Refrigeration, Storage & Handling

Refrigeration, such as walk-ins and reach-ins, holds ingredients cold and at food-safe temperatures until operators need to serve the food or assemble menu items. In contrast, blast chillers remove heat from food items, bringing them down to safe temperatures.

Purchasing consideration by machine type. 

Frozen dessert equipment dispenses ice cream, custard, yogurt and sorbet. Depending on the unit, these may produce and/or store a variety of products, including soft-serve desserts in single, twin twist or two separate flavors as well as shakes and ice cream cones. The main pieces of frozen dessert equipment include soft-serve machines, batch freezers and dipping cabinets.

The basic issue with any refrigeration is air movement. If the machine lacks good air movement across the condenser coils and through the grill plates, the compressor will work harder, thus shortening the equipment’s service life.

Regular cleaning and sanitizing is critical with frozen dessert equipment. Operators should follow the manufacturer’s recommendations, using the appropriate tools and chemicals, to ensure a long service life.

Foodservice operators often use undercounter refrigeration units as supplemental storage solutions for the front of the house or in the kitchen as part of a prep station. This versatile equipment can help operations conserve space.