Equipment in Action: Steam-Jacketed Kettles
Steam-jacketed kettles’ even, controlled heat makes them ideal for everything from boiling bagels to reheating soup.
By Lisa Bertagnoli, Special to R&I -- Restaurants & Institutions, 12/1/2007
They might not be glamorous, and their metal attire might not be trendy. Still, their warmth and gentleness make jacketed kettles kitchen mainstays.
Jacketed kettles heat food with steam that circulates in the jacket that encircles the kettle. The steam, created by distilled water or chemicals (ethylene glycol) heats the metal, which in turn heats the food. Operators can control the heat and bring the liquid to a simmer or even a full boil.
The heat emanates from all sides of the vessel rather than from a single point. Because of this, steam-jacketed-kettle cooking "results in great products with great taste and prevents burns and breakage," says Bob Davis, corporate executive chef for Columbus, Ohio-based Max & Erma’s.
At Max & Erma’s, cooks use steam-jacketed kettles to prepare pasta, sauces, poached chicken, vegetable side dishes and gravies. The kettles also are used to rethermalize bags of proprietary menu items, such as tortilla soup.
The kettles produce about 10% of Max & Erma’s menu. "It’s a great workhorse piece of equipment," Davis says.
The 100-unit casual-dining chain has two 12-gallon steam-jacketed kettles in each kitchen. The kettles, which are placed on a wheeled cart, sit on the hot line and are equipped with tilting mechanisms, so cooks can safely pour hot liquids directly into storage containers.
The kettles are placed on the hot line and require about six linear feet of hood space.
The jacketed kettles are bigger at the 70 units of Manhattan Bagel, part of Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc. of Lakewood, Colo. And for good reason: The kettles are used to boil bagels before they’re baked, a process that gives the doughy rounds their chewy interior and crisp, shiny exterior.
The average store bakes about 200 dozen bagels a day, says Gerardo Donatiello, vice president of operations for Manhattan Bagel.
The chain originally used range-top kettles to boil bagels, Donatiello says. However, in 1992 it switched to using jacketed kettles because the kettles boast a quick recovery time: The water returns to 212F in less than 30 seconds. And for bagels, Donatiello adds, "you need a nice rolling boil."
Most Manhattan Bagel restaurants have one 35-gallon kettle equipped with a lid. The kettles are stationary and are placed parallel to the bagel trough and the stone-hearth revolving oven. Cooks form the bagels on the trough, drop them into boiling water for 15 to 20 seconds, retrieve them with a spoon and then bake them.
Maintenance is minimal: Manhattan Bagel staffers replenish the distilled water in the jackets once a month. Every six months, they change the mechanism that ignites the gas flame. "It’s a simple $8 item," Donatiello says.
View All Blogs
