Gastronorm

Gastronorm (GN), sometimes spelled Gastro Norm, is a European standard for kitchenware tray and container sizes that is commonly seen worldwide in the catering and professional food industry, as well as in certain parts of the high end consumer market. Gastronorm is generally used worldwide except in most of the United States and Canada, which have their own domestic systems. The gastronorm standard was first introduced in Switzerland in 1964 and became an official European standard in 1993 with the EN 631 standard. The basic format is called "GN 1/1" and measures 530×325 mm, with other Gastronorm sizes being multiples and submultiples of this basic module size. Gastronorm containers allow for flexible, place efficient, and compatible storage, transport, processing, and serving and can be adapted for shelving, transport on trolleys and conveyor belts, secure temporary placement in compatible sinks, working tables, refrigerators, freezers, ovens, hot water baths, and compatible dishwashers, or display. Other products that have adopted the Gastronorm format include cutting boards and non stick mats. Many professional food products are even packaged for optimal compatibility with Gastronorm containers, such as pizza base sizes, pre baked breads, or frozen vegetables. Materials most commonly used for the container are either stainless steel or plastic (transparent or non transparent). Stackable baking trays and stainless steel containers are commonly used for cooking in an oven, while polycarbonate and polypropylene variants are suited for storage of cold foods. Porcelain or melamine containers are used for display.

Gastronorm originated in Switzerland during the 1960s when various associations gathered and agreed on standard dimensions for movable kitchen inserts and containers such as pans, trays, wire racks as well as other kitchen utensils and equipment. The goals of the standard was to maximize use of the capacity in ovens and fridges by introducing kitchenware in compatible square sizes that left no corners unused. The standard was first formalized 17 November 1964 when different Swiss hotel associations gathered and agreed on the basic metric size of 530 × 325 mm. Despite initial skepticism by chefs claiming that "gastronomy cannot be standardized", the Gastronorm (GN) format has since gained worldwide recognition and is used by a large majority of equipment manufacturers and users of professional kitchens worldwide. On 15 December 1993, the format was adopted by the European Committee for Standardization in the standard EN 631 1: 1993 "Materials and articles in contact with foodstuffs Catering containers Dimensions of containers". Today almost all professional European kitchen equipment is built according to the gastronorm standard, enabling flexibility of kitchen operations across Europe when it comes to planning, transfer, delivery, storage and production.

Containers can be made of stainless steel, enameled steel, metal covered with a non stick surface, synthetic or composite materials, earthenware or porcelain. Containers can either have a closed or perforated bottom to facilitate draining or certain specialized types of cooking. Recently, fully compostable Gastronorm trays have also been introduced.