Up until now, multifunctionality in our branch referred mainly to devices that allowed kitchen professionals to use cooking techniques that required different thermal devices. Multifunctionality will be understood more broadly in the future. Some photovoltaic systems for instance open up new possibilities in commercial kitchens. By Dieter Mailänder, Redaktionsbüro Dieter Mailänder
Multifunctionality: is this topic still relevant for everyday use in professional kitchens? Has not everything been said about this? Aren’t the devices so advanced that technological leaps are no longer to be expected? At first sight, one could come to this assessment. But on closer examination, one must differentiate. There is also another point: technologies, which one doesn’t at first associate with commercial kitchen devices at all, could play a role for these in the future too. It is possible to make connections between photovoltaic or e-mobility and commercial kitchen equipment even when it still seems somewhat daring today – but more about that later.
Hot-Air Steamers – A Symbol for Multifunctionality
The development dynamics of multifunctional devices can be illustrated very well by the example of hot-air steamers. The first production plant from Rational, today’s global leader of this market segment, started its operation in 1973. At that time, the devices had a few thermal functions without the addition of moisture. That changed in the middle of the 90’s when the company combined pure heat with moisture in its combi-steamers and gradually refined this technology.
Subsequently, more and more cooking techniques, which up until that time were tied to stove units, were transferred to combisteamers – a development that all the competitors followed. Pressure cookers, which even controlled themselves later (just like combi-steamers), set another milestone. Not only did they cook under pressure, but also combined other cooking programs that were only known from stove units and combi-steamers.
Being that the latter previously absorbed cooking technologies from other commercial kitchen devices, now pressure cookers, called Vario Cooking Center, took over some of the cooking functions of combi-steamers. Rational refined both device technologies to the point where cooks with pressure cookers and combi-steamers were able to run community catering kitchens without a problem.
Multifunctionality of Other Thermal Devices
One also finds multifunctionality in tilting roasting pans, for instance those from Phoeniks. The devices not only roast, but also cook sensitive dairy dishes among other things. Therefore, they take over the functions of traditional mixing kettles, which in turn partly have re-cooling functions so that blast chillers are relieved. Microwave devices can also combine several cooking functions so that one can prepare entirely different dishes in them such as soups, pizzas, cakes, or roasts. In addition, manufacturers like Panasonic combine functions like hot air, grilling or convection and hot air with the microwave functions.
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