Chafing dishes keep food warm for specific periods of time; they are mostly preferred to display hot food in buffets, parties, catered events, and even hotels for a polished presentation.
It is very noticeable how attractive chafing dishes are, which makes your food irresistible due to the massive turn up of guests. But wait a minute, are all foods best for chafing dishes? If not, which ones are the best? Well, worry less and allow me to take you through which foods are best for chafing dishes.
Types of food best for chafing dishes
Foods exist in varieties in the market today. Understanding the types of food to include in your menu for your guests makes a big difference in how well your guests or clients take the occasion.
Here are some of the foods best for chafing dishes for your party city.
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Pasta sauces
A pasta sauce is defined as a sauce made with a puree of tomatoes. A tomato puree is a whisked combination of strained and cooked tomatoes. Please consider that it is different from tomato sauce since it is thicker and has a deeper flavor than tomato sauce.
After you have already cooked your pasta, you need a food warmer to keep them warm. So, place it in the chaffing dish to keep it warm and allow your guests to serve and enjoy the meal.
Don’t forget to add a good amount of olive oil and evenly mix the sauce with the olive oil.
The olive oil adds moisture and prevents the pasta sauce from sticking to the chaffing dish.
One of the most common cooking methods frequently used to cook pasta sauce is boiling. Allow me to take you through the steps involved;
- Use a large pot and adequately fill it with water. A large pot gives room for the pasta to be quickly round in easily.
- Salt your water and boil the water rapidly before adding the pasta. -Salty water adds flavor to the sauce. Quickly boiling the water removes the outside of the pasta, preventing it from sticking together.
- Stir-Stir the pasta sauce immediately after you drop it in the water to prevent it from sticking together, especially at the sides or bottom parts of the pot.
- Check the package for timing-This is done to test if the pasta sauce is cooked correctly.
- Save some cooking water-While the pasta is boiling, it releases starch, which thickens and adds flavor to the sauce. That is the reason behind saving some cooking water.
- Drain the sauce-This is done to remove most of the water; however, don’t let it dry off since the starch will firm up, causing the pasta to stick together.
- Add pasta to the sauce-Immediately add pasta to your sauce after it has drained off.
- Add some water-water adds a bit of flavor to the pasta.
It is also possible to cook pasta with tomato sauce by simply mixing some tomato sauce with water and boiling it. Then you drop the pasta into it and allow it to cook for about 15 minutes while stirring it from time to time to prevent it from sticking.
A delicious tomato sauce holds up great in a chafing dish.
Keep in mind that cooking the pasta correctly depends on how you balance your time.
Chocolate fondue
Who throws a dinner party with only desserts and forgets about a chocolate fondue? A good dinner party is defined by serving the guests desserts and chocolate fondue in a fast and straightforward chafer.
Chocolate fondue is composed of chocolate melted with milk or cream to dip fruits. A fondue is a dish consisting of chocolate or melted cheese into which small pieces of bread, fruit, and meat, among others, are put.
Making a chocolate fondue is not a pretty heavy task. Below is a step-by-step guide.
For the fondue, you will need the following ingredients; a bar of chocolate, salt, ½ cup of heavy cream, and ½ of whole milk. While for the dipping options, you will need; candied ginger, strawberries, apple slices, banana pieces each cut into 1-inch chunks, and dried fruits, i.e., apricots.
First, heat the cream with a pinch of salt over medium heat. Then, add the chocolate after removing it from the heat. Stir the chocolate until completely smooth. Immediately, serve it with dippers of your choice.
Salads
A stylish presentation of food is all about creativity, since everyone needs food. Elegantly displaying your salads in a chafing dish gives the guests a second glance and shows your imagination on how uniquely they are displayed.
It’s a simple but elegant way to remind people that there is more to a salad than cauliflower.
Salads are a mixture of uncooked vegetables suitable for eating raw. They contain vitamin A and Vitamin Fiber, among others. Eating salads is essential to your health since your body is enriched with nutrients.
They are best kept chilled in a large chafing dish filled with ice.
Seafood
Most people prefer seafood compared to red meat due to its numerous health benefits.
When properly spread out in a chafing dish, it can even draw the attention of unrelenting meat lovers.
The scope and width of chafers make it easy to display and present warm food, a variety of seafood savory in a unique way that ensures all the guests’ needs are looked after.
Buns or bread
Nothing is more comfortable than warm buns or bread. It is one of the compulsory foods people enjoy including on their menu.
Most of the time, guests always expect buns or bread in the buffet, especially when they are warm. Placing buns or bread in a like chafing dish lets them stay warm and fresh for some time.
A bun is a small non-sweet bread roll filled with savory fillings, while the bread is made of yeast, flour, and water blended and baked.
Take into account that a bun is different from bread in size and shape.
Sauced meats
The best part of a chafing dish is that it doesn’t dry out food; however, the longer the food stays in the word, the dryer it gets. In addition, when more of the surface is exposed to air, the higher the chance of bacteria growth.
As a result, a chafing dish is best used in meat sauce. It keeps the meat warm and free from bacteria until ready to serve.
Chili
A chili powder is easy to make and keep warm in a chafing dish. It is made from ground chilies and other spices.
It’s one of those dishes that lasts longer the more it stays warm in a chafer.
Baked appetizers
Chafing dishes exist in various shapes and sizes. However, large containers are best for baked appetizers. They can hold a large number of cakes for birthdays or outdoor parties.
They are the best for storage since appetizers are kept fresh and free from bacteria. You can also combine your appetizers in one dish, depending on how you want it.
Crab or Spinach Dip
As dips work well in crock pots, they also work best in chaffing dishes.
When using the chafing dish for bread, you can choose multipurpose since it works with the dip well.
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Final thoughts
As much as chafing dishes are used in buffets or parties to keep food warm, please consider that not all types of food maintain optimum serving conditions to be displayed in a chafer.
Knowing the type of food to be used in a chafer helps you know what to include on the menu.
Understanding the menu helps you save time and provide excellent service to your guests. The guests are likely to recommend your services to others, resulting in success in your business.