Robert Jueneman

I didn't mean to specifically recommend one type of SV appliance over another. The Eades and their Sous Vide Supreme have done a great job of trying to advance the cause of sous vide, and I commend them for it; and so has Frank Hsu of Fresh Meals Solutions (www.freshmealssolutions.com -- I mistyped the URL on my first post); and the good folks at PolyScience as well. The Sous Vide Supreme, like most such devices, needs calibration, but I would not naysay the convenience of having an integrated unit, vs. somewhat less expensive but arguably cluttered pot plus PID controller approach. That also applies to the more expensive but highly reliable PolyScience units. And I don't mean to overlook the SideKIC, SWID, and others, including the newer, less expensive PolyScience units now being sold by Williams-Sonoma -- I just don't have any personal experience with them. As to the difference in cooking times, temperatures, pre- vs. post-searing, etc., I think that is endemic to cooking in general. Otherwise, we would all have Fannie Farmer's The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book from 1896, with its 1,849 recipes (which I don't have but ought to buy), instead of my entire 8' x 6' cabinet full of cookbooks.

Attached is a list of thermometers I've tested, but unfortunately only one of each. Unfortunately, I don't have current prices on them. Sous Vide thermometers.pdf

OK. My first post on the subject concerned the equipment that someone might want to have, based on my experience, and was offered in part to counteract the rather uninformed "reviews" you find in the media. But perhaps I should have also tried to summarize the benefits of sous vide cooking, for those who have somehow missed the last umpty-thousand posts on the subject on eGullet. or, like Icanmakeit, have a faulty impression of what is involved. Like Steven Harris, I almost never cook meat (with the exception of fried bacon) any other way, and haven't for the last five years or so. Not only does sous vide provide a uniform cooking (no more "bulls-eye" effect on your steaks), but it gives you considerably greater latitude as to how long you cook your meat. Now, how long you cook something is very much a function of the thickness -- the time goes up with the square of the thickness, for most cuts, but once the meat has reached the temperature of the water bath, it won't get any more done. So you can cook a 25mm rib-eye for 1:35 at 53.5C/128F to reach a rare state, or you can cook it for 4 hours, and the results will be virtually the same. You can then sear it in hot oil, or with a torch, or on the grill, to get the nice Maillard reaction and crust on the outside edges. So depending on what you are doing, this gives you greatly increased latitude. If there is a chance that you might be a little late coming home from work, you can have your spouse or even one of the kids throw a frozen, already bagged steak in the water bath at 4:00PM, and then eat it anywhere from 5:30 to 9:00PM with great results. And for restaurants, the increased flexibility is a godsend -- that's why everyone from Thomas Keller down to the Chipotle Grill is using it -- you don't have to have years of experience to get great results, and the food can be ready almost immediately. For somewhat tougher but flavorful cuts of meat, you can cook a chuck steak for 24 hours at 55C/131F, and the long time/low temperature cooking will have the effect of softening the connective tissues while not overcooking the meat. The result will be as tender as a filet mignon, but still medium rare. Or to go to the extreme, cook a brisket or short ribs for 72 hours at 55C. The result will still be medium rare, but the meat will be fork tender, and much better than you would get a your local BBQ. Finally, for those individuals who might be at risk (children, pregnant women, and those whose immune systems may be compromised) cooking meat sous vide provides a way of completely killing any harmful bacteria, such as e. coli, listeria, or salmonella, without overcooking it. I hate restaurant hamburgers, because are invariably over-cooked in order to be safe. But I can cook 20mm hamburgers sous vide for 2 hours at 55C and be assured that all of the bacteria that might have been brought into the interior of the meat when it was ground has been completely and thoroughly killed, and yet the burger is still pink and juicy. A brief sear, and it is perfect. Vegetables also benefit from sous vide cooking, because the flavor isn't leached out into the hot water that is normally used, for example when cooking asparagus or corn on the cob. The time is a little more critical in this case, because in general you are cooking at a higher temperature, but corn on the cob cooked with some lime juice and chipotle powder for 30 minutes at 63C is superb. Fish is also excellent when cooked sous vide, but in general the temperatures are lower, and the time is more critical. "Eat fish quickly, before it eats itself!" But if you want to impress/shock your guests, try cooking salmon at 40C/104F in your hot tub, while you are sitting in it! It will take about a hour. Eggs cooked sous vide add a whole new dimension. Technically, they don't really need to be cooked "sous vide," i.e., in a vacuum bag, because they are in the shell, but the precision provided by the water bath, and particularly the possibility of combining two different temperatures and times provides results that simply aren't obtainable any other way. Cf. my blog on the perfect egg, at http://freshmealssolutions.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=65:search-perfect-egg-jueneman&Itemid=100088. I hope this helps to convince the doubting Thomas's. If not, I'll yell louder!

160F/71C is of course too high for most sous vide applications involving meat, except possibly for well-done chicken, and too low for vegetables. But you could use that with a Sous Vide Magic or other PID controller to control the temperature. Now, what your boss is going to say when you bring out your torch to sear your hamburger at your desk, that's a different story! BTW, I should have mentioned the use of a torch in my list of recommended equipment. The alternative would be to use a cast iron pan with some high-temperatruwe oil, such a grape seed oil to sear the outside of most meat products.

I suppose that like many regulars on eGullet, I get very annoyed by the poor quality of reviews of sous vide and sous vide appliances in the main stream media. The problem is that the reviewers, who generally have very limited if any experience in sous vide cooking, are trying to do two things at the same time — try out sous vide cooking for the first time, AND try out a sous vide appliance. Since the reviewers have practically no experience in sous vide cooking, how can they possibly know whether their good (or bad) results are due to the appliance, luck, or their own ineptitude? Do they even have some basic recipes or books, such as those by Douglas Baldwin and others, much less those by the professional chefs, such as Heston Blumenthal, Thomas Keller, or Ferran Adria? I have yet to read a review that talks about the desirable size or shape of such an appliance, much less a measurement of the accuracy or consistency of the water bath. But I really think that those of us who have been cooking sous vide for 5 years or more, and have tested and own innumerable sous vide rigs (I’m now up to nine!) need to do more to supplement the reviews in the main stream media, so here goes. I recently had an opportunity to calibrate a Sous Vide Supreme the other day, and found it to be off by over 2 degrees F. But do any of the reviewers even have a decent reference thermometer with which to calibrate such a device — even a very inexpensive basal thermometer? Not that I’ve seen yet. :-( Now, as to the cost issue. Most reviewers seem to think that a sous vide apparatus costs around $1000 or more, and maybe that’s true if you are talking about a top-of-the-line professional PolyScience unit. And yes, if you throw in a $2000 to $3000 for a top of the line chamber vacuum, that’s adds a lot more to the cost. Pretty soon you are talking about what a high grade camera costs! All things are relative, I suppose. But for some reason, the low cost options aren’t being discussed. Maybe that’s because the Sous Vide Supreme manufacturers and others are giving away their units to reviewers And it’s tough to “sell” a beer cooler and a Ziploc bag and the Archimedes principle! So in the interest of informing the newcomers who might be interested in trying sous vide, I thought I would put together a minimally expensive "kit" of appliances and other essentials, one that you can put under the tree without breaking the family budget, yet will do nearly everything that might be reasonably expected. The norm for kitchen stores seems to be an integrated appliance, but a much less expensive approach would be to use a PID controller such as the Sous Vide Magic from Fresh Meals Solutions (www.freahsmealssolutions.com), together with some kind of an electrical heating appliance. The Sous Vide Magic costs only $159.50USD, and that includes shipping to anywhere in the US or Canada. Now, almost everyone probably has some kind of a electrical slow-cooker or perhaps a rice cooker, and if they don’t, an inexpensive coffee urn is a nice alternative. I recently found a 30 cup, 7 liter coffee urn at Home Depot that costs only $29, and it includes a handy drain when you are through cooking. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=100676080&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_sku=100676080&ci_kw=%7bkeyword%7d&kwd=%7bkeyword%7d&cm_mmc=shopping%2d%5f%2dgoogleads%2d%5f%2dpla%2d%5f%2d100676080&ci_gpa=pla#.UMIk1EIQH0A. At the other end of the scale, a 100 cup urn is also a viable solution for $80, for those who need a slightly bigger appliance. http://www.amazon.co...4669752&sr=1-16 . And Hamilton Beach has a 6-qt slow cooker for $19.88 at Wal-Mart, http://www.walmart.c...Cooker/16913519. Now, would any of these devices hold an entire brisket, so you could cook it for 72 hours? Probably not, unless you cut it up. But would it be sufficient for cooking a medium size steak or corn on the cob, or other smaller portions for a small family? Certainly yes, and even if you had one of the larger, more professional units, that combination might be a nice unit to have on hand when cooking a second dish. Now, what about sealing the sous vide bag? Contrary to what some might have you believe, a vacuum sealer is not absolutely necessary, although admittedly very convenient. You can use a simple Ziploc bag and the Archimedes Principle -- simply immerse the bag containing your food in water until nearly all of the air has been squeezed out, and then seal it. On the other hand, if you want an inexpensive vacuum sealer, the Reynold’s Handi-Vac costs only $21.49. So the bottom line is that a perfectly fine sous vide rig (the Sous Vide Magic, the 6-qt slow cooker, and a Reynolds Handi-Vac) can be had for about $200US! Now, what if you want something a little more larger, either for a larger family, or for professional applications? The Fresh Meals Magic, also from Fresh Meals Solutions, is a more advanced unit that includes a heater and air bubbler for $149.50, plus $159.50 for the Sous Vide Magic controller. And a recently introduced variant of that unit with a new 1500E controller, the eiPOT (for eco-friendly, intelligent, POT (Plain Old Pot), is now available for $399.50. And as a special offer, eGullet readers are offered a $40USD discount for the eiPOT, bringing the price down to $359.50 through Dec. 16th. Mention coupon code SVMEG001E for eGullet readers! The major convenience feature that the other units offer, such as the Sous Vide Supreme, is the fact that the temperature probe is integrated and hidden away, as opposed to the Sous Vide Magic controllers. Of course, that makes it more difficult to replace thew probe if it becomes necessary, so that’s a trade-off that has to be considered. But the heating apparatus isn't the only thing that is needed, especially for those who are just starting out. A decent sous vide cookbook, with elementary recipes, would certainly be useful, and I would highly recommend "Sous Vide for the Home Cook" by Douglas Baldwin, the pre-eminent author of sous vide technology, and especially all of the food safety issues. And his web contribution, http://www.douglasba.../sous-vide.html, is invaluable and free! A reference thermometer is essential for calibrating your sous vide equipment. I recommend an inexpensive digital basal or ovulation thermometer, which should cost less than $20. Try to find one that isn't made in China, if you can. And finally, Darren Vengroff's Sous Vide Dash app for the iPhone is extremely useful, if not essential. Even if you don't a have an iPHone, buy one for that for that app alone, as I did! It calculates the time and temperature required to cook an amazing number of different foods I hope that this has been helpful. I'll monitor this thread, in case there are any questions. Bob

OliverB, as I said previously, I wish I had bought the Fissler Quato Large set. It includes a 4 qt pressure skillet (more than enough for cooking small amounts of veggies for two, and probably for four, unless you have two very hungry teenagers). And the 8 qt pressure cooker is probably enough for making stock, sauces, canning, etc. I bought the pressure skillet and the 10 qt P/C, but because I ended up paying for two lids, it cost more than it should have, and takes up more space. Eight or even 10 qts may seem like a whole lot, but remember that in general you can only fill these half full. So 8 qts is really only four qts, in practice. If you are making stock, by the time you go to the trouble to roast the bones, add the veggies, simmer, reduce, etc., etc., you will probably wish that you had made more. For that reason, I don't think the 5 1/4 K-R would be big enough. YMMV.

There are several ways of calibrating a thermometer, depending on how good a physicist you are or want to be! Many do include a ice point calibration, but then you have to worry about whether the ice bath slush is exactly at the triple point, and how pure your water is. (You do make your ice from distilled water, don't you?) Another possibility is the boiling point of water, which also involves how pure the water is, how rapidly the water is boiling vs. simmering, how much air is dissolved n the water, and of course your elevation and the atmospheric pressure that day. In general, I would say that a boiling water calibration is likely to be off by as much as + 2C, whereas a ice point calibration is more likely to be within 1C. But since thermometers in general, and ESPECIALLY digital thermometers, are like to suffer from linearity problems, it makes sense to calibrate them as close to the working temperature as possible. The problem with both of those methods is the question of linearity, as well as the convenience issue, and what you are trying to measure. An ovulation thermometer would have an upper limit of about 100F or maybe 38C, plus or minus a bit, but for sous vide work, that is very close to the working temperature. And for under $20 US, they are very accurate, and quite inexpensive. Now, for melting sugar, or making candy, or checking the temperature of your oven or your Himalayan salt block or cast iron pan before searing something, obviously 38C is a bit too low, and something like an accurate IR probe would be better. Of course, a laboratory instrument would be more accurate, and cover a significantly wider range. I love my Control Company Traceable 4000 reference thermometer, which is certified to be within 0.05C at 60.002C, but it cost nearly $400, and I am two years overdue in sending it back for factory recalibration. And Pedrog has a Swiss or German unit which offers equivalent accuracy, although I don't recall the manufacturer. Both offer a logging function via computer, which is almost indispensable when trying to measure heat flow. But when I was working up some presentation material on sous vide, I calibrated over a dozen off-the-rack thermometers I had in my drawer and several purchased from various kitchen stores. The Taylor brand seemed particularly poor, with some being off by 5 to 6F. Most were within 1F, but only after re-calibration against a reference thermometer. Only the Component Design Northwest Q2-450 was rated (by me) as Highly Recommended, other than the ovulation thermometers and my reference. Of the rest, one was Recommended after Calibration, two were Acceptable after Calibration, two were Acceptable, one was Marginally Acceptable, and two were Not Recommended. The standards I used, which admittedly could be debated, were that in order to be Highly Recommended it had to be accurate within 0.0F, 0.2F for Recommended, 0.6F to be Acceptable after Calibration, and 1F to be marginally Acceptable after Calibration. A standard digital fever thermometer was -0.4F at 99.884F, which I considered Acceptable, but Not Recommended as a Secondary Standard. In fact, I'm not sure I would consider it acceptable as a fever thermometer for my child! I also have to concede that I am not publishing these results in Consumer's Reports, and I didn't test dozen of thermometers from multiple lots from each of the various manufacturers. It would certainly be nice if someone would do that, but I can't afford either the time or the money to do so! YMMV, in other words. It is an unfortunately fact of life that most of the products that were in the lower range of acceptability were all made in China. Now, whether that represents sloppy standards by the Chinese manufacturers, or a tolerance for poorer quality vs. expense by the importer or brand name retailer, that's an interesting question. But the Highly Recommended ones were all in the $80 to $100 region. You get what you pay for, and then only if you are lucky AND calibrate them! Now, the question of how much accuracy is really needed for sous vide work is a different issue. If you look at the time/temperature guidelines published by PolyScience, or for that matter in Thomas Keller's "Under Pressure," to my mind they are all about 5 to 7C too high. Now, maybe that is just a function of the way I like my steaks -- my wife might not agree with me, and you might not either. And that also is a function of how you sear your steak afterwards -- I typically cook mine at 52C, and then sear a 35mm steak with a torch. For fish, I think that 1 or 2C makes a significant difference. And as some of the discussion on cooking eggs shows, 1C makes a significant difference. And for long time, low temperature cooking, you really want to be sure that you are above 55C, otherwise you might be running a bacterial incubator! So in summary, I think that an absolute accuracy of 1F or 0.5C is essential, and better than that is highly desirable, considering the possibility of drift. But you really can't calibrate a working thermometer to those standards unless you have a reference thermometer that is significantly more accurate, say 0.2F or 0.1C, and as my results show, you can't trust most of these products to be accurate without calibrating them. Hence the need for a secondary reference thermometer, and the best I have found for the price have been ovulation thermometers. Buy a couple, from different manufacturers, just to be safe! My two ovulation thermometers are both accurate to 0.00F at 100, compared to my reference thermometer, so I trust all three of them. QED.

That's interesting, Pedro, and the photos are useful. And I can see the advantage if you are trying to serve the whole egg, e.g., on toast. Sometimes, however, as with an egg yolk on asparagus, either with or without hollandaise, I only want the yolk, and so having the coagulated white stick to the shell is actually an advantage.

Chris, can you provide some further information on that issue? I recently purchased an indoor smoker, and used it to smoke some pork chops that I had previously cooked SV. I had the heat turned up too far, and somewhat overcooked the chops, but they were very tasty, and the smoke flavor really came through. Is there a "best" way to do that? Maybe I'm just a bit bored, but I'm particularly interested in trying various combination of Modernist cooking methods, such as combiing SV meat with braised vegetables, then blending the two to allow the flavor of the veggies to permeate the meat, while not over cooking it. Or using a smoker in combination with SV. Or searing on a salt block instead of my usual approach with a torch, or a panini pan and press. Or my latest, after visting an olive oil store, Oleacea, here in Santa Fe -- cook a rib-eye sous vide, then sear it on a Himalayan salt block on the BBQ (gently heated to about 475F), then sprinkled it with crumbled blue cheese, and topped with Cafe Espresso balsamic vinegar.

I can't say about the Vacmasters, but I do have a whole brisket in the freezer, sealed with my 35XP. But remember, the next time you need to vacuum seal say an entire giraffe, it is easily done with either a FoodSaver or a chamber vacuum -- all that you have to do is to trim the meat so that its diameter will fit within the largest bag roll you have, and then use the vacuum in reverse, i.e., with the object that your are sealing on the outside, rather than the inside. So rifles, shotguns, etc., can easily be sealed before going on a hunting trip. The only thing to remember is that this trick only works with the embossed style bags or rolls, e.g., those sold by FoodSaver. This is because you have to suck out the air while the lid on the chamber vacuum is closed, prior to sealing it. The flat bags normally used for chamber vacuums won't work, because they don't have any air channels, and the vacuum will pull the lid down too hard.

My first suggestion would be a basal (ovulation) thermometer, such as the KD-1432 from CVS (US). Costs maybe $15 USD. Both the analog (liquid, non-mercury) and digital ones seem to be accurate to 0.01F at 100F, and they are small. Use it to calibrate whatever other thermometer you buy -- almost essential if you get into sous vide. Then get the Component Design Northwest Q2-450 thermometer with lanyard and a calibration option. Forget all of the fancy chemicals and ingredients, at least for now -- a sous vide rig is far more important, long term. The PolyScience Sous Vide Professional Creative Series clamps onto the side of almost any reasonable size pot or tank, and the Travel and Storage case could protect it while not in use. You could store the unit in the trunk of your car, or under the bed, if necessary. If you already had a Crock Pot or rice cooker, or even an electric griddle or hot plate, and a pot, I would recommend the Sous Vide Magic PID controller from Fresh Meals Solutions, instead. Don't bother with a vacuum sealer, at least at first -- ZipLoc bags and the Archimedes principle will do just fine for starters. One or two round ice-ball trays are fun to use for making things like mango juice coated with white or dark chocolate. You freeze the juice in the tray, then dip the balls in chocolate and refrigerate them. The juice then melts, but the chocolate doesn't, so when you pop it in your mouth, it almost explodes. Poor man's spherification, and more reliable. Maybe some dry ice, as an occasional substitute for liquid nitrogen or an Anti-Griddle. And once it vaporizes, it won't take up any storage!

Excellent question, as I'm thinking about the same thing! One possible application I thought of would be if you wanted to save the juices that came as a result of cooking something, and didn't want them diluted with the water used for steam. So perhaps you wanted to cook a ham hock, and add the juices to some soup. I would think that the ham hock might take 30 minutes or more, while something like split pea soup might take only 15 minutes. (I haven't looked up the times, so don't trust me on those.) Of course, you could probably use the water and juices as part of the stock for the soup, so maybe that isn't the best example. So how about stewing apples, so some other fruits or veggies, where you want to save the juice? Probably someone with more experience would be better able to answer the question!

To answer both passaglia and Charcuterer: First, I heard back from Fissler, and they are sending me a replacement valve for the one lid. They also said, " As for the 'Asian' pressure cooker (p/c), you are probably referring to the Vitavit Premium Solar line. It looks like the Vitavit Premium, which we have a small selection in our Los Angeles showroom. The biggest differences are that the Solar has a half circle black and reddish pattern around the pot body, the p/c lid has 3 settings as you mentioned, and the regular lid knob shape is differently shaped as well. Unfortunately, you cannot interchange the handles or kits between these and the Blue Point. It would have to be an entirely new purchase. Because these lines are for our direct sales sold through our parent company, the price range is also much higher than the Blue Point. " Too bad. As for overcooked/undercooked food, I'm still learning. I did some split pea soup that was undercooked (I forgot to add the recommended 10% per 200 feet, or 25% at my altitude). But on the other hand, I thought some broccoli was slightly overcooked and too soft. As I said, I'm still learning/experimenting. The last time I was around a pressure cooker was in the late '40's, when we lived in Cheyenne, and my mother used one to cook pot roasts, etc., in an old jiggle-top aluminum job. I took a class on pressure cookers last weekend, and it seemed like everyone in the class had memories of spaghetti sauce all over the ceiling! Those days are over, thankfully. I don't have any experience with the Kuhn Rikon, but the Fissler only vents when you exceed the double line pressure, nominally at 18 psi. Once you back off the heat, it is perfectly quiet. In order to minimize the time required to come up to temperature, I turn the gas stove up to the maximum, until the liquid starts to boil, then put the lid on. Shortly thereafter, it comes up to pressure. Obviously, the smaller 4qt unit comes up to pressure faster than the 10 qt one does. I then turn the heat down to low, and it stops hissing and stays at the double line almost immediately. But I also have a question, and maybe someone else knows. All of the p/c cookbooks I have, as well as the instruction manual, say to only fill the unit half way. Why is that? Obviously you need to leave some room for the steam, but if 2 qts is enough for the 4 qt unit, why isn't that enough for the 10 qt unit as well? Now, some foods might themselves expand, like beans for example, and some others might tend to spatter and mess up the valve, like say applesauce (which Fissler recommends against cooking, along with pearl barley, although other books have such recipes). But if I'm cooking something that is mostly liquid, like making stock, why couldn't I fill up the 10 qt unit to say 8 qts? But my real challenge these days is to try to integrate multiple cooking methods into a harmonious whole, using the best of each. Two nights ago, I cooked a rib-eye steak at 51C/124F in my sous vide immersion circulator, fired up the BBQ grill to gently heat up Himalayan salt block (turning it from low to medium to high over the course of 30 minutes until my IR thermometer registered 475F), started cooking some broccoli in the pressure skillet, and took out a small container of beurre blanc sauce and reheated it in the microwave. I then seared the steak on both sides on the salt block, cooled the p/c in running water, and opened the microwave, only to find that the plastic container had melted, and the beurre blanc was all over the glass plate! But OK, I could recover it. Then I topped the steak with crumbled blue cheese, and drizzled some espresso-flavored balsamic vinegar over the cheese. Fantastico! BTW, I have no connection with these people, but I found a shop in the Hotel La Fonda in Santa Fe that sells nothing but olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sea salts -- probably 30 to 40 of each, with dipping samples. They also have a store in Key West. Check out http:/www.oleaceaoliveoil.com. Bob

I recently bought two Fissler pressure cookers, the 4 qt pressure skillet, and the 10 qt version. Both seem to be the cream of the crop, although the Kuhn-Rikon and Fagor both looked good, as well. The 4 qt version is about 10" wide, and can be used as a ordinary frying pan or skillet, and it has a nice "bumpy" bottom for sautéing meats. It also includes a glass lid, and a steaming/frying basket. As someone else pointed out, although you can buy the pressure skillet bottom separately, it doesn't have that bumpy bottom -- it's smooth. I find that the pressure skillet is quite nice for cooking say some broccoli or other vegetable dish, and I would think that meat balls, etc., would also work nicely. The 10 qt has a smooth bottom, and it comes with an interior tripod and a perforated stainless steel pan. They also sell (and I intend to buy) an unperforated pan, which might be useful if you didn't want to soak whatever you are cooking in the water. or let all of the juices flow back into the water, e.g, when cooking a ham hock by itself. In retrospect, I wish I had bought the four piece "Quattro large" version, which include the glass lid, the pressure cooker lid, and the 4qt pressure skillet and basket, as well as the 8 qt. (not 10 qt.) pressure cooker bottom. Since the lid will fit either pressure cooker, and because the lid is the most expensive part, by buying one lid and two bottoms, you can save quite a bit of money. Unfortunately, they don't sell the 4 qt and the 10 qt as a combination. Boo! :-( And you can't buy just the 8 qt. bottom by itself, either, even as a spare part, or I might order one. Double boo! :-( I have a call and a note into Fissler USA, asking if there is some way that I can purchase the Asian "Turbo" pressure valve set. It is supposed to go up to a third ring, at 21 psi, and at my elevation (7000 ft.), I need to run at 18.5 psi to reach the same temperature and pressure that the sea level recipe writers reach with their 15 psi values. Unfortunately, it's been a week now, and still no response, so I'm going to have to bug them again, or try to contact the factory in Germany.

I recently bought the 4 liter Fissler Blue Point pressure skillet. Then after reading about other models, I decided to go back and buy the Fissler 10 liter version as well. Unfortunately, although the tops are interchangeable, there doesn't seem to be any way of merely buying the 10 liter bottom part -- you have to buy the complete unit with a second pressure lid. Boo, Fissler! :-( After talking to a knowledgeable sales person at Las Cosas in Santa Fe, I felt that that smaller pan would be great for cooking veggies, and perhaps small meats, where as the 10 liter version would be good for making a modest amount of stock, or cooking a whlole chicken or pot roast, without having to haul out my specially modified "R2D2" modified All-American Sterilizer, which I use with a 12 liter stainless steel Pasta Pentola inside. But as I discussed in my blog at http://freshmealssol...g&Itemid=100088, at my altitude (7000 ft.), I really ought to be running at 18.5 psi in order to have the same absolute pressure = temperature that the standard 15 psi recipes call for. A knowledgeable chef I know in town recommends adding 20% to the time in most recipes in order to make up for the difference in pressure, but I'm wondering if there is a simpler and m,ore accurate way. According to the manual for the US version (only), the standard 2 line pressure is 15 psi, and the steam release point is set at 18 psi. So I'm wondering -- suppose I use double-sided tape to tape one or more nickels or quarters to the top of the pressure indicator, until it starts to vent steam at the 18 psi point, and then back off the weight just a bit, in order to get close to the 18.5 psi I would like to reach -- say 17.5 psi. Alternatively, I suppose I could talk to Fissler, and see if I could buy the Asian pressure release value that apparently goes to 21 psi, and use that, backed off slightly. Does anyone have any experience with using the Fissler at high altitudes, like in Switzerland or Bolivia? Or has anyone used the Asian model for this purpose?

See my blog at http://freshmealssolutions.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=65:search-perfect-egg-jueneman&Itemid=100088. The problem you are having, I believe, is probably due to your not chilling the egg immediately after boiling it. And unfortunately, this is one area where MC lets us down. Try a three minute pre-boil directly from the fridge, then 63C for 125 minutes. Then crack the egg with a egg-cutter. Bob

I posted a recipe (more for technique than ingredients) for Pommes Anna using the traditional copper Pommes Anna pan at Perhaps it should have gone here, instead.

La Cocotte à Pommes Anna -- the Mauviel Copper Potatoes Anna Pan Pommes Anna is both a spectacular and very tasty dish, but although the recipe itself is the utmost in simplicity, the technique is all-important. If you look on the web, you will find all sorts of ideas, many of which contradict the others. Unfortunately, none of the recipes that I have found discuss the proper technique for using the traditional copper La Cocotte à Pommes Anna pan, such as that made by Mauviel, which simplifies the procedure and produces absolutely marvelous results. By comparison with other products, such as non-stick frying pans, which require using a lid and some dexterity to flip the cake without getting the butter all over the floor, the shallow top pan nests over the bottom pan, and everything stays in one place when you flip it. And the 2mm solid copper pan conducts heat wonderfully and results in a very nice crust. The only drawback to copper pans that I can see is the 2mm copper exterior, which requires hand washing and occasional polishing to keep it looking like new. Also, do not cook anything acidic in the pot, e.g., tomatoes, or it will discolor the tin lining, and use wood or nylon utensils to avoid scratching it. Like all tin-lined products, with very heavy use the lining may have to be re-tinned after time. Here is my recipe and suggested technique: · Melt about ¾ pound (three sticks) of butter in a butter warmer. Using a small strainer, remove the froth from the top and discard it. Then pour the remaining melted butter, but not the butter solids at the bottom of the pan, unto a clean saucepan or other container. You now have clarified butter, which can be refrigerated until needed. · Preheat the oven to 400°F/2O0°C. · Peel three medium size Idaho Russet potatoes, storing the peeled potatoes in water in order to prevent discoloration. · Working quickly, slice the potatoes into 2mm slices, using either a food processor with a 2mm blade, or a mandoline. If you are using a food processor, cut each potato in half, and put both halves in the large push-feed tube, so they will stand up straight. · Lay the resulting slices on a paper towel to dry. Do NOT immerse the slices in water, as some recipes suggest, as that will wash off the starch that is needed to hold the slices together as they bake. · Using a 2”/50mm cookie cutter, cut 20 or more perfectly round circles of potatoes from the slices. (I’m rather surprised that no one else seems to have suggested this technique—most say to shape the potato into a cylinder with a chef’s knife.) · Dust the bottom of the pan with finely shredded rosemary, scattered as evenly as possible. Then add some freshly ground pepper. · Starting in the center, arrange the perfectly round slices in a tight rosette pattern, radiating outwards around the pan. After each layer, pour a little more butter on the top, add some freshly ground pepper and maybe a little salt, and then put down another layer, in the opposite direction. The slices for the second and subsequent layer don’t have to be perfectly round, as they won’t be seen. Don’t put salt in the bottom of the pan, to avoid pitting. · At the end, use a spatula to press down firmly on the slices, and then place the pan in the oven, uncovered, for about 30 minutes. · After 30 minutes, tip the deep pan and pour off most of the butter, and use a flexible spatula slide the cake back and forth to make sure the potatoes aren’t sticking to the bottom of the pan. (They shouldn’t stick, if you used an adequate amount of butter in the bottom of the pan.) Put the shallow pan on top of the deep pan, and quickly invert it. Then pour a little bit of the butter back over the top. · Place the shallow pan in the oven for another 30 minutes. By this time, some or perhaps most of the potatoes on the top, which will become the bottom, will be beginning to be nicely browned. · Repeat the flipping process, and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the top is nicely browned. Avoid the temptation to turn on the broiler, as you don’t want to get the tin lining too hot. · Using a wide flexible spatula, lift the entire cake onto a serving platter, or flip it once more onto the shallow pan, and then flip it once again onto the plate or platter. Repair any minor esthetic damage, and then slice into wedges and serve. · Depending on your appetite, three potatoes should serve 6 to 8 people. Any leftovers can be vacuum-sealed under medium compression to hold the cake together, then refrigerated for several days. Rewarm in the microwave, or in the oven at 375°F/190°C. As Julia would say, Bon Appetite!

See my article on high altitude pressure cookers, at http://freshmealssolutions.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=71:high-altitude-pressure-cooking-and-stock-making&Itemid=100088. I use a modified 27 L All-American Sterilizer, controlled by a Fresh Meals Solutions Sous Vide Magic and an electric griddle. Works great for both canning and stock making. You could use your induction stove (with an induction interface disk) to do the initial heating, and then use the electric griddle, or just use the griddle and wait a bit longer.

Chris, glad to see your post. Regarding the lining up of the strands (I didn't have any strands), what size grinding aperture disk were you using?m Is there any reason to think that the KitchenAid grinder wouldn't do as good a job as a dedicated unit like yours? Would more fat have held the strands together better, do you think? Maybe I'll run the meat through the grinder again, and add some fat, or maybe butter. Or maybe bacon grease? And yes, I should have made the patties bigger -- they were more like sliders. Hatch green chiles are in season now in Santa Fe. Although my wife can't handle spicy foods, maybe I'll try making some green chile burgers.

Although I normally don't particularly like hamburgers, I had such a good one (bacon blue cheese burger) at a grill in Santa Fe that I decided to try the recipe in Modernist Cuisine, and hang the expense. I bought 2 lbs of short rib meat, 2 lbs of bison rib-eye (Whole Foods didn't have any aged rib-eye) and 1.5 lb of hanger -- $75 for hamburgers!. I chilled them in the freezer for an hour after bringing them home, then cut them into 1" cubes. I chilled my Kitchen Aid grinder with some liquid nitrogen, then started grinding. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a half cylinder mold, so I decided to improvise. I laid out some plastic wrap on top of a Silpat mat, and started grinding, using a 14/" aperture plate. I alternated the various cubes fo meat, soit would be mixed. But unlike the MC recipe, instead of coming out in nice strips that I could lay down lengthwise, this just made little bits or balls of meat, which I spread out as best I good, with minimal handling. I rolled up the Silpat/plastic into a cylinder about 3" in diameter, then wrapped the plastic around in and tightened up the edges. I made two of those rolls, and chilled one and froze the other. After chilling, I cut the roll, including the plastic, into about 1-1/4" thick patties. The MC recipe said not to vacuum seal the patties, but I tried sealing three patties with my chamber vacuum, first at 50% ( too much air -- it floated too much), and then 70%, which seemed about right. MC said 30 minutes would be enough, but I used Sous Vide Dash and came up with 47 minutes for that thickness, at 52C. I then removed the plastic wrap around the edges, and dipped the patties in liquid nitrogen for 30 seconds, then into the deep fat fryer for a minute at the maximum setting of 375F. I then slapped those on Whole Foods Seeduction buns that had been previously prepared with blue cheese, tomato slice, and an onion slice. The results were disappointing, frankly, especially considering the time and expense. The patties seemed a bit overdone, and not particularly juicy. Maybe I went overboard in trimming out the fat, and by using the very lean bison rib-eye. Next time I'll use more fat, or perhaps heart surgeon's suggestion of some butter. The second problem was that my Krups electric deep fat fryer won't go any higher than 375F, whereas the recipe called for 450F. I may buy a second fryer and void the warranty by adjusting or defeating the upper temperature limit. I had one that I had done that to, and stupidly gave it away with I bought the Krups. Anyway, I think 350F is a bit low, and a minute a bit too long. Next time I'll try 30 seconds, And finally, the buns and the blue cheese were cold, and the blue cheese didn't melt. Next time I'll pop those in the oven briefly, just to warm them up a bit. And to add insult to injury, I forgot to cook the french fries twice, once at a lower temperate, and once at a higher temp, and as a result they were rather limp. Again, I don't think the oil was hot enough. Anyone else gone through all of this, with better results? I've still got five patties, plus the frozen log to try again. Any other ideas?

Not stupid questions, but I'm afraid I don't know the answer for certain. I THINK that the ultrasonic cavitation extends pretty much throughout the liquid, so it should matter which direction the fries are loaded, although you wouldn't want to pack them too densely. I think you could put the potatoes in the bath with or without the startch. They shouldn't explode, but of course you would ned more starch, an it would be a bit of a mess to clean up afterwards. Try it and see!

Welcome to the League of Expensive Toys! But they're still cheap compared to decent cameras and lenses. All things are relative! I'm afraid I haven't done much experimentation recently, as we are in the throes of buying a new house in Santa Fe, and preparing to move. But one of the features of the kitchen is a 14' island counter, so I'll have plenty of room! My most frequent use is the chilled vodka bath, for preserving left-overs, and for cook-chill.

I think they will survive freezing just fine, although the FDA doesn't really recommend vacuum packaging of frozen fish unless it was received in a frozen state, and has never been thawed. Personally, I believe that is a CYA attitude to cover commercial users, but check the US Food Code for more details. As to how much long they would need to cook - that is a difficult question to answer precisely. Douglas Baldwin and MC have some approximation tables, but the computations are technically complex. What I would do is throw the fish in the bath, and then feel them from time to time. Once they appear to have thawed, you can use the various tables or the Sous Vide Dash app to figure out how much longer to cook them. As a rough approximation, if you are planning dinner -- I'd add say 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness.

I made some garlic confit following the recipe at http://svkitchen.com/?p=1802, using a neutral canola oil instead of your olive oil. It has not congealed or turned cloudy, and it tasted great. However, any kind of oil/confit is an anaerobic environment, and hence the risk of botulism cannot be ignored. I took issue with the MC Cooks Forum on this question, becasue I didn't think they were necessarily cooking it long enough (depending on your altitude), or refrigerating it adequately. See http://modernistcuisine.com/cook/forum/g-m/garlic-confit/ I agree with Pete Johnson at SV Kitchen. I would make the confit under sterile conditions, then divide it up into small portions that can be individually sealed, and use each portion on a one-time basis, to avoid reintroducing a pathogen into the mix. If you then freeze the individual confit portions, they should last almost indefinitely. If you aren't sure about the sterility, I would certainly throw it out and start over. Garlic is cheap, funerals are expensive!