dcarch

Water inside an oven creates the following situation: (Normal atmospheric pressure) Initially, water will be heated up at the rate of one BTU per degree F per lb. Since the temperature inside an oven is governed by the thermostat, the absorption of BTUs by the water will not change oven temperature significantly. While the temperature of the water is increasing, the rate of evaporation increases, the latent heat of vaporization will be supplied by the oven, and the oven will still maintain the air temperature at what is set by the thermostat. The water will continue to be heated until it boils at 212 F. As the water vapor increases inside the oven, “vapor pressure” (not atmospheric pressure) also increases. This will slow down the evaporation of what is being cooked by the oven. In other words, what you are cooking will be slower in drying out. If you preheat an oven until the water boils, then you put a cold chicken inside to be baked, at first water will condense on the chicken and drip down until the chicken reaches 212 degrees. The container of water will completely block IR radiation above 212 F where it is placed. This will impact how the food will be baked in the direction of the blockage. Water vapor/steam cannot prevent oil from splattering. Splattering is mainly caused by violent water boiling under the fat. dcarch

Send for their printed catalog. Amazing! dcarch

You cannot char food with electric, for instance, with peppers and tomatoes to remove the skin. Electric does not work as well with those double cast iron griddles. It can't heat up as evenly. dcarch

Air temperature in an oven is obviously important becuase it cooks by conduction (as in a convection oven). I think the discussions so far have under-estimated the effects of radiant heat inside an oven. You can have ice cold air inside an oven, and still burn your food if you have a source of high radiant heat. Think an open-top toaster. A stone oven has stone surfaces all around at very hot temperature, and that gives a different quality of cooking of food. The other factor is the environment of an enclosed home oven, moisture is trapped inside, v.s. an ventilated open hearth stone oven. Again, which one will make a tastier pizza is completely subjective. dcarch

If you go to Home Depot hardware department, you will find many kinds of self-adhesive hooks and clips. They are made to be easily removeable without messing up surfaces. dcarch

A high nickel stainless steel can be very non-magnetic. The main compartment will still have to be magnetic for the magnetic gaskets to work. You may want to give this a try. Get what is known as "rare earth" magnets (eBay, Neodymium magnets) and see if these super super powerful magnets will stick. Do not get the big ones, they are so powerful that you can hardly take them apart. dcarch

Proliferation of Korean salad places I suppose have made it less desirable for fast food chains to invest in NYC. dcarch

Unfortunately, nowadays (NYC) most of the shrimps from supermarkets are treated chemically. dcarch

Born there? Crazy! There is no possible way you can tell people the kind of changes that happened there. An entire metropolis can materialize overnight. I don’t suppose you had the time to visit Macao? dcarch

One of the mean reasons for the stone is its permeability to permit a crispier crust. The other reason is because it is not a particularly good conductor of heat, it allows time for the bread to be cooked before the outside gets burned. dcarch

Thanks for the confirmation. Exactly what I (and others) was indicating to Scott123. The oven thermostat only measures average air temperature. The steel temperature can get even higher if you place the steel plate right on the bottom. Here is going to be the big difference between stone and steel in the making of the pizza: Immediately after you place the pizza dough on the steel, the temperature of the steel will not drop down very much becuase the higher heat capacity and conductivity of the metal. On the stone, soon after the pizza dough in put on the stone, immediately the stone will be cooled down significantly because the much poorer conductivity of the stone. Which one will make a better tasting pizza? Depends. dcarch

Don't bother growing rosemary from seeds. Not very easy. Scallions, although not really a herb, very easy to grow. dcarch

rarerollingobject, It has been a few years since I was in HK last. Thank you so much for the wonderful pictures and write ups. They bring back delicious memories. dcarch

I would like to know the definitions of: 1. Authentic mac & cheese. 2. Authentic cucumber pickles. 3. Authentic fried chicken. dcarch

Scott123, "---Nathan, have you used many home ovens? Unregulated broilers? 99.9% of home ovens have a thermostat probe, that, when the oven hits the temperature on the dial, the thermostat cuts the burners off. Both burners. Do you not see the potential safety issues of having a broiler that doesn't turn off? You can crank the broiler to your heart's content, but that probe is going to be in the exact same vicinity as the plate. You might be able to get the broiler to stay on for a few seconds and drive the surface temp of the plate up a bit past the peak dial temp, but the impact will be trivial, and, more importantly, it might prevent the broiler from kicking in while the pizza is being baked- and that will prevent proper browning on top of the pizza. " Get an IR remote thermometer and measure the bottom of the oven where the heat is generated by the burners, you will know what Nathan is talking about. The steel plate gets high heat by conduction. Furthermore, the capillary thermostat probe only measures the average air temperature., It is incapable of measuring radiation temperature. You can get burnt (charred) in ice cold air in front of a vigorous bonfire. dcarch

"By the way, I wish someone would call out these manufacturers on their looney-tunes power ratings. 3 horsepower? No way. A motor that's 100% efficient (which doesn't exist) would consume over 2200 watts. The maximum consumption of the 3hp Vita Prep is barely over half this. Such marketing doesn't inspire my confidence, but the makers are all guilty ... " Regarding motor wattage: I think the rating is based on full load without having the motor burnt out. A motor rated at 2,200 watts draws very little power if just free wheeling. Also, rubber coupling is used mostly for noise control. Metal coupling would be extremely noisy. dcarch

" Why do makers insist on button speed controls? The single biggest appeal of the vitamix to me is the knob; start slow easily and easily just run it up the the just-right speed." I don't have a high power blender. I am guessing mostly. And I am sorry I have not read the entire thread. A blender is a very simple mechanical device with one motor directly driving the blade assembly. No gears. Typically it uses a universal motor. To me, a high power motor is not neccesary. Considering a washing machine with a big load of laundry can be run by a 1/2 horse power motor. Why do you need 2 hp to chop a small carrot? But it makes good marketing, more hp more appeal. I think proper blade / container design is more responsible for good blending/mixing than motor power. A button controlled motor speed is probably less desirable than a variable speed control. Variable speed gives the universal motor soft start and therefore less stress. Electronic speed control is also based on PWM design which gives the motor maximum torgue at low speed. dcarch

All depends on how they are packaged. The ones wraped in plastic bags last longer. dcarch

Someone gave me this: http://www.cookware.com/ChefN-102-174-005-EFN1044.html Useless. dcarch

What kind of oven do you have? dcarch

"This is Neapolitan dough, made by a professional that sells Neapolitan pizzas for a living, baked at 650 on 1/4" steel plate for 3 minutes" I could be wrong, that does not look like 1/4" to me, more like 1/8" or less. Further more, it has 25% perforations, which mean a lot less thermal mass. If it is used on a rack, not in direct contact with heat source, it may not have enough BTUs to bake a Neapolitan pizza. dcarch

Let's carry this outrageous pizza discussion a little further. LOL! 1. I have a bunch of heat pipes in my collection. I think they can carry/transfer more BTUs then plain metal. 2. With high power laser diodes available, a scanning IR laser pizza oven can char the bottom of any pizza in a fraction of a second. dcarch :-)

There is always something to to learn. I have been unable to find information that charring is part of the definition of an authentic Neapolitan pizza. To me char is carbon. Carbon is by definition totally chemically stable, nonreactive and tasteless. It can happen if you are not careful when you are trying to develop a nice crust. Most people want nice crust, I didn't know people also like carbon. I can't imagine the mouth feel of chewing on carbon. dcarch

Posted by Scott123 “---And aluminum, seriously? Come on, Nathan, you have to be aware of the aluminum's conductivity. You can pre-heat it for as long as you want and the moment you open the door, the temperature will plummet. Aluminum will not store heat- and for pizza, stored heat is critical.--- Three points: 1. How much heat a metal stores is based on the metal’s specific heat characteristics. If I remember, Aluminum hold more heat than steel. 2. Aluminum is indeed a better thermal conductor than steel, it gives up heat faster, OTOH, it will regain heat much faster. In any case, the opening of the oven door for a few seconds will not plumet the heat by any significant amount, considering the heat capacity of air relative to the masses within the oven. 3. What I believe should be considered in the total thermal dynamics thinking of the oven is the black body/radiation characteristics of all materials. For instance, Bright Aluminum can be close to 95% reflectivity. This can make a huge difference. dcarch

I keep a few silicone carbide wet/dry sandpaper of verious fine grits in the drawer. They last and last. They can put a very quick sharp edge on my blades. They take no room to store in the drawer. dcarch