Commercial kitchens, especially those involved in the food service and catering business, are supposed to stock a wide range of dairy products and ensure that they can create a wide range of dishes without running out of stock. For this, they use different kinds of commercial refrigeration and other equipment. Since, airy products play a vital role in creating both sweet and savory cuisines, adding flavor, and nutrition, they are kept in very high-end facilities.
Do you know that The average American consumes around 23 pounds of ice cream yearly? Imagine how you will be able to meet this number if you need the most appropriate dairy products to create just the ice cream and keep its ingredients in stock. Keeping this in mind, let’s have a look at the different dairy products you should keep in stock in your commercial kitchen:
Milk
This is one of the basic ingredients used for cooking and baking and serves as a base for different sauces like béchamel. Also, it is a liquid ingredient when it comes to creating bread and many other cuisines. Besides this, milk is used to make lattes, hot chocolate, and other commonly used beverages in the US. You can use it to create chowders, soups, and desserts that you enjoy in restaurants. This makes milk a very important and must-have dairy product in your commercial kitchen stock.
How to Store It?
The best way to store milk is to store milk is to keep it in containers that are tightly closed and keep it away from strong-smelling items as it can pick up their odor.
Cream
Like milk, the cream is vital for adding richness and more depth to cuisine. You can use heavy cream to create soups, desserts, and different kinds of sauces. Whipping the cream is important if you want to create whipped toppings for desserts like cakes and pies that are consumed by people all over America. Apart from this, Half-and-half is often used in coffee, and for people who need less rich alternatives of cream using light cream can be a lower-fat option in recipes with less rich creaminess.
Butter
Using butter lends more flavor, moisture, and texture to certain dishes. Chefs in the industry prefer using unsalted butter because of its taste and flavor. Also, it offers them control over the salt element of the dish. Another common alternative that is used instead of unsalted butter is salted butter which is used for cooking.
How to Store It?
You should store butter in an air-tight sealed container if you do not want to use it frequently. This way, the butter will not pick any off-flavor that is there in your kitchen.
Cheese
This is one of the most versatile dairy products that is needed in a commercial kitchen. For this, you will come across a wide of cheese variants when you go out in the market. For instance, Parmesan is preferred for grating over pasta and for baking. Chefs use Cheddar cheese to create scrumptious burgers, sandwiches, and other dishes. However, Soft cheese is ideal when it comes to desserts, salads, and appetizers. Besides this, if you are creating an Italian dish like pizza, you should use Mozzarella. Another variant of cheese is called Ricotta which is part of both savory dishes and desserts including lasagna and many others.
How to Store It?
Storing cheese can be different from other dairy products so you must take care and look for guidelines depending on the temperatures you have in your state. For instance,
Fresh Mozzarella, Chevre, Feta (35°-39°F)
Gruyere, Italian-Style Fontina (40°F-45°F)
Muenster, Cheddar, Swiss (40°F-45°F)
Parmesan, Asiago, Aged Provolone (40°F-45°F)
Yogurt
This is a popular commercial kitchen dairy product that comes with many health benefits and is very versatile in use. There are different forms that yogurt available all over the US. For instance, plain yogurt is often used as a base ingredient for creating sauces, dressings, and so on. It is widely used in many Indian and Middle Eastern cuisines. However, Greek yogurt is ideal when you create spreads and dips. Apart from this, it is a lower-caloric alternative to sour cream. You can also use flavored yogurt as a dessert or breakfast offering to customers in the morning.
How to Store It?
Once you open a yogurt, it stays in the best condition within 5 to 7 days, but you can use it for around 2 weeks. If there are molds or shades of pink in it, it is best to throw it out. Yogurt loses its freshness when it is frozen or thawed.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, we can say that commercial kitchens in the US have a wide selection of dairy products that are essential to meet the daily needs of customers walking in restaurants, hotels, and cafes. Apart from this, each diary product serves a purpose that can be adding flavor to a dish, beverage, or dessert or providing a texture to it. Stocking these items and many others is crucial for kitchens that want to deliver services with quality, taste, and consistency.
