Page 5 - Commercial Refrigeration

Refrigeration has actively influenced the way we preserve food in both commercial and domestic spaces. Over the years, the refrigerators seen in the market have evolved and progressed to ensure that people get to enjoy the food preservation benefits that come with owning a refrigerator and foodservice businesses can make the most of fresh ingredients.

Despite the differences in branding, there are inherent similarities in all commercial refrigeration. They all have to keep food cold for a long as possible in precise, consistent temperatures conducive to preservation and freshness. The cooling process involves dropping the temperatures inside the refrigerator through a refrigeration cycle.

Commercial refrigeration typically relies on tall upright models for fridge and freezer cabinets, preferable as they take up a smaller surface area in the kitchen by utilising vertical space to provide a large capacity for storage. Undercounter refrigerators are also popular as they are not only easy to fit in small kitchens but their small sizes lead to lower electricity costs.

While these options, especially modern ones, have been known to provide great service in terms of efficiency, there is an emerging trend of commercial refrigerated drawers which are bringing a new element of storage to foodservice operations. Professional chefs are increasingly choosing refrigerated drawers as part of their food storage systems.

Ice cream and gelato are popular sweet treats for people around the world. There is little doubt that both are a delicacy. They have been used as a popular frozen dessert in many settings as well as a refreshment and the perfect cool-down for people in fun situations, especially during warm summer months.

However, as much as there are similarities, there are also differences which warrant their use of separate names. These differences are also the reason why both ice cream and gelato are popular with varying groups of people; gelato sometimes considered as the ‘grown ups’ ice cream.

Here we pin point some of the main factors that make gelato different from ice cream.

The last few years have seen an increased effort in creating environmentally friendly equipment for day to day activities. Thanks to a previous industrial growth that saw little regard to the environment, there exists the need to think of ways to prevent more damage. Specifically, in refrigeration which had previously seen extensive use of harmful products.

Different authorities have set up regulations for commercial refrigeration to ensure that everyone using or manufacturing such systems abide by the current environmentally friendly routines. These regulations are known as F-gas regulations* and were put in place in the UK on 1^st Jan 2015.

Here are a number of the most common refrigerants and their characteristics.