How to Find the Best Commercial Cookware That Will Last Long

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Alice Smith

Alice Smith was a head chef before she discovered her knack for writing. Her love of storytelling and wordplay led her to become a freelance writer, Content Marketing Specialist for the Saas company 10to8, and owner of the travel blog Adventures of Alice. Even though she no longer cooks as a profession, she still enjoys planning extensive 3-course dinner parties for her family and friends.

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The kitchen is the hub of any commercial restaurant. It is where all the chefs, sous chefs, line cooks, and dishwashers get together to create dishes for your consumption. But commercial kitchens don’t just magically come into being: they have to be designed and built with commercial cookware in mind – or else you’re going to have chefs that can’t do their jobs and a lot of unhappy customers.

However, choosing commercial cookware can be a daunting task. With so many different materials, types of pots, and pans, it is hard to know where to start.

Whether you are looking for commercial saucepans, commercial stockpots, commercial woks, or commercial baking sheets – this blog post will give you some tips on how to find the best commercial cookware for your restaurant.

What is Commercial Cookware?

Commercial cookware is the heart of any commercial kitchen. It’s how all your food gets cooked before being served up to customers. But before you can fully understand its importance, you should know exactly what commercial cookware is.

Commercial cookware is a broad term that encompasses anything related to kitchen cooking equipment. It’s used in every catering establishment including restaurants, hotels, cafes, and canteens. So, commercial cookware is basically just regular pots and pans on a bigger scale. It’s everything you would use at home to make dinner, just in a commercial environment. So, what makes it different from home cookware?

Commercial cookware uses heavy-duty materials like steel or aluminum that are strong enough to withstand professional cooking environments. This means commercial kitchens can use their saucepans, casserole dished, and griddles for much longer without having to worry about them getting damaged by the heat, or breaking due to constant use.

Commercial Cookware and Its Importance

Cookware includes pots, pans, woks, griddles, or grill plates for cooking on a flat surface; ovens for baking bread and cakes; fryers as well as steaming equipment when you need to steam vegetables or other ingredients. The commercial cookware industry has grown exponentially in recent years with suppliers releasing new products every year and cookware becoming much more advanced.

So, how does this affect restaurants?

Well, as catering technology advances, chefs, restaurant owners, and kitchen workers must keep up with the developing trends. The introduction of newer, more advanced commercial cookware, brings new possibilities to kitchens. Chefs can do many more things at once, use a machine to do a job that would’ve taken a man hours, and, as such, commercial restaurants have been able to cut down on how many staff they need in their kitchen.

So, you’ll see fewer chefs sweating over burning pots while also reducing the number of dishwashers needed as well. Furthermore, cookware means chefs can perfect dishes and serve a higher quality of food than they could be using sub-par equipment.

History of Commercial Cookware

Commercial cookware dates back as far as ancient Rome where metal pots were heated over open fires at commercial kitchens called a thermopolium. Thermopolium basically means ‘place where hot food is sold’ and the old-day chefs would who up simple dishes like soups and stews to feed travelers.

This tradition slowly developed into the restaurants we have to, and commercial cookware developed alongside it. Much more substantially in recent years, but people were using copper cookware for 9000 years. Then, the Bronze Age brought bronze cookware, the Iron Age brought iron, and from there, people learned how to make steel tools, and these became the catering standard.

Commercial Cookware Today

Today, cookware is commonly made from stainless steel, cast iron, or aluminum. There are countless different brands (including Vogue, All-Clad, Cuisineart, and Circulon), and if you’re looking for something new, there’ll be no end of options available. You’ll also find specialist cookware, cookware with non-stick surfaces, and plenty of other varieties.

What Factors Should You Consider When Choosing Commercial Cookware?

When looking for commercial kitchen supplies your first step will be deciding how much money you’re willing to spend. There’s no point in spending thousands of dollars on professional-grade equipment if all you have room for is a few frying pans! But thankfully, there’s plenty of commercial cookware at different price points for you to choose from.

The second factor will be how you’re planning on storing the commercial kitchens in your restaurant kitchen. Some items of commercia, so you’ll need to think about this, particularly if space is limited.

You’ll also want to think about the type of food you’re planning on cooking as some dishes require particular types of cookware. Other types of cookware need a specific way of being cooked, for instance, woks require large gas flames and don’t normally work with induction stoves. So you’ll need to think about what you already have and what you’re trying to do.

However, you won’t need to worry too much because commercial cookware manufacturers know that kitchens don’t all have the same size or shape, so they offer a variety of options to suit every need.

The Most Common Types of Commercial Cookware

These are the most common types of cookware available on the market for commercial kitchens:

• Saucepans
• Frying pans
• Boilers and stock pots
• Casserole pans
• Saute pans
• Steamers
• Specialist pans
• Pressure cookers
• Woks
• Baking trays and sheets
• Roasting pans
• Pizza pans
• Egg poachers and rings
• Molds
• Casserole dishes
• Tableware
• Grill pans
• Skillets
• Microwavable cookware

Let’s Dig Into Those In a Bit More Detail

Saucepans

Saucepans are the most common commercial cookware that restaurants use. They are used to make sauces, soups, or make other liquid-based foods. They come in a variety of sizes but for commercial kitchens, you’ll want saucepans with a capacity of 10 quarts and up. Saucepans usually have one long handle which makes them easy to use and easy to hold on a flame.

Frying pans

The commercial frying pan is another of the most popular pieces of commercial cookware in restaurants today. It’s used every day for frying eggs, cooking pancakes, crisping up french toast, or even just sizzling some bacon! They come with long handles that make them easier to maneuver around your stovetop and they are usually made from aluminum or stainless steel for durability.

Boilers and stock pots

Boilers and stock pots are commercial pieces of cookware used to boil water, fill up with soup broth, or make stocks in much bigger batches than a saucepan can handle. They come in all different shapes but all have two shorter handles on either side to allow easy lifting and carrying.

They are very large pots and commercial boilers can come in sizes from a relatively small 12-quart version that you might find in the home, to colossal 74-quart versions that you’ll find in large commercial kitchens.

Casserole pans

The commercial casserole pan is perfect for long-cooking dishes that require lots of stirring. This type of commercial cookware usually has one or two straight sides, which makes it easier to get into the corners during cooking.

They will also leave some room on top so you can stir your pan’s contents without spilling it all over the place. Commercial casseroles pans are available in different shapes which makes them great for any kind of dish you might want to make.

Saute pans

Commercial sauté pans are similar to frying pans. However, where frying pans have curved sides, saute pans have sloped sides to allow for easy flipping of foods. Plus, they’re usually deeper, which frying pans aren’t. Commercial sauté pans are great for searing meats or browning vegetables with a small amount of oil before adding some liquid.

Steamers

Commercial steamers come in many shapes but what unites them is their ability to trap moisture when cooking fish or other types of proteins.

They work by suspending the food over boiling water in an enclosed container so it can cook through without getting dry or overcooked, or losing the nutrients inside them (which is what happened when vegetables are boiled). This is an extremely healthy cooking method and you won’t need any added oils. As well as dedicated steamers, you can also get steamer attachments that go over the top of a regular saucepan.

Specialist pans

These commercial pieces of cookware are for kitchens that need specific equipment, such as commercial pizza pans, induction pans, paella pans, or fish kettles. This type of cookware is particular to a certain type of dish, so won’t be necessary for every restaurant. However, for those who want to take their authenticity one step further, these pans work a treat.

Pressure cookers

A pressure cooker is one of the most popular pieces of cookware available on the market today. They’re often used every day by restaurant chefs who need fast-cooking meals without using very many oils or sauces. They work by trapping air inside so when water boils, steam builds up until it becomes superheated – this creates higher temperatures than boiling water would usually allow.

Woks

Commercial woks are usually used for stir-frying or deep-frying but they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. A commercial wok is typically round with either two short handles on either side, which means it’s easier to control the oil when mixing dishes, or one long handle, which makes it easy to toss food. You’ll also want to make sure you get a commercial wok that has nonstick coating because this will mean less time spent cleaning up.

Baking trays and sheets

Commercial baking trays and sheets are usually made from aluminum or steel for durability. They’re perfect for kitchens that use a lot of dough, such as pizza restaurants or make their own baked goods. In fact, baking trays have countless uses and will probably be needed in every type of restaurant imaginable.

Baking trays come in different shapes – some are square, some rounded, while others might be rectangular. But they all need to be easy to clean so you can take them out of the oven and take them straight into your dishwasher.

Roasting pans

A commercial roasting pan is a larger commercial cooking piece of equipment that can handle anything from chicken to beef or even seafood. They usually have two handles for easy lifting and racks which hang over the edges so your meat doesn’t touch the bottom.

The rack is also great because it means you don’t need to add any oil, butter, or other fats to the commercial roasting pan before cooking. Once your meat has cooked, all the juices will collect at the bottom, perfect for making a gravy with fresh stock.

Pizza pans

Pizza pans are commercial pieces of cookware that are ideal for an authentic Italian restaurant. They can be found in different shapes like round, square, or rectangular. They’re usually made from a metal such as aluminum so they don’t warp and the nonstick coating means you’ll need less oil to prevent sticking. They will also usually have holes in the bottom which allows air to circulate and cook the dough on all sides.

Egg poachers and rings

Commercial egg rings are usually circular metal rings. Strangely enough, they can still be found in a range of different sizes, shapes, or materials. But, what unites them is their ability to keep the yolk intact, and creating a perfectly shaped, circular egg.

Egg poachers, on the other hand, usually have a deep dish with sloped edges. Inside, you’ll have a selection of hollowed-out circular sections, where chefs can crack an egg. This whole section will be suspended above water so that, much like the steamer, the eggs are cooked with the heat from the water.

These types of commercial cookware are popular with restaurants that serve a lot of breakfasts or fried meals.

Molds

Chefs use molds for a variety of things. From setting pate or terrine to baking cakes or other desserts, commercial molds are often made from silicone. This is for their durability and ability to withstand high temperatures and all sorts of environments, such as microwaves and freezers. This means you won’t have any issues with the mold sticking or breaking.

Casserole dishes

Casserole dishes are commercial pieces of cookware that can be found in different sizes. They’re typically made from glass or porcelain, which means they won’t warp and the nonstick coating will save you time.

Tableware

Tableware refers to all commercial pieces of cookware that are used on the table. It includes plates, bowls, glasses, and serving dishes. Tableware is usually made from porcelain because it’s durable and can withstand high temperatures without breaking. However, this material also makes it attractive to look at, if it’s going to be frequently in front of customers.

Grill pans

Grill pans are commercial pieces of cookware that are usually made from cast iron. They distribute heat really well, and have a ridged surface to create the perfect grill lines on all types of foods from chicken breasts to vegetables. Most commercial grill pans have a nonstick coating which means they’ll require less oil and food won’t stick, but some require the chef to season them before use.

Microwavable cookware

Microwavable commercial cookware is perfect for when you want to make a quick meal or have the ability to heat up something without having access to an oven. It’s usually made from plastic and can be found in different sizes. Many kitchens use microwaves, even if it is just fr reheating soap to serve, so this is usually an essential piece of commercial cookware.

The Major Differences Between Household And Commercial Cookware

There are several differences between commercial cookware and the household version.

Household cookware is made from a variety of materials, commercial cookware tends to be made from a durable, catering standard metal.

Household cookware usually has one layer (such as Teflon), which means the food will stick easier and you’ll need more oil or fat before cooking. Commercial pieces of commercial cookware have multiple layers (usually aluminum) that make it non-stick without any added fats.

Household pans are much smaller than commercial ones. This means there’s less space for heat distribution and less space for large volumes of food. Often, these household pans end up browning the edges quicker because they’re closer to the pan’s edge.

These small pans also might not come with lids, whereas the commercial version usually comes with a lid, or gives you the option to buy a lid separately.

Advantages of Commercial Cookware

Commercial cookware has many benefits over the household version in commercial kitchens. It’s made from materials that are more durable and can withstand high temperatures so you won’t need to worry about replacing them or your pots every few years. They’re also much easier to clean since they come with a higher grade of nonstick coatings.

Commercial cookware is much larger, meaning kitchens have plenty of space in their pans for various dishes and are more compatible with commercial ovens.

Commercial chefs usually use metals such as stainless steel for their products, unlike many household cookwares which are composed of many different materials like wood, plastic, and nylon, which are much less suitable for professional kitchens.

The Disadvantages of Commercial Cookware

However, there are a few disadvantages of commercial cookware when compared to household versions.

The main disadvantage is that commercial cookware is expensive and can cost you several hundred dollars for just one frying pan. But, for most professional kitchens it’s worth the investment because they’re more durable than their counterparts, and allow chefs to properly do their jobs.

Another disadvantage is that they can also be very bulky pieces, and quite heavy to lift, which some chefs might struggle with.

My Top Commercial Cookware Recommendations

Vogue Tri Wall Saucepan 3Ltr

This Vogue Tri-Wall heavy-duty saucepan features a special layered construction that will provide you with the best cooking results possible.

One of the top brands in cookware, Vogue Kitchen Products originated from Denmark but has been operating in America since 1950. They pride themselves on providing quality products for your everyday needs and this saucepan is no different.

This high-quality pan has an aluminum core that is evenly distributed between stainless steel walls. The saucepan is perfect for all manners of catering.

Key features

• 3-liter capacity
• Aluminum thermocore distributes heat evenly
• Dishwasher safe
• Can be used on induction hobs

Vogue Non-stick Teflon Aluminium Platinum Plus Wok 300mm

Boasting a Teflon coating, this Platinum Plus wok from Vogue is easy to clean and allows food to cook quickly. The wok has a quality non-stick coating that cuts down on the need for oil and prevents burnt stains. It features a long handle that is riveted and offers an ergonomic way to transport food securely.

The wok is also a very attractive black and silver design. This cookware is made from aluminum and provides even heating properties, making it simpler to clean after use. It provides professional results and will save you money and time.

Key features

• Non-stick Teflon coating
• The elongated handle prevents burning
• Compatible with induction hobs
• Also safe for use in the oven

Vogue Square Cast Iron Ribbed Skillet Pan 241mm

This high-quality, durable, 9½-inch grill pan from Vogue is perfect for cooking your customers’ favorite dishes. The pan is a great commercial cookware option because it provides professional results without the expensive price tag.

This square skillet pan is made from cast iron and features a ribbed cooking surface that will improve the cooking process, and leave an attractive seared finish. If you are looking to keep your food elevated above any excess oils or fats during the cooking process, the ridges on this pan will be perfect for you

The frying pan also has an enamel coating that will make it easier to clean and is suitable for use on induction hobs as well as any other surface. The skillet is easy to use and can be used for both frying or grilling and has been built to last.

Key features

• Made from cast iron, providing even heating properties
• Enamel coating for easier cleaning
• Induction compatible
• Suitable for hanging storage
• Extremely durable

Vogue Aluminium Non-Stick Roasting Pan

The commercial non-stick roasting pan is the perfect dish for your catering business. This commercial dish is made from professional quality aluminum and features a Teflon non-stick coating that will make your life easier, keep the pan cleaner, and stop food from sticking.

The pan has been built to commercial standards and has a large 10-liter capacity, suitable for larger and smaller catering establishments. The dish has been made to last and features two handles that are riveted for a stronger, more durable product.

Key features

• Non-stick Teflon coating – easy to clean and lasts longer
• Made from commercial quality aluminum
• Large capacity of up to ten liters
• Two riveted handles for more durability and easy handling

FAQs

Conclusion

Overall, commercial cookware is a great choice for any professional kitchen and these are some of the best commercial pots and pans on the market. They come in all shapes, sizes, colors, materials.

When it comes to commercial cookware, you’ll want something that will last in the kitchen for years and provide a variety of cooking options. With so many different brands on the market today, how do you know which one is best? By reading this blog post!

We hope this guide has been helpful in understanding the different types of cookware and what they’re best used for. Whether it is induction, stainless steel, or copper bottoms, we hope you found what you were looking for in this post. Now it’s time to get some professional cookware and get cooking!