Equipment Glossary
Definitions of the terms you will meet in spec sheets and quotes for commercial kitchen, laundry, meal delivery and lab washing equipment.
- Barrier washer
- A washer-extractor mounted in a wall between two rooms, loaded from the soiled side and unloaded on the clean side. Used in healthcare laundries to separate soiled and clean linen.
- Boiler-based steam
- A combi oven design that generates steam in a separate boiler and feeds it into the cooking cabinet, as opposed to injecting water directly into the cabinet.
- Combi oven
- A commercial oven that combines convection heat and steam, alone or together, so one cabinet can roast, bake, steam and hold food.
- Cook-chill
- A food service workflow in which food is cooked, rapidly chilled, stored and reheated shortly before service.
- Cook-serve
- A workflow in which food is cooked and served hot without a chilling and reheating step.
- Flatwork ironer
- A heated roller machine that dries and presses flat linen such as sheets, tablecloths and napkins in one pass.
- G-force (extraction)
- A measure of how strongly a washer-extractor drum spins during extraction. Higher G-force leaves less water in the linen and shortens drying time.
- Hard-mount washer-extractor
- A washer-extractor without internal suspension that must be anchored to a suitable foundation.
- Hotel pan
- A standard stainless steel food pan used in U.S. commercial kitchens; full-size hotel pans measure about 12 by 20 inches.
- NSF listing
- Certification by NSF International that food equipment meets public health and sanitation standards; often required by U.S. health codes.
- Retherm
- Short for rethermalization: reheating chilled, pre-plated food on a cart or station shortly before it is served.
- Sheet pan
- A flat, rimmed baking pan; full-size sheet pans measure about 18 by 26 inches and are used to rate combi oven capacity in the U.S.
- Soft-mount washer-extractor
- A washer-extractor with internal suspension that absorbs vibration, so it can stand on a normal floor without a special foundation.
- Thermal disinfection
- Disinfection achieved by holding a defined temperature for a defined time during washing, rather than relying only on chemicals.
- Three-phase power
- An electrical supply with three alternating currents, common in commercial buildings and required by many large commercial machines.
- UL listing
- Certification by UL Solutions that a product meets applicable U.S. safety standards; ETL and CSA marks are recognized alternatives for many products.
- Washer-extractor
- A commercial washing machine that washes and then spins at high speed to extract water before the linen goes to the dryer.
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