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Camano Chef

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  • Website URL
    http://www.fhhardware.com

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  • Location
    Southwest side Camano Island, Washington, overlooking Saratoga Passage
  1. I have a Vacmaster SVP-15. I believe this is the one Nathanm first used. I have had it for several years and it has worked flawlessly with only a little maintenance, repair the sealer bar and change the oil in the vacuum pump. I got it for sous vide but now use it for many other uses. I prepare quite a lot of SV ready portions, chicken, steaks, seafood and cook them SV from frozen. I use it several times a day for something. Some interesting uses I have found: Compress cucumber slices for salads, very interesting texture-guests love it. Compress tomato slices, for salads and deep frying. Marinating almost anything. Back off the vacuum for berries, fruits, etc. Sealing adult beverages Gravys, sauces, soups. Compressing melons. Bonding meats using Activa. Sealing any item you wish to store,ie. pankow, spices, specialty flours, any powdered ingredient such as used for Modernist Cuisine, baking mixes. The bags are quite inexpensive, although you have to buy in large quantities. I have found that the 4mil bags are much better as they are much less fragile in freezers. I have come to think of them as I would a deli sheet, cheap and disposable. I like to purchase primal cuts of meats and break them into useable portions,vacuum seal and freeze. This saves a lot of money. I am comfortable with butchering so this may not appeal to many. Some items are hard to get such as sweet breads, kidneys,liver,duck legs, fois gras and this is a very effective way to save them for future use. In short, I find my chamber sealer to be absolutely indispensible. I obtained it from a company in Idaho ,Kodiak. They have provided flawless service and helped me a great deal in learning to use this fine machine. I hope this helps http://kodiakhealth.com/
  2. Has anyone considered using scales for reloading ammunition. I have a number of balance scales that are calibrated in grains. One gram is equal to 15 grains therefore 2.1 grams is equal to 32 grains. This a reasonable measure of powder for reloading ammunition. I will use this rather than purchasing another electronic scale since I have it. BTW most ammunition scales are much more costly than cheap electronic scales, about US$100.00, however an inaccurate scale has very discouraging result when loading ammunition. Hope this helps. Phil
  3. I took the chicken directly out of the SV bath and proceeded. I did not wait until it became room temp. Phil
  4. Has anyone used an Anti-griddle for rapid cooling of SV foods prior to freezing or chilling in the refrigerator?
  5. I have had excellent results precooking chicken for frying SV Cook thighs and drumsticks for 1 hour plus at 60 degrees C. Dip in buttermilk and dredge in seasoned flour. Deep fat fry at 177 degrees C. until golden brown. Chicken is very moist and crispy. I have had excellent reviews each time I have served it. Phil
  6. How do most of you save the tempered chocolate after a molding session? I know this might seem a dumb question but everything else has seemed to be covered. I have been letting the chocolate harden in the tempering bowl, then breaking into chunks and then cryopacking such as I would for suis vide. Many thanks, Phil
  7. I have been using a Thermomix for caramelizing onions. I never use sweet onions but do add a bit of balsamic vinegar. I haven't tried adding any sodium bicarbonate. The Thermomix allows me to start the process and occasionally check up on things so it really does not divert me from other tasks. When I used to caramelize onions manually it seems that I had to focus almost entirely on the onions and got little else done. Hope this helps, Phil
  8. Kerry, Have you tried the Parallels software on your MAC. I use it every day using XP PRO. It works very well and I use it as a system administrator for a very large PC network complete with servers,printers, etc. I do a lot of tax work using LaCerte software. Probably 80 % of US accountants use this software. You must buy PC anti-virus software as you are working in the "Windows World" I use Panda anti-virus software with good results. I use a Macbook Pro for all of this. Hope this helps Phil
  9. Thanks for everyone's prompt response. Phil
  10. Kerry, What is a raised structure sheet? Do I make it? If so, how? Is there a source for such an item? How is it used? Surely chocolatiers have developed a way to distinctively mark their molded chocolates. What is the generally accepted "best" way? Many thanks Phil
  11. Hello All: Is it possible to mark the bottoms of molded chocolates with the maker's name? Can this be done with transfer sheets before the bottoms have "set"? Can I make a stencil and spray the bottoms with colored cocoa butter? Thanks for any ideas Phil
  12. I have had great success ordering from Bill is truely a fine fellow and is very helpful as very competitive on prices. If you are from the Seattle area he has a pickup arrangement that saves freight charges. Hope this helps. Phil
  13. Jean-Francis I have a Polyscience immersion circulator. It usually is used in a 20 Liter All-Clad brand stock pot. I have the stock pot wrapped with about 1/2" (12MM) bubble type aluminized insulation. The top is covered with a 1/4"( 8mm) plexiglass sheet that I cut out to fit tightly around the Polyscience circulator in order to reduce evaporation water loss. I have run this unit for at least 24 hours without more than 1/2" (12mm) water level loss. The Polyscience circulator easily maintains 90C in this water bath. ( the highest I have used so far.) I have tested the temperature variations in the water bath using a Thermoworks Microtherma 2 thermometer and find the temperatures within .5C in all locations. I think that my water bath is probably larger than is typical but my results seem to confirm the capability and accuracy of the Polyscience immersion circulator. I do feel the larger mass of water makes the whole system much more stable. For example dropping a 2# (approx 1 kilo) frozen pot roast into the bath never drops the temperature more than .5C and that is for just a few minutes. The unit is so dependable that I never hesitate even the longest (up to 48 hours) cook times. I hope my observations are helpful. Phil
  14. Per advice from Polyscience I use a product called CLR, available at any ACE Hardware store and usually most grocery stores. It works great. I usually only need to clean it every few months when I notice things start to look "grungy" I usually use a smaller reservoir such as a 7 liter Rubbermaid polycarbonate food storage container for the cleaning process in order to reduce the amount of CLR necessary. My normal tank for the Polyscience is a 20 Liter stockpot from All-Clad. Hope this helps.
  15. Very nice! Am I seeing a double burner induction hob there? Tell me more about mushroom caramel. ← I have a Cook Tek induction hob. I feel it is absolutely the best available. Their service and knowlegable technicians are second to none. It is very useful for confections as it will maintain absolutely even temperatures. It is designed to work in high temperature, high humidity environments. I couldn't live without it. Hope this helps
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