Dispensing with Consistency
The food served at your establishment will define your business – even if your décor is perfect and service is superb, you're still going to struggle to retain customers if the food is subpar. That makes defining the food you offer and keeping it consistent important. Uniformity in a commercial kitchen is challenging, even with a set recipe; when it's being prepared over the course of multiple shifts by different cooks, some variation is almost inevitable.
There are several ways to improve the consistency of food coming from your kitchen, including having well-documented recipes, maintaining consistent suppliers, and thorough training. You should also provide your kitchen staff with the tools they need to properly measure each ingredient. Server Products makes a wide range of pumps and dispensers that can help your kitchen staff improve product consistency.
Server Products Pumps
Server Products is best known for its condiment pumps, which allow users to easily dispense everything from thin syrup to chunky salsas. These are often used in the front of house, but can also be useful in the kitchen. Because each pump can be configured to distribute a certain amount, they can dispense specific amounts of ingredients. Oil, vinegar, soy sauce, and pureed fruit or vegetables can be measured out for recipes, and condiments such as mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard can be easily dispensed onto sandwiches in specific amounts. By using these dispensers and instructing staff on how many pumps to use, you can improve the consistency of orders coming out of your kitchen.
| Pump Name | Max Setting | Adjustable Increments |
|---|---|---|
| Polycarbonate Can Pump | 1 oz. | 1⁄4 oz. |
| Stainless Steel Can Pump | 1 oz. | 1⁄8 oz. |
| Gallon Jar Pumps | 1 oz. | 1⁄8 oz. |
| Pouched Product Dispenser | 1 oz. | 1⁄4 oz. |
| Eco Bottle Pumps (BP-1/2 or BP-1/4) | 1⁄4 or 1⁄2 oz. | N/A |
| Eco Pumps | 1 oz. | 1⁄8 oz. |
| Disposable Plastic Pump | 1 oz. | N/A |
| Shallow Fountain Jar, SST Pumps | 1 oz. | 1⁄8 oz. |
| Deep Fountain Jar, SST Pumps | 11⁄4 oz. | 1⁄8 oz. |
Dry Food Dispensers
Server Products also makes tools for measuring dry food, including candy, granola, sugar, and sweeteners. These are ideal for correctly portioning ice cream and milkshake mix-ins, and for providing consistency when adding sugar to tea or coffee. Dispensers allow servers and kitchen staff to portion dry product more easily than with a spoon, since they can be operated with one hand. Below are the dry food dispensers available from Server Products.
Food and candy dispensers use a pull-down handle to dispense dry products, such as candy, nuts, graham cracker or cookie pieces, and oats. These can be adjusted to serve different amounts depending on the model, from as little as 1⁄4 ounce to as much as 2 ounces.
The SweetStation Dispenser disperses sugar and sweeteners. This unit is available with hoppers of varying sizes, but in each case the dispenser drops the equivalent of a standard packet of sugar or sweetener with each press of the button.
Seasoning dispensers allow chefs to provide consistent seasoning between batches of food. These handheld dispensers can be configured to dispense as little as 1⁄16 teaspoon to as much as 1⁄2 teaspoon in either a drop or spread pattern. Dispensers with a drop pattern are ideal for use on meat patties and for drink toppings, while the spread is better suited for fry bins and large pots of soup.