Maintaining consistent food portions is extremely important, whether you’re operating a school cafeteria or restaurant. Portion control allows restaurant owners to maintain control over how much food goes on each plate. Today we will take a look at the different tools that are used for portion control in the commercial kitchen.

A disher is a spring-loaded scoop that is popular in many kitchens for their ease of use and ability to easily assist in food cost control. Portion control dishers are typically made out of stainless steel or a combination of stainless steel and plastic. Portion control dishers are perfect for soft foods, such as portioning cookie dough, meatballs, mashed potatoes and more. You can find color coded dishers in a variety of sizes for easy identification.

A spoodle is the combination of a spoon and a ladle, increasing the speed of serving time and ensuring accurate and consistent portion sizes. These portion control utensils can have round, square or oval bowls and are typically constructed out of plastic or a combination of stainless steel and plastic. Spoodles can be found either solid or perforated. The perforated spoodles are typically used to measure ingredients that may be kept in liquid but need to be drained for a recipe or used to remove extra liquids before serving to customers. You will also find that spoodles are color coded in a variety of sizes for easy identification.

Measuring spoons are perfect for when you need to measure small amounts of either dry or liquid ingredients. These portion utensils are typically made of stainless steel or plastic with round or oval bowls. Typically measuring spoons are sold in sets ranging from 3-6 pieces, however you can purchase them separately if needed.

Measuring Cups come in two types, one for dry ingredients and one for liquids. Dry measuring cups are typically constructed out of stainless steel and have handles. These cups are designed to be used for a single measurement and allow cooks to level off ingredients for accuracy. Liquid measuring cups are graduated containers that are typically made of glass, plastic, or metal. These portion utensils are used to accurately measure small amounts of liquids.

Ladles are designed for scooping and serving all different types of liquids. These utensils are usually made out of stainless steel, plastic, or a combination of the two. Ladle bowls can either have a rounded or flat bottom and are the preferred self-serve utensil for salad dressings, sauces, soups, and stews for buffet services.

Scales can be found in almost every kitchen, using scales can save both time and money. Scales can either be mechanical or electronic digital scales. Mechanical scales are the simpler and inexpensive option, however digital scales provide fast, accurate and easy to read results. Depending on the range of weights and products you are looking to weigh, it may be necessary to have two scales.

At Cook’s we have a wide range of portion control utensils in-stock and available for same day shipping. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions regarding the purchase of new foodservice equipment, we are happy to assist you.