In general, cooking with steam has a number of benefits for both your business and customers. For your business, commercial steam ovens offer an efficient method of heat transfer. They cook foods quickly without drying them out and there is no need to monitor the food while it is cooking. Vegetables retain their vibrant color and natural texture for better food quality and presentation. Customers love the healthy benefits. Cooking with steam doesn’t require any oils and fats and the vitamins and minerals are not lost in the cooking process like other methods.
In addition to all of the many benefits in food preparation that steamers offer, there are even more buying options when it comes to shopping for the right commercial steamer model. One important factor that many professionals in the food industry keep in mind when looking for the ideal steamer is an ENERGY STAR ® rating.
What is ENERGY STAR ®?
ENERGY STAR is the trusted, government-backed symbol for energy efficiency helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy-efficient products and practices. Getting an ENERGY STAR rating — which not every appliance has — means that a product meets certain federally mandated guidelines regarding energy efficiency.
Why is it important to choose an ENERGY STAR ® certified steam cooker?
As noted by ENERGY STAR ®, certified steam cookers offer shorter cook times, higher production rates, and reduced heat loss due to better insulation and more efficient steam delivery systems.
In addition to saving energy, ENERGY STAR® certified steam cookers also save water 90 percent or more when compared with standard steam cooker models. And, boilerless models, like our Sterling Steamers, use only a few gallons of water per day compared to 30 gallons per hour for a conventional boiler based steamer.
An ENERGY STAR ® certified commercial steam cooker (both electric and gas models) saves businesses about $1,000 annually and on average $12,000 over the product’s lifetime on utility bills. With ENERGY STAR certified commercial steam cooker (electric model) saves businesses about 11,500 kWh annually. Also, ENERGY STAR ® certified commercial steam cooker (gas model) saves businesses about 130 MMBTU annually.
The advantage of certified ENERGY STAR ® steamers like Sterling Steamers offer restaurant owners, commercial foodservice operators and chefs unparalleled advantages. So if you are looking to keep food quality standards high and operational costs low, ENERGY STAR® rated steamers are the way to go!
Sources:directenergy.com
energystar.gov