Five Things To Consider When Buying Ramekins For Your Restaurant

Although they may look small and inauspicious, ramekins are invaluable in a professional kitchen. They can be used for a host of purposes, but before investing in new ramekins, there are several things you should consider. Take a look at these ideas:

1. Size

Ramekins come in a range of sizes, and to meet all of your restaurant's needs, you may want to order a few different sizes. Small containers work perfectly for dips or relishes, while slightly larger ramekins work best for desserts such as souffles or side dishes such as foie gras brûlée with grasshopper crumble. The ramekin improves the presentation of these items and prevents the contents of the container from slipping and sliding around the plate.

2. Design

Once you've narrowed in on a few key sizes, you need to think about style. If you want simplicity and traditionalism, stick with white ceramic ramekins. Alternatively, reflect an industrial or urban vibe with metal ramekins, or tap into an old school diner feel with colorful plastic ramekins.

3. Storage

Rather than focusing exclusively on style, also remember to keep function in mind. In particular, think about storage space for your ramekins. If you have ample room, buy whatever type of ramekins you like the best. However, if you have limited space, you may want to opt for ramekins that are stackable. You can even buy small wall racks to hold these ramekins so they don't get lost on your shelves, amidst all your other dishes.

4. Temperature Resistance

If you need to put your ramekins in the oven, you cannot use plastic ones. However, both metal and ceramic ramekins can work. Unfortunately, metal ramekins absorb heat more readily than ceramic, and this can make them difficult to remove from the oven. Additionally, they are likely to be hot to the touch to diners. In contrast, ceramic ramekins handle the heat of the oven well, and although they are not as hot as metal when coming out of the oven, they tend to hold heat and release it more slowly than metal does. That helps prevent dishes from getting cold.

5. Cleaning Accessories

If you use a lot of ramekins, you may need to implement special cleaning strategies or buy special accessories to help with cleaning. For example, if your restaurant uses ramekins for condiments, you may need to scrub out hundreds of them per day. So that they don't unnecessarily keep your sink busy, consider investing in a soaking bucket. You can put used ramekins in the bucket to soak throughout the day and then finish the washing in a sink at dedicated intervals during the day.

Alternatively, if you serve baked mac and cheese or similar dishes in ramekins, you may to invest in a special sink to clean them. Power sinks, in particular, use high-powered jets to create a constant flow of water than helps to remove heavily soiled dishes. Your kitchen staff can just pop the ramekins in the sink and let the jets do the scrubbing. When the process is complete, you remove the plug and all the leftover bits of food and crust go down the drain and into the garbage disposal built into the sink.

If you just want to put your ramekins into the dishwasher, make sure that you have a flat rack. That prevents them from falling through the rack. In some cases, dishwashers also put a second flat rack on top of the ramekins to hold them in place during the wash cycle.

To get more guidance on ramekins, power sinks, flat dish racks, or other essential kitchen supplies, contact a restaurant supply expert. For more information, see a website such as http://www.louiswohl.com.

 


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