Choosing Your Broiler: Cheese Melter vs. Salamander
Successful restaurants don't send out boring dishes; they send out hot, sizzling, melty, attractive dishes with varying textures, sometimes with the help of a salamander or cheese melter. When it comes to tasks such as heating plates, melting cheese, finishing steaks, and toasting bread, chefs may turn to these small pieces of equipment. Because they look similar and both can be used to apply heat to plated dishes before serving, it can be difficult to distinguish between cheese melters and salamanders. Still, these two types of equipment shouldn't be used interchangeably.
What's the difference between a cheese melter and a salamander?
The two pieces look similar, but salamanders are made to cook food and cheese melters are not. Salamanders produce much higher heat, which can be used to cook everything from vegetables to proteins; cheese melters are made to finish food that's already cooked. Salamanders are small broilers which can cook food and cheese melters can toast, melt, and warm already cooked foods.
Cheese Melters vs. Salamanders
About Cheese Melters
Features:
- Heated by electricity or gas
- Countertop and wall-mounted units
- Pass-thru models available
Use it for:
- Melting cheese
- Toasting bread
- Heating plates
True to their name, cheese melters generally are the go-to tool for melting cheese on top of pastas, sandwiches, and French onion soup. They're also frequently used to toast bread and can keep dishes warm after food is plated. Put simply, cheese melters are only designed to be used with food that has already been thoroughly cooked and requires some light finishing before service, which is why they're sometimes called finishing ovens. This light-duty equipment also can be implemented to reheat some menu items, such as slices of pizza or bread, prior to serving, offering the convenience and superior heating capacity of an oven without eating up a large footprint.
Cheese melters are available in electric or gas models and may be wall mounted or used as countertop equipment. Some cheese melters are designed with a removable rear panel that enables them to act as pass-thru units, which can be useful if the cheese melter is used to warm plated meals between the kitchen and a serving station.
About Salamanders
Features:
- Heated by electricity or gas
- Wall, range, or countertop units
- Higher temperature range
Use it for:
- Broiling steaks
- Heating cast iron platters
- Browning and caramelizing dishes
They can be used to melt cheese and toast bread, but salamander broilers offer a wider range of applications because they're built with more powerful heating elements. Salamanders are capable of not only heating food, but actually cooking it, so they can be used to broil fish and vegetables, brown chicken, and finish steaks. Salamanders are commonly used to finish au gratin dishes and other meals best served with crispy, caramelized layers on top, and may be used to heat cast iron platters, such as the ones used to serve fajitas.
Although salamanders are available in countertop models and wall-mounted units, they're commonly mounted above ranges to maximize workflow and cooking capacity, especially when cooking proteins. Commercial kitchens that need to do more than toast bread or melt cheese should consider investing in a salamander broiler to supplement an existing range during peak service times.
