Cook & Hold Cabinets for Foodservice Applications

Cook and hold cabinets are ovens with the ability to cook the food product and switch to holding mode to maintain product temperature and freshness. Ovens will be tested in a laboratory setting. This project will encompass applying an industry-accepted standard test method to up to five different models of electric cook-and-hold ovens to support the development of a cook and hold oven database.

Cook-and-hold ovens are appliances with a closed heating cavity designed specifically for low-temperature cooking, followed by a holding temperature at a specified temperature. The cooking process is slow and yields 15% to 20% more food product due to moisture retention. The ovens come in fully-insulated under-counter stainless steel cabinets and are non-venting which allows for installation without a ventilation hood. Ovens are stackable to provide extra capacity without occupying additional floor space. The kitchen staffs at steakhouses, schools and hotels all cook with these ovens. This project assesses the energy efficiency level of nine electric cook-and-hold ovens and seeks to determine an appliance baseline and a minimum energy efficiency level necessary to qualify for the food service qualifying product list. The food service qualifying product list identifies the most efficient commercial kitchen appliances within a specific appliance category. The qualifying appliances are eligible to receive incentives for their use. Southern California Edison (SCE) examined each cook-and-hold oven for various performance metrics. The test procedure measured the cook-and-hold oven’s energy input rate, preheat energy consumption, energy utilization factor, production capacity, and product yield according to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) F 3051-14 Standard Test Methods for Performance of Cook-and-hold ovens. Southern California Edison’s Foodservice Technology Center (FTC) in Irwindale, CA performed the testing. Cook time, cavity temperature, cook-and-hold oven power input, and the weight and temperature of the test food were carefully measured. The test food used in this study was choice beef top round roasts. From the extensive measurements collected, cook-and-hold oven energy utilization factor and numerous heat rate and uniformity factors were calculated. The test data provides key information to help determine the operational costs and the percentage of total kitchen productivity a single appliance can deliver.