Types of Food Wells

• Drop-in hot food wells are designed to allow for easy placement in buffet tables. The pans sit flush with the table, which prevents messy spills, provides a clean appearance, and allows patrons to clearly see the contents.
• You’ll find one-well and multi-compartment models available, as some hold full-sized, half-sized, or extra large-sized pans.
• Many wells are insulated to ensure accurate long-term holding temperatures and energy-efficient operation.
• Drop-ins are typically preferred due to lower cost and ease of installation.

• Bottom-mounted hot food wells allow you to create a visually appealing food station on a countertop or table to serve vegetables, hot entrees, sides, and other meal accompaniments. 
• Each food well is designed to install directly into your countertops to reduce clutter and maintain a flat and uniform look.
• You can easily control each well for precise heating and warming thanks to the heating elements built into their bodies. 
• Like drop-ins, you’ll find several different sizes available for bottom-mounted food wells to accommodate half- or full-size food pans.

• As a subset of drop-in food wells, induction-ready food wells utilize specialized technology to create quicker, more efficient heat. 
• Induction food wells operate dry, which means that you do not need to add water. This design streamlines the process and makes cleanup easier. 
• No heat is produced unless an induction-ready pan is on the unit. Only the pan and food get hot, never the drop-in surface, which makes this method safer than others. 
• Digital controls make setup an intuitive user experience. 

• Ice-cooled drop-in food wells are simple, yet efficient, ways to keep your fruits, desserts, and deli meats at safe temperatures.
• These units require only ice, so you don’t need to worry about electrical connections and the costs that they bring.
• Insulated, stainless steel walls get the most out of the ice, as you’ll get superior temperature retention wherever you put them.
• Multiple sizes are available to suit your preferred capacity and layout needs.

• If you’d prefer to avoid the frequent attention and cleanup that ice-cooled food wells require, refrigerated drop-in food wells offer a more convenient solution.
• These wells utilize a compressor to circulate refrigerant around the food pans to keep the food inside chilled for hours at a time.
• These units mount into wood or metal countertops.
• Some refrigerated wells also utilize forced air to create a cool air curtain over the top of the food.
• Recessed units are available to prevent food contamination.
• You can find several sizes and shapes available, such as curved and slim.

Typical soup wells utilize standard electric heating elements to perform their function, as the wattage can range up to, and beyond, 800 watts. The higher wattage you have, the better your warmer will be able to heat various product quickly and efficiently. 

It's important to note that standard warmers are not built to bring chilled food back up to safe temperatures. Instead, their primary purpose is to hold prepared, already-warm food at the desired temperature. 

You might see some warmers branded as rethermalizers, which might beg the question, “What’s the difference?”

Rethermalizers are designed to bring chilled, prepared food to desirable, safe temperatures, which other warmers do not accomplish as well. Rethermalizers will also hold your product at a stable temperature, effectively making them a useful, multifaceted product.

Induction cooking has taken a stronger hold in kitchen environments, as it concentrates on heating an object directly via electromagnetic currents. This technology has made its way to soup wells!

• This innovation makes cooking quicker and more energy-efficient, and now you can bring that to your soup warmers.
• It improves the safety of the cooking apparatus and its surrounding area because the heat focuses entirely on the pot.
• Induction-ready soup wells have the potential to present notable savings in the long term.
• These units usually cost more money upfront than traditional warmers.
• It also requires special, magnetized cookware that conducts the heat.

When your menu changes daily and you don’t have space to implement different types of food wells, dual temperature models provide adequate flexibility. You’ll keep your equipment inventory in check while limiting spending costs. 

• Each food well has a dedicated heating system for hot entrees, appetizers, and sauces, while the compressor can work to pump chilling refrigerant for salads, fruits, and other cold food items. 
• Several dual temp units are drop-in style to ease installation.
• Some sport a sloped design to drain excess liquids away from the food.