In equipment catalogs they refer to the flatware patterns as 18/0, 18/8 and 18/10. These numbers stand for the material contents of the flatware pattern. The 18/0 stainless steel flatware is a less expensive grade of flatware from the 18/8 and 18/10 flatware patterns. More in depth definitions and some tips follow.
18/0 Stainless steel:
• The inexpensive grades of stainless are made from 18/0 stainless steel.
• The term 18/0 means the stainless steel contains 18% chrome, 82% steel, and no
nickel content in the alloy.
• Also called 18 Chrome.
• Use of chlorine-based products may cause discoloring.
18/8 or 18/10 Stainless steel:
• Fine and medium grades of stainless are made of 18/8 or 18/10 stainless steel, which preserves its brilliance longer and provides superior resistance to attached food and cleaning chemicals.
• The term 18/8 means the stainless steel contains 18% chrome, 74% steel, and 8%
nickel content in the alloy. 18/10 means the stainless steel contains 18% chrome,
72% steel, and 10% nickel.
• A simple way to test for 18/8 or 18/10 is by touching it with a magnet. A magnet will not react to 18/8 or 18/10 stainless, but it will stick to other stainless products without the nickel added.
• The rich blend of chrome plus the nickel in 18/8 or 18/10 stainless results in even
greater protection against corrosion, with the added benefit of a warm silver-like
appearance. This will keep the luster for the life of the piece.
• Use of chlorine-based products may cause discoloring.
Note: All knife blades on hollow handle knives and all 1-piece knives come from 13% Chrome, with no nickel added. This is due to the need for a serrated and sharp edge. Theaddition of nickel makes a knife difficult to hold a sharp cutting edge.
Chemicals and Flatware:
• While stainless steel is highly resistant to stain and corrosion, even the finest alloyswill suffer if you do not remove eggs, vinegar, and acids found in foods by soaking, washing, and rinsing thoroughly immediately after they are used.
• Watch how much low temperature chemicals your staff uses. This is an area where if
you use more low temperature chemicals than shown on the chemical bottle label,
it will not do a better job. Too much of these chemicals will destroy their flatware.
Especially watch the presoaking process where they may leave flatware in the
chemicals for prolonged times, as this process can damage the flatware
Loss Prevention•
Some restaurants try to reduce the loss of flatware by installing the San Jamar
“Katch All” flatware retrievers on their trash bins. Customers sometimes forget
about the flatware when dumping their food trays, and the flatware retriever will
catch most of the 18/0 flatware. Keep in mind that these will not catch the 18/8 or
18/10 flatware, as they will not stick to the magnets.
4 comments:
Very helpful article. I alway's wondered about which one was better and never knew about the stainless ratio's. I did the magnet test on mine and it didn't stick so I guess I picked the right one!
Thank's, Susanne
Hi Susanne, thank you for the comment!
I had a customer once who was using the least expensive flatware in his high volume restaurant. He called me up one Sunday and placed a massive order flatware order and told me. "Do me a favor, have your driver throw this away on the way in and save my servers the trouble!" A silver ware catcher only works if you scrape the plate over it! Glad you enjoyed the article. Brian
Very useful. I would have appreciated a word over Roneusil steel.
Tanks
Thank you for your comment. I don't run across Roneusil steel much in the foodservice realm.
Thanks-
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