Kitcheneering can help ensure that you have an efficient cleaning process and everything that goes with it.
Your dishroom help is complaining of backaches, due to the oversized
platters you purchased for a new menu item. You wonder if anyone has a
solution
to alleviate the added back stress. Maybe you discover that a new sauce
you've created for an entree can't be easily cleaned from the saucepan
and you need a pot scrubber in your pot sink. Or maybe you notice the
floor underneath your garbage can washer isn't drying properly and you
need to change dunnage racks.
Proper hygiene, as well as
strong health regulations, play a big role in how you sanitize your
kitchen, dining, and food handling area. Whether it's cleaning your
serving ware or handling by-products from the cooking process, proper
cleaning is essential to a successful operation. Kitcheneering can help
ensure that you have what you need.
Section: Sanitation
Tips: How to Properly Sanitize Tableware Items
STAINLESS STEEL TABLEWARE
While stainless steel is highly resistant to stain and corrosion, even
it will suffer if corrosive food chemicals are not removed by proper
soaking, washing and rinsing procedures. Likewise, careful handling
will prolong the life and luster of your stainless steel tableware.
Washing
Stainless steel should be pre-soaked immediately following its removal
from the table. Use a pre-soak compound recommended by the manufacturer
of your detergent. It's important that you use only a plastic or
stainless steel pan for pre-soaking. Never use an aluminum pan.
Aluminum frees the chlorine present in most pre-soaked compounds and
causes discoloration of stainless steel.
Take special care in removing
all residues of lemon, vinegar, butter, ice cream, cheese, milk and
table salt from stainless steel items directly after use. These foods
can cause corrosion if they are left on too long.
Be sure that the stainless
doesn't remain in the pre-soak solution too long before it is washed.
After pre-soaking, wash your stainless in hot water and a good cleaning
agent.
Rinsing
The
clean stainless should then be rinsed in water of at least 180 degrees
Fahrenheit. A wetting agent may be added to the rinse to prevent
minerals in the water from staining your tableware. Should you have
very hard water, a softener is recommended.
Handling
Perforated cylinders in a portable rack--suitable for sink or dishwater
use--make it possible to wash, transport and dispense stainless with a
minimum of handling. In a system where tableware is washed and stored
in the same cylinder, the stainless should be sorted into the cylinders
utensil-side down to prevent hand contamination after cleaning. In a
system where the tableware is transferred from a cleaning cylinder to a
storage cylinder by inversion, it should be sorted in the cleaning
cylinder utensil-side up, so that is will eventually be stored
utensil-side down.
CHINA TABLEWARE
While designed for commercial use, excessive chipping and breakage can
occur if proper care and handling procedures are not followed.
Handling
China should be cleared from the table in commercial bus boxes. Heavier
items, such as platters and dinner plates, should never be stacked on
top of lighter items, such as cups, fruits and saucers. China should be
bused separately from glass and metal items to avoid excessive breakage
and metal marking.
Washing
In
the pre-wash area, all china should be immediately scraped, rinsed and
loaded directly into the proper size dish racks. If a backlog occurs in
the washing area, excess china should be stacked by item. Certain foods
high in acid content can cause permanent staining if left on china for
an extended time.
All china should be washed
according to the manufacturer's instructions using a commercial
detergent and rinse agent. Avoid scraping or cleaning with scouring
pads or abrasive powders, as they can cause permanent damage to the
glaze. After washing, china should be air-dried in a clean,
well-ventilated area before being stored or put back into service.
Storage
China
should be stored in appropriate dish racks or dish carts until ready
for use. In order to maximize inventory turnover, china should always
be used on a first-in, first-out (FIFO) basis.
Low-Temperature Dishwashing--CAUTION!
If you are using a low-temperature or chlorine bath type dishwashing
system, take special care in following the manufacturer's instructions.
An over-concentration of sodium hypochlorine (bleach), the active
sanitizing agent of these systems, will attack most stainless steel
tableware and overglaze decorations on china. Improper use or faulty
equipment will also cause staining or corrosion of even the finest
stainless steel and may damage china overglaze decorations.
| Basic Recommended Inventory Stock Levels |
| Tableware Items |
Dining
Room |
Restaurant |
Cafeteria |
| Flatware |
|
|
|
| Teaspoon |
5 |
4 |
4 |
| Dessert Spoon |
2 |
2 |
2 |
| Iced Teaspoon |
1.5 |
1.5 |
1 |
| Bouillon Spoon |
2 |
2 |
|
| Dinner Fork |
3 |
3 |
3 |
| Salad Fork |
1.5 |
1.5 |
|
| Dinner Knife |
2 |
2 |
2 |
| Steak Knife |
1.5 |
1.5 |
|
| China |
|
|
|
| Bread Plate |
3 |
2.5 |
1 |
| Sandwich/Dessert Plate |
3 |
3 |
4 |
| Dinner Plate |
2.5 |
3 |
3 |
| Cup/Mug |
3 |
3 |
3 |
| Saucer |
2.5 |
2.5 |
2 |
| Fruit/Monkey Dish |
2 |
3 |
4 |
| Bouillon/Grapefruit/Nappy |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|
