Use a Commercial Kitchen for Food Preparation

Commercial food products need to be processed in an inspected kitchen that is certified by the local health inspector. Before you try to remodel your home kitchen (a bad idea), you should consider renting a commercial kitchen to get the experience and determine what equipment you need. In some large cities, you may be able to rent community kitchens by the hour. In smaller cities, you may be able to rent a certified kitchen at a senior center, school facility or restaurant.

Make sure the kitchen is able to be approved for processing your food by talking with the local health inspector. If you can't rent a certified kitchen, you can consider outsourcing to a co-packer. This is a company who is willing to produce your product for you. It is best to choose a co-packer who has the capability and experience to manufacture your product.

After starting out at home, when the demand for our product grew, we made a deal with one of our local church community center where they agreed to rent their commercial kitchen to us four days a week excluding weekends for a very reasonable price. So if you look around you should be able to find a commercial kitchen that complies with all your local food safety laws, all you do is bring your own canners, jars, and ingredients and start making jams, jellies and pickles in batches.