How to Choose the Right Food Service Chemicals for Your Commercial Kitchen

Coffee and espresso cleaners are necessary to keep your coffee equipment working efficiently and eliminate any buildup that could alter the taste of your products. There are many different types of coffee and espresso machine cleaners for different uses. Many products can be used interchangeably between coffee and espresso machines. If you’re looking to clean a specific piece of equipment, be sure to check out the intended use of each product.

Cleaning your deep fat fryer is essential to ridding your fryer of food remnants and odors, thereby preserving the natural flavors of your food. If you’re using the same deep fryer for multiple food combinations, cleaning your fryer is particularly important. Fryer cleaner is available in three different forms, which include liquid, powder, and tablet. Using a tablet cleaner saves time and eliminates waste because they are pre-measured.

How often should you clean your deep fat fryer? 

The frequency at which you clean your deep fat fryer depends on the amount of product you’re frying and the combination of foods you’re using in your fryer. Some kitchens may choose to clean their fryers every evening, if they are frying a large variety of foods in high amounts. In general, most kitchens clean their fryers every 2-3 days. 

Fryer oil stabilizer is a chemical used to treat fryer oil and improve its longevity by removing sediment and carbon deposits. It also reduces oil absorption of fried foods for healthier, tastier products.

Beer and wine lines are susceptible to unwanted buildup that can alter the taste of beverages and prevent liquid from flowing through the narrow tube. Keep your lines clear with these cleaning products.

How often should beer and wine lines be cleaned?

Beer and wine lines should be cleaned at the minimum every six weeks. Many kitchens choose to clean their lines more often, usually every two weeks. Frequent cleanings will maintain your lines and reduce the risk of more serious blockages and issues occurring. 

You also need to make sure you have the proper kitchen cleaning chemicals for the beer and wine glasses. For more information on how to properly clean beer glasses, check out our Beer Glass Cleaner guide.

In any food service operation it is important to have the oven and grill cleaned and sanitized. With liquid cleaners, aerosol cleansers, and pre-mixed rinsing solutions, getting rid of baked-on fat, grease, and carbon from your grill has never been easier. This selection of cleaners and sanitizers is not only used for restaurant purposes, these products can be used for your outdoor grill as well.

How often should I clean my oven?

You should clean your oven monthly to rid of the crusty buildup that usually occurs when cooking. The crusty buildup can alter the taste of your food, even with the high temperatures.

Board and block whiteners will clean and sanitize your cutting boards while also removing odors and whitening stains. Use these cutting board cleaners to keep your cutting boards looking brand new.

How often should you clean or whiten your cutting board? 

All cutting boards should be cleaned after each shift or when switching between the different types of food you’re cutting. Plastic cutting boards are often easier to clean and maintain, so you may not need to whiten them as often as wood cutting boards. Regular cleaning will maintain the condition of your boards, prolong the life of your boards, and will prevent bacterial growth. 

What’s the best way to whiten your cutting board?

Select a cutting board whitener with a potency that meets your needs. Spread cleaner across the surface of your cutting board. Allow the cleaner to soak into the pores of your board for the designated wait time (usually around 15 minutes). Rinse surface thoroughly before using the board. Repeat whitening and rinsing process for deep stains if necessary.

To ensure that your ice machines and refrigerators are operating properly, it is vital to clean these machines regularly to remove mineral buildup. Ice machine sanitizers are safe to use on nickel and tin surfaces and many products have multiple uses, such as cleaning the walls, floors, and equipment located in your freezers or coolers.

For more information, check out our How to Clean an Ice Machine guide.

Scale buildup causes low flow problems and equipment inefficiencies. Delimers and descalers are necessary for removing mineral deposits and hard water buildup around your sink and dishwashing area and within heating elements. There are also delimer and descaler products available for particular areas of your kitchen, like faucets on coffee machines.

What can I expect from a good descaler?

A good descaler should remove minerals and hard water films, brighten metals, and be free from harsh fumes. Descaling also removes buildup from heating elements to prolong the life of your equipment.

Can you mix delimer and bleach?

It is never a good idea to mix cleaning products, especially harsh chemicals like bleach. The potent mixtures can damage your equipment, and the fumes could be harmful to you. Leave the mixing to the chemists!

Drains in your commercial kitchen are susceptible to clogs from food, grease, and hair. Preventing drain blockages or removing minor clogs yourself can save you hundreds of dollars in plumbing bills. These products are designed to dissolve blockages and get your drains back to normal.

How often should you use a drain maintainer?

Drain maintainers can be used regularly to prevent severe drain clogs in the future. Drain openers are extra tough to remove buildup that's clogging your drain. Although regular drain maintenance can prevent the need for a plumber, be sure to track how often you're using drain openers. Severe drain clogs can cause pipes to burst. If you continually encounter clogs in the same drain, contact a professional.

This popcorn kettle cleaner does just that, it doesn't contain any harsh chemicals to ensure that the popcorn won't be contaminated and will also make the inside look fresh and clean. To make sure you are getting the most out of your popcorn kettle cleaner, the powdered formula is mixed with warm water to increase the longevity of the product.

What's the best way to keep the popcorn machine clean?

Leftover popcorn oil can cause carbon deposits and burnt oil to develop, which will eventually affect the flavor of your popcorn. To maintain your machine, it is recommended that it be wiped down after each use. Before you start the cleaning process of your popcorn machine, make sure that it is unplugged and allow 30 minutes for the machine to cool down. Once the machine has cooled down, wipe down the interior and exterior to ensure leftover grease is removed.

Single use packets make cleaning fast and easy and eliminate the hassle of mixing chemicals with water. These single use packets are not limited to one surface, they are available to be used on every surface. The single use packets have many benefits from cleaning uniforms to removing grease build-up and come in pre-measured amounts so no measuring is needed.

What's the advantage of single use chemical packets?

Single use packets offer an alternative for kitchen workers when dealing with chemicals. These packets come in pre-measured amounts so workers do not have to worry about measuring the chemicals properly. Utilizing these packets in your business also eliminate product waste.

How effective are single use chemical packets?

Single use chemical packets are equally as effective of their bulk counterparts.

To make sure the products you are serving your customers is high-quality, continuously using cleaners and sanitizers for your ice cream, yogurt, soft serve, and milkshake machines will prevent blockages and keep up with high-volume orders. The cleaners and sanitizers are available in single use packets and in bulk for your buying needs.

How often should you clean and sanitize your soft serve machine?

When working with any dairy products, soft serve machines should be cleaned regularly, at least three times a week. By regularly cleaning your soft serve machine, it will increase the life of your machine and serve your customers fresh products. In general, it is recommended that you clean your machine every 2-3 days.

Vegetables and fruits are prone to browning, but vegetable wash will increase the shelf life of your vegetables and fruits while killing bacteria and removing pesticides. To get the best results out of your product, it is best used when the wash is diluted with water to clean a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Will veggie wash alter the taste of my vegetable?

In order to rid vegetables of bacteria, it is important to always wash them even if it is a simple rinse. Our veggie wash has food safe ingredients to ensure that your vegetables not only look great but taste great as well!

Why can't I just use water to clean my vegetables?

Food cleaning products like vegetable washes eliminate germs, bacteria, and pesticides, which reduces the risk of foodborne illness. It is important to avoid using regular soap to wash your vegetables as this can lead to an upset stomach and contain chemicals that are not meant to be consumed. Food grade vegetable washes safely remove contaminates, while keeping food safe for consumption.