Choosing the Right Milk Cooler: Cold Wall or Forced Air?

February 11, 2018

In a restaurant, milk is an essential to have on hand for coffee and other café-style beverages, for serving with kids’ meals, and as a key ingredient in many recipes.

Keeping your milk properly chilled can be difficult without the proper restaurant equipment. Luckily, there is a specialized piece of restaurant equipment just for keeping milk cold. You can reduce labor and keep your milk fresher with the power of a milk cooler. There are two types of milk coolers to choose from: cold wall and forced air.  Let’s take a look at the two and see why the differences matter.  

Cold Wall Milk Coolers for Your Restaurant Equipment

This type of restaurant equipment has a wall with an evaporator and internal tubes that create a cold wall in the unit. The cold wall relies on the unit being closed most of the time and the milk being packed in tight.

Despite the name, “cold wall milk cooler,” this piece of restaurant equipment does not get mounted on the wall. You can roll it around and plug it in wherever it is needed. Of course, as with most other restaurant equipment, you will want to make sure that your outlets can handle the equipment.

A cold wall cooler is a great piece of restaurant equipment for those who are looking to store a lot of milk at one time. Because the units have large doors that allow you to put in or take out a large amount of milk, you can clean the units easily and make sure that they are up to health standards for food service.

Forced Air Milk Coolers for Your Restaurant Equipment

A forced air unit is probably more along the lines of what you imagine when you think of a milk cooler. This type of restaurant equipment uses fans to circulate cool air over an evaporator and throughout the unit. At the same time, the fans remove hot air from the milk cooler.

To save on space, look for milk cooler with fans located near the top. A top-mounted set of fans will ensure this restaurant equipment takes up less space than most other options.

A forced air milk cooler is a type of restaurant equipment that is versatile enough for just about any kind of application, especially if your milk cooler isn’t always fully stocked. However, these systems do tend to cost more in terms of electricity. They also tend to be harder to clean than other restaurant equipment because the fans make accessing the units somewhat awkward.

Whether you’re looking at milk coolers or any other type of restaurant equipment, choosing the right one can make a real difference for you and your restaurant. Analyze the needs of your restaurant to decide which type of milk cooler is right for you.

Kitchen Supplies: Should You Go Local With Ingredients?

Kitchen Supplies: Should You Go Local With Ingredients?

If you own a restaurant in Little Rock, you’ve certainly heard of the trend toward going local.  Local kitchen supplies, local ingredients, even local art as décor. There are a lot of great reasons to buy local – your money will stay in and support your community, for...

read more
Commercial Kitchen Fun: Why Salty & Sweet?

Commercial Kitchen Fun: Why Salty & Sweet?

All cooks who consider making desserts know that salty and sweet is a winning combination. Salted caramel shows up in hundreds of recipes. Candy bars combine salted nuts with chocolate. We dip French fries in ice cream. We put pineapple on pizza. People even put salt...

read more
Questions to Ask Before You Invest in Kitchen Equipment

Questions to Ask Before You Invest in Kitchen Equipment

When you invest in kitchen equipment, you want to make sure you’re getting exactly what you need and that it will last you a long time. It can be overwhelming to think about everything you need when you’re starting a restaurant. Even if you’re just trying to add or...

read more
Uh Oh. Handling Restaurant Disaster Recovery

Uh Oh. Handling Restaurant Disaster Recovery

No one wants to think about a major disaster hitting their restaurant. Unfortunately, it can happen at any time. In Arkansas, large areas (including Little Rock) were declared disaster areas as recently as last summer. Severe flooding, wind damage, and tornados are...

read more
Restaurant Supplies You Need: Technology in Your Business

Restaurant Supplies You Need: Technology in Your Business

Every business is impacted by technology, and restaurants are no exception. There are dozens of ways to use technology to build your business, improve your efficiency, and serve customers better. Sometimes restaurant owners feel like they’re too busy to implement new...

read more
Key Restaurant Equipment for a Fast-Casual Restaurant

Key Restaurant Equipment for a Fast-Casual Restaurant

Fast-casual dining has changed how America eats and has impacted what people expect in terms of convenience, price, and food quality. Generally, fast-casual food is affordable and higher-quality than pure fast food. It’s a step above a McDonald’s, without the price or...

read more
Equipment for Your Restaurant: Choosing a Restaurant Concept

Equipment for Your Restaurant: Choosing a Restaurant Concept

Some people who start a restaurant know exactly what they want. They either buy an existing restaurant with a concept, or they create the menu based on their family traditions or ethnic flair. However, not everyone who wants to start a restaurant knows exactly what...

read more
Restaurant Supplies: Using Herbs to Add Flavor to Your Dishes

Restaurant Supplies: Using Herbs to Add Flavor to Your Dishes

If you’re looking for new ways to attract people to your restaurant, consider the ways you can add flavor without adding fat or calories. Consumers are more and more concerned about the quality of what they eat, both at home and in a restaurant. Home cooks generally...

read more
Commercial Kitchen Debate: Stainless Steel vs. Non-Stick Pans

Commercial Kitchen Debate: Stainless Steel vs. Non-Stick Pans

If you run a commercial kitchen, you probably have a lot of ways of doing things that just seem right to you. For whatever reason, you decided between a gas and electric stove. You made decisions about dishware. And you probably have a position on the stainless steel...

read more
Restaurant Equipment: How  to Handle Gluten Allergies

Restaurant Equipment: How to Handle Gluten Allergies

In the last five years, you’ve probably seen a dramatic increase in the number of restaurant customers you have that are avoiding gluten. Some of them simply don’t like it, and others have a life-threatening reaction if they eat it. As a restaurant owner, you want to...

read more
Reduce Food Waste: Proper Kitchen Equipment and More

Reduce Food Waste: Proper Kitchen Equipment and More

Food waste is a reality in any commercial restaurant, but it doesn’t have to be accepted blindly. Too many restaurant owners or head chefs feel as though there is nothing they can do about this waste. Fortunately, there’s a lot you can do to reduce food waste in your...

read more
Restaurant Supplies: Furnishing an Outdoor Sitting Area

Restaurant Supplies: Furnishing an Outdoor Sitting Area

Outdoor dining is a very enjoyable experience for many people. In Little Rock the weather is generally pleasant, although humidity may make it hard to eat outside on the hottest summer days. Adding an outdoor sitting area to your restaurant can be a great way to...

read more
Commercial Kitchen Fun: The Wonder of Chocolate

Commercial Kitchen Fun: The Wonder of Chocolate

If there’s anything that almost everyone loves as much as coffee, it’s chocolate. In fact, there are multiple celebrations of chocolate each year. Chocolate Day is on July 7th, because historically that’s when chocolate was first brought to Europe in 1550. Don’t miss...

read more
Cooking Equipment Spotlight: Safe Indoor Grilling

Cooking Equipment Spotlight: Safe Indoor Grilling

Indoor grilling is a great way for your restaurant to delight customers without having to run a big charcoal operation out back. There’s nothing like grilled meat and vegetables to put a great aroma in the air and encourage hungry diners to dig in. There are two...

read more