Professional ovens are characterized by strong versatility, which allows it to perform different functions.
For this and other reasons, it can be advantageous and appropriate for different types of businesses, such as: restaurants, pubs, delis and bakeries. Whether you want to heat, bake or leaven products, the purchase of a professional oven should be well thought out according to your needs.
The power supply
The first relevant feature to consider is the power supply of the oven, gas or electric.
Since time immemorial, professional gas-fired ovens have had a much lower cost of ownership than electric ovens, and this is still true today despite the 22-23 recession, during which the price of gas rose disproportionately.
On the other hand, however, gas furnaces require a gas connection to be powered, which can be expensive to install if you already have a structured work environment. You also need proper safety equipment, such as quick-disconnect hoses and line wiring, to minimize the risk of fire and injury.
Professional electric ovens, on the other hand, are very easy to install; in fact, you just plug them into an outlet and start using them. They do, however, take longer to heat up than gas ovens, but provide more consistent heat that results in evenly cooked food products. In their electric version, professional ovens are also easier to clean because they do not require a gas connection, which can get clogged with grease and debris, and they tend to have fewer problems during maintenance. Even for electric ovens, however, there are cons; in fact, they can often have a higher cost of ownership than the gas version.
Size
The other variable to consider is the right size of one's professional oven. In order to properly evaluate, it is first necessary to consider the space available. Large professional kitchens can obviously get away with larger units, but smaller restaurant operations must thoroughly analyze their floor plans.
Closely related to this, there is another factor to think about, which is the amount of baked goods to be prepared during a working day. How many individual food items can fit in the oven? Can they be baked in the same time frame? How long are we willing to keep our customers waiting?
The type
Another key discriminator is related to the type of oven: convection, steam, direct-steam combi, or boiler. To make this choice we should be clear about what products we are going to offer our guests, but in general the best ovens allow for multi-functionality, allowing us to set different climatic conditions inside the cooking chamber in order to recreate the perfect conditions for grilling, frying, roasting, steaming, vacuum cooking, gratin baking, and whatever else you need.
In conclusion, there are many variables to consider when choosing a professional oven, and there is certainly no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. As we have seen, the first step is to ask yourself the right questions to find the answers best suited to your needs.
