/ By edd / spiral-freezers/ / 0 Comments

Thai Herbs – Garlic, Ginger and Tamarind in Thai Food

[ad_1]

Garlic

Garlic is actually important ingredient use in Thai Food and found in every recipe prior to fried vegetables and meat. It is also unable to be missed in soup and chili paste and as well spicy salad. This includes the pickled garlic, garlic plants and fried chopped garlic to sprinkle the food.

Benefits:

– Reduce blood pressure

– Prevent heart disease

– Antibacterial, fungal, yeast, virus

Garlic Use in Thai Food:

– Kaeng Khiao Wan Kai

– Beef Masaman

– Kai Phad Phed

– Phanaeng Kai

– Som Tum

– Phad Thai

– Khao Phad Kra Prao

– Nam Ya Pla

Ginger

Thai people use ginger to reduce the fishy smell in many dishes. Tom Som, steam fish with lemon or fry with meat and as well ingredients in Miang (tidbits), such as Miang Kum, Miang Pla Tou, Miang Som. It is also mixed with pickling, mussels, Tai Pla, Saeng Wha, etc. Chopped ginger is tasty to fry with meat and as well Yam Pla Tu, Yam Khing, Yam Pla Kra-pong and Yam Hoy Kraeng. Pickled ginger is a good supplement to boiled rice and many types of paste. Ginger juice and ginger boiled in syrup and mixed with mung bean or sweet potatoes are tasty desserts.

Benefits:

– Antihistamine

– Antibacterial, Fungal, Yeast, Virus

Ginger Use in Thai Food:

– Beef Masaman

Tamarinds

Thai people in every part eat the tamarinds, fresh leaves, flowers and the pods as vegetables and seasoning agents. The content in the ripe pods provides sour taste. People in the middle part of Thailand use the young pods as ingredient of the tamarind paste. The fresh leaves are used in soups; Tom Klong Pla Kroab and Pork and pumpkin in coconut soup.

Benefits:

– Cooling

– Laxative

– Antihistamine

Tamarind Use in Thai Food:

– Beef Masaman

– Phad Thai

[ad_2]

Source by Wevangti Vangra

/ By edd / spiral-freezers/ / 0 Comments

Tips for Staying Warm in the Bleachers

[ad_1]

Your body is designed to burn food for energy and produces heat from within. So, don’t forget to eat! If your body is getting cold, it will sacrifice your feet and hands to save its life. Ever wonder why your feet and hands are the first to get cold?! Your body loses heat in 5 ways – radiation, convection, conduction, respiration and evaporation.

  1. Radiation: Just as a wood stove radiates heat into a room, your body radiates heat into the air. The more insulation you put around it, the loss of heat is decreased.
  2. Convection is moving air. Wind blowing through your sweater or around your jacket is heat lost through convection. Windproof outer layers will help prevent heat loss.
  3. Sitting on some cold bleachers at a football game, grabbing a ski pole, or just catching a cold zipper on your neck, are all heat loss by conduction.
  4. Evaporation is a very efficient cooling process.

6 Tips for Staying Warm at a Sporting Event:

  • Check weather conditions before heading outside. Watch your local weekly weather forecast to make it easy to prepare in advance.

  • Dress appropriately. If you are going to be in the extreme cold, wear as many layers of warm clothing as possible. If it’s mildly cold, try to dress in just a few layers and pack an extra coat or sweater in case the temperature drops.

  • Be prepared for all conditions. Keep an umbrella, poncho or warm jacket with you. Have an indoor, heated place to go… you don’t want to be stuck outside if the weather conditions become extreme.

  • Wear waterproof shoes or boots with a good grip. If your feet are cold and wet, it won’t matter how well the rest of your body is bundled up. You will still be miserable!

  • Wear gloves and/or mittens and long thick socks. These protect your hands and feet, which are the hardest places to keep warm blood flowing. Try wearing thinner gloves underneath heavier winter gloves for extra warmth.

  • Pack warm food. Sometimes all you need in chilly conditions is hot food or drink. Carry a thermos with hot drinks, soups, or noodles. Warm food and drink will warm you inside and keep your strength up.

Signs and Symptoms of Hypothermia: shivering, shallow breathing, confusion, exhaustion, slurred speech, loss of coordination, weak pulse, unconsciousness (in severe cases)

Treatment of Hypothermia: remove any wet clothing, protect individual against the wind, move to a warm shelter as soon as possible, rewarm the individual with extra clothing, take the person’s temperature if a thermometer is available, offer warm liquids (avoid alcohol or caffeine).

[ad_2]

Source by Meagan Deacon

/ By edd / spiral-freezers/ / 0 Comments

Use of Eductors in Oil Return Systems

[ad_1]

From time to time it is reported that on screw chillers using eductors for oil return, when operating at low load conditions, it appears that the eductor does not operate efficiently enough to return a sufficient amount of oil to the oil separator or sump to maintain its oil level, which then causes the chiller to shut down on low oil, a consequence of oil retained in the refrigerant charge in the evaporator.

For such a chiller which uses an eductor for oil return, the cause of the failure may not be low load, but rather low lift. In a comfort cooling environment, chiller load is responsive to outdoor temperature. That is, when it is hot outside, heat flows rapidly into the building and chiller load is high. Simultaneously, the chiller must reject its heat to a high ambient temperature. Hence the chiller operating at a high load condition is also operating at a high lift condition. Lift is defined as the difference between the suction and discharge saturation temperatures (or pressures).

When the outdoor temperature is cool, little heat needs to be removed from the conditioned space and so chiller load is low. The low load is accompanied by a low lift condition since the ambient temperature is down from its high value. The low lift is the cause of the loss of effectiveness of the eductor. The eductor is driven by the pressure difference between the condenser and the evaporator. When this pressure difference falls, the flow inducing capacity of the eductor is reduced. The flow inducing capacity of the eductor is approximately proportional to the square of the pressure difference. Hence, a pressure difference reduction to 50% of design will lead to an induced flow reduction to 25% of design.

Not all chillers serve the comfort cooling market. There are chillers applied to chemical processes, for example, that may have varying load but constant lift; i.e. constant suction and discharge temperatures. These chillers would not likely have oil loss problems related to load if served by an adequately sized eductor based oil return system.

Possible remedies for poor eductor performance in low lift applications include reducing the oil discharge rate of the compressor/separator and modifying the control system to increase the minimum lift of the system.

Liquid in the Compressor Suction

Ideally, any liquid entering the compressor suction will be rich enough in oil and lean enough in refrigerant that lubrication will be satisfactory. Yet, if any liquid ingested into a compressor has too low a concentration of oil, lubrication may be compromised and wear leading to compressor failure can ensue. All compressors are vulnerable to lack-of-lubrication failure, either from lack of oil or from too much refrigerant in the oil..

A second type of failure is the result of injecting too much liquid refrigerant/oil into a compressor that can damage or destroy the compressor by “liquid slugging”. Screw and scroll compressors are rather more tolerant of liquid in the suction stream than are reciprocating compressors. This is due to the differing nature of the compression processes.

In a reciprocating compressor designed for a three to one compression ratio, the gas may reach the discharge pressure when the piston is only at half stroke. At this point the discharge valve opens and gas is discharged as the piston continues to rise even though gas pressure in the cylinder no longer rises. The final clearance volume may be only one tenth of the total swept volume. This clearance volume is not discharged, but is re-expanded on the suction stroke. One might say at this point that the true compression ratio is ten to one considering a closed discharge valve (swept volume divided by swept volume plus clearance volume). If a volume of liquid of 110% of clearance volume is in the cylinder when compression begins, the piston will be compressing only liquid at the end of its stroke and the liquid may not be able to exit the discharge valve fast enough to avoid developing a very high pressure in the cylinder. This high pressure can cause failure of the connecting rod or failure of the head bolts. For a reciprocating compressor to be efficient, a small clearance volume is required. Yet, it is the small clearance volume that makes reciprocating compressors susceptible to liquid slugging damage. Allowable levels of liquid in the suction are determined by the ratio of clearance volume to swept volume.

In contrast, screw and scroll compressors designed for a three to one compression ratio capture a volume of suction gas (and some oil and maybe some liquid refrigerant) and reduce its volume to one third its original value. But the compression process is completed before the discharge port opens. Any liquid in the suction stream will cause the compression ratio to rise above the design value of three, but the rise is slower than in the reciprocating compressor. For example, assume that the suction stream for a screw compressor consists of 1 part liquid and 8 parts gas by volume. The compressor will reduce these 9 parts to 3 parts. At the completion of compression, one part will still be liquid and two parts will be gas. The pressure in the compressor when the discharge port opens will be four times suction pressure (8 parts gas going in divided by 2 parts gas going out). The one part of liquid remains one part because the liquid is essentially incompressible. Thus, the effect of liquid in the suction stream is to increase true compression ratio. But a four to one true compression ratio in a compressor designed for three to one is probably safe to operate. Allowable levels of liquid in the suction stream are determined by the design pressure ratio and the maximum pressure that can be tolerated in the compression chamber.

[ad_2]

Source by Ed Keuper

/ By edd / spiral-freezers/ / 0 Comments

Epoxy Floor Vs. Urethane Mortar Floor for Food and Beverage Facilities

[ad_1]

Urethane mortar floors (a/k/a cementitious urethane flooring or urethane cement flooring) excel over epoxy floor systems in food & beverage plants for many reasons; this USDA accepted flooring material reduces downtime, is durable in hostile environments with thermal shock, and withstands heavy impact and damaging chemical agents. For new construction, urethane concretes can be applied to 10 day old concrete, thus eliminating the typical 28 day wait for curing concrete. Use of polyurethane cement mortar systems has now surpassed once standard epoxy floor coatings and vinyl ester flooring systems such as Tufco flooring, in these special need environments. Products such as Ucrete, Flowcrete, PurCem, and CastorCrete are gaining substantial market share. Tufco flooring has even developed a urethane mortar floor system. These floors may be found in industrial kitchens at food & beverage processing industries such as meat/poultry, dairy, seafood, bakeries, breweries and all beverage processing. Poultry flooring and brewery flooring endure some of the most severe conditions for industrial flooring. Urethane mortar flooring can even withstand years of hard service in these areas.

Compared to epoxy floors, urethane flooring products have enhanced resistance to impact and abuse from dropped pots, steel parts and utensils in industrial kitchens and food plants. They handle repetitive scraping and scratching better than epoxy, acrylic and competitive systems. They are extremely beneficial in plant areas where steel wheels are used, such as bakeries. Urethane mortar floors are used as waterproof flooring, providing a “bathtub effect” in areas of the plant requiring a waterproof floor. They are non slip when wet, and provide a permanent non slip texture, due to the integral large, hard wearing aggregate, throughout the thickness of the floor system.

Cementitious urethane mortars have a similar modulus of elasticity and thermal coefficient of expansion to that of concrete. When applied over concrete, brick or tile, this prevents delamination when the flooring is stressed due to thermal conditions. These food grade floor materials withstand hot spills and repeated thermal cycling (hot washdowns, steam cleaning, etc.) without breaking down. In addition, moisture and cool temperature tolerance allows for installation on cold (above freezing), damp concrete surfaces, often found in operating food plants.

Cementitious overlays have very little odor, since there are no VOC’s. This means that there is no risk to open food products. Urethane concrete mortars can be applied next to fully operational food processing areas, eliminating the need to shut down an operation to resurface the floor. One pass installation with no primer coat required, means that many floor restoration projects can be completed over weekends, with no costly production downtime. Additionally, urethane cement flooring has excellent all around resistance to chemicals used in food & beverage plants.

The most durable urethane mortar floor systems are typically trowelled, and are applied at ¼ to 3/8 inch thickness, and provide a seamless matte finish. These trowel applied urethane mortars have physical properties that are twice that of concrete. Self-leveling “slurry” systems were originally developed for contractors that were not able to install the urethane mortar floors. These systems typically applied a 1/8 to 3/16 inch thickness. They provide a heavy duty surface in areas which require a high gloss, urethane or polyurethane concrete top coat, maximum cleanability, and high aesthetics. Applications consists of screeding, broadcasting with natural quartz aggregate, and top coating. They are available with a novolac epoxy topcoat, which allows for installation in chemical storage areas, with concentrated spillages. These systems may also be finished with colored quartz or vinyl chips.

The original system, Ucrete HF, is an FDA type USDA flooring, USDA approved, trowel applied urethane, and is the original system (has been around for more than 40 years). It has withstood the test of time in the harshest environments. The trowelled ¼ inch system offers the highest level of durability with a lifespan of greater than ten years. The only drawback of urethane mortars, is that they are slightly more expensive upfront, than epoxy; however they offer long term performance and the maximum return on investment.

[ad_2]

Source by Robert E Long

/ By edd / spiral-freezers/ / 0 Comments

Ice Cream Trailer Equipment Guide

[ad_1]

The ice cream trailer, van, or truck is known for its musical chime as it drives down the block of your local neighborhood. Children and adults alike all enjoy these frozen treats and now anyone can enjoy the profits that come with this. There are many variations of the concession trailer but most agree that they are eye catching there is no doubt that everyone knows they one is in the area.

Here we will discuss the concession trailer’s restaurant equipment that is needed to successfully operate an ice cream trailer. Please understand that not all equipment is required but this will give a good understanding of the various applications that can be used.

Refrigeration is a major component of this frozen treat machine and of this the winner is the freezer. Depending on the demand of the product it may be expected to have a small amount of storage to far above average. Anything from a cold plate, dry ice chest, or even a deep chest freezer will suffice, though it is possible to even use a upright commercial reach-in freezer if necessary, as long as space is available.

This type of mobile kitchen would not be much without the simple ice cream cone. Although this will require the soft serve machine which is a large bulky machine that can take up much needed room. It is a necessary sacrifice though as it would be a shame not to have one.

Alternative equipment that is not exactly ice cream can be an added benefit to your business to help increase profits. The shaved ice or snow cone machine is a fan favorite and when added to the mix can increase your customer base with an ice cream trailer. The next piece of commercial equipment is the frozen drink or shake machine. Like the snow cone machine, it is not categorized with ice cream but it is a favorite none the less. These alternatives can help to reach out to those who do not typically purchase from this type of concession trailer.

Once your concession equipment and supplies have been set up then it is time to locate your food vendors for ice cream, snow cone syrup, frozen drinks, etc. They are not typically too hard to find and with a little digging you should be ready to go in no time.

[ad_2]

Source by LJ Lee

/ By edd / spiral-freezers/ / 0 Comments

Saving Money by Buying More

[ad_1]

To this day I can still remember my first big grocery bill after we were married. It was about $200 and I cried on the way home. I didn’t get anything fancy-just the basics. We were poor newlywed students and food expenses were a necessary evil that I could not get around.

Buying groceries was my responsibility in the marriage and I was determined to live within our meager budget. I dove right into the challenge and years later found myself teaching community classes on “couponing” (“yes”, I had to tell my sisters, “couponing is a word”).

I no longer spend hours finding, printing, cutting and organizing coupons but there are some invaluable shopping principles I learned from those studies that I will never change. My favorite one is buying more to save more.

The simple idea behind the strategy is to buy more of something when it is on sale so you do not have to pay full price for it later when you need it. Applying this principle will look different in everyone’s home. Take some time to consider the following questions to be able to maximize your savings.

*How much room do you have for food storage?

This may seem like an obvious question but this has landed me in jeopardy more than once when it comes to frozen foods. I have become much more organized (and creative!) with my freezer space out of necessity. Although this is obviously not the answer for everyone, we invested in a deep freezer as a result of one of the best sales I have ever seen on cheese and meat. I convinced my husband that after a few additional sales like that one we would pay for the freezer with the amount of money we saved.

*How much of this item will we use?

No matter how good of a sale it is, it’s never a good deal if the food goes to waste. Make sure you do not buy more than you can use. Consider the expiration date and your schedule and meal rotations. I always try to make meals where the bulk of my ingredients are things I already have stored so that nothing is wasted or forgotten, but that’s a whole other principle.

*How good is the sale?

This is something you will get better at knowing over time. The worst feeling is when you stock up on a favorite item because it’s on a great sale, only to find out the next week that the same item is being sold at a significantly better price at a neighboring store. You will become familiar with prices in your area and start to know what is a good price for different items. Also, don’t be afraid to ask people! I have talked to my butcher at my grocery store several times about prices. I don’t know of a grocery store where they pay their employees commissions on sales so they will honestly tell you whether you should wait for a better sale or when an upcoming discount can be expected. Be kind and friendly to employees- they have a wealth of knowledge!

*How often is it on sale?

This question is one of my favorites because it’s such a game changer. Sales go in rotation. Not only can you expect certain items to be discounted around certain times, you can plan your food storage around them! For example, my grocery store has meat sales on a two week rotation. This means that I only need to buy enough chicken to last my family two weeks before I know it will be on sale again. It also gives me a reason to never have to buy chicken at its full price in between those sale prices because I can simply pull it out of my freezer.

Another sale rotation that is extremely helpful to be aware of and watch for are seasonal sales. For example, barbeque sauce is usually marked at its lowest around the Fourth Of July and nutrition and health bars are normally at their lowest in January for everyone’s New Years’ resolutions. Oftentimes these items do not expire for over a year so if you have the space, buy enough to last your family that long.

Once your stock piles reach a successful rotation you will find that you are shopping completely differently. It’s not unusual for me to come home from the store with 25 boxes of cereal, 10 bags of cheese and then only a handful of other basics like bread, milk and bananas. I don’t need to buy every ingredient on my list for meals that week because I have already stocked up on them when they were on sale. As a result, I can make the same tasty meals at a much lower price for my family. Buying more to save money is all about timing your larger purchases with their sale prices and ironically you will soon find that buying more can indeed help you spend less.

[ad_2]

Source by Emily Perkes

/ By edd / spiral-freezers/ / 0 Comments

Waiter Training – Teach Your Waitstaff Basic Food Knowledge & Preparation Methods

[ad_1]

As owner/operator of a restaurant, if you asked one of your waiters: “what is the difference between broiled chicken and roasted chicken?’ or “what is a ragout sauce?’ Would you be provided with the correct answer? If not, then I highly suggest that you start teaching basic food knowledge and food preparation methods in your waiter training programs. Otherwise, precious revenue and service reputation is being lost unnecessarily everyday in your restaurant’s dining room.

Most chefs work extremely hard and long hours to design and implement a food menu. But, if your waiters cannot follow through with proper dining room service that includes being able to explain, in detail, everything on that menu, then a lot of the chef’s valuable time and effort work is being wasted.

Restaurant customers always have questions about the menu whether it is a definition of a spring vegetable, a fruit that is not familiar to them or certain method that a dish is cooked such as braised, roasted, grilled etc. If a waiter cannot provide a quick and knowledgeable answer when asked, then customer confidence is lost and so are sales–not to mention dining room service reputation. A waiter’s actions and ability are a reflection upon the restaurant as a whole.

For example, if a customer is provided with an excellent answer to a menu question, it is immediately realized that the waiter has skill and experience. Then, there is a much better chance that proper restaurant service will be delivered. Logically, a customer knowing this fact will probably order more items (and more expensive items) from that menu. Nobody wants to risk spending a lot of money in a restaurant when there is the likelihood of poor service.

There is a very simple solution to ensuring that you will always have a knowledgeable waitstaff when it comes to food knowledge and food preparation methods. For proper waiter training, restaurant owners/operators and managers must always have:

#1) menu descriptions typed up and handed out to all waitstaff–keeping extras available for any new hires. (All ingredients for each dish must be explained in detail.)

#2) food knowledge and food preparation methods typed up and handed out to all waitstaff–keeping extras available for any new hires. (Simple definitions of braised, roasted, grilled etc. must be included on this handout.) These 2 information sheets must always be included in every waiter training course.

It is also a great idea to keep a food dictionary handy on this subject as well. Back in the day, I worked in a restaurant that had this type of dictionary available in the office. I would always peruse it in my spare time which helped increase my food knowledge and food preparation methods immensely. This way, I could impress customers in a big way when they asked me any kind of question about the menu. Hence, the upselling would commence quite easily.

The concept explained above is passed upon by so many restaurant owners/operators in waiter training programs for 3 reasons. The first reason is because of the extra time and effort that it takes to print up menu descriptions and basic food knowledge/preparation methods. The second reason is the false assumption that all waiters are highly experienced and know these menu facts to begin with. The third reason is that just because menu tasting meetings are held; it is assumed that all staff gets to sample each item on the menu. Well, this is a big mistake because many times not all of the staff attends these meetings. And, when there is staff turnover (which occurs in almost every restaurant), the newly hired staff has not attended the previous food tasting.

So, please take my advice, after many years of restaurant consulting. You must include menu descriptions and basic food knowledge/preparation methods in your waiter training programs. Get some help from your chef and managers if you must. It will reduce the amount of chef headaches, since there won’t be so many pestering waiter questions in the middle of the busiest shift of the week. More importantly, it will immediately improve restaurant dining room service which, in turn, enhances the reputation and the bottom line.

[ad_2]

Source by Richard Saporito

/ By edd / spiral-freezers/ / 0 Comments

Cake Fillings – What You Need to Know Now That It’s Warm

[ad_1]

As a cake decorator who sells their cakes or a home baker who prepares desserts for friends and family, it is important to know all of the facts about fillings, which ones need to be refrigerated and which can be left out at room temperature. Your reputation can depend on it, and you certainly do not want to make anyone sick.

We know that butter cream frosting does not hold up well in the heat. Think about a fondant covered cake with a filling. Do you think it’s safe to be out in the heat? Maybe not. Chocolate ganache filling melts if left in the heat for a period of time. Did you know that? It’s deceiving. It sets firmly so you can use it as a filling in sculpted cakes and are able to shape it into truffles that are delicious to eat but when a ganache filled cake sits out in the heat, the ganache gets soft and starts to disintegrate which, if it is a stacked cake, could come tumbling down.

Do some advance planning. Make sure that your clients or hosts are educated about the types of fillings that would be best suited for their events.

Fillings can be made from scratch or bought. The fillings made from scratch are highly perishable and should remain refrigerated. New filling recipes should not be tried the night before an event. If you have to do something new, test the recipe out two weeks before. That way, if you need to make changes, you have time to do it or get help.

Fillings that come in sleeves at your local cake store can be used right out of the sleeve as they are and the remainder can be refrigerated up to 6 months.

If you decide to use fresh fruit in your filling, please make sure to use the freshest fruit you can find and prepare it as close to serving time as possible. If you must put the cake together the night before (for example, strawberry cake with fresh strawberries in the middle, cut the fruit in half. Smaller pieces will get mushy overnight and not make a good presentation.

Not sure how to properly whip the cream for your filling, use the aerosol can version, sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and add your fresh fruit and cover with more canned whip cream and more confectioner’s sugar.

If your cake has a fresh fruit filling and the cake is covered in fondant, stack the cakes at your venue. The fondant will get gummy if you stack them sooner.

Refrigerated Fillings

If your event is held indoors whether it is a big hall or someone’s home, feel free to use a filling that has to be refrigerated. Cream cheese, custards, pastry cream, whipped cream, puddings, and any mousse type fillings that include fresh fruit are perfect for these venues. Cakes can remain refrigerated until right before serving. Let people know when they request these fillings that there needs to be space in the refrigerator to store the cake until serving. A lot of people fill the refrigerators with everything else and then have to scramble to find room for the cake. It cannot sit out for a long period of time or there will be a disaster.

Speaking of disaster, please do not mix up a batch of the pudding mix as it is instructed on the box and use that as a filling for your cakes. Unless it’s made like a mousse, it will not hold up to the weight of the cake on top and will ooze out and make a mess.

When in doubt, make a test cake to see what happens when you refrigerate your cake with the intended filling and frosting/fondant. You don’t want to be surprised about this.

Refrigerated fillings are delicious, though sometime they are a double-edged sword. Butter cakes do not taste their best right out of the refrigerator. Combine them with a refrigerated filling, and you have to make a choice. Cold cake or warm filling. Either one is not good. And, you don’t want people telling the host/hostess that the cake was “dry” because it was cold. Switch to a different cake recipe or use sugar syrup on your cake layers before assembling to help the cake retain moisture so it doesn’t dry out while in the refrigerator.

Remember that gum paste and royal icing decorations on a cake will be ruined if it is refrigerated.

Non-Refrigerated Fillings

Any of the sleeves of fillings bought at your local cake decorating store should be fine at room temperature. So are the jellies, preservatives and ganache. Whenever using the fillings in the sleeves, remember the dam of frosting around the edge of the cake. You don’t want it oozing out once the cake settles. Trust me on this one. That is why it’s best to use the following technique for fillings.

Make sure that you have a thick dam of frosting going around the edge of the cake. Add no higher than a 1/4″ high layer of filling. For example, whenever I use lemon filling, I split the cake layer in half, add the dam of frosting, spread the lemon filling and then put the two layers together. Frosting goes between the cake layers so it will be:

Thin layer of frosting that covers entire cake:

Lemon cake

Frosting dam – Lemon filling

Lemon cake

Middle frosting layer

Lemon cake

Frosting dam – Lemon filling

Lemon cake

Cake Board

Always refrigerate to let the frosting set. Once it’s set, cover the cake in fondant. Set your cake in a cake box that has room for it to fit without the fondant touching the top or sides of the box. Refrigerate again to set. This is your insurance policy when you deliver the cake. If the party is at your house, and it’s cool inside, you can leave it out. Refrigerating this kind of cake makes it easier to slice so that the filling doesn’t ooze out of every slice. You want a nice presentation.

When you cake is removed from the refrigerator, please remember to give it time to “sweat.” Don’t touch it during this period or you will leave a mark. Let the cake come to room temperature. Usually, by the time you travel to your destination, and it’s time to serve the cake, the fondant will be okay to slice and the dewy, shiny look will be gone.

What Kind of Filling is It?

Lemon, chocolate, caramel, banana, apricot, chocolate chip, and some other fillings are easily recognized in a cake just by looking at them. Don’t make your guests guess what they’re eating. Make tent cards for each table that includes this information or add it to the menu card. With so many food allergies out there, you don’t want to be remembered for making someone sick.

To Freeze or Not to Freeze

Never freeze a cake filled with a custard filling because it will separate. Whipped cream cakes have been frozen. It depends on the type of whipping cream used. Check the container to see if it tells you that it can be frozen because you do not want your cake to weep. Rose Berenbaum, in her book, The Cake Bible, shows you how to stabilize the whipping cream with gelatin.

Enjoy using your cake fillings to take your cakes to higher levels. Just be safe.

[ad_2]

Source by Debra J. Mosely

/ By edd / spiral-freezers/ / 0 Comments

How Laboratory Refrigerators and Freezers Are Used in the Lab

[ad_1]

A laboratory refrigerator or lab freezers have an obvious and essential function; these units are used to cool or freeze samples for preservation. Typically, refrigerators are used to store samples at a temperature between – 5 and 15 degrees Celsius, while freezers will normally store samples at a temperature between – 25 and – 15 degrees Celsius.

Some laboratory freezers are used to store biological samples such as vaccines at a significantly lower temperature. Cryogenic freezing is also used in some laboratories, but requires specialized equipment that is capable of generating and tolerating exceptionally low temperatures. Ultra low temperature freezers (usually -50 degrees C and below) commonly use a dual compressor cascade type of system to reach these low temperatures. The first compressor is used to obtain a temperature of around -40 degrees C, after which the second compressor kicks in to achieve the lower temperature that is needed. These lab freezers will be usually be noisier than a -20 degrees C freezer, create more heat output into the room and will use more energy. They are also more expensive to repair than a standard laboratory refrigerator or freezer if the compressor needs to be replaced, since this will require a repair technician who specializes in these somewhat exotic compressors.

Lab refrigerators and freezers include equipment for storing samples and special instrumentation used for conducting experiments requiring precise temperature control. For example, a lab refrigerator can be used to set up chromatography apparatus within the refrigerator chamber.

Refrigeration and freezing equipment is also used for the storage of medical or pharmaceutical supplies. A blood bank uses a lab refrigerator to preserve the quality of its blood supply. Laboratory refrigerators and lab freezers that store blood and blood products must meet a variety of regulatory and quality standards for obvious reasons. They normally come with an alarm system to warn laboratory personnel of an equipment failure. Plasma can be stored frozen in a plasma freezer for an extended time period. Since the typical expiration date is one year from the collection date, the problem of maintaining an adequate blood supply is greatly reduced. Pharmacies may also use a laboratory refrigerator to store vaccines, medications and other temperature sensitive compounds.

Laboratory refrigerators and laboratory freezers include equipment for freezing blood plasma or other blood products for future use. Some lab freezers are used to store enzymes or other biological reagents used to conduct tests. Laboratory refrigerators and laboratory freezers may be stand-alone, upright units or may fit under the lab counter. A lab freezer may also be fitted with locks to restrict entry, and may even be designed to safely insulate flammable materials from electrical sparks. Some laboratory refrigerators and laboratory freezers are also used as incubators that cycle between a heating period and a refrigeration period. These types of refrigerators are often used for culturing and monitoring the growth of bacteria.

Flammable chemicals that require refrigeration must only be stored in a laboratory refrigerator that is designed for the safe storage of flammables. A flammable liquid is defined as having a flash point of less than 100 degrees F (38 degrees C). Flammable storage laboratory refrigerators are UL approved for storage of flammable chemicals; lab freezers are often used for this purpose as well. Flammable storage refrigerators have no electrical sparking devices, relays, switches or thermostats that could ignite flammable vapors inside the cabinet. They may also incorporate design features such as thresholds, self-closing doors, magnetic door gaskets and special inner shell materials that control or limit the damage should a reaction occur within the storage compartment.

A label stating ‘Flammable Materials Refrigerator: Keep fire away’ should identify such refrigerators. Flammable storage units cannot be placed in a room containing explosive vapors, but chemicals that exude explosive vapors can be safely stored inside them. They are called lab-safe, fire-safe or explosion safe refrigerators. These refrigerators are more costly than the standard household or even laboratory refrigerator for that matter, but they must be used if flammables will be stored in the refrigerator.

Explosion proof laboratory refrigerators and lab freezers are rated UL explosion-proof and are similar in design to the flammable storage units, but they also have all operating components sealed against entrance of explosive vapors. Electrical junction boxes are also sealed after connections are made. These units are approved for storage of volatile materials in areas with explosive atmospheres and are the most costly of all types. This type of refrigerator is only required when storing flammable materials in an area with an explosive atmosphere such as a solvent dispensing room. An explosion proof laboratory refrigerator has very limited use on campus and require special hazardous location wiring rather than simple cord and plug connections.

[ad_2]

Source by Andrew K Long

/ By edd / spiral-freezers/ / 0 Comments

Electro-Permanent Magnetic Lifters: Failsafe and Variable Holding Power

[ad_1]

Electro-permanent magnetic lifters counter the limitations of permanent and electromagnets by combining the advantages of both.

The restricted lifting capacity of permanent magnetic lifters and the non-failsafe operation of electromagnetic lifters are two limitations of these types of lifters. To overcome these limitations, lifting magnet designers have created the electro-permanent magnetic lifter, which combines the advantages of both the permanent and electromagnetic lifters in one module.

Types of Magnets

There are three types of magnetic lifter technologies: permanent magnetic, electro-magnetic and electro-permanent magnets. The permanent lifting magnets use failsafe, permanent magnets, but they do not have a variable holding power capability, which restricts both their load capacities and the variety of applications they are best suited for.

Electro-magnetic lifters use a controller to generate a DC voltage in a coil embedded within the lifter module to generate the magnetic work holding force. The DC controller’s voltage can be adjusted to vary the magnetic flux field, which, in turn, varies the holding force of the electromagnetic lifter. This feature makes electromagnetic lifters flexible holding devices and very cost-effective as well. But electromagnetic lifters require continuous electrical power to operate. A power failure will de-energize the electromagnet, shut down the magnetic field, and create a potential safety hazard. Electro-permanent magnetic lifters counter these limitations.

Electro-permanent Lifter Operation

Electro-permanent magnetic lifters (commonly called electroperms) are a hybrid of the permanent and electromagnetic types. They are constructed with a coil wound around a magnetic material that is permanent, embedded in the lifter module. When a DC voltage is applied, the material is charged, which takes about 1 second, and attracts the material to the lifter even after power is removed. The lifter will hold the load until the electro-permanent magnet is turned off. This features gives electro-perms a failsafe operation.

Another function of the electroperm’s coil is to control the amount of magnetic force of the lifter. This feature gives it a variable holding power capability similar to electromagnetic lifters. This feature extends the types of applications the electroperm is suited for. Electroperms can be used in tandem for beam lifting operations as well as for light load, pick and place, robotic operations. For pick and place operations, the electroperm is modified to be lightweight for maximizing end-of-arm capacity. They are constructed with special coil configurations for fast switching with minimum dwell times and soft pole shoes contoured to provide the easiest access to the part.

Battery Operation

Electro-permanent magnetic lifters are sometimes called battery lifters because a battery instead of a D.C. controller is used to provide the power for the electroperm switching cycle. The battery gives the lifter portability. It also makes for a simpler system design because a complex D.C. controller is not necessary. However, the battery will require maintenance and periodic charging.

[ad_2]

Source by Patrick Stox