Many restaurants are looking for ways to set their business apart from the rest.  This week we can help you change what goes on your ranges for cooking by investigating the popularity of the locavore movement.  A unique approach to buying, preparing, and serving food, the locavore philosophy can be a way to improve your relationship with both the surrounding community and with your customers.

About the Locavore Philosophy
The term “locavore” refers to a person who is committed to eating local foods.  What constitutes “local” can vary depending on who you ask to define “locavore”; it can mean keeping to foods within a 100-mile radius of your home to keep within an entire city or region of your state.  The type of food available to locavores ranges from eggs from local farms and vegetables from farmers’ markets to local honey sold at a grocery store.

Why Go Locavore?
Choosing to stick to the locavore philosophy may have some drawbacks for businesses, but the benefits are great as well.  The most obvious benefit of eating locally is that you and your customers know where your food comes from and what is in it.  The resulting menu for your ranges, then, consists of fresher foods, opportunities for seasonal dishes, and a greater variety of foods to cook on your ranges.  Patronizing local growers and vendors also puts money directly back into the local economy, avoiding the need to exact a chunk of profit for a middleman in the production or shipping process.

How to Buy and Eat Locally
Raw fruits and vegetables are main contenders in a locavore’s starting menu, but it is equally possible to find local poultry, eggs, dairy, and meats.  And this philosophy doesn’t just apply to raw ingredients!  The type of food you can get from local vendors ranges from the simple to the fully-finished.  Locally-made jams, coffee, baked goods, paper products, and even beer can be incorporated into your restaurant’s repertoire.

How to Alter Your Menu
You may not be able to turn your whole menu into a locavore’s feast—and that’s fine!  Instead, try swapping out 5 major ingredients for foods that you can easily obtain locally and use on your ranges and in your ovens.  Alternately, you could choose to make 2 or 3 dishes for your ranges that you can tout as completely locavore-friendly.  You should also advertise your vendors on your menu, even if only by way of a small list on its back.  This lets your patrons know exactly where their food is coming from—and isn’t that the point of going local?  Plus, it will help you strengthen your relationship with your vendors, who will appreciate the publicity.

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)

Having winter drinks on our ranges at home is one of the best things about wintertime, and it’s no different in restaurants.  As kids we enjoyed seeing how many miniature marshmallows we could fit into a mug of hot cocoa.  We sipped at non-alcoholic eggnog, then wondered why anyone would want to sip at eggnog.  The smell of cider filling the house meant that the holidays were fast-approaching.  The fact is, warm beverages are a tried-and-true part of the winter months.

The nature of holiday libations ranges from rich, creamy refreshments to punches that are easy on juice and heavy on wine.  More often than not, the idea behind warm winter drinks is to throw all the ingredients into a saucepan, then let them simmer until ready to serve.  They are great to have readily available, because once they require no upkeep, as long as you keep them warm.  Here are four of the best winter drinks to please your guests.

1. Wassail (Non-Alcoholic)
This kid-friendly version of the traditional hot beverage will warm children and adults alike.  Its name comes from the Old English phrase “waes hael,” which means “be you healthy,” and was involved in an old drinking ritual that ensured a good harvest.  Today’s wassail is a more of a variation of mulled cider.  It usually combines several fruit juices cooked with cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and sometimes allspice and ginger.  The result is a fragrant, flavorful punch.

2. Hot Chocolate
This winter drink is a classic.  However, there are many, many ways to put a new spin on hot chocolate.  Belgian hot chocolate, Mexican hot chocolate, hot chocolate Agasajo-style, and even peanut butter hot chocolate are all options.  Give your hot cocoa a kick with ancho chile and cinnamon, add a dollop of marshmallow fluff, or drizzle with some ever-trendy salted caramel.  Whatever you do, make sure you top it with real whipped cream and serve with biscotti, cookies, or toast.

3. Mulled Cider
Mulled cider is one of the timeless, great holiday drinks.  To make it, combine apple cider, cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, whole cloves, an anise star, and some thinly sliced oranges for a citrusy kick.  Let it simmer on one of your ranges for as long as you would like; the longer it simmers, the more flavor it has!  (Besides which, no one likes cold cider.)

4. Hot Spiced Ginger Lemonade
It turns out that lemonade is no longer limited to summertime.  Although it sounds an unlikely candidate for a winter beverage, it’s actually perfect for cold winter days.  It generally requires the same spices as a wassail, but uses lemonade instead of fruit juices.  The result is a lighter-tasting version, and a great way to surprise guests with the unexpected.

No matter how you choose to fill your menu or your ranges, be sure to be creative with your holiday drink recipes.  Your unique drinks will keep guests coming back for more!

Everything about Gen2 ranges says the sky’s the limit with these magnificent workhorses. Beautifully designed for efficiency, power and reliability, Gen2 ranges have not only earned our 5 star rating and our Editors Choice Award, but they were also voted Best in Class by Food Service Equipment Supplies Magazine.

And it’s no wonder. Let’s look at the Gen2 Range 60-GEN2-10B-S26-NAT. With two 26-1/2″ ovens, a stainless front, landing range and backguard, and a holding range of 150-500 degrees, this baby can naturally do some heavy lifting! This exceptional piece of restaurant equipment is built to sustain the rigors of the toughest kitchen out there and still come out shining. Easy to clean and incredibly reliable, Gen2 ranges are a long time favorite of both chefs and line cooks around the country, and for good reason, too. It would seem that there’s nothing you can’t do with this bruiser.

That is, except put it in a residential home. In fact, the manufacturer will not honor the warranty if the range is installed in a residence or home. And most home insurance policies will be voided as well. That’s because commercial ranges like Gen2 ranges are built for volume. While installing commercial ranges has become a popular trend, its very important to understand what you are getting into. The warranty conditions, codes, and policies are there for a reason–because most homes are simply not designed to accommodate commercial restaurant equipment.

But if you have a commercial kitchen, there’s just about nothing you can’t do with Gen2 ranges. The world is your oyster, or duck, or seared scallop, or steak. Now we’re getting hungry just thinking about it!

Gen2 ranges bring some important questions to mind. For instance, have you ever wondered why that collection of cooking surfaces in your kitchen is called a range? In fact, the word “range” has a variety of meanings. The word can refer to a testing area for rockets, an spacious expanse of open land, or a variation from one extreme to the other. If you think about it, etymology aside, a kitchen range should be all of these things.

Quality ranges, such as Gen2 ranges, should be spacious, with plenty of room for culinary creativity. And quality ranges should allow for cooking at the lowest and highest temperatures, all the while maintaining a steady source of heat. True to its name, a range should also have the responsiveness and flexibility required to be a “testing area” for new dishes.

Gen2 Ranges embody all the qualities that their title implies. This restaurant equipment performs with unbelievable reliability and responsiveness. In fact, Gen2 ranges were voted “Best in Class” by Food Service Equipment Magazine. That’s why, at Short Order, we are proud to offer a robust selection of Gen2 Ranges in a variety of sizes, from the 24-inch, 4 burner Gen2 Range 24-GEN2-4B-S20 – NAT, all the way up to the workhorse, 60-inch, 10 burner Gen2 Range 60-GEN2-10B-S26-NAT. Now that’s a wide range of options!

Performance is everything at Gen2, and it shows in their Gen2 Ranges as well as their griddles, char broilers and fryers. That’s why we gave the entire line of Gen2 Ranges our Editors Choice award and a 5-star rating. You just can’t go wrong with Gen2 Ranges. In fact, you’ll be so thrilled with the performance of Gen2 Ranges, and the sense of freedom that comes from knowing your equipment is reliable, you might just be caught singing, “Oh, Home on the Range.”

Part of our great selection of restaurant equipment, Wolf ranges are proudly offered here at ShortOrder.com. And Wolf may say it best: they’ve “perfected the form, function and sheer durability” of their stainless steel gas ranges. Besides being able to take the heat in a busy restaurant kitchen, Wolf ranges can also be found in home kitchens.

Wolf Ranges: Standard Features

Wolf ranges come with quite a few standard features. A customer favorite might just be the red control knobs on Wolf ranges — it’s their signature. (Though, you can get black knobs if you’d like.) On the 36″ Wolf range, features include an infared broiler, an easily configurable cooktop, cast iron porcelain top grates and dual brass burners. And you can’t beat the sleek look of these stainless steel Wolf ranges.

Need something bigger? There are 60″ Wolf ranges available that come with stainless steel pull-out drip tray, oven interior light, dual brass burners and cast iron porcelain top grates. The large size of these Wolf ranges makes it easy to get cookin’ — and it’s easy to customize to your liking.

In between, there’s the 48″ Wolf range, the recipient of our Editor’s Choice rating. With this range, enjoy a fully MIG welded frame, two over racks and four rack positions, shrouded flash tube pilot system and more.

Wolf Ranges at the Lowest Prices

At ShortOrder.com, you’ll find Wolf ranges at the lowest prices. That’s all thanks to our dedication to being the leading online restaurant equipment dealer. Plus, our Low Price Guarantee on restaurant equipment gives our customers the assurance they’re getting the best price. We also offer flexible freight terms and even ship to Dubai and Canada.

Ready to order Wolf ranges for your restaurant? Start shopping now at ShortOrder.

Buying commercial ranges for your kitchen sounds like a simple thing to do… until you start looking! There are a number of things to consider when making your purchase, besides just size and how it looks.

Heavy Duty Ranges

One of the major decisions is heavy duty vs. restaurant duty ranges — should you pay the extra money to have a heavier duty range? Heavy duty ranges like the Vulcan Range GH6 have a shorter cooking time along with a higher energy output, which can mean higher energy costs. Typically, you’ll find heavy duty ranges in hotels, hospitals, institutions, some high volume restaurants and schools.

Configuring Your Ranges

Configuring your ranges is simple, as there are several open burners and griddle tops available. Plus, you can add convection ovens to the standard oven base.

Vulcan Ranges

ShortOrder.com has an amazing selection of Vulcan ranges. From heavy duty to restaurant duty, there’s a Vulcan range suitable for your restaurant. Vulcan ranges are a big name in commercial ranges thanks to their dependability, durability and proven performance.

Other Considerations When Buying Commercial Ranges

When you’re buying commercial ranges, there are a few other considerations, like casters. Casters are great for easy clean up and service. If you’re getting a gas commercial range, don’t forget to include a new AGA commercial gas flex hose. Also, if you’ll be using your new commercial range above an elevation of 2000 feet, specify that when you’re ordering so that the gas valves can be adjusted to account for it.

Buy Commercial Ranges at ShortOrder

With low prices and a fantastic selection, why would you ever order commercial ranges anywhere besides ShortOrder.com? Our low price guarantee on restaurant equipment gives you the assurance that you’re getting commercial ranges at the lowest price out there. Buy commercial ranges now at ShortOrder, the best place to get restaurant equipment.