment. This company has thought of everything, incorporating every detail into making Gen2 Griddles as efficient, reliable and useful as possible, while building upon the knowledge from past generations of griddles.

Just take a look at the Gen2 Griddle GEN2 – TG-24C – NAT, a 24-inch, two burner, countertop cooking genius. The heavy-duty thermostat control helps maintain cooking temperatures while the 22,000 BTU/hr, “U” type burners generate steady intense heat. Gen2 Griddles also offers the Gen2 Griddle GEN2 – TG-48C – NAT, a 48 inch, four-burner gas griddle, whose response time and excellent cooking surface are unparalleled. Both Gen2 Griddles carry our 5-Star and Editors Choice ratings.

But what does all this mean when it comes to your restaurant and your patrons? It means that whether your customers are from New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, or LA, when they are looking for that perfect meal — the one that fills their bellies and makes them sit back and relax like they were in hog heaven — they’ll find that perfect meal in your establishment. And, in the words of Granny, whether your customers like their meat “fallin’ off the bones tender or with a little fight left,” it’ll be cooked right every time with Gen2 Griddles.