There is so much to love about speed scratch cooking. This time-saving technique uses ready-made products with fresh ingredients to create tasty, healthful dishes that are ready in minutes. Speed scratch cooking is a staple at independent restaurants — and can save chefs even more precious time with the right equipment.

Speed scratch recipes combine fresh ingredients with pre-prepped or pre-made ingredients. For example, a roasted pear with chicken and feta salad comes together quickly when using canned pears, pre-cut salad greens, cubed cooked chicken, craisins and feta cheese. Chili is another example of a speed-scratch dish, as you can combine canned beans, canned tomatoes and pre-made sauce with fresh ground beef, herbs and spices.

Ingredients don’t have to be canned in order to qualify for speed scratch. They simply need to be ready-made. Leftover pot roast can be shredded for a barbecue sandwich. Likewise, roast chicken can be shredded on top of a salad or added to soup. The technique invites your ingredients to multitask, saving you steps on prep.

Time-saving equipment
Just as your ingredients should multitask, so should your kitchen equipment. Some of the best kitchen ovens are small, yet mighty. They fit in tight spaces, but work harder to compensate for their small size. The combination oven is as flexible as your speed scratch pantry. It offers dry heat (convection), steam heat and combination cooking technology. That means one combination oven can replace a countertop slow cooker, individual steamer or convection oven. It can also execute sous vide and oven frying.

In a combination oven, you can bake turkey tetrazzini using chopped, pre-cooked turkey, noodles, mushrooms, canned cream soup and parmesan cheese.

Another time-saving solution is induction technology. More chefs are turning to induction cooktops for their fast and precise cooking. Speed scratch pasta marinara pairs well with induction cooking, because of its fast boiling time.

Lastly, consider equipment with speed-inducing features like programmable cook settings, easy-to-use controls and high-powered technology. Conveyor ovens with top and bottom blowers are a great example of this, as well as ones with one-touch temperature adjustments and storage for multiple cook settings.

These settings save you time navigating different temperature settings for pizza, pasta, hot sandwiches and more than can be cooked in a conveyor oven — like bread. Use boxed cornbread mix and add cheese, jalapeños and bacon for easy and delicious speed scratch side dish.

Speed scratch cooking with the right equipment saves your kitchen precious time and money. It also helps your ingredients go further, with little effort.