dcarch

Where in Latin America where it is cold enough that tree leaves fall? dcarch

Sapidus, speaking of international cooking, I am so fascinated by your recipes. I have learned a lot from your cooking. Thanks. For smoking, I don't go for the ring and the bark, just pure smoke flavor at low temperature. That shows the "Money Muscle" smoked at 150F, kind of sous vide by smoke. dcarch

Very exciting international delicious recipes and artistic plating designs. I don't know any another forum has such great display of cooking skills. A few recent meals dcarch Sous vide Calamansi chicken on wild rice risotto Sauteed shrimps on rice noodles Smoked pork shoulder on aspargus

A cemetery. dcarch

I don't think so. The pasta extrusion is at a very low speed. I was at an aluminum extrusion factory, amazing that hard aluminum ingots just get squeezed out the die like spaghetti. The die gets very hot because they have to heat up the aluminum. dcarch They do get hot even with a slow extrusion. The machine we use has a water cooled head and we knead with cool water. High temps from the head, die or dough are the enemy of artisanal pasta. Yes, come to think of it. There is a lot of friction and that can generate heat. dcarch

I don't think so. The pasta extrusion is at a very low speed. I was at an aluminum extrusion factory, amazing that hard aluminum ingots just get squeezed out the die like spaghetti. The die gets very hot because they have to heat up the aluminum. dcarch

There is no clear distinction between brass and bronze. They are sometimes used interchangeably. dcarch

The question is how much of good tasting pasta is related to the material of the die cmaterial. In the complicated process of pasta making, which part(s) really deserves more attention? What ever the material of the die, be it brass, bronze or Teflon, based on the mechanics of the design and strength of materials, you will need several million tons of force to deform the material's surface to cause a corresponding deformity of the extrusion's surface texture. The above linked video of "side-by-side" clearly shows a different shaped die was used, not identical for comparison purpose. You can also see the pasta came out of a different shape, so the sauce stickiness test is not exactly valid. In any case, When you have two surfaces closely in contact, liquid's surface tension and capillary force will take over to make the liquid stay in place, and you will have a lot of surface area in contact with each other on a plate of pasta. The other question would be, again based on the video, if that large pile of pasta only results in about a table spoon's of less sauce sticking on the pasta, can that make a noticeable difference to your taste? Of course I am not talking about there are some pasta simply taste better others. dcarch

"-------And on this occasion (unlike so many others, I hasten to add), you are totally wrong! Lisa and Shel have this one right. It is not the bronze die alone, which is rough-hewn and adds striations to the pasta which catch the sauce like tiny rain gutters, but also the process.------" That i can totally understand because it makes perfect sense. I have two pasta machines, one is a roller type and the other extrusion type. I actually made two identical geometry dies for the extrusion machine, one plastic and one bronze. The pasta, using the same batch of dough, came out identical for both the plastic die and the bronze die. dcarch

1. Having worked with machine tools, I can't seem to understand how a die, any die, can have a way to change surface texture when used in extrusion. In my thinking, they all will have smooth textures, regardless of die material. 2. If bronze die is so desirable, I would imagine all pasta makers will be using it. Bronze is used for die making because it is a very easy metal to work with. 3. I have never heard anyone complained that "Waiter, take this defective pasta back! my sauce is not sticking to the pasta". Obviously I can be totally wrong. That's why I ask if there has been side-by-side comparisons done. A comparison using identical dough, one goes thru a bronze die, and one goes thru a non-bronze die. A comparison comparing two manufacturers would not be valid because they may use entirely recipes. dcarch

The How much water to boil pasta thread made me think of this. I know there is a common believe that pasta made with brass dies are supposed to be better. Has there been any side-by-side comparison done? I cannot understand how a highly polished brass extrusion die can produce rougher texture, and rougher texture makes sauce stick better. In any case a good sauce sticks to any pasta in my experience . dcarch

I cannot understand what difference it will make how much water you boil the pasta in, as long as the pasta is submerged. How does the pasta know how much water is in the pot? 100 degrees C is all the pasta knows, regardless quantity of water. it is always 100 C. Dissolving sugar or salt, yes, because of solubility of the crystals is dependent on concentration. dcarch

Very good suggestions everyone. Just a few minor thoughts: "---As for your ice cream and other melting/flowing things, that's where you can use a stand in. -----" If you are planning to photograph ice cream, set up everything first, lights, tripod, etc. Most important, have thick plate in the freezer long enough first to be freezing cold. It will keep your ice cream from melting for a long time. "------You can use flashlights ---" Some LED flash lights may not work well. They do not produce good white color (LEDs cannot produce white color), furthermore, LEDs flicker and can be a problem for short exposures. "--One thing about white balance--" Our eyes do not see some whites the same way as the camera. dcarch

A supermarket here (NY) had a misprint on their flier, Lobster tails at $6.95 a lb. I bought 15 lbs before they had a chance to make the correction. I had them frozen in a block of ice. dcarch

"------My Meyer lemon, admittedly not a dwarf but grown from a seed from my parents' ranch, never produced fruit at all. -----" OMG! I think my little Meyer lemon tree may soon die! It is blossoming with tiny lemons, It must have at least 100 tiny lemons on the branches !!! The branches are going to collapse if the lemons get bigger. I will have pictures in another day. You cannot grow Meyer lemon from seeds. Throw it out and buy one from a nursery. dcarch BTW, this is not off topic. Citrus leaves are used as herbs.

"---, I'd get a couple HVAC companies to give me a design build bid. ----" One of the problem is in an apartment building, you are not allowed to have permanent installations to the building. Both condos and apartments, you are not allowed to modify windows. ------------------------------------ Check ebay and Craigslist, you may find a used Electronic air filter(purifier, precipitator) for a reasonable price. Electrostatic air cleaner is what bars use to filter out cigar smoke and tobacco smell. dcarch

I am a little surprised, may be by my incorrect understanding of science. 1. As I understand, when you use normal vacuum packing for freezer, it is really not vacuum that is the reason, because that is not a vacuum that you have created. All you are doing is to move as much air as possible to have the plastic making direct contact with the food to prevent water from sublime away (freezer burn). The package is still at normal atmospheric pressure. 2. Some of you may be familiar with playing with vacuum. If you place water in a vacuum, water will quickly start to boil at room temperature and quickly evaporate away. It would seem to me that if you put bread in a vacuum chamber, the bread will first burst, then it would not take long for the bread to be completely dried out, and some fruits to explode. Check youtube marshmallow in vacuum and see what happens. dcarch

A little vitamin C powder to give sour taste. dcarch

Not herbs. Look into dwarf citrus fruits. I grow in five-gallon tubs Meyer lemon, yuzu orange, and one more which I don't remember the name off hand. Wonderful for cooking. dcarch

Also, an easy way to understand this is, when you focus your eyes on something close to you, the objects in the distance become out of focus, and vice versa. But if you look thru a pin hole, then everything close and far will be in focus. dcarch

HI, From 0 degrees F. to fully cooked temperature in a beer cooler... How many weeks does that take? What temp is the final? I don't remember the exact temperature and time. I have that info somewhere in my several computers. It really does not take long to get the interior temperature up to cooked temperature from frozen. 5 hours? Ideally, the dark meat and the white meat should be sous vided at a different temperature. I often just do it in the middle, still much better than roasting. There are two issues to deal with doing it this way: 1. the giblets will be cooked in the paper bag inside the turkey. 2. find a way to crispy up the skin. dcarch

Teo, There is a thread some place in this forum you can post pictures and ask the members to give you suggestions for improvement. I am at work now, perhaps someone here can tell you where that thread is and you can start there. dcarch

I don't know much about this either, other than the fact that autoclaves are required to be filled with steam to facilitate better heat transfer. For the purpose of lobster cooking it is possible that they reduce the pressure and temperature, so that the lobster with not be overcooked. dcarch

And this is a serious answer. I use a large beer cooler. You know how difficult it is to time a big frozen turkey, you first need to thaw it in the fridge for three to five days, then you need to figure out how long to cook the bird so that you done overcook too moucu the outside to get the internal temperature to safe zone. With sous vide, the entire frozen bird goes in the cooker, no thawing, and there will be no overcooking, under-cooking inside or outside. dcarch

All good points regarding polarizing lens. With photography as I said, you can spend a fortune and spend a life time and still have lots to learn. OTOH, for those of you who suffer from Phood-photo-phobia, there are also the cheap, the simple and the quick to have something very decent. That's basically all I do with all my food photos that I have posted here on this forum. Autofocus for digital cameras uses different techniques, and can have different effects if you use a polarizing filter. The pictures above, I used "The cheap" I actually used my $4.00 (Linear) drug store polarizer sunglasses, duct taped to my Nikon Coolpix 8400, set to autofocus. In any case, if you have problems, food pictures look better set to manual anyway, to give you more interesting depth of field control. dcarch