rickangell

Next followed by Alinea! I've been to both: You're in for two of the best meals ever.

I'm 2300 in the list, sad to say. Needing to enter the capcha three times killed my chances. Should anyone be lucky enough to get the season package and want company, my wife and I would be thrilled to join you!

Boiling water at room temperature is fun but don't it often or you'll contaminate the vacuum oil in the pump.

Weight. Hold a corner of the bag down with something heavy (e.g. A trivet, ceramic bowl, brick, ...), or use a bag clip to grab the bag and attach the weight to the clip.

We appear to have the same machine, although mine doesn't have the gas flush. GlowingGhoul is correct about turning that off. 20 seconds of vacuum works for me. Your sealing and cooling settings should be ok.

Probably not. I'm familiar with Hobart's undercounter model. While the form factor is similar to a consumer model, the Hobart gets detergent and rinse aid pumped from rather large containers that can be hidden from view (my setup has them on a shelf in a utility space below the kitchen). Also, you need a lot more power if the unit does thermal sterilization than a consumer model, and a lot of steam will exit when you open the door. That said, getting a load done in 90 seconds makes it all worthwhile. If you get one, be sure there's a commercial service company that makes residential calls, too.

Masa-san explained that he'd tried winter truffles from Australia, thought they were very good, but that he didn't think it was right to serve winter foods in a place where it's summer!

Nice review. i had the pleasure of dining at Masa a few weeks ago. The only thing to add to your review is that the truffle ice cream is one of the more outrageously good things in a few hours of the finest food you'll ever have. By the way, it's summer truffle in the summer, winter truffle in the winter.

You can get the Rational ovens with 120v power. It is important to have enough space, water service, venting (make sure the hood extends at least a foot over the front of the oven), etc. That said, the ovens are remarkable. You can do things that you'd do in an ordinary oven, but faster and more consistently. You can also do things you can't do in an ordinary oven: Cook things sous vide, in a bag; cook things at your target temperature, as in sous vide, but without a bag, re heat with humidity, use the scientific cooking control programs for just about anything, make your own programs (e.g. Modernist Cuisine's combi-oven ribeye), etc. Plus the cleaning cycle is fantastic: Put chemical tablets in the oven and walk away; never touch the inside (never!) and the oven looks as good as the day you bought it. The comment in this thread about the section on combi ovens in Modernist Cuisine is correct. In fact, that section is much (much!) more helpful in explaining what the ovens then any of the Rational material.

Has anyone else tried the bacon and eggs in a combi oven technique? The bacon is perfect. The eggs taste great, but I had a problem with some of the yolks getting blown off the center of the whites. I'm using a Rational oven, with their multi baker pan. Any guesses if you'd get a better result if you removed a little white at the center, to give the yolk something to hang on to?

I bought the vacuum packer in this photo a couple years ago. The unit appears to be currently called a DZ-260; in 2009 it was a JLW-260. The seller says the units are still available for $575 plus $281.78 for shipping = total $856. You can reach the seller at sales@jlwtools.com. They take payments via PayPal, directed to totalcontrol@jcheckout.com. Their website no longer appears to function past the top level page, hence the picture rather than a product description. They also sell an air flush version which, but for the ability to fill the bag with another gas after flushing, is identical. I'm not sure what that one costs. My unit has functioned flawlessly. I believe they also sell larger, commercial units, though this one would work in an average restaurant. I've pasted in the information re the air flush unit, for want of any on the simpler model. This Air Flush Full Automatic Vacuum Packing Pack & Seal Machine, model 260-AF is same as our popular packing machine model but with addition Air Flush function. It allows external gas connect to the back host, and when the vacuum cycle complete, the nozzle will allow the external gas to fill in the target packing bags before seal. BRAND NEW Vacuum packing allow the product extended the shelf life, against humility/corrosion, the package also give customer a better perceive value and professional packing.. It is great for: food, meat, restaurant service, Skin care product, Electronics, metal/machine shop etc. The FLAT Style Desktop Vacuum Pack and seal Machine This commercial grade vacuum packing machine, construct with full stainless steel and high grade pump and component, design with the industrial environment. Can be use for continuous service, Stainless steel tank and chassis suitable for packing wide range of product as well as easy cleaning. Features: Long/wide tank design, application for food service such as sandwich, special shape product packing. ( e.g. bottle, meat, machine parts). Miniaturize design, The right size and cost of what you need. One had desktop operation. Computer Adjustable vacuum timer and seal temperature control. Wide (11" x 1/2" ) seal bar. Suitable for many type of bags. Very fast operation. Typical seal cycle time is >15-30s. Remark: This is a complete system with build in pump. Specification Tank size: 15" x 11" x 3.5" Sealing bar size: 10" Required Exhaust pump volume 10 cube m/hr Unit size; 500mm x 250mm x280mm (L x W x H) Weight: 36 KG net, 45 kg Gross Supply voltage 110V/220V please specify when check out. Total power consumption: 170W (exclude pump) Control: computer control, Low/high seal bar temperature selection. Vacuum time preset Seal time preset Power indication light Emergency stop button Power switch: Operation: 1. place your product on the plastic bags 2. position the bad opening to the seal bar 3. close the cover, press it to activate. 4. This will enter the automatic process: machine will automatically count down the vacuum time, then seal the bags(preset by the panel timer), finally will release the air and open the cover. 5. Remove your product and return to 1. Accessory 1. Vacuum refill oil x 1 liter 2. filter x 1 3. seal bar replacement x 1 4. plastic seal x 1

The package arrived, yesterday! The production quality is remarkable. Beautifully made books and case, plus the spiral bound kitchen manual is a great improvement over other recipe collections, given that it opens flat, has waterproof pages and has what appear to be very well thought out condensed recipes, with reference back to the main volumes. I've only had a chance to read the section on combi ovens. If the rest is up to that standard, the book is a bargain at full price! If you own a combi oven, it's likely you'll understand it in a much deeper and more correct way after using this book. I have Rational ovens and think they're great, but I'm sure I'll be able to do more things and do them better, now that I have a better idea what's going on. I'd be stunned if the rest of the set were not full of similar revelations.

I use a VWR scientific water bath, purchased used via ebay. No circulator, but I haven't noticed any issues with dead spots. The most frequent use is for steak. I've been experimenting with dry aging beef, buying primal cuts at Costco, aging them up to 28 days in the basement refrigerator, trimming them up, cutting steaks, vacuum pack with a food saver, usually with some seasoning, then into the freezer, ready for the bath. I cook them at 54C, then finish in a pan (note to Michel Richard: Thanks for the idea to finish them in chicken fat; not having any of that, but having duck fat instead, I'll never go back to olive/cannola oil). Fantastic results: Perfectly done steak, great texture, lots (lots!) of flavor. One thing I've noticed is that it's worth the minimal effort to use the extended vacuum function. It seems that the tighter the vacuum pack the more liquid in the steak, rather than floating in the bag. The same technique works really well for rack of lamb. One thing to note is that you need to balance the penalty you get in the sous vide bath from thicker cuts (cooking time goes up as the square of thickness, roughly) with the fact that thick cuts are a lot easier to finish without losing that beautiful, uniform level of cooked product you get from sous vide. Poached eggs are great. No need for a bag and you can get an interesting texture, with the white more translucent than white and the yolk just weakly set. While it's not an every day event, short ribs, seasoned and bagged, than cooked for 72 hours are a revelation. The texture is closer to a rib roast than fall off the bone ribs, but the richness and texture you get from slowly dissolving the connective tissue into the meat is just wonderful. As usual, finish in a pan or with a torch. I use a torch for these.

If you're willing to take the short trip to the northside, Katsu at 2649 W. Peterson is the best place I've found in Chicago. The couple that own the restaurant are lovely people, the fish is very good and there are great specials (if they have the savory egg custard, the Japanese name escapes me, or the Matsutake soup, please try them). If you're willing to travel further, Kuni's at 511 Main Street, Evanston, is a very good, traditional sushi restaurant. I go there often, so my view of the fish is probably colored by the fact that, like all sushi restaurants, maybe all restaurants that have an owner who knows how to do business, they take especially good care of regulars. I enjoy both and hope you get a chance to try them.