Blodgett R11021 User Manual

Blodgett-Combi
Cooking Guide

Tips and tricks for getting the most
from your Combi Synergy oven

R11021 Rev A (12/03)

Welcome to Blodgett COMBI. Your Synergy combi/oven-steamer is a versatile, easy to use tool
that will help you produce better food with less time and effort. As with any new equipment, a
little orientation at the outset can save frustration and trouble later. Blodgett COMBI authorizes a
trained service agent to inspect all new installations at no cost to you. If you have not had a
startup inspection, please call the Blodgett Service Department at 800-331-5842. You will be
given the number of your local service company so you can schedule a startup at a convenient time.

This guide is organized in three sections:

• A general explanation of how each mode works and when to use it;

• Special tips and techniques on preparing items using the unique properties of your

combi/oven steamer;

• Time and temperature tables with typical products and how to cook them.

Your comments and suggestions for improving this guide are always welcome. Please feel free to
contact us at 800-331-5842 for service assistance, cooking advice, availability of accessories or
general questions.

Enjoy your SYNERGY COMBI oven/steamer!

Blodgett Combi Cooking Guide

STEAM MODE

When to use the Steam Mode

The steam mode is ideal for products that
are typically boiled, simmered or poached,
including vegetables, rice, shellfish, and
waxy potatoes. Many seafood items lend
themselves to poaching in the steam mode,
as do some poultry and meat dishes. Rice
requires the addition of water or a cooking
liquid when steaming. Cooking dry pasta in
the steam mode is not recommended.

How the Steam Mode Works

The fan circulates pressureless steam
throughout the cooking cavity, producing a
convection effect. This allows the steam
mode to cook at lower temperatures than
pressurized steam cookers without signifi­cant increases in cooking times. Pressureless
steam preserves the texture and color of
foods better than boiling or pressure cook­ing. The lower temperature does not destroy
vitamin content.

Tips for Cooking in the Steam Mode

Cooking times should be measured from the
time the window is fully fogged over, indi­cating that the cooking cavity has complete­ly filled with steam. Because your unit is
cooking with pressureless convection steam,
maximizing the exposed surface area of the
food to be cooked will yield best results.
Covering the pans with film or foil, using
deep pans, or crowding the pans too close
together without room for air circulation will
slow down the steaming process consider­ably and may result in uneven cooking.

Shallow (2-1/2”) steam pans are recom­mended for best results. Solid foods which
do not require liquid to be added or saved
will cook fastest in perforated pans. This is
especially true of frozen foods, which tend
to accumulate condensate in solid pans.

Your steamer is a pressureless cooker. This
allows you to open the door at any time in
the cooking cycle to add or remove prod­ucts. Exercise caution when opening the
door to prevent steam burns. Open the door
slightly to allow the steam to dissipate for a
few seconds, then open the door fully for
access to reduce the chance of injuries from
steam.

Steam On Demand

This EXCLUSIVE blodgett feature allows you
to inject up to eight minutes of steam at any
time during the cook cycle. A simple timer
and push button combination puts you in
control. This feature is great for crusty
breads, to retard browning and to kick-start
the cooking process with heavy loads.

Vario Steam

While the steam mode is generally
212°F/100°C, this EXCLUSIVE blodgett fea­ture allows you to poach in the steam mode
at approximately 170-180°F/77-82°C.

2

Blodgett Combi Cooking Guide

HOT AIR MODE

3

When to use the Hot Air Mode

The Hot Air Mode is best suited to those
items that require a dry cooking environ­ment or rapid browning. Most bakery items
(cookies, cakes, muffins, etc.) will be cooked
in the Hot Air Mode, although many yeast­leavened products (breads and rolls, crois­sants, Danish pastries) will yield excellent
results in Combi Mode as well. The Hot Air
Mode can be used to pre-brown meats for
braising or to intensify the final browning of
roasts that have been completed in Combi
Mode.

How the Hot Air Mode Works

The Hot Air Mode operates exactly like the
familiar convection oven. When adapting
recipes written for static ovens (e.g., deck
ovens or restaurant-range type ovens), you
will generally need to reduce temperatures
25-50°F/15-30°C. Moving (convected) hot
air transfers heat to your food more efficient­ly than static air, allowing you to cook at
lower temperatures.

Set the thermostat to the desired tempera­ture and allow the oven to fully preheat
before beginning to cook. The small red
thermometer light next to the thermostat
will light up during preheating. When it
goes out, the oven is up to temperature.
This light will come on again periodically
during operation, indicating that the hot air
elements or burners are active.

Tips for Cooking in the Hot Air Mode

Because your unit is cooking with convected
hot air, maximizing the exposed surface area
of the food to be cooked will yield the best
results. Covering the pans with film and/or
foil, using deep pans or crowding the pans
too close together without room for air cir­culation will slow down the cooking process
considerably and may result in uneven cook­ing.

Cakes may be baked using pan inserts for
greater volume and square corners. Use spe­cialized pans (e.g., muffin tins) as necessary.

If you observe over-browning around the
edges of the product with a light or under­cooked center area, the temperature may be
set too high for that product. Undercooked
interiors with a burnt or overdone surface
are also an indication that the temperature is
too high.

Blodgett Combi Cooking Guide

COMBI MODE

4

When to use the Combi Mode

The Combi Mode is ideal for most high-pro­tein, center-of-the-plate items: roasted
meats, baked poultry and baked fish. It does
an excellent job on casserole type dishes
such as lasagna, baked macaroni and meat­loaf which must be cooked to a safe internal
temperature without overcooking the exteri­or. Braising meats such as spare ribs, corned
beef or pot roast is easily done in Combi
Mode at temperatures of 225-250°F/105­120°C. Breads, rolls and other yeast-raised
products will exhibit greater "oven-spring"
when baked in the Combi Mode. Specialty
breads such as French bread, soft pretzels
and bagels are also possible.

How the Combi Mode Works

The Combi Mode combines the effects of
both convection steam and hot air convec­tion for improved yields, shorter cooking
times and juicier products. It will reduce, but
not eliminate, browning (carmelization is a
function of temperature, increasing at higher
temperature settings). Because foods cooked
in the Combi Mode are not drying out as
they would in a typical convection oven,
they brown more slowly, allowing the heat
to reach the interior of the product before
the outside becomes scorched or dried out.
As the steam produced in Combi Mode con­denses on the food surface, it efficiently
transfers its heat to the food, resulting in
shorter average cooking times than in a simi­lar dry oven.

The COMBI Mode gives priority to the hot
air thermostat setting. The oven bakes and
roasts in a similar manner to the familiar
convection oven, but adds steam intermit­tently throughout the cooking process. The

steam production is automatic and is ther­mostatically controlled to produce the opti­mum humidity for the baking or roasting
temperature selected (the ideal relative
humidity at a given temperature is predeter­mined: too little steam would allow excess
shrinkage, while too much steam would
waste energy as the oven struggles to main­tain the hot air temperature setting). Your
COMBI produces steam and hot air alter­nately during the cooking cycle for energy
conservation; both steam and hot air are
present in the cooking cavity simultaneously
for optimal food preparation.

Tips for Cooking in the COMBI Mode

The COMBI Mode uses hot air in the same
manner as a convection oven; recipes adapt­ed for convection ovens translate well to
COMBI cooking. Recipes developed for static
ovens without moving air will typically
require a temperature reduction of 25­50°F/15-30°C. Because steam transfers heat
more efficiently than dry air, you will gener­ally experience shorter cooking times in the
COMBI Mode than in a comparable convec­tion oven. A 25% reduction in cooking time
is common, although actual results will vary
widely by product and original cooking
technique. Lowering the temperature
beyond the initial adaptation for convection
oven cooking and keeping the original bak­ing and roasting times will optimize yields.
Most operators will choose a combination of
slightly faster cooking times and slightly
higher yields. The choice of which to opti­mize is yours.

Shallow pans are recommended for best
results. Both the convected steam and con­vected hot air transfer heat to the food's sur­face. Increasing the food surface area relative

Blodgett Combi Cooking Guide

COMBI MODE

5

to its volume (i.e., multiple shallow pans
instead of a few deep pans) will give the
fastest cooking times and most even cook­ing. Covering the food with film and/or foil
will defeat the convection effect, and is not
necessary to prevent scorching or drying
because of the steam present during COMBI
cooking. Pressureless steam is present in the
cooking compartment during COMBI baking
and roasting. The steam remains dry at tem­peratures above approximately 275°F/
135°C, and will not appear as condensate
on the door. Exercise caution when opening
the door to prevent steam burns. Open the
door slightly to allow the steam to dissipate
for a few seconds, then open the door fully
for access to reduce the chance of injuries
from steam.

If additional browning is desired after the
food is almost fully cooked, switch to hot air
and increase the temperature for the last few
minutes until the desired color is achieved.

Rethermalizing in COMBI Mode

Rethermalization is the process of bringing
fully cooked, chilled food from storage tem­perature to safe serving temperature without
loss of quality. COMBI Mode lends itself to
reheating food without the typical drying
and overbrowning. Foods to be rethermal­ized should be in shallow pans with the
product distributed in an even thickness.
Temperatures between 250-300°F/120­150°C are typically used for rethermaliza­tion.