CVap® 101 - Lesson 6

Cooking Traditional method versus the CVap cooking method

Winston Industries has brought true innovation to the foodservice market with Controlled Vapor Technology (CVap).  This unique dual heat system uses moist vapor heat to control food temperature and dry air heat to control moisture evaporation.  Combined, the two heat sources give users much more control over food quality than traditional equipment.  Below is a brief discussion of the differences between the Traditional Process and the CVap Process as they relate to cooking and holding.

Traditional Process - Cooking
1. Food is placed in a traditional oven at 40×F.
2. Dry air heat alone raises food temperature slowly, because most of heat is evaporating food moisture.
3. Moisture fills oven, so temperature may now increase more rapidly to 135×F, minimum safe temperature.
4. Ideal serving temperature has been reached - food will have lost moisture.
5. Food temperature rises through serving temperature; is overcooked, dry, and tough.

CVap Process - Cooking
1. Food is placed in CVap cook & hold at 40×F.
2. Vapor quickly raises temperature through Danger Zone – no heat lost to evaporate food moisture.
3. Food moisture does not evaporate.
4. Food temperature levels off at selected ideal temperature.
5. CVap cook & hold maintains just-cooked temperature and moisture for hours.
 

Traditional Process - Holding
1. Food is placed in a traditional holding cabinet.
2. The Cook Zone represents food's stored energy that carries over from cooking, which can create overcooking due to lack of food temperature control in traditional holding cabinets.
3. Food temperature passes through ideal serving temperature zone and continues to drop as food moisture drops.
4. Food moisture immediately begins evaporating.
5. Because evaporation is a cooling process, food temperature eventually drops into Danger Zone, and is no longer safe to serve.

CVap Process-Holding
1. Food is placed in CVap holding cabinet.
2. The Cook Zone represents food's stored energy that carries over from cooking, which is minimized due to precise CVap food temperature control.
3. Food temperature levels off at selected ideal temperature.
4. Food moisture level remains constant.
5. Danger Zone indicates unsafe holding temperatures (below HACCP guidelines).

Conclusion
Controlled Vapor Technology is designed to deliver better food quality and greater food safety.  The CVap process quickly boosts food temperature up to a safe level, and CVap's vapor heat prevents food from dropping back down to dangerous levels.  Evaporation control means food retains more of its moisture, flavor, and nutrients.  CVap does this without sacrificing quality or hold time.  The traditional process, as illustrated above, will get food to temperature, but without close monitoring it will continue to increase temperature until food quality suffers.  The CVap process is the first true innovation in foodservice in years.

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Continue on to lesson #7 "Understanding Heat Transfer" Click here