As a caterer you're likely surrounded by stainless steel. Not only is your catering equipment fashioned from high quality stainless (is it? You didn't buy the cheap stuff did you?) but your kitchen and cooking environments are usually filled with stainless appliances, work surfaces, utensils and more. Maintaining the look of your kitchen or commercial cook space is essential as some clients will want to see your work area - this is after all where the food gets made.
Catering Equipment - There are numerous products on the market designed to clean and polish stainless steel and many make outrageous claims about how well they work. The reason stainless needs to be cleaned so often is because of how easily it becomes marred. It streaks easily, food and stains show up easily and fingerprints stick all over it. It's just easier to see grease and grime on that highly polished surface. To help keep your stainless clean without needing to rely on hyped up products, try these tricks:
Clean with the Grain - Everything has a grain, whether it's natural wood or manufactured stainless steel. Look closely at your work surfaces and your stainless catering equipment and you'll see the grain of the stainless steel. When you're cleaning, don't rub against the grain. Doing so can leave abnormal surface scratches and grooves. Clean and follow the grain to easily restore the polish of your stainless.
Don't Use Abrasives - While many cleaning utensils state they can remove the toughest grease and stains from metal, you want to avoid using abrasive cleaning tools on your stainless steel. The more abrasive the item the more likely you are to ruin the finish of your stainless and even scratch the surface. Things like steel wool should never be used for tough, stubborn spots.
Cleaners - If hot water and soap aren't doing it for you to get your stainless catering equipment and work surfaces clean then you can graduate to some common household chemicals to renew the finish of your stainless. Before you do anything with cleaning agents, always try hot water and a terry cloth first to clean as much as the area as possible. This will save you from having to use a lot of expensive chemicals.
Glass Cleaner - While it's not the most ideal cleaning agent for some stains, it works wonderfully for removing fingerprints on stainless. Appliances seem to collect the most fingerprints but your chafing dishes can get a little smudged up from handling before setup. Use glass cleaner to spot clean your stainless whenever necessary (just don't do it around the food).
Mild Detergents - It's fine to use common dishwashing detergent to tackle grease stains, just rinse the stainless thoroughly to remove any leftover residue. There are also several agents on the market designed specifically for cleaning stainless steel. These are designed more to mask scratches and deal with staining and polishing. Don't rely on these products to clean and sanitize your catering equipment.
Lastly, you can also clean your stainless using some common household items such as vegetable oil (for polishing) along with club soda or vinegar to remove staining within your stainless steel catering equipment.
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,
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