derekslager

As one of the unlucky few who still has _only_ the kitchen manual, I can say with some confidence that anybody buying it alone expecting to get a distillation of all that Modernist Cuisine has to offer would be gravely disappointed. It's fun to look through, and certainly useful by itself -- I've used some of the techniques already. However, reading the "how" for a certain recipe or technique without being able to access the "why" is actually quite frustrating. In isolation, the kitchen manual is at best a teaser for the real content.

Well, I finally caught up with DHL today. Pictured below is my copy of Modernist Cuisine, at least according to Amazon.ca. I haven't even bothered to open it, because I already know what's inside. Yes, they charged me full price, and yes, this is the only shipment listed as part of my "closed" order. Question for others who received $400 kitchen manuals -- has Amazon.ca managed to find the missing portions of our orders yet? Trying to understand my options here.

I've missed the Amazon.ca DHL delivery the past two days, but the tracking page lists the total weight as 3.3 lbs. I'm guessing that's pretty close to the weight of the kitchen manual. Something isn't right here.

My Amazon.ca order has also been charged, order date was October 17, 2010.

For those that are interested, the segment from The Martha Stewart Show is available online: http://www.marthastewart.com/show/the-martha-stewart-show/cutting-edge-cuisine

I happened to have this recorded, here's a brief rundown from the show. Generously season a pork shoulder Bag with a healthy amount of fresh rendered lard Cook sous vide for 50 hours at 143f Remove from bag, shred into pan Cover with plastic wrap, layer another tray on top Add weights, transfer to refrigerator Once cooled/pressed, slice into cubes and brown Serve with oaxacan black beans, roasted tomato sauce, guac, lime, pickled red onions, microarugula Looks delicious! Some pics: Pressed: Searing: Plated:

The herb sashes are not designed to suppress flavor, but to prevent the herbs from overwhelming the portion of the food they are in contact with. The sides are left open so the flavors can mix freely with other liquid in the bag. It's simply a technique for distributing the flavors evenly.

Amazon.com recently posted the description from Thomas Keller's forthcoming (October) sous vide book, "Under Pressure". It sounds promising. With the Alinea (October) and Fat Duck (November) books releasing around the same time, we're all sure to be very busy later on this year.

Here's the linked table in a text format. Bath C Bath F mm inch Cook time Rest time Core C Core F Early -1C Late +1C 61 141.8 5 0.2 0:01:30 0:00:03 59.9 139.9 0:00:15 ∞ 62 143.6 5 0.2 0:01:16 0:00:03 59.9 139.8 0:00:10 0:00:14 65 149 5 0.2 0:00:57 0:00:03 59.5 139.2 0:00:04 0:00:04 61 141.8 10 0.39 0:06:00 0:00:10 59.9 139.9 0:01:01 ∞ 62 143.6 10 0.39 0:05:01 0:00:10 59.8 139.7 0:00:34 0:00:56 65 149 10 0.39 0:03:46 0:00:11 59.5 139.2 0:00:16 0:00:17 61 141.8 15 0.59 0:13:23 0:00:20 59.9 139.8 0:02:09 ∞ 62 143.6 15 0.59 0:11:17 0:00:23 59.8 139.7 0:01:16 0:02:08 65 149 15 0.59 0:08:29 0:00:26 59.5 139.2 0:00:36 0:00:43 61 141.8 20 0.79 0:23:47 0:00:37 59.9 139.8 0:03:49 ∞ 62 143.6 20 0.79 0:20:03 0:00:42 59.8 139.7 0:02:15 0:03:48 65 149 20 0.79 0:15:06 0:00:45 59.5 139.2 0:01:04 0:01:12 61 141.8 25 0.98 0:37:07 0:00:55 59.9 139.8 0:05:57 ∞ 62 143.6 25 0.98 0:31:19 0:01:01 59.8 139.7 0:03:30 0:05:56 65 149 25 0.98 0:23:35 0:01:12 59.5 139.2 0:01:41 0:01:53 61 141.8 30 1.18 0:54:29 0:54:28 60 140 0:08:41 ∞ 62 143.6 30 1.18 0:46:02 0:46:01 60 140 0:06:03 0:08:40 65 149 30 1.18 0:33:56 0:01:47 59.5 139.2 0:02:34 0:02:42 61 141.8 35 1.38 1:11:27 0:01:52 59.9 139.8 0:09:40 ∞ 62 143.6 35 1.38 1:02:04 1:02:03 60 140 0:06:47 0:09:38 65 149 35 1.38 0:47:30 0:47:29 60 140 0:04:58 0:03:47 61 141.8 40 1.57 1:31:28 0:02:34 59.9 139.8 0:13:56 ∞ 62 143.6 40 1.57 1:17:53 0:02:44 59.8 139.7 0:08:17 0:15:04 65 149 40 1.57 1:01:22 1:01:21 60 140 0:03:56 0:02:55 61 141.8 45 1.77 1:52:44 0:03:13 59.9 139.8 0:16:54 ∞ 62 143.6 45 1.77 1:36:16 0:03:23 59.8 139.7 0:10:31 0:16:52 65 149 45 1.77 1:13:29 0:04:03 59.4 139 0:04:55 0:05:56 61 141.8 50 1.97 2:14:52 0:04:02 59.9 139.8 0:19:58 ∞ 62 143.6 50 1.97 1:55:24 0:04:22 59.8 139.7 0:12:59 0:19:57 65 149 50 1.97 1:28:32 0:05:01 59.4 139 0:05:48 0:07:00 61 141.8 55 2.17 2:37:32 0:05:05 59.9 139.8 0:23:07 ∞ 62 143.6 55 2.17 2:15:01 0:05:25 59.8 139.7 0:15:01 0:23:06 65 149 55 2.17 1:43:25 0:06:14 59.3 138.8 0:06:38 0:08:38 61 141.8 60 2.36 3:02:38 0:06:07 59.9 139.9 0:28:29 ∞ 62 143.6 60 2.36 2:34:50 0:06:37 59.8 139.7 0:17:04 0:26:18 65 149 60 2.36 1:58:58 0:07:36 59.3 138.8 0:07:31 0:09:06 61 141.8 65 2.56 3:25:50 0:07:28 59.9 139.9 0:31:57 ∞ 62 143.6 65 2.56 2:54:37 0:07:59 59.8 139.7 0:19:07 0:31:57 65 149 65 2.56 2:14:29 0:09:08 59.3 138.8 0:09:01 0:10:10 61 141.8 70 2.76 3:48:51 0:09:00 59.9 139.9 0:35:26 ∞ 62 143.6 70 2.76 3:14:16 0:09:31 59.8 139.7 0:21:10 0:35:24 65 149 70 2.76 2:29:05 0:10:50 59.3 138.7 0:09:12 0:11:10 61 141.8 75 2.95 4:11:29 0:10:32 59.9 139.9 0:38:52 ∞ 62 143.6 75 2.95 3:33:33 0:11:12 59.8 139.7 0:23:11 0:38:51 65 149 75 2.95 2:43:16 0:12:48 59.2 138.5 0:09:59 0:13:03 61 141.8 80 3.15 4:33:52 0:12:24 59.9 139.9 0:42:28 ∞ 62 143.6 80 3.15 3:52:25 0:13:14 59.8 139.7 0:25:10 0:42:13 65 149 80 3.15 2:57:51 0:15:08 59.2 138.5 0:11:38 0:14:09 61 141.8 85 3.35 4:56:48 0:14:36 60 140 0:47:10 ∞ 62 143.6 85 3.35 4:10:44 0:15:18 59.8 139.7 0:27:06 0:47:10 65 149 85 3.35 3:12:03 0:17:28 59.2 138.5 0:12:32 0:15:10 61 141.8 90 3.54 5:18:37 0:16:49 60 140 0:51:20 ∞ 62 143.6 90 3.54 4:28:27 0:17:49 59.8 139.7 0:28:58 0:51:20 65 149 90 3.54 3:25:42 0:20:19 59.2 138.5 0:13:21 0:16:15 61 141.8 95 3.74 5:39:49 5:39:48 60 140 0:55:33 ∞ 62 143.6 95 3.74 4:45:29 0:20:29 59.8 139.7 0:30:46 0:55:33 65 149 95 3.74 3:37:46 0:23:09 59.1 138.4 0:14:05 0:17:08 61 141.8 100 3.94 5:59:15 5:59:14 60 140 0:58:41 ∞ 62 143.6 100 3.94 5:01:51 0:23:20 59.8 139.7 0:32:31 0:57:32 65 149 100 3.94 3:49:11 0:26:20 59 138.2 0:14:45 0:19:13

Thomas Keller suggests as much in TFLC, specifically suggesting that raw alcohol can "cook" (in effect) the exterior of the meat, preventing flavors from being fully absorbed. This advice was specific to marination (12+ hours sans heat), but I think it would also apply here.

That seemed to work well enough, here are the fish tables in the same format. Bath C Bath F mm inch Cook time Rest time Core C Core F Early -1C Late +1C 46 114.8 5 0.2 0:01:23 0:00:03 44.9 112.8 0:00:15 ∞ 47 116.6 5 0.2 0:01:08 0:00:03 44.8 112.6 0:00:09 0:00:15 50 122 5 0.2 0:00:50 0:00:03 44.5 112 0:00:04 0:00:04 46 114.8 10 0.39 0:05:31 0:00:10 44.9 112.8 0:00:58 ∞ 47 116.6 10 0.39 0:04:36 0:00:11 44.8 112.7 0:00:36 0:00:57 50 122 10 0.39 0:03:21 0:00:13 44.5 112 0:00:17 0:00:19 46 114.8 15 0.59 0:12:25 0:00:24 44.9 112.8 0:02:09 ∞ 47 116.6 15 0.59 0:10:20 0:00:26 44.8 112.7 0:01:22 0:02:08 50 122 15 0.59 0:07:32 0:00:29 44.5 112 0:00:38 0:00:45 46 114.8 20 0.79 0:22:04 0:00:43 44.9 112.8 0:03:50 ∞ 47 116.6 20 0.79 0:18:22 0:00:43 44.8 112.7 0:02:26 0:03:49 50 122 20 0.79 0:13:23 0:00:51 44.5 112 0:01:07 0:01:21 46 114.8 25 0.98 0:34:27 0:01:04 44.9 112.8 0:05:58 ∞ 47 116.6 25 0.98 0:28:42 0:01:10 44.8 112.7 0:03:47 0:05:57 50 122 25 0.98 0:20:54 0:01:23 44.5 112 0:01:44 0:02:00 46 114.8 30 1.18 0:50:37 0:50:36 45 113 0:09:42 ∞ 47 116.6 30 1.18 0:41:13 0:01:37 44.8 112.7 0:05:24 0:09:41 50 122 30 1.18 0:30:05 0:02:04 44.5 112 0:02:30 0:03:02 46 114.8 35 1.38 1:06:30 0:02:07 44.9 112.8 0:09:55 ∞ 47 116.6 35 1.38 0:56:59 0:56:58 45 113 0:06:51 0:09:41 50 122 35 1.38 0:40:50 0:02:45 44.5 112 0:03:22 0:05:34 46 114.8 40 1.57 1:25:15 0:02:48 44.9 112.8 0:14:05 ∞ 47 116.6 40 1.57 1:11:40 0:02:58 44.8 112.7 0:07:22 0:14:03 50 122 40 1.57 0:55:09 0:55:08 45 113 0:03:59 0:04:50 46 114.8 45 1.77 1:45:11 0:03:36 44.9 112.8 0:17:03 ∞ 47 116.6 45 1.77 1:28:44 0:03:56 44.8 112.7 0:11:01 0:17:02 50 122 45 1.77 1:05:35 0:04:35 44.4 111.9 0:01:42 0:05:53 46 114.8 50 1.97 2:05:58 0:04:34 44.9 112.8 0:20:08 ∞ 47 116.6 50 1.97 1:46:32 0:05:04 44.8 112.7 0:12:59 0:20:06 50 122 50 1.97 1:19:14 0:05:54 44.4 111.9 0:05:44 0:06:57 46 114.8 55 2.17 2:27:13 0:05:46 44.9 112.8 0:23:17 ∞ 47 116.6 55 2.17 2:04:45 0:06:16 44.8 112.7 0:14:59 0:24:16 50 122 55 2.17 1:32:47 0:07:16 44.3 111.7 0:06:34 0:08:29 46 114.8 60 2.36 2:48:44 0:07:09 44.9 112.8 0:26:30 ∞ 47 116.6 60 2.36 2:23:10 0:07:39 44.8 112.7 0:18:21 0:28:27 50 122 60 2.36 1:46:55 0:08:58 44.3 111.7 0:07:55 0:09:36 46 114.8 65 2.56 3:12:27 0:08:41 44.9 112.9 0:31:56 ∞ 47 116.6 65 2.56 2:41:33 0:09:21 44.8 112.7 0:20:32 0:31:54 50 122 65 2.56 2:01:02 0:11:00 44.3 111.7 0:08:50 0:10:44

The forum isn't rendering the HTML, probably because of security concerns with script injection or something similar. The easiest option is to copy the HTML text and use "paste special" in Microsoft Excel (other spreadsheet programs probably have similar features). If you don't have such a program, just save it to a file with an HTML extension (via notepad or similar) and open it with your favorite web browser. I'll try to post the meat table here in a monospaced font, but I'm not confident it will render perfectly: Bath C Bath F mm inch Cook time Rest time Core C Core F Early -1C Late +1C 55 131 5 0.2 0:01:41 0:00:02 54.4 129.9 0:00:23 ∞ 56 132.8 5 0.2 0:01:19 0:00:03 54.3 129.7 0:00:11 0:00:20 60 140 5 0.2 0:00:53 0:00:03 53.8 128.9 0:00:03 0:00:04 65 149 5 0.2 0:00:41 0:00:03 53.1 127.7 0:00:02 0:00:01 55 131 10 0.39 0:06:39 0:00:09 54.4 129.9 0:01:25 ∞ 56 132.8 10 0.39 0:05:16 0:00:10 54.3 129.7 0:00:41 0:01:24 60 140 10 0.39 0:03:32 0:00:13 53.9 129 0:00:15 0:00:16 65 149 10 0.39 0:02:43 0:00:14 53.1 127.7 0:00:08 0:00:08 55 131 15 0.59 0:14:58 0:00:21 54.4 129.9 0:03:11 ∞ 56 132.8 15 0.59 0:11:50 0:00:23 54.3 129.7 0:01:33 0:03:10 60 140 15 0.59 0:07:58 0:00:28 53.9 129 0:00:33 0:00:38 65 149 15 0.59 0:06:06 0:00:31 53.1 127.7 0:00:18 0:00:19 55 131 20 0.79 0:26:57 0:00:38 54.4 129.9 0:06:00 ∞ 56 132.8 20 0.79 0:21:02 0:00:38 54.3 129.7 0:02:45 0:06:00 60 140 20 0.79 0:14:10 0:00:50 53.9 129 0:00:58 0:01:09 65 149 20 0.79 0:10:51 0:00:57 53.1 127.7 0:00:32 0:00:34 55 131 25 0.98 0:41:29 0:00:56 54.4 129.9 0:08:48 ∞ 56 132.8 25 0.98 0:32:52 0:01:02 54.3 129.7 0:04:17 0:08:46 60 140 25 0.98 0:22:08 0:01:18 53.9 129 0:01:31 0:01:48 65 149 25 0.98 0:16:57 0:01:27 53.1 127.7 0:00:50 0:00:54 55 131 30 1.18 1:00:51 1:00:50 54.4 130 0:12:48 ∞ 56 132.8 30 1.18 0:48:17 0:48:16 54.4 130 0:07:13 0:12:38 60 140 30 1.18 0:31:40 0:01:50 53.8 128.9 0:02:00 0:02:45 65 149 30 1.18 0:24:25 0:02:09 53.1 127.7 0:01:11 0:01:17 55 131 35 1.38 1:19:33 0:01:54 54.4 129.9 0:15:15 ∞ 56 132.8 35 1.38 1:04:20 0:02:03 54.4 129.9 0:07:34 0:15:30 60 140 35 1.38 0:42:57 0:02:32 53.8 128.8 0:02:54 0:05:15 65 149 35 1.38 0:33:11 0:02:51 53.1 127.7 0:01:36 0:01:45 55 131 40 1.57 1:41:38 0:02:26 54.4 129.9 0:20:31 ∞ 56 132.8 40 1.57 1:21:30 0:02:46 54.3 129.7 0:10:06 0:20:17 60 140 40 1.57 0:57:59 0:57:58 54.4 130 0:03:36 0:04:16 65 149 40 1.57 0:45:46 0:45:45 54.4 130 0:04:41 0:02:11 55 131 45 1.77 2:05:05 0:03:14 54.4 129.9 0:24:54 ∞ 56 132.8 45 1.77 1:40:39 0:03:34 54.3 129.7 0:12:14 0:26:28 60 140 45 1.77 1:09:12 0:04:13 53.8 128.8 0:04:28 0:05:18 65 149 45 1.77 0:57:18 0:57:17 54.4 130 0:02:28 0:02:40 55 131 50 1.97 2:31:22 0:04:03 54.4 129.9 0:31:20 ∞ 56 132.8 50 1.97 2:00:35 0:04:23 54.3 129.7 0:14:26 0:31:18 60 140 50 1.97 1:23:29 0:05:22 53.8 128.8 0:05:41 0:06:15 65 149 50 1.97 1:05:16 0:06:11 53 127.3 0:00:58 0:03:14 55 131 55 2.17 2:56:40 0:05:05 54.4 129.9 0:36:18 ∞ 56 132.8 55 2.17 2:21:01 0:05:25 54.3 129.7 0:18:05 0:36:17 60 140 55 2.17 1:37:39 0:06:35 53.7 128.6 0:06:02 0:07:09 65 149 55 2.17 1:16:48 0:07:35 52.8 127.1 0:03:24 0:03:42 55 131 60 2.36 3:22:16 0:06:17 54.4 129.9 0:41:21 ∞ 56 132.8 60 2.36 2:41:38 0:06:47 54.3 129.7 0:20:33 0:41:21 60 140 60 2.36 1:52:26 0:08:07 53.7 128.6 0:06:50 0:08:06 65 149 60 2.36 1:28:24 0:09:27 52.7 126.8 0:03:49 0:04:37 55 131 65 2.56 3:48:32 0:07:39 54.4 129.9 0:47:04 ∞ 56 132.8 65 2.56 3:02:15 0:08:09 54.3 129.7 0:23:02 0:46:26 60 140 65 2.56 2:06:32 0:09:49 53.6 128.4 0:07:34 0:09:42 65 149 65 2.56 1:40:10 0:11:18 52.6 126.7 0:04:28 0:04:53 55 131 70 2.76 4:14:54 0:09:11 54.4 130 0:53:04 ∞ 56 132.8 70 2.76 3:22:44 0:09:41 54.3 129.7 0:25:31 0:53:03 60 140 70 2.76 2:21:04 0:11:41 53.6 128.5 0:09:00 0:10:43 65 149 70 2.76 1:51:14 0:13:40 52.4 126.4 0:04:37 0:05:35 55 131 75 2.95 4:41:42 4:41:41 54.4 130 0:59:53 ∞ 56 132.8 75 2.95 3:42:51 0:11:33 54.3 129.7 0:27:57 0:59:28 60 140 75 2.95 2:34:35 0:13:53 53.5 128.3 0:09:03 0:11:37 65 149 75 2.95 2:02:14 0:16:18 52.3 126.1 0:05:00 0:06:04 55 131 80 3.15 5:06:33 5:06:32 54.4 130 1:05:06 ∞ 56 132.8 80 3.15 4:02:31 0:13:35 54.3 129.7 0:30:22 1:05:02 60 140 80 3.15 2:48:27 0:16:25 53.5 128.3 0:10:34 0:11:41 65 149 80 3.15 2:12:51 0:19:18 52.2 125.9 0:05:56 0:06:31 55 131 90 3.54 5:53:50 5:53:49 54.4 130 1:11:56 ∞ 56 132.8 90 3.54 4:43:10 0:18:29 54.4 129.9 0:38:03 1:11:54 60 140 90 3.54 3:13:59 0:22:08 53.4 128.2 0:12:05 0:14:19 65 149 90 3.54 2:32:05 0:26:09 51.8 125.3 0:06:39 0:07:18 55 131 100 3.94 6:37:46 6:37:45 54.4 130 1:19:06 ∞ 56 132.8 100 3.94 5:20:05 0:24:13 54.4 129.9 0:41:31 1:19:03 60 140 100 3.94 3:36:12 0:28:50 53.2 127.8 0:13:19 0:17:02 65 149 100 3.94 2:50:01 0:33:10 51.6 124.8 0:08:03 0:08:03 55 131 150 5.91 9:23:30 9:23:29 54.4 130 1:49:35 ∞ 56 132.8 150 5.91 7:35:58 7:35:57 54.4 130 1:01:10 1:48:09 60 140 150 5.91 5:02:25 0:52:34 53 127.4 0:19:42 0:25:11 65 149 150 5.91 3:53:28 0:58:03 50.5 122.9 0:10:43 0:12:58

This is a good recommendation. While Amazon doesn't sell the book directly (it's out of print), I picked up an old version in decent condition for a couple bucks via an Amazon Marketplace seller. You can probably also find it at your local library.

I've seen it at Uwajimaya Seattle as recently as a few weeks ago.

Based on the advice in this thread, I purchased a new water bath on eBay for cooking sous vide. It's an enclosed circulating bath, as advised for minimizing water loss with long cooking times. The particular model I purchased has a 13L tank (about 3.5 gallons), just above nathanm's 10L recommendation. This ends up being a very nice size for home use, but would probably be too small for turning out restaurant quantities of food. Even being on the lower end of the capacity range, it takes quite some time (30-60 minutes) to reach temperature. A larger bath would likely take even longer, and its additional capacity would rarely be taken advantage of in my kitchen. This is a mid-range digital model, with a two line display showing the target temperature alongside the current temperature. Unit conversions and various other settings are accessible via the buttons on the front panel. An RS-232 control port enables more sophisticated programming and/or monitoring. More useful in a lab setting than in a kitchen, but nice to have nonetheless. Here's a photo of the unit heating up with the lid removed: The unit consists of two major pieces, connected with four screws. To get a good look at the heating element / pump, you need to take it apart. Here are some pictures of the individual pieces: Bath: Where'd the water go? "Guts", side view: "Guts", bottom view: The heating unit hovers in the bath directly, so you end up with less capacity than the photo of the empty container would suggest. There is, however, enough clearance under the element to place food (for example, you could line the entire bottom of the bath container with eggs). The "guts" don't look much different from an immersion style circulator. In fact, this could probably be used as an immersion circulator by positioning the top portion of the unit in a large hotel pan. I probably won't need that much capacity in my home kitchen, but it's certainly a nice option to have. Overall, I would recommend a unit of this style for home use. It's reasonably compact (just a bit bigger than a rice cooker or deep fryer designed for home use), and it doesn't make a ton of noise (a low-to-moderate amount of vibration noise depending on its surface, and a rather pleasant babbling brook sound as the water circulates). The sous vide cooking process is so "hands off" that you could keep it in a bedroom closet if you were short on space. These do tend to be a bit more expensive than immersion style units (the unit shown here retails for $2,600), but with some patience you can find one on eBay without breaking the bank. Mine was new (with some relatively minor cosmetic damage), and I paid less than $400 for it.