dcarch

The idea is this device called "heat pipe". It uses an interesting principle (latent heat, phase change) to conduct heat very efficiently. It conducts more BTUs than pure metal. That's why they use it in critical heat transfer needs in computers and other applications such as nuclear power cells and space crafts. It is very intriging that this high-tech device can be had at such low cost in the surplus market. dcarch

I understand your concerns, but consider the following: The amount of copper which will get into your body is dependent on the following: 1. Frequency of the use of copper cookware. 2. Surface area of cookware in contact with food. The larger the contact area, the more copper may leach into food. 3. Degree of agitation of the contact point between copper and food. The more agitation, the more leaching of copper may happen. 4. Acidity of food. Copper may react with acid food. I believe that the copper heat pipe as shown does not meet any of the above four conditions. In any case, a small amount of copper is required for good health, that tiny amount of copper, if in fact present, may just be good for your health. I think it is a good idea to beat eggs in a copper bowl, lots of stirring with metal to metal scrapping and exposure to large surface area. As I said, most of the piping for potable water is in fact copper. On the average, most people drink large quantities of water from copper pipes everyday for over 70 years (life expectance). I am not sure drinking water is not somewhat acid with chlorine and fluorine and acid rain. Having said all these, my experimental heating pins using heat pipes are actually tin coated. I think for SV, it will make a few hours of difference of cooking time to equalize cold temperature of a very thick piece of meat right from the refrigerator. dcarch I think the opportunity to introduce pathogens into the meat far outweighs the potential reduction in cooking time by perhaps only a few minutes. I doubt that it would reduce the time by hours since those same BTU's still have to make their way out to the water and the mass of the heat tube is insignificant relative to the entire mass to be heated. you are not providing any benefit to the process and complicating a very simple cooking method by introducing an indeterminate variable. I don’t have any data to show. As I remember, it takes close to half an hour of resting time for the interior temperature to get to rare temperature after you roast the beef in a high temperature oven. I would think it takes more than a few minutes in the SV bath. I will agree with you that the possible use of additional implements to accelerate the heating of interior of large pieces of meat is not for everyone. I have a feeling that SV cooking is at the moment, for many people who are adventuresome, and with a willingness to try for perfection in cooking, and this new technology of using heat pipe may be of interest to them. There are many who configure their own system with PID controllers, pump, bubblers, heating coils, etc. While I can agree with you that the using heat pipe can increase the possibility of introduction of pathogens, but for a well informed user of SV methods, that doesn’t not appear to be as an overwhelming challenge to maintain sanitary conditions. dcarch

This may not be a rice. I like real, not farmed, wild rice. Kind of expensive, but nice taste. dcarch

I understand your concerns, but consider the following: The amount of copper which will get into your body is dependent on the following: 1. Frequency of the use of copper cookware. 2. Surface area of cookware in contact with food. The larger the contact area, the more copper may leach into food. 3. Degree of agitation of the contact point between copper and food. The more agitation, the more leaching of copper may happen. 4. Acidity of food. Copper may react with acid food. I believe that the copper heat pipe as shown does not meet any of the above four conditions. In any case, a small amount of copper is required for good health, that tiny amount of copper, if in fact present, may just be good for your health. I think it is a good idea to beat eggs in a copper bowl, lots of stirring with metal to metal scrapping and exposure to large surface area. As I said, most of the piping for potable water is in fact copper. On the average, most people drink large quantities of water from copper pipes everyday for over 70 years (life expectance). I am not sure drinking water is not somewhat acid with chlorine and fluorine and acid rain. Having said all these, my experimental heating pins using heat pipes are actually tin coated. I think for SV, it will make a few hours of difference of cooking time to equalize cold temperature of a very thick piece of meat right from the refrigerator. dcarch

Good point. The material appears to be pure copper, the same material as drinking water piping. Of course it can easily be tinned. dcarch

"---Sheesh! It's lonely in here... Is it something I cooked?---" OK, I will post one :-) Simple steamed eggplant, ground turkey with oyster sauce. dcarch

“----Uhhh. Isn't this like reinventing the wheel? Today's heat lamps use less energy than they did twenty years ago and you don't have to monkey around with them.---“ The work involve in what I was talking about is very minimal. A set of 1,000 watt halogen work light costs about $50.00 on eBay, bulbs included. Operating incandescent (halogen) bulbs at half voltage or half current will make the bulbs last practically forever. The infrared bulb you mentioned will work fine as a heat source; however, at 500 watts the bulb should only be put into a ceramic socket, not the clamp-on one you mentioned. The reptile ceramic bulb probably will not work well because it is only 100 watts. When it comes to use electricity to generate heat (infrared) by means of electrical resistance (light bulbs), there is no more, or no less efficient way. It is always the same one watt = 3.413 BTU. dcarch

If you are handy with electrical stuff: 1. Get a 1,000 watt 220vac halogen lamp and run it at 110vac (with an plug adapter), you will have a very good warming lamp. 2. Get a 1,000 watt 110vac halogen lamp, wire it up with a rectifier diode to run it at 110vac halfwave, you will have a good heating lamp. dcarch

"---dcarch: What is the spice sprinkled on the mustard greens? It made me think of sumac - a spice I've been "hoarding" and have only used a couple of times.---" Dejah, That is home-made tomato powder. Chinese mustard green has a very pleasant bitter taste, like broc rabe, or dandelion greens. The sweet taste of the tomato powder accentuates as well as mellows that astringent taste. I recommend getting tomato powder for trying out in your recipes, including scallops. dcarch

I have a bottle of mustard oil. I bought it here in NYC in a Chinese store. Very powerful oil. A few drops goes a long way. It smells like wasabi. I will have to go to Jackson Heights here sometime and buy the Indian version and compare. J. Heights in NY is totally populated by Indians. dcarch

Heidih, those red pieces in the wheat bread are peppers. Genkinaonna, beautiful lentil soup. rarerollingobject, indeed, beautiful and simple sauteed chicken with roasted grapes, robirdstx, thanks for the links to your delicious looking turkey thights. MiFi, nice plating. C. sapidus, it is not easy to stir fry salmon without having it falling apart. You have done an expert job. Dejah, Sea scallops are expensive, so is wild rice. You have not wasted these wonderful ingredients. David Ross, I like the design of your monkfish dish and also The rack of lamb . patrickamory, I disagree with you. The Spaghetti with sausage sauce dish looks rich and scrumptious. Kim, absolutely beautifully composed photos of elegantly plated dishes. Funny, I just ordered a supply of Pop Rock candy on eBay. PopsicleToze, thank you so much for you kind comments. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I make sous vide pork loin on quinoa, on home grown lettuce. And a stir fried Chinese mustard green side dish. dcarch

I understand what you are talking about. But I think mercury as the latent heat transfer agent is used only for very high temperature heat pipe applications. Laptop CPUs operate at very low temperature therefore will not be using mercury. The CPU heat pipe is very well constructed and it is unlikely to leak. If it does leak it will suck in liquid not expel liquid because it is always under vacuum. I agree. One should always be careful with food. Dcarch

I know what you are talking about. and to get back to food: I understand that "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" translates to "The wine is pretty good, but the meat is lousy" in some language. LOL! dcarch

Just curious, and I am not taking sides because I am not an expert in these matters: I used Google Translate, English to Chinese, Ramen = 拉麵 Ramen to japenese = ラーメン Japanese to Chinese= ラーメン = 拉麵 I am an expert, however, in saying that soy sauce noodles taste very good. :-) dcarch

Something for you guys to consider: Heat sink/cooling fans for laptops are very cheap on eBay. Typically that device incorporates heatpipe technology. As you know heatpipe can tranfer thermal energy very efficiently. You can easily salvage the heatpipes from those cooling fans. Would it be a good idea to stick a few of those heatpipes into the meat when you have a very thick chunk of cold meat such as roast? dcarch

Exactly. But shouldn't it be the other way? You are the customer giving them business, they should give you a gift to show appreciation. dcarch The ones I give gifts to are those that engage in what I perceive as a real human community exchange. They do not necessarily take me before another customer, but they nod their heads as I stand in the mass of folks waiting usually with no number system, they smile, they remember what I usually am looking for. I would still frequent the market for the quality of the items, but they add the heart warming human note to my shopping. That may be true in your case, but tipping always deteriorates into a form of bribery in many situations. I know in many situations I was told when I was in line waiting, “Yes, he was here before you” and I know that wasn’t the case. People with more money should not be entitled to more and better service. But I am realistic, I can’t change human nature. I tip also. I am not happy about it. There is something philosophically wrong about the concept. That’s why many corporations have very definite rules against gifts. We all know in government relations, gifting are against the law. Soon, you will be expected to tip your surgeon after an operation, or else. dcarch

Exactly. But shouldn't it be the other way? You are the customer giving them business, they should give you a gift to show appreciation. dcarch

"---- Most native bred Japanese cannot produce the "L" sound, just as most native Chinese speakers have trouble with the "R" sound. We all know of the various guises and forms that the humble "ramen" can assume. --" So my Spam fried rice would be Spam fried lice? dcarch :-)

With all due respect, your recipe would not necessarily fly in Hong Kong . LOL! You have not tried my Spam fried rice yet. dcarch

There is no recipes for soy sauce noodles. Just like there is no recipe for fried rice. Anything goes. I do a soy sauce Ramen noodles with EVOO, light soy sauce, and parmesan cheese top. dcarch

If you are handy, look into "peltier cooler" or "personal refrigerator". peltier cooler is a solid state no-moving parts thermoelectric device that gives you cooling when powered by direct current. They are not expensive, light weight and small. You can make yourself a clear plastic cover that's refrigerated. check it out on eBay. dcarch

DeliciouslyLekker, Very nice Beef Pho. kayb, very healthy and tasty looking flax seed potato bread, and you did a good job with the Caribbean meal. rarerollingobject, Love that Buffalo mozzarella, rocket proscuitto salad. The sous vide salmon is just the way I like it cooked. “---Chinese lion's head meatballs, also disappointingly lacking in actual lion's head.” LOL! patrickamory, your curry of chicken is beautiful. Dejah, Wow! AAA prime roast done with AAA skills. I am very impressed by the duck breast dish. Kim, your shepherd’s pie, and roast chicken backs look like quite a feast. Ann_t, You have done great justice to precious Halibut, and the shrimp cocktail. nickrey, Lovely sous vide beef cheek pastrami. Do you have a copy of the Modernist Cuisine? robirdstx, beautiful plating, your Fried Catfish Tacos. Borgstrom, Nice plating sous vide shank. I went and immediately got myself some marrow bones. ------------------------------------------------- So I made some roasted marrow bones. The bones were also smoked with rosemary first. Of course I had to make some bread also for the marrow. Dcarch

Very nice. Thanks There are many great food presenters in this Forum. dcarch

Hi, Any pictures of your setup, or details on the parts you used? Tried Amazon, but, couldn't figure out what controller you're using. Thx, Frank Here is my setup components. I have two setups: dcarch

When pre-peeled garlic first came out, they went bad quickly even in the refrigerator. I added salt, still they would go bad. The peeled garlic today don't seem to go bad. What have they done? dcarch