It is in all professional kitchens, it is the most used material in hospitality equipment, but … what has the stainless steel that makes it so precious? As we have highlighted in other posts, the kitchens of restaurants, hotels or communities (among others) are places exposed to a wide variety of temperatures and humidity levels. These thermal conditions make it necessary to work with resistant and durable instruments, something that stainless steel furniture perfectly fulfills.
If you are thinking of equipping your professional kitchen in the near future, we invite you to discover in this article the advantages of having stainless steel furniture in it.
1. The multiple uses of stainless steel
It is called stainless steel to the iron alloy with carbon and other chemical elements such as chromium, nickel or molybdenum. These elements alter the properties of iron and give it greater resistance to corrosion. Therefore, it is used not only for the manufacture of furniture and other kitchen equipment, but also in sanitary material, for water installations, the chemical industry, transport …
Going back to the hostelry sector, what other characteristics make having stainless steel furniture always a good choice? In addition to its main anticorrosive property, stainless steel is usually chosen for its special brightness, which provide a professional and high quality image.
2. 304 stainless steel, the most used in professional kitchens
When choosing stainless steel furniture for catering, you will find that although there are different types of this material on the market. The most frequent in the hostelry equipment is the AISI 304 18/10.
Steel and its alloys are governed by the AISI standard established by the American Iron and Steel Institute. It groups the different types of steels in series according to their crystalline structure that is, according to the way in which their atoms are ordered. In the specific case of AISI 304 18/10, it belongs to the 300 series of chromium-nickel alloys and that it has a percentage of 18% chromium and 10% nickel that give them anticorrosive power and malleability.
The 304 stainless steel furniture is ideal for handling fresh food due to the thin layer of chromium oxide or ‘passive layer’ that covers its surface and that self-regenerates every time it comes in contact with water. This also influences when it comes to lengthening its durability.
3. Advantages of stainless steel furniture in hostelry
Throughout this article we have addressed the most important characteristics of stainless steel. In addition, we want to show you some specific advantages for using it in hospitality furniture:
• Facilitates hygiene: as it is a smooth, non-porous and aseptic material, its cleaning is very simple since it does not absorb liquids or accumulate food residues.
• Does not flavor food: stainless steel does not react chemically to the acids in food, so it does not impregnate them with metallic flavor. This is very important to comply with food safety regulations related to professional cooking.
• Resistant to high temperatures: it is one of its main qualities. Stainless steel is widely used in the manufacture of combi ovens, temperature regenerators or heating holding trolleys.
• It is malleable: it can be seen when professional kitchen equipment is manufactured. Thanks to its ability to bend and easy welding, it is possible to shape tables, shelves, trolleys and all types of stainless steel furniture.
• Long service life: stainless steel furniture withstands a wide variety of thermal conditions without rusting and a lot of weight without breaking. In addition, it is quite resistant to shock, which allows it to last a long time in perfect condition.
As you can see, the benefits of stainless steel furniture for your professional kitchen are many and varied. We hope that throughout this article you have been able to know them a little better and clear your doubts. Remember that if you need more information about it, we are always at your disposal. We will wait for you!
