Just like every other business, the food industry has a large number of items and pieces of equipment that can help with production. There are of course the standard kitchen tools and utensils that any cook worth his chef hat can name off the top of his head, but I am specifically referring to the tools that are used in the mass production of food items which are commonly known as food processing equipment.
The main purpose of all food processing equipment is to convert all sorts of raw materials and ingredients into finished food products, and the term is used for any machine or device that can accomplish this task. The main way to distinguish between different types of food processing equipment is to categorize them by both their purpose and the items that they are specifically designed to be able to process. The second classification is very straightforward since there are different devices that can be used in tandem with vegetables, meat, liquids and other raw ingredients, the first one is however a bit more difficult to explain. In the end however, every instrument, gage or tool that is used on any food item can be sorted into one of three groups, namely – measurement, preparation and storage equipment.
There are many devices like the thermometer, the pressure gages and the many different timers and scales that are all used to measure a certain aspect of the coking process. Certain recipes require very well measured quantities of ingredients as well as precise preparation temperatures and time, and if there is even a minor change to these elements, the finished product will not be the same as was intended. Additionally, there are also measuring devices used to monitor existing systems and machinery in order to make sure that their performance is as it should be.
When it comes to the food preparation items, based on their exact function, they can range from ovens of various sizes, to mixing and cutting machines. While there are many of these items that come in models that are made to be used on only one type of ingredient, like the vegetable cutters, there are also those that can be adjusted to fit a large variety of food preparation needs. There are for example both standard and planetary mixers with many settings, as well as meat slicers and grinders that can be set for different results.
And finally, we come to the storage and packaging items. The most commonly used procedures for packaging in every food industry are the plastic wrapping and vacuum sealing processes, as well as bottling if you are working with liquids. However, in regards to storage, there is a long line of different freezers that can be used to preserve many kinds of food and materials, and which one is being used will inevitably rely heavily on the requirements of the products that are being preserved themselves.
