Posted: 3/19/2009 2:37:07 PM EDT
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ok, here is the question.
If you had the opportunity to design a room designed for food processing from scratch, what would be in it. I'm thinking about 20x20. A 'cold storage' room to hang meat for aging prior to butchering, stainless steel counters, sink. More counters for packaging, so you could do some assembly line type stuff. Floor drains one in 'cold storage' one in main room. what type of walls and flooring would you use so you could steam clean the whole thing? Band Saw, Meat grinder, Grain mill. Any smoker would not be inside. Would you put the refridgerator and/or freezer in it? gimme your thoughts |
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I think you definitely hit the high points: floor drains that work, washable walls, plenty of space for work tables.
A cooler that opened into the work area but could be loaded from the outside would be nice. I could take or leave a freezer in the work area. Plenty of electrical receptacles and multiple sinks would be nice. I'd reserve grain grinding for a different area as it's dusty. |
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It sounds like you might be thinking about a commerical kitchen. I would ask the health department what all is required. If you're looking far ahead, it might be nice to have an inspectable kitchen since you're going to this expense. You never know, you might want to start selling your own BBQ sauce one day.
R. |
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I agree with Feral on this. You're probably going to want to keep the meat section separate from the grain processing/canning area. Otherwise, you run into all kinds of cross contamination issues. I'd also keep cold storage nearby, but not in the room, or directly adjacent, for the same reason.
Aside from that, I'd tile the floors and walls, and use the cheapest stone countertops i could find. That way, you could steam clean and bleach everything, and not have to worry about it. And make sure you keep the drain clean. |
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Quoted:
I guess where I differ is that I envision a seperate kitchen, with a stove. cooking in the house in the summer will run you out if there is no AC. Granddad's place had just that. A Summer Kitchen with a stove for canning just steps from the house. Grandma did her canning there and the root cellar was just steps from the backdoor of the summer kitchen. It was 12 by 30 or so. The firewood was stored there as well. We kids played there in the rain so as not to drive the grownups up the wall. IIRC the freezers were there as well. |