The holiday season can be one of the busiest times of the year for you, especially if you plan to cook up a lot of dishes. Rolling carts can help you navigate the kitchen quickly and efficiently, because they come with a number of unique features that make preparing and cooking your holiday meals easy. When you shop for or order your rolling carts, look for the features below.

Non-Marking Polyurethane Wheels 

Rolling carts come with different types of wheels, including polyurethane. Polyurethane is a great material for your carts, because the material won't leave behind scuff marks, grooves and other types of damage on your flooring. 

A number of industries and applications, such as food services and hospitals, use polypropylene-based products, goods and parts, because the material is strong, durable and easy to maintain. Because of its flexibility and diverse features, polyurethane is an ideal choice for your rolling carts.

The polyurethane wheels can also come in different surfaces to fit your needs, including smooth and treaded. Treaded wheels may grip the smooth surfaces of hardwood or tiled flooring better than smooth wheels. If you need to move quickly from one area of the kitchen to another, treaded wheels will keep the cart from sliding or slipping into nearby objects.

In addition to sturdy wheels, you need rolling carts with movable yokes.

Swiveling Yokes

The wheels of rolling carts use metal yokes to hold them in place. Yokes can be swiveled or rigid in place. To help you navigate your kitchen during the holidays, it's a good idea that you use swiveled caster wheels. 

Swivel caster wheels allow you to move your carts into different directions without picking up the cart. The wheels use special parts that turn them 360 degrees in all directions. With rigid wheels, you need to pick up one end of the cart to turn it into the direction you want to go. If you place cookware, food trays and other items on the cart, you may accidentally dump them on the floor when you pick up the cart.

In addition to swiveling yokes, you may want to add brakes to your carts' wheels. Brakes prevent children and pets from accidentally moving the carts when they enter the kitchen. Brakes also come in handy when you want to use some of your rolling carts as counter space to prepare meals. 

Butcher Blocks and Storage Shelves

Although rolling carts have metal frames, they can come with wooden butcher blocks or cutting boards on top to help you prepare vegetables, meat and other ingredients for your dishes. The blocks are made of stain-resistant natural wood, such as oak and pine, and are strong enough to withstand the sharp cutting edges of knives and other utensils. 

Butcher boards may have accessories attached to them, such as towel hangers and sliding boards. The sliding boards provide extra space for small items, such as seasonings and plates. You can also use them to separate raw foods from your cooked items during your preparations. 

The last feature you can ask about in your rolling carts is shelving. A number of rolling carts come with one or more shelves that allow you to store large and small items. The shelves can be solid boards or made of metal. If you choose metal, be sure to select stainless steel instead of regular steel. Stainless steel doesn't rust when wet or exposed to heat, which helps your rolling carts last longer. 

If you want to know more about rolling carts and the features mentioned above, contact a supplier for more information. Your supplier can discuss other benefits of using rolling carts for your needs.