Amana HDC18SD2 1800W Heavy Duty Stainless Steel Commercial Microwave with Solid Door - 208/240V

I'm food application scientist Patty Reyes. Welcome to the Accelerated Cooking Products Culinary Center! In this video, I will discuss the RC and HDC heavy volume microwave ovens. There are 3 models available in the RC series with 1700 watts, 2200 watts, or 3000 watts of cooking power. At least 1700 watts of microwave energy is recommended for steaming. Yes, microwaves can steam food! These ovens are ideal alternatives to tabletop steamers. Higher wattage not only means faster cooking, it also means food retains excellent color, texture, and nutrients. Food doesn't turn out rubbery or wilted as it would in lower wattage microwaves. Steaming is done without additional water, drain lines, vent hoods, and deliming headaches. The RC is 1 cubic foot in capacity, meaning it holds (2) 4 deep half sized pans. As you can see, an HDC stacks nicely on the RC and 2 RC ovens can be stacked without the use of a kit or stand. The only exception is the RC30, which cannot be stacked due to its weight. Stacking ovens saves valuable counter space. Operating 2 ovens at the same time also improves through-put and production. There are 3 models available in the HDC as well with 1200 watts, 1800 watts, or 2100 watts of cooking power. All feature a .6 cubic foot cavity. They are ideal for retherming and steaming single portions of food and small plates. HDC stands for heavy duty compact. Note its small footprint, which makes it ideal for small kitchens with limited counter space. Like the RC ovens, the HDC are built to withstand up to 200 uses per day. Amana commercial model HDC12A2 operates on a 120 volt circuit, so no special electrical is needed to use the oven. Reference the specification comparison chart in our brochure to check electrical requirements of all ACP models. Both the RC and HDC are energy efficient, costing less than a dollar a day in electricity. The Amana commercial brochure also outlines average energy costs for each model along with full feature comparisons. Up to 100 menu items can be saved to each model. 11 power levels and 4 stages allow programming flexibility to cook food items to perfection. The specially-designed dual magnetron system delivers microwave energy from both the top and bottom of the cavity, providing even and consistent cooking results. Now, let's talk about programming. HDC models only have 1 control panel along the top. The RC has top and side control panels. Programming keys are found on the top control panel on the RC. The quantity or times 8 key allows up to 8 portions to be cooked at one time. The HDC cooks up to 2 portions at once. Use the clock symbol to manually enter cooking times. This symbol is on the far left corner of the HDC control panel. Moving from left to right on the RC, the next symbol is used to enter power levels. On the HDC key pads, it is located next to the start key. Both the RC and HDC have 11 power levels from 0 percent, or no microwave energy, to 100 percent microwave energy. Power levels can be entered in 10 percent increments. The next symbol on the RC control panel is used to program stages. Each program can include up to 4 cooking stages. This symbol is not on the HDC control panel, but the HDC also features stage cooking. I will show you how to program the HDC shortly. The last symbol on the RC control panel, which looks like a book, is the program save key. Press this key to enter programming mode and to save new programs. Now, let's put it all together. I use a baked potato as an example. I will save my new baked potato program to the number 1 key pad. First, open the door so ready appears on the display. Press the book symbol. Select the number 1 key pad. Now, press the clock or the time entry key and enter the desired cooking time using the number keys. Next, enter power level by selecting the triangle symbol. Again, using the number keys, 0 equals no microwave energy, 1 equals 10 percent, 2 equals 20 percent, and so on. The default power level is 100 percent. If I wanted to continue adding stages to this program, I would now select the stage key and continue entering cook times and power levels for each stage until my program is complete. To exit and save programming, again, select the book symbol or program save. I'll program the same item in the HDC. First, open the oven door, then press and hold number 1 for 5 seconds until the oven beeps. Select a key pad to be reprogrammed. Enter cooking time by using the numbered pads. Next, press the power level pad to enter desired microwave power. 1 equals 10 percent, 2 equals 20 percent, and so on. Entering 0 turns off the microwave energy. Then, press the time entry pad to add up to 4 additional cooking stages. Total cooking time cannot exceed 60 minutes. Continue entering cook times and power levels until the program is complete. Press the start pad to save the program. To discard changes, press the stop reset pad or close the oven door. Now, I’ll quickly go over how to enter cook times manually. I will demonstrate by preparing a poached egg. It is very important to know that eggs cannot be cooked within the shell in microwave ovens. They will explode! Poached eggs are okay because they are cooked outside of the shell in a cambro pan of water. First, open the oven door and place the pan in the oven. Then, press the time entry pad and enter the cooking time. Press the power level pad and enter microwave power. Finally, press the start pad. In just 50 seconds, I have a beautifully poached egg. The whites of the egg have solidified nicely around the yoke, which is still runny. Now, I’d like to demonstrate how the RC30 can quickly and efficiently steam a large batch of rice. Rice is a staple food in many areas of the world and a common food item on buffets. I can bulk heat white rice in a half size cambro pan. This is 4 cups of uncooked rice and 8 cups of water mixed together. Place the pan in the center of the cavity, uncovered, and cook for 10 minutes. The first stage is set to 5 minutes at 100 percent power to bring the water to a boil. The second stage is set to 5 minutes at 60 percent power to let the rice cook and simmer. The rice is done, white, and fully in just 10 minutes with the RC30. To demonstrate how beautifully the RC steams vegetables, I have a half pan filled with 2 pounds of california medley, consisting of broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower. Notice, I don't need to add water to properly steam the vegetables. They have enough natural moisture to steam in a covered pan. I simply place a lid on top and put in the RC30 for 1 minute and 45 seconds. The vegetables have steamed nicely and produced a wonderfully vibrant color. Let's try the same dish in the HDC21, which delivers 2100 watts of cooking power. 8 ounces of my california medley will steam in just 40 seconds with the HDC. Now, for something completely different, raw shrimp! This shrimp has been marinated in an orange ginger glaze. I'll place a lid on it to effectively steam the shrimp. It is perfectly glazed and beautifully cooked in just 30 seconds. I have orange ginger glazed shrimp to top the rice. I could add the steamed vegetables for a complete meal! The same amount of shrimp, 8 pieces, cooks in 37 seconds in the HDC21. I've cooked fresh and raw foods in the heavy volume ovens. Let's try cooking a food item from frozen. This breakfast croissant has a starting temperature of 0 degrees. The HDC21 will cook it to an internal temperature of 165 degrees or higher in 55 seconds. I programmed the oven to cook in stages because I need to defrost, then cook the sandwich. Stage cooking allows me to do this by pushing 1 button. The first stage is set to 35 seconds at 30 percent power and the second stage is set to 20 seconds at the default, 100 percent power. These are just a few examples of cooking and steaming with the Amana commercial RC and HDC ovens. More tips, recipes, and cooking guides are found online at acpsolutions.com. Need one-on-one advice? Email me at testkitchen@acpsolutions.com. Thank you for visiting the ACP Culinary Center! We are changing the way the world cooks.