Managing food quality while minimizing food waste is the major concern for foodservice operations that batch prepare and hold food for guests. Ceramic food pans allow food on buffet and serving lines to keep its quality longer compared to alternative pans made of either plastic, which fails to retain cold and/or heat, or stainless steel, which continues to cook the food. The Hall China Company, the largest manufacturer of specialty chinaware and part of the HLC family of companies, is the only source where caterers can find durable, easy-to-clean, American-made ceramic baking and serving pans.
When food pans fail to retain their temperature or stay hot enough to continue to cook the food, the food must be replaced more often because it gets cold or dries out, increasing food waste and cost. Even worse, when food dries out because of continued cooking, water is often added to slow the cooking process, thereby causing the food to lose its flavor. Because ceramic food pans maintain temperature without cooking food further, they are the only holding pans recommended for delicate menu items such as eggs or heavy creams.
Ceramic cookware is far more scratch resistant and therefore more easily cleaned and sanitized than stainless steel. The ceramic material is lead free and highly durable for years of service. Ceramics can be heated to moderately high temperatures, so food can be safely refrigerated in it and then rethermed.
Hall China ceramic food pans come in eight sizes, including two deep sizes.