Two tips for keeping an industrial oven in excellent condition
Most food manufacturing facilities use industrial ovens to steam, roast or bake their food products. Here are two steps these manufacturers can take to keep this important piece of equipment in excellent condition.
Clean it regularly
It is absolutely essential for those who use industrial ovens to clean them on a regular basis. The grease and food particles that become embedded onto the racks and floor of the oven will produce smoke, which could affect the flavour and the overall quality of the food products that are cooked in this equipment.
The person tasked with cleaning the oven should begin by taking out all of the racks and soaking them in a mixture of mild detergent and warm water; this will loosen any dried-on food and make these particles easier to remove later. After the racks have been soaked for about 10 minutes or so, the food engrained onto them should be scrubbed off with a dishwashing sponge.
The interior walls and floor of the oven should then be cleaned with an industrial-strength oven cleaner. The cleaner should be left on the walls for about an hour or so to ensure that it completely breaks up any built-up grease. It's important to make sure that the cleaning product used for this particular task is non-scented and is thoroughly rinsed off, as any residual odour left behind affect the taste and smell of the food that is then cooked in the oven.
Check the door seal and hinges
The condition of the door seal and hinges can affect the quality of the food that is cooked in an oven. If there are crumbs and grease embedded into the crevices of the door seal or if the hinges are extremely stiff, it might not be possible for employees to fully close the oven door.
Even a tiny opening could affect the internal oven temperatures, which could lead to the food being undercooked or taking longer to cook. As such, it is important for those working at food manufacturing facilities to check the condition of the door seal and hinges on a regular basis.
Employees who are tasked with performing this job should wipe down the door seal with a damp cloth to remove grease and food debris. They should also check that the seal has not become distorted (this can happen if the oven door is shut too forcefully on a regular basis). If it is, it will not provide a tight seal and, as such, will need to be replaced.
Some oven door hinges, such as those found on the Unox XEVC-2011-EPR combi oven, are self-lubricating, meaning that there is no need to use a lubricant to prevent them from seizing up. This feature can save quite a bit of time on maintenance and is one of the reasons why so many manufacturers choose to use these kinds of ovens.
If a manufacturer uses an oven which does not have self-lubricating doors, they should ensure that one of their employees sprays the hinges with a lubricant at least once every two weeks. When doing this, they should make sure that the lubricant droplets do not trickle into oven's internal chamber, as these droplets could contaminate any food that is late cooked in the oven.
