The Tragedy of the Flik Panini Presses
Every day hungry students descend on Flik in search of a long awaited lunch. Sometimes, despite their best efforts, Flik’s food doesn't appeal to everyone. Knowing this, Flik provides a sandwich bar and panini presses for students to create their own culinary masterpieces. Unfortunately by the end of every lunch period the presses end up in a depressing state: caked in burnt cheese and filling the air with smoke.
Seeing the sad condition of the panini presses often leaves me questioning what led up to this disaster. For the most part, the issue can be solved by people quite simply putting less stuff on sandwiches. Most of the burnt residue comes from toppings falling off sandwiches while they are pressed and burning onto the press. If having a towering mountain of meat, cheese, and bread is necessary, at least scrape off the press immediately after you use it.
As another general rule to maintain the quality of the panini presses, it is better to use the sliced cheese instead of shredded cheese. I do understand if you are trying to make a quesadilla, shredded cheese is much better. To combat the additional mess that comes with using shredded cheese, be sure to scrape off the press with tongs after you finish.
Another thing you’ll notice if you use the panini presses later than most is the absurd amount of smoke pouring out of them. This phenomena is a result of two things, the presses being turned up too high and an excessive amount of Pam spray. The presses are supposed to stay set to 350℉ on the dial not 420℉ or higher. When the dial is turned over 350℉, The presses get too hot and burn off all the oil. Be patient if your sandwich appears to be taking too long to cook; the presses probably have been turned on and need time to heat up to the proper temperature.
Another way to keep the cafeteria from getting too smoky is to use some moderation with the can of PAM spray. All your sandwich really needs to cook well is one quick spray of oil. If you’re cooking later in the lunch period, use even less oil because so many people who have gone before you overused it already.
To maintain the quality of our Panini Presses, we all have to make an effort everytime we use them. Taking some of the precautions and preemptive measures mentioned here won’t add more than ten seconds to your panini experience. However, they will save everybody who uses the presses from the smell of smoke and the sight of ash all over their meal. Please keep this in mind next time you make a sandwich so everybody can enjoy lunch.
By Jake Bogartz