# how to properly clean industrial pasta cooker/well



## miash (Mar 9, 2013)

I have recently started working the pasta station at a high volume Italian restaurant.  This is the first time i've worked with a pasta cooker rather than using a pot of water on stovetop.   After I've drained, scrubbed the well, and sent the baskets to dish, I was instructed to fill the cooker with new water, return the clean baskets to the water and turn the spouts off.  Essentially these baskets are sitting in still water overnight.  I took the initiative to cover the wells with sheet pans at the end of the night even though I wasn't instructed to cover the wells after cleaning them.

My question is, should I be leaving the well empty?   Why do we have metal sitting in still water overnight?  I'm assuming that it's always been done this way so AM prep can conveniently turn on the cooker without having to wait for the water to fill up the well. 

I tried google searching how to properly clean a cooker, but it just showed results about how to clean a pasta maker.

Thanks in advance for your responses.  And I apologize if this was an incredibly dumb question to ask.


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## chefchadnyc (Jan 20, 2013)

This advice is from when I worked at the one and only 4-star (new york times) Italian Restaurant:

Each night, the tank should be dropped (drained), and scrubbed, rinsed, and filled.  As it is filling, add a gallon of distilled white vinegar.  Do not leave the baskets in overnight, cover with a sheet tray (porters get shit in everything).

The morning crew needs to drop the tank again, quick rinse, and then fill.  Do not light until it is almost full, as the heat will buckle the sides and crack the bottom.  This is also why you do not leave it empty and never let the water level get too low.  Even if it is only on 'pilot' the heat will damage an empty unit.

Love the initiative to even try to google the answer.  Come work for me any day.

Or anyway, good luck


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## miash (Mar 9, 2013)

Perfect. Thanks for answering my question!


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