In the commercial kitchen that prepares soups, stews and pastas, a stock pot range can add some additional fire power for busy times. A stock pot range is similar to a hot plate but is a more robust version, designed to hold much larger cookware and provide higher heating power. Stock pot ranges have a very robust construction because the items they support can be very heavy. A gallon of water weighs just more than 8 lbs. so a stock pot with 25 gallons of liquid would weigh 200 pounds plus the weight of the stock pot itself. Heavy-gauge steel legs support the weight. For small batch or less weighty cooking, a commercial hot plate may be all that is needed, rather than a stock pot range.
You’ll find that most stock pot ranges have a heavy duty cast iron grate. These are highly durable as the cast-iron is resistant to breaking, scratching and chipping and can tolerate a heavy duty use. Cast iron also retains heat well and it will stay hot even as heat is absorbed into cook wear so that you cook faster. Grates will be fully removeable making cleaning easier.
Burners on most stock pot ranges are often made up of two rings, one inside the other. These rings are independently operated by two heat control knobs. This allows you to use only one ring for low temperatures applications like holding or serving, and two rings for high heat applications like simmering or boiling. Having two rings gives the user more control and makes the stock pot range more energy efficient. The BTU of a stock pot range is a good indicator of the power of the unit for comparison between ranges. It is common to find units with 90,000 BTU’s which is three times the power of an ordinary gas burner. You may find units that offer more than 100,000 BTU’s and some even go near or above 200,000 BTU’s.
Adding a stock pot range to your commercial foodservice operation can be a great power boost and takes only a small amount of space. Cook’s carries stock pot ranges from FSE, Wolf Range, Comstock Castle and more.
