Broilers & Cheese Melters
Choose from a wide selection of commercial cheese melters, salamander broilers, and gyro machines here at Rapids Wholesale, designed to meet the needs of your food-service establishment. These units are perfect for quickly melting cheese, finishing dishes, or adding that final touch to your meals.
What Is a Salamander Broiler or Cheese Melter?
A salamander broiler, also called a cheese melter, is a type of culinary broiler that is commonly used for overhead grilling and for melting cheese onto sandwiches. Additionally, a cheesemelter can be used to toast sandwiches, to brown gratin dishes, and to caramelize desserts like crème brûlée.
Essentially, a commercial cheese melter and a commercial salamander broiler are the same appliance. However, they can be further classified depending on their usage.
Differences Between a Restaurant Cheese Melter and a Restaurant Salamander Unit
A restaurant cheese melter, as its name suggests, is used to melt cheese and can be considered a smaller version of salamander broilers. This type of appliance generally utilizes simple heating elements such as calrod or quartz that helps heat up and melt cheeses like cheddar on top of a hamburger, blue cheese on top of a steak, or the cheese topping used for soups such as French onion soup. Cheese melters can also be used to “finish” food like barbecues or thick burgers because these types of foods will often burn outside long before the inside or the middle is cooked. A cheese melter will ensure that these foods will be cooked evenly.
Salamander grill units or broiler units are considered more powerful than cheese melters. A commercial salamander unit can be used to fully cook food items like meats, steaks, lamb chops, pork chops, and the like. A salamander restaurant unit uses radiant heat to cook food in the same way that a charbroiler and commercial griddle does. An electric salamander broiler, however, tends to be smaller than a charbroiler or a commercial griddle, so it is typically used for specialty menu items.
Regardless of whether you require either a commercial cheese melter or a restaurant salamander unit, there are several factors to consider before actually going out to purchase one. An important factor to look at is if you want a counter-top cheese melter or a normal stand-alone one that can be mounted to a range or to a wall. You should also consider whether you want a model that runs on electricity or gas.
