Canned and frozen food save both time and money in your kitchen. There are plenty of canned and frozen ingredients that can be used to replace some of the fresh items without compromising the integrity of your menu. What's more, canned and frozen food have a much longer shelf life.

Finding a few tricks to incorporate frozen and canned food into your dishes can make a world of difference for you and your chefs. They will be spending less time preparing some of the ingredients while you will ultimately be spending less money purchasing them. Consider the following when making the most of canned and frozen food:

1. Use diced and cubed canned goods to save time chopping.

2. Replace short shelf-life ingredients such as fruit with frozen food products.

3. Enhance casseroles and soups with canned and frozen food.

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Buy already cut canned goods to save time in the kitchen

Canned food companies sell already diced and sliced fruits, vegetables and meats for your convenience. You can save your chefs and sous-chefs a lot of time by purchasing these types of ingredients that don't need more than to be opened and thawed or drained. The countless hours that were spent chopping and dicing can be used for cooking more meals.

I recommend: You can purchase diced canned chicken from FoodServiceDirect.com by the case. You can used canned chicken in a variety of dishes from soups to enchiladas. At the Allen Canning Company, find a variety of canned food labels and vegetable options, including both sliced and crinkle-cut carrots.

Replace fresh fruit and other perishables with frozen food

Fresh fruit is, unfortunately, one of the hardest ingredients to keep fresh for very long. Fruit often has a small window of time when it is at its prime, and if you cut into it too early or too late you will likely be disappointed with its flavor and texture. Buying fruit from frozen food manufacturers or from canned food brands will keep you and your chefs from having to play the guessing game with each shipment of fruit. You will also save money in the end from fewer wasted food items.

I recommend: At Dole you can find numerous frozen fruit options. Dole also gives you preparation tips and a time line of when all of the varieties are available throughout the year. Wild Harvest flash freezes its berries to keep the flavor and aroma fresh.

Add canned and frozen food to large dishes to enhance the main ingredient

The frozen food industry offers many choices, some even unusual, of vegetables that you can add to hearty dishes that require several ingredients. Some of the less frequently used ingredients, when purchased as frozen foods or from a canned food business, can be kept on hand for these types of dishes that may not be made as often as others. These ingredients are also often used in smaller amounts, which allows you to use what you need at the time and not have to waste what is leftover.

I recommend: You can find frozen meat, vegetables, breads and egg products at Gordon Food Service. Schwan's carries a variety of frozen vegetables and vegetables blends that you can add to any dish.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Another perk of canned and frozen food is that it can be served either warm or cold depending on the nature of the dish. For example, frozen fruits can be served without any thawing time if served with ice cream or another expected frozen product.

Canned and frozen food can be used to cut the time it takes to make complex dishes in your food establishment. By using high-quality prepped canned food and frozen food, you can offer the very best to your patrons, often at a better price and faster service.

Frozen food comes in all food groups from reputable frozen food manufacturers, from broccoli florets to carrot coins to various types of plain or prepared meats. Top canned food labels can fill your shelves to make it easier to make a quick gravy, pot pie or 7-bean salad. Many restaurants and food service businesses use frozen and canned food of some kind in their recipes. When considering what canned and frozen foods to use in your business, you should:

1. Decide on the canned and frozen products you would most like to have on hand as ingredients to enhance dishes you make or that you wouldn't use often enough to keep the ingredients fresh on hand.
2. Find reputable canned and frozen food processors and suppliers to keep you stocked while providing top customer service in your specialty food business.
3. Track your canned and frozen food usage to save money and prevent shortages and spoilage.

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Decide on the canned and frozen products you will stock in your kitchen

There are literally thousands of canned and frozen foods from which to choose in stocking your commercial kitchen. Consider the recipes you use most, the type of menu you are offering and the changes you can make in the way you buy and use ingredients. Contact other restaurants in your area that have similar menus to ask about the quantities they order and what suppliers they recommend.

I recommend: SYSCO is one of the largest and most well-known marketers and distributors of both canned and frozen foods for restaurants and other food service businesses. SYSCO will deliver frozen food products like bread dough, scrambled eggs, fine quality vegetables and meats. They also distribute their own labels of canned and frozen foods, or those by top canned food brands like Campbells and frozen brands like Tyson. Foodservice.com offers canned and frozen food reports detailing what canned and frozen foods are selling best and which are not selling as quickly. You can also outline different areas of the country and the different canned and frozen foods sold across the US.

Find speciality canned and frozen food suppliers for ethnic or other special niche food businesses

You have decided to open an ethnic restaurant or a burger joint, some place that has a very specialized and limited menu. In a food business such as these, you will be making a lot of the same things -- refried beans and salsa in a Mexican eatery or burgers and fries in a burger joint. All these items can be found in wholesale quantities for volume specialty buying.

I recommend: Contact Goya Foods Inc. for everything you need in the way of Hispanic canned and frozen foods. Stock your Mexican, Cuban or other Latin-based eatery's shelves with canned beans of all varieties, and frozen meats to add or use as the base of your customers' favorite meals. Order meat for your burger joint from American Foodservice Corporation. They tout their frozen burgers as "the best in burgers" and directs you to contact their head chefs through their Culinary Smart Center for assistance in procuring their Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) patties or bricks of ground beef. Giammanco & Sons carries a wide variety of wholesale frozen French fries including seasoned, homestyle, crinkle cut and shoestring.

Effectively track your inventory of canned and frozen foods to encourage better inventory management

Tracking your canned and frozen food inventory is important to prevent spoilage and shortages and to reinforce strategies to save money. You can save money by figuring out which items can be ordered in small quantities or not ordered at all and by ordering the most used items in larger quantities. While canned and frozen food doesn't have the quick spoilage issue of fresh foods, there are still expiration dates to consider as well as food that comes damaged or isn't stored properly.

I recommend: Food Software.com offers IPro Restaurant Inventory, Recipe & Menu Software designed to track food costs, inventory, recipes and ordering information. They also offer Optional Add-On Modules, like POS, for a complete software package for your food service business. Inventory Star also offers food tracking software and has a complete guide to calculating food costs to save you money and spoilage.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Watch your canned and frozen food inventory closely the first couple of weeks. By immediately noticing trends and adjusting orders accordingly, you can save money and reduce spoilage.
• •  Always remember the 'last in, last out' theory of food inventory management. Buy an industrial sized can organizer (like the kind canned food companies use to stock soup on store shelves) that allows canned goods to roll out toward the front from the back where you will load then. Also put newly received frozen food behind older food to encourage you and your staff to always be pulling the oldest food out for use.

The main concern about using canned and frozen food is the loss of nutritional value and any added preservatives. With new technology of preservation and food packaging, this doesn't always have to be the case. The restaurant business has had an increased push to offer nutritional facts to their diners, and, of course, you want your establishment to stack up.

Following canned and frozen food news and trends can help ensure you are using the most nutritious canned and frozen food available. Canned food is less expensive and has a much longer shelf life, making it very appealing to use in any kitchen. And frozen food products allow you to use produce that quickly spoils for a longer period of time. Consider checking out the following information about canned and frozen food:

1. Be sure to know the latest news about what frozen and canned food companies are doing behind closed doors.

2. Be in tune with your consumer and their thoughts on canned and frozen food in their meals.

3. Stay in the loop with the frozen food industry and canned food labels.

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Read about what frozen and canned food companies are up to

Frozen food manufacturers are not necessarily going to give you the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It is important to read about the industry from outside sources that have done their research and can give you the big picture. This will help you to decide which canned food brands and frozen food business to purchase your products from.

I recommend: Food Business Review has a news and analysis section dedicated to the goings-on of the canned food business. Inbox Robot has a RSS feed that brings you the latest news on canned and frozen food companies.

Read blogs from consumers about canned goods and frozen meals

Knowing what your consumer's perception is about canned and frozen food is key to selecting the right products to put into your dishes. No matter what the industry is saying, if the perception of the consumer is negative about a certain canned or frozen food product or they have a certain nutritional value expectation, that is the information you need to consider. Consumers are who you set out to satisfy, so it's important to pick their brains about what they would and wouldn't purchase.

I recommend: A Passion for Food is a running online journal that chronicles a consumer's experiences with food. Restaurant Widow details one consumer's experiences with cooking and dining out.

Know what the canned and frozen food industry is saying about themselves -- and maybe you too

Subscribing to industry magazines will keep you in the loop about what those in the industry are saying about each other and maybe even businesses like yours. Knowing what other canning and frozen food companies have to say about themselves or their competitor can help you, too, select the proper ingredients for your establishment.

I recommend: Food Processing will either send you its issues in the mail or you can read current issue online. Prepared Foods gives an in-depth look at certain ingredients and processing methods that you should be aware of before purchasing prepackaged foods.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Be forthcoming about your nutrition facts. Those establishments that put all of their nutritional information in a visible location often capture consumer's attention, as it shows that you have nothing to hide.

Canned and frozen foods, also known collectively as prepared foods, comprise a large portion of the food used by many restaurants and institutions, such as schools and hospitals. Knowing what canned and frozen foods to buy requires that you understand the principles behind canned and quick-frozen foods, and how they affect the food cost associated with your business. Understanding the process of canning and freezing is important to ensuring safe food service.

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Quick-frozen food

Quick-frozen food, also known as individually quick frozen (IQF) food, is prepared using an instant, or high-speed, freezing process that does not involve the same temperature parameters as traditional freezing. IQF frequently is used to ensure the freshest results from freezing for products like fish and fruit.

I recommend: Foodprocessing-Technology.com provides additional information on quick-frozen foods.

Pasteurization

Pasteurization is a process invented by Louis Pasteur for slowing the growth of microorganisms in food products. Pasteurization frequently is used in dairy products and other refrigerated and frozen foods to ensure a safe shelf life.

I recommend: The University of Guelph Dairy Sciences department offers a detailed explanation of pasteurization and how it works.

Dessicant

A dessicant is used in food preparation and in the manufacture of other products to keep moisture levels low in a sealed container. The most common dessicant used in food manufacture is salt, and many prepared foods that are canned or frozen may be high in sodium as a result.

I recommend: SorbentSystems.com offers more detail on a number of different types of dessicants.

Food cost

Food cost is the percentage of total food service sales revenues spent on food products themselves. Low food cost is often an incentive for buying frozen or canned foods. Specialty frozen foods and prepared meals offer a relatively high cost compared with food prepared using frozen or canned ingredients.

I recommend: Get a more detailed explanation of food costs from Restaurant Management Solutions.

Chilled desserts

Chilled desserts or frozen desserts commonly refer to desserts prepared using frozen ingredients, desserts prepared using fresh ingredients and then chilled, or prepared desserts that are packaged and sold frozen. Common chilled deserts include puddings, souffles and trifles, while the most common frozen dessert is ice cream. Strict legal definitions for frozen desserts are used in manufacture and labeling, and vary by state.

I recommend: Learn more about the legal definition of frozen desserts and research frozen dessert labeling regulations at LAWriter.

Frozen specialty food

Frozen specialty food is the name given to a broad range of prepared meals that are ready to serve when heated. These food products include frozen dinners and side dishes, frozen pizzas and frozen breakfast foods like waffles and pancakes.

I recommend: The NAICS Association offers a definition of frozen specialty food products and a list of qualifying food product categories.