dcarch

Regarding the video:, 1. There is no need for all the oil. I have never had food sticking to the bag. A waste of good oil. 2. Never steam your digital thermometer for a long time. Re. constant temperature: 1. Gas can be more steady, it does not go on and off constantly. 2. Put your pot slightly off center to the flame on the stove. This will create more water convection current flow. dcarch

Semantics? exactly. "Sous vide" is terminologically and semantically inexact. It has caused massive misconception of the essence of this cooking technique, including the OP. Mechanically, there are more way then using a real vacuum pump to evacuate air, because ultimately you are not trying to create a vacuum environment. "Water oven" cooking is much more informative. dcarch

Vacuum (or pressure) has nothing to do with sous vide cooking. it is also a way to accelerate heat conduction to food by circulating hot water, in addition to "accurate temperature control" as quoted "From Modernist Cuisine: "Although sous vide literally means under vacuum in French, the defining feature of the sous vide method is not packaging or vacuum sealing; it is accurate temperature control." As a matter of fact, after you drew a "vacuum" and sealed the bag, if you measure the pressure inside the bag, you will find that the pressure inside is the same as outside. Unlike in a jar or a can, if you vacuum, there will be much lower pressure inside than outside. In the practice of sous vide cooking, "vacuum" is to "evacuate" as much air as possible because air is a poor heat conductor. BTW, the classic recipe for the Chinese "White Cut Chicken" is very much sous vide without a bag or vacuum. dcarch [ posted at the same time as above posters. :-) ]

"----and one very great disadvantage: space---" Instead of a beer cooler, you can try using one of your pots, and wrap it with many layers of thick towel. dcarch

"------Most ovens aren't accurate below 200F -----" There are more factors influencing temperature in an oven. This was part of a test I did in my gas oven (non-convection): Temperature set at 200F, two identical containers right next to each other, one with water and one with oil. One hour later, oil measured at 190F and water at 155F. Evaporation can have a big impact. dcarch

Re. The videos: I will never use the edge to scrape on the cutting board. A quick way to mess up all the hard sharpening work. Use the back spine instead. dcarch

May be a test of some Kosher meats to find out how much blood can make a difference in taste? dcarch

"----Any other variables we should add to the equation?---" In Asian stores, you can buy old chicken. They are for making stock because they are more flavorful. dcarch

Only comparing muscles. dcarch

The same blood goes thru all muscles. Perhaps the difference tastes are because: 1. Texture of the meat which gives different mouth feel. 2. Composition of fat contain, which gives different taste and mouth feel. 3. Density of texture which absorbs seasonings at different rates. dcarch

Oh Yes, Happy St. Patrick's Day! Sous vided corned beef, boiled cabbage and potaoes and braised 14" long carrots. dcarch

"---will almost never be dulled cutting meat and vegetables" My blade is made of D-2 tool steel. D-2 is used to cut other steel and still remain sharp for a long time. "almost never" is not an exaggeration if you are only cutting meat and vegetable. dcarch

A good steel knife will almost never be dulled cutting meat and vegetables. Go to youtube and look for a few sushi chef slicing fish, the main blade never touches the cutting board. If you keep a general use knife for rough cutting, and a very sharp knife for fine cutting, you will not need to sharpen your knives very often. dcarch

"-----BTW, if you haven't tried microfinishing films, they are pricey, but last a long time when used with a little mineral oil. ------" Wet/dry carbide sandpapers are not expensive and last a long time. They take no room to store. They come in many grits, rough to very fine. dcarch

A great way to help sharpening by hand is the "Sharpie" trick to keep the correct angle. dcarch

"Golden Sand Shrimps"!!! dcarch

Anna N – A very healthy, delicious and fast meal. I also have some frozen meatballs I need to use up. SobaAddic – You have been posting some stunning pictures and meals! Patrickamory – and the same for you too. Wonderful meals and great pictures. Robirdstx – what is the sauce for those perfect crab cakes? Ann_t – the Cappelletti shows the high level of skills of yours in the kitchen. Huiray – I always enjoy the diverse cross-cultural recipes you can come up with. Mm84321 – You are an artist in both food preparation and presentation. Kim – Thanks. And thank you for the lamb and lentil inspiration. I happen to have the right ingredients to copy yours. FrogPrincese – Those who has made clams can tell instantly your clams were cooked at the exact temperature. Paul Bacino – Very nice halibut cake. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - Very much in need to use up leftovers in the refrigerator. A few recent attempts. dcarch Leftover beef tenderloin on asparagus stems and quinoa. Leftover roasted chicken Leftover ground turkey, tofu in pesto sauce on asparagus tips.

Thanks. I cheated with the stuffing. My " instant " stuffing: Lean ground turkey mixed with "Stove Top" stuffing. dcarch

I totally agree with you. For food that has a structure that is some what porous, the vacuum method will work very well. dcarch

By airless, I meant the absence of oxygen as well. Such as in the bottom part of a bowl of soup, which essentially has most of the dissolved air and oxygen boiled away. dcarch

Plastic bagging can only give you an airless environment, no different than say, the bottom of a bowl of soup.. You need a solid container such as a glass bottle or a metal can to create an environment that is less than atmosphere pressure. dcarch

Salt and nitrites in bacon preserves it. dcarch

The pump is the cheap part. A $20.00 tire pump can be easily turned into a vacuum pump. I have done it. It's all the other controls, heat seal, etc. dcarch

I have a laboratory vacuum machine. I had plans to try vacuum drying at room temperature to concentrate stock and to make bouillon cubes. Haven't done it yet. I am not sure about vacuum infusion for non porous food. I don't know if you can force anything into solids (food with no voids or bubbles, for instance, it is impossible to compress water). Certainly not atmospheric pressure at about 14 lbs/sq. in., which is the maximum you can get with vacuum, regardless of horse power of the motor. Even a pressure cooker can give you 15 lbs/sq. in. of force. As a matter of fact, after vacuuming all the air out and you seal the bag, there will be no pressure inside the bag, it will only be airless. You are mostly marinating, not infusing. If you can in fact force infusion, than it would be much more effective and easier using pressure. A cheap $20.00 tire air pump can give you 100 lbs/sq. in. of pressure. dcarch

Huiray, those are great videos. Thanks for posting. Cleaver is an amazing kitchen tool. In addition to the many cutting techniques shown on the videos, I have seen even more clever uses. I would say 90% of the time I will be using my cleavers. Just yesterday, I had a whole salmon, I used the cleaver to chop the salmon into steaks. Today I had BBQ ribs. There are connecting soft bones between each rib, a cleaver just chopped right thru. You do need a lower quality cleaver for hard chopping and a good quality one for slicing. A good quality cleaver is still very inexpensive. dcarch