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

As I remember, Brownian motion is also temperature related. dcarch

Don't mean to go off topic, sorry. I have had quail eggs, duck eggs, chicken eggs. I don't remember they tasted any different. dcarch

Really? I actually think you can make crystal clear ice cubes with it. It will definitely separate the air bubbles and any impurity. :-) dcarch

A 12 inch diameter circle rotating at 20,000 RPM will have a peripheral (Tangential ) speed of 1,047.2 feet per second. That is much faster than bullets from many BB rifles. dcarch

Actually, I can see steel plate for pizza, but not for pies. You are basically dry-frying, frying without oil. The steel plate is so hot, the steam generated actually lifts the pizza up (similar to hovercraft) to avoid burning too quickly and sticking. dcarch

Thanks. Yes. lam see. My discovery :-). Powdered lam see. You can buy tomato powder. I make my own with tomatoes from my garden. Very strong tomato personality. more than sun dried tomatoes. Imagine 100 tomato flavor all concentrated into 5 tomatoes. (95% water in tomatoes) dcarch

Thanks Blether. Everyone should try to taste yuzu (or yuzu juice). The flavor is heavenly. Dejah, Thanks. The stuffing is very simple. finely chopped dry mushrooms to soak up all the fish juice, powdered fermented black olives instead of salt (highly recommended complex flavor), garlic powder, chopped ginger, EVOO, pepper, tomato powder, and a small pinch of bacon powder. dcarch

I don't remember exactly. I think jet engines use metallurgical single crystal metals for each of the turbine blades. This is to avoid hidden material flaws. Even that, a bird gets sucked in the engine can upset the balance and explode the engine. dcarch

I repeat, "You can get killed if it breaks." Not seriously injured, but mortally killed. You will ask how two horsepower can be so powerful. It’s all physics. Assuming you can ignore air friction, it takes no energy to move mass horizontally once you overcome initial inertia. You can actually move a ten ton object to very high speed. The potential energy just keeps on building up more and more to an immense degree. A device such as this will need to have very special consideration in design, construction, and use. For instance, ball bearings for rotating parts will fail quickly; you will need special specification roller bearings to take the kind of force. dcarch

"---The point of the steel plate is the heat transfer properties. It is able to transfer much more heat more quickly than a stone can, ---" I see that potentially a problem, not an advantage. When heat is transferred faster than a pie's ability to conduct heat, the outside gets burned, and the inside gets un-cooked. Besides, the permeability of stone allows steam to escape and allows crispier crust to develop. dcarch

David ross, I guess I was typing while you were posting. Your Poached Striped Bass with Anchoiade and Radishes- That's is the freshest fish I have seen in a while. Beautifully plated dish and I love the way you use the radishes. dcarch