Jump to content

IndyRob

participating member
  • Posts

    1,369
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by IndyRob

  1. 2 hours ago, Arey said:


    (Parenthetically speaking why doesn't my keyboard have a cent sign key.  If I'm too lazy to cut out a 20 cent coupon, I'm certainly too lazy to search through WingDings font for a lousy cent sign I'll probably forget how to  type before the day is done,)

     

    (If you're using a Windows machine, oddly enough the short answer, (Alt+0162), doesn't seem to work here.  But I thought it was a good and worthy complaint and I can now tell you how to change your machine to allow it with Ctrl-Alt-C, but it's a pretty annoying process.  But I now have my cents ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢)

     

    Anyway, I'm an almost religious follower of these pamphlets, but mostly online, and as others have indicated, only for things I would buy anyway.

     

    Soda prices, for instance are the classic example.  If you're buying soda for more than 1/2 the list price at a supermarket, you're a rube (or desperate).  Likewise, if you're lured into a store by low soda prices and fill your cart with other stuff you are, again, a rube.

     

    Grocery stores will rely on this and will sell soda, milk, etc. at a loss knowing that they will make it up with other things you buy.  Discount places like Walmart and Aldi will almost never have the best prices on soda because they're not playing the same game.

     

    It would be really cool if someone mashed up all of the weekly flyers in an area into one publication.  And included stores without flyers like my local Asian and Hispanic marts.

  2. Yes, it is for home use.  As it turns out, the usual recommendations for brining pork chops turned out to be much longer than I thought.  So I did those overnight and that brine is now gone.  So the chicken will be done separately.

     

    I don't think I'd ever think about doing in a restaurant kitchen no matter how strong the science might be.  The mere perception could sink the ship.

     

    I was still interested from a theoretical standpoint though.

    • Like 1
  3. Thanks, this makes sense.  I will do them separately.  It's just a bit more salt and time.  Plus, I had envisioned doing them all in my big Cambro container but I don't currently have room the the fridge for that.

     

    But would this suggest that one could brine the pork first and the re-use the brine for the chicken?

  4. I have 10 chicken thighs and a pork loin I'll portion into steaks.  I'd like to brine both.  I don't think I'll try this since neither will need a long time in the brine, but nonetheless, I wonder if there's any need to keep them separate.

     

    I did a search and it appears this is not the first time this question has been raised on the internet.  Yet, I think only one answer seemed authoritative (and that said it would be fine).  It seemed reasonable to me as well.

     

    But, again, I don't need to do it, so I don't think I will.  Still, the question has been nagging me.

     

    [Edit] Another point raised out there is that the flavors may mingle.  Not a horrible prospect in my thinking, but it seems unlikely to be to a detectable degree unless all the pieces are densely packed.

  5. I don't try to make my own cookies anymore after finding economical refrigerated doughs at the grocery store ($1.79 for 2 dozen).  I like these.  They're what I grew up with, but more convenient.

     

    But what they appear to do is to spread the dough into an even rectangular layer, refrigerate, and then cut into squares.  Each square (cube?) goes round in the oven.

  6. 11 hours ago, torolover said:

    I figured since the meats have already been at 165F and 180F in the past, reheating them close to that temp shouldn't matter for moisture lost.  Am I wrong?
     

    I don't like to say it, but I think you may be wrong.  It's a different sort of heat - a dry-heat evaporating one.

     

    If you take meat from the fridge at 39 degrees F and put it in an oven at 400 F, it's going to take a long time for the middle to get to 150.  In the meantime, the outside of the is going to get well beyond 150.

     

    You've just undone your sous vide.

     

    Instead, I think you need to forget about the 150 F internal goal.  130 should be fine for properly pasteurized (via sous vide), properly chilled meat.  You're probably looking for some Maillard reaction, which is good, but do it as quickly as possible with high heat of some sort. Perhaps direct flame, a hot grill, or an oven set at 550.

    • Like 1
  7. I think Thanksgiving is really becoming the dominant secular American holiday that allows people of all cultures, faiths and religions (or lack thereof) to celebrate roughly the same general sentiment.  It's probably helped immensely by the fact that the holiday was declared long after the the original experience was lost.

     

    If we were to be true to the supposed history, we'd probably have to order some venison from the local Indian reservation, and make a variety of squash dishes.  Or, if we were poor, we'd pile the table high with lobsters and complain that we weren't getting the good stuff.

     

     

     

     

    • Like 5
  8. http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/much-sugar-mango-7628.html

     

    According to that link they (mangoes) have a lot of sucrose which, if I understand correctly, is plain ol' sugar.

     

    So it's probably properly labeled.  I don't think I've ever seen an ingredient list on a potato, whether or not it's in a bag.  Chunking and freezing shouldn't change much except for perception.  Freezing and thawing could cause a separation of the inherent elements that causes a different experience.

     

    Of course, it could be totally fraudulent, but it would take a lot more to determine that.

  9. 3 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

    Maybe it will make the early episodes more engaging.  It's usually sort of a blur in the beginning,

     

    I think the All Stars season was successful because of this.  But that list doesn't really seem like an All Star one.  Let's hope it's not Top Chef: Retreads.

    • Like 2
  10. About a year ago we had a store called Market District open near us.  They have *a lot* of store prepared items.  But are also a mega mart.  At the opening they had valet parking and golf carts in the parking lots to bring shoppers into the store from their packed parking lot.

     

    A couple of phrases I was continually muttering as I first explored the store were "Ooh, that's interesting... Wow, that's expensive..."  Over and over again.

     

    The bloom seems to be off the rose now.

     

    Nonetheless, I think this semi-prepared segment will be a success.  Salad bars have been a major profit center at supermarkets for some time.  But we need smarter consumers to bring the prices down.

    • Like 1
  11. I was just reading a Serious Eats review of the Impossible Burger and the Beyond Burger.  Kenji's conclusions strike me as more qualified than, say, David Chang's seemingly unreserved enthusiasm.

     

    The comments on the page seem to be all over the place and quite contentious.  I appreciate these things as simply interesting developments that may provide new options.  But for so many it seems that a burger cannot simply be a burger, but must be some sort of sociological or ecological line in the sand.

     

    I hypothesize that for every person wondering why we can't just let a veg be a veg, there's another wondering why a Kobe Ribeye needs to be ground up into burgers.

  12. 1 hour ago, torolover said:

    What do you think about herbs and salt?  Do you think Herbs flavor molecules will travel with the salt into the meat?  

     

    Thomas Keller uses and herbal salt for his Duck Confit.  He puts salt, thyme, parsley, and bay leaves into a spice grinder.  It's ground up to make a green salt. He covers the duck with the herbal salt and lets it sit in the fridge for 24 hours.  Then he washes off the salt and then braises it for another 10 hours.

     

    Did the herb molecules travel with the salt into the duck?  

    If not, why not just add herbs at the end of cooking?

    I think btbyrd is absolutely correct.  It depends on the ingredients in the marinade.  Salt may be able to take some along for the ride, but not others.  Someone would have to do a study of every combination.

     

    With regard to Keller's technique, I think a lot is left unsaid.  If he braises it for another 10 hours, surely that's not in plain water.  Those aren't the only variables.  We'd have to understand curing completely - which I'm not sure anyone does.  One would presume that he does it this way because he's found that it works.

     

    In science we must reserve judgement until we're absolutely certain we've accounted for everything. 

     

    In cooking we must put something on the plate..

     

     

    • Like 3
  13. While any store might have a management or policy problem, this story doesn't ring true to me.  To find out that a union is driving it makes it even more suspect.

     

    The act of issuing reprimands over the PA is the least TJ thing I can imagine.  Far worse than any causes listed for the employee.

     

    I don't know if I've ever even heard the PA used in our TJs.  They tend to ring bells.

     

    [Edit - deleted question which could lead directly to political discussion]

    • Like 1
  14. If you can get your hands on one in a store, try pressing the back plate (the piece the face of the meat would slide along) at the top near the blade.  If it flexes, walk away and don't look back.  You'll never get a properly thin cut.

     

    The ChefsChoice seems to get good reviews on Youtube and elsewhere, but for me it too much resembles a similar unit I bought long ago and thought was a nightmare.  I think it's gear driven like that one.

     

    I describe the alternative I'm pleased with in this thread.  This is similar to the ChefsChoice model 667, but about $150 less.

  15. 1 hour ago, Dave the Cook said:

    The Washington Post has a good breakdown of what's in the suit filed by ATK: click.

     I am not a lawyer, although I sometimes pretend on the internet.

     

    I think challenging the look and feel is not going to be conclusive - except in conjunction with the other claims.

     

    What seems more damning is that - while creating a competing entity - CK held an ownership interest in ATK.  I wonder if - in his mind - this gave him the right to the product(s). That's exactly the opposite of fiduciary responsibility that a board member would normally have.

     

    Still, in the interest of America, I think this thing must be fully litigated at Jack Bishop's tasting table. (Jack: Yes, you might think that Chris, but....)

  16. Breakfast burritos.  I used to scramble up ten eggs at a time with a little sausage and cheese, wrap them in tortillas and refrigerate them.  I'd like to think that they'd freeze well, but never tested it.  They were just too handy as out-the-door nuked snacks in the morning.

    • Like 1
  17. 5 hours ago, weedy said:

    I don't know why that reply got all scrambled...sorry

     

    I'd be a little surprised if the $800 Polyscience Chef, used in so many restaurants, was really unrepairable as well.... but who knows?

     

    I'll certainly post on Reddit... thanks!

     

     

    ps I prefer the A1 as well, for a variety of reasons.

     

    It doesn't seem like you have a problem with the performance of the Anova, just that it can break.  But if you can buy four Anovas for the price of the PS Chef (and still save some money), what problem are you trying to solve?

     

    If your top priority is repair-ability, you need to build your own rig.  It would still be cheaper than the Polyscience options.  And you'd know how every little piece is supposed to work.

     

    These things are really just a sort of glorified water heater.

     

    • Like 1
  18. 21 minutes ago, marktfrau said:

    What validates the $1M in punitive damages?

     

    IANAL, but it appears that the compensatory damages were  $300K, so $1M would not be much outside the standard punitive standard of 3X (treble?) damages,  This would seem to indicate that the jury found that beyond just being responsible, that they knew (or should have known) that they were doing a big no-no.  Not many details in the story though.

    • Like 1
×
×
  • Create New...