Care and Cleaning of a Panini Grill

For the past several years, street side cafes across the country have been serving up delicious grilled sandwiches called “panini” sandwiches. Panini sandwiches first became popular in Italy, where coffee cart vendors would grill sliced focaccia breads stuffed with Italian meats and cheese, fresh herbs, and fresh vegetables.

Panini sandwiches are very easy to prepare, and have seen a surge of popularity in American coffee shops and lunch carts. These panini sandwiches are made on a panini grill, a type of portable counter top grill that functions much like a waffle iron. Instead of a waffle pattern, the panini grill has instead a set of ridges which leaves a stripe on the sandwich.

To cook the sandwich, the chef merely places a prepared sandwich on the grill, pulls down the top, and waits three to four minutes for the sandwich to toast. The advantage of a panini grill is that grease or butter aren’t required to prepare the food, resulting in a tasty grilled sandwich without the added calories of shortening.

Cleaning the grill

While most panini grills have non stick surfaces, baked on food does get caught between the ridges and can be difficult to remove. Cleaning a panini grill without damaging the finish does require a little bit of patience and what Mom used to call “elbow grease.”

The simplest method of cleaning is by wiping the appliance while warm. I use a soft kitchen towel, though paper towels will also work. To clean the grill, press the fingers through the towel and into the ridges, and gently push the towel up and down the ridges to remove trapped food. A toothbrush can be used to remove dried food particles caught in the tiny seams along the edges of the grill.

For baked on food, the food will need to be softened before it can be removed. This is done by preheating the grill for a couple of minutes, then unplugging it. While the grill is still warm, place a damp washcloth on the metal plates, and pull down the lid. Let the washcloth soften the food for a couple of minutes, then gently scrub to remove the food particles.

Some panini sandwich recipes call for brushing a bit of olive oil on the bread before toasting. Baked on oil can be tough to remove from a grill and requires a little more effort. One of the best solutions I’ve discovered is to prepare a paste of baking soda and water, then applying the paste to the greasy areas. Place a damp, warm towel on the grill and let set for a few minutes before scrubbing. This may have to be repeated a few times.

No matter how tempting it may be, don’t immerse the panini grill in water, nor use a metal utensil to scrape the food off the grill. Metal spatulas and spoons can ruin the non-stick finish and will make the panini grill unusable. If you must need a spatula, the plastic ridged paddles used to clean those George Foreman grills work quite well.

Panini grills are wonderful, low fat alternatives to the toasted sandwiches that our mothers use to make for us. By cleaning your panini grill properly on a regular basis, it will last through many years of use.

Reference:

• www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-panini-grill.htm