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Labor

The Science Behind Holding

October 10, 2022 By Corey Meyers

It’s harder than it looks, but we make it easy.

Reliable holding equipment preserves quality, keeps food ready to serve, and allows employees to prepare for peak hours while offering additional benefits (click here to read Henny Penny’s blog about how kitchens can “buy” extra operations time with heated holding solutions). Getting the most out of your holding equipment is easier said than done, which is why it is important to understand the science behind it.

One of the first things every aspiring chef learns is that cooking is a function of time, temperature and moisture. This is also true of holding with a few important differences. When food is cooked it undergoes rapid and continuous change as it is subjected to extreme conditions. The finished or “done” state is simply a point to be reached along the path of change. To maintain this state for any length of time requires conditions that are much more subtle in relation to those of the food itself. Ideal holding conditions are those that cause very little in the way of further dynamic changes in the food and prevent changes from taking place naturally.

Most simple heated cabinets can do this for short periods. However, different foods react differently to periods of extended holding. Most fried and baked products, for instance, tend to dry out. Other foods become soggy as excess humidity builds up from covered dishes or “wetter” foods and forces the re-absorption of oils, juices or sauces that were released during cooking. The structure and flavor of casseroles, hot sandwiches or other multi-textured foods will begin to breakdown as drying and absorption affect ingredients differently.


Size and cut makes a big difference in how long meats, poultry and fish can be held. Large whole or half joints, which are typically cooked in a slower process, usually hold well. The combination of crust and high ratio of volume to surface area make it easier to preserve flavor and texture in a heated holding environment.

For this reason, thick fish steaks can be held longer than thin fillets, which do not hold well at all. With proper humidity control, longer holding times improve the flavor and consistency of certain meats, such as ribs. What is essentially a low-temperature, slow-cooking environment continues to breakdown proteins in a gentle way, making the meat more tender. The absorption of seasonings and sauces into the product in this case, enhances the desired flavor and texture.

With the number of variables in play, the goal of holding—to suspend the results of cooking at their peak indefinitely—remains elusive. But the benefits of being able to hold a wide range of foods for hours rather than minutes would be significant.


The below chart shows popular menu items grouped by common holding temperature ranges.* Items in the same temperature range can generally be held together. Holding times will vary depending on the durability of the item and humidity in the cabinet. The Humidity column shows ideal relative humidity. With a controlled humidity holding cabinet, much longer holding times can be achieved.

*Based on Henny Penny HHC 900 and SmartHold holding cabinets. Results will vary for other manufacturers.

Originally posted on www.HennyPenny.com

Filed Under: Henny Penny, Holding, Labor

AyrKing Presents: What Your Restaurant Can Do About the Labor Shortage

October 10, 2022 By Corey Meyers

The restaurant industry is reeling from a widely reported labor shortage, causing many operations to change the way they function.

Some fast food chains have resisted opening their dining rooms, kept shorter operating hours and placed high demands on existing employees in order to function with a smaller staff.

The reasons for the shortage, which is affecting restaurants from quick serve to fine dining, are complex and hotly debated. But whether the root cause is higher unemployment benefits, an industry battling a historic reputation for low wages and difficult working conditions, or the pandemic and its chilling effect on the hospitality industry as a whole, the result is that restaurants are put in a position of doing more with less.


The Challenge

Lower-than-desired staff levels can have a ripple effect on a restaurant’s operation.

In full-service restaurants, fewer front-of-house workers means larger sections for each worker to cover, potentially resulting in slowed or worsened service as servers rush from table to table.

In every kind of operation, fewer back-of-house workers to prepare meals means longer wait times for orders to be fulfilled and a potential increase in errors from rushed workers.

The end result may be less efficiency and thus less revenue — not to mention unhappy customers.

To adapt to these challenges, many restaurants have cut their hours — eliminating a meal period like lunch or an entire day of service — reduced their seating capacity, or shrunk their menu to streamline kitchen operations.


The Solutions

The solutions to this industrywide challenge are multi-layered, and operators are working both ends toward the middle — focusing not only on improving staffing levels but also on adjusting processes to boost efficiency and throughput.

On the staffing side, restaurants can seek to improve hiring through creative (and generous) hiring tactics. A focus on retaining existing workers by boosting morale and creating a positive work environment can also have a lasting impact.

On the other end of the equation, operations are seeking to reduce the number of employees needed to run a restaurant.

This is the approach favored by Beef O’Brady’s, a 176-unit full-service chain that is looking at options like menu items that require less prep, technologies that allow customers to order and cash out at their tables, and more efficient back-of-house equipment in order to run its restaurants with fewer workers.

In fact, equipment changes can have a surprisingly large impact on labor needs. Automating labor-intensive processes frees personnel up to perform other tasks and reduces the labor hours needed to churn out meals.


AyrKing’s DrumRoll Automated Breader is one such option that enables restaurants to produce the same amount of freshly breaded fried foods with less labor.

Fresh breading is typically a labor-intensive process. But the unique spinning helix design of the DrumRoll quickly and efficiently breads proteins and vegetables, reducing labor and accelerating production by an average of 25%. It takes just one minute to bread 60 wings or 40 seconds to bread eight pieces of chicken.

In addition, the DrumRoll is ideal for kitchens where there are often new and inexperienced workers because there’s very little training involved — as opposed to hand breading, which requires solid training and experience to achieve consistent results.

Learn more about the DrumRoll Automated Breader
The AyrKing BBS

The DrumRoll Automated Breader also improves product consistency by more than 30% over traditional hand breading, providing a better customer experience.

Pair the AyrKing DrumRoll with our Breader Blender Sifter for even more efficiency. The BBS cuts hand-sifting time by 80% and extends the life of breading mixtures, reducing waste and cutting costs.

Filed Under: AyrKing, Blog, Labor Tagged With: AyrKing, breading, labor

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