dcarch

Everything you said makes me think you are a "hobbyist", some one who is really into knives. Again, I can't remember a famous chef who puts as much attention as you do on knives. dcarch

paulraphael I don't know if you will agree with me on this one. I once in a while have to cook in someone else's kitchen. What drives me nuts is that I always have to bring my own knives. I can guarantee you that 98% of the kitchens have very dull knives. I also, once in a while, bring along a sharpening stone and sharpen a few of their knives to show them how easy it is to put a useful edge on a knife. People will spend $$$$$$$ on a kitchen renovation, but they pay no attention to the most important tools in a kitchen, namely the knives. dcarch

But the blades are not exposed, they are inside the jar before you turn no the machine. dcarch

Assuming everything you said is true, but 98% of the knife users are not chefs, and that's my whole point. For a normal cook, in a normal home kitchen, a very sharp knife is very sufficient. dcarch

Here is my lesson for sharpening knives: Hold a knife at an angle on a sharpening stone. Push up, pull down. Repeat if necessary. People have made sharpening such an intimidating mystifying high art. I am willing to bet you will have great difficulty to find chefs who can sharpen knives to "scary sharpness".. They all can almost sharpen knives to normal sharp, but few feel the need to shave with their chef's knives. Extreme sharp blade is fun to have, fun to show off with, but it is for knife hobbyists. dcarch,

You need a lot of skills and dedication to keep your knives scary sharp, but not for "very sharp ". dcarch

Branching from another knife thread: Posted by paulraphaelI think this is the root of our disagreement. Technically, yes, no one needs anything more than a knife that's somewhat sharp in order to make little ones out of big ones. But there are serious advantages to knives that are "scary sharp" by western culinary standards. In Japan, such knives would just be called knives. My point is, not “Technically”, but “practically”, 98% of the cooking needs in a normal home kitchen can be satisfied with just sharp knives. There is no need for “scary sharp” knives. If you have an extremely sharp blade, whole new culinary techniques become available. I have not seen many top chefs use scary sharp knives. There are so few techniques which really require an extremely sharp knife. I mean how often do you have to make Katsuramuki daicon? You're able to work with more finesse than what's possible with European techniques. It's unfortunate that the hybridized Japanese/western techniques aren't widely taught. There isn't a lot online or in cooking school. I was lucky enough to learn from a chef who'd trained in Japan. It was the second time I threw out everything I knew about cutting and started over again, and I'm pleased that I did. I agree it is fun and interesting to learn exotic fancy knife skills, and it is impressive to show off what you can do with an ultra sharp blade. Possibly the biggest advantage is that your cuts will be cleaner and the food that you cut will stay fresher looking and fresher tasting. Fresher looking? Fresher tasting? I am not convinced there is that much difference between a sharp knife and an ultra sharp knife. People don't believe me, but I can cut herbs hours before service and they will not turn brown. They will in fact not turn brown even in 24 hours (they'll eventually shrivel and dry out, or go limp and ferment, depending on climate). But I can make cuts that are so surgical that none of the oxidative enzyme reactions are triggered. Turning brown has to do with chemistry, I can’t imagine cutting has much to do with it. This is why sushi knives are so damn sharp—sharper even than anything I use. You don't need such a crazy sharp knife just to cut fish. But to make cuts with a glass-smooth finish, that retain their uncut flavor from the kitchen to the table, and do so to the standards of a chef who's honed his palate for such things—you need blades that are sharp as hell. I would think a rougher cut will deliver more flavor to taste receptacles. The advantage I find in day-to-day cooking is mostly that I like the techniques more. ------------ I find this a lot more fun, and more interesting, and less tiring. Sometimes it's just a bonus that the cuts are all glass-smooth and surgical. I have the same problem. :-) I wouldn't suggest that cutting this way is mandatory. When I staged at a Michelin 3-star seafood restaurant, I saw people using a huge variety of knife styles and cutting styles. Which suggests there's no one right answer. That said, I haven't met anyone who's learned the Japanese techniques and gone back western-style cutting ... or to western standards of "sharp." I hope you don’t feel I am trying to be argumentative. I actually agree with the basics of your points. I just differ with your understanding of degrees. Yes some people can take advantage of a scary sharp knife vs a sharp knife. Like some people can tell the difference between a $100 bottle of wine and a $500 bottle of wine, but for 98% of people, a $100 bottle of wine is all they need. dcarch

Interesting! It is interesting that many poisonous animals are very colorful. dcarch

"1500 CFM blower" Whether your local Code requires it or not, make sure you have correct make up air, or you may drawing in poisonous CO from your heaters into your living area. Outlets a 220VAC outlet will let you buy a real powerful portable induction cooker. Wood floor Not in my kitchen. Pipes I will not put pipes in a Chicago exterior wall, even with good insulation. dcarch Kitchen joke: Why the French would not have Linoleum kitchen floor : Because if there is a gas leak, you could be dealing with Linoleum Blownapart. :-)

Paulraphael, I am not in total disagreement with your analysis. We are talking about degrees and different situations. First, The sharper the knife, the quicker it gets dulled. That's why sushi knifes after a day's heavy restaurant use will need to be touched up once in a while.(not sharpened) Second, in general no one should have a razor sharp (scary sharp) knife in the home kitchen. A very sharp knife is all you need. ​Oxidation to dry steel and stainless steel does not occur in normal air, and very few foods for every day home cooking are very acidic to do damage to the edge under normal use. I have found that almost all new good knives out of the box come with very sharp edges for that stupid useless paper slicing test. dcarch

Carbon monoxide is used to make meat look fresh. Bad smell can be washed away. dcarch

I am flattered! New member Cindy sent me a nice PM note about my cartoons here. Cindy, welcome to eG, and here is one I made for you. Thank you for your kind words. dcarch

Is it possible that the meat was bad when you bought it? Vendors have all kinds of tricks to make bad meat look good and smell good. dcarch

Do you have a shop? Do you have machine tools? My wood planes have been cutting tough wood for a long time and still remain sharp. MY drill bits have been drilling metal for many years, and they are still useful. My metal cutting saw blades have been in use to cut iron and other metals and they last a very long time. Can you think of a meat, or vegetable that is tougher than metal that can dull a knife? I am not talking about frozen food, of course. dcarch

If you keep a working knife for rough chopping and slicing, and a separate sharp knife for fine slicing, you almost never have to sharpen your knifes (assuming you have a good wood cutting board.) Normal meat and vegetables can never dull a knife with relatively good steel. You don't really need expensive knives with fancy steels. dcarch

"-----Then I'll figure out how I'm going to strain and perhaps cold crash to clarify. ---" Actually, you eat and drink everything, the fermented rice as well as the wine, It's also served hot. dcarch

When you deep fry, you need to turn the food upside down once in a while so that both side can be fried evenly. How do you do that in a vacuum fryer? dcarch

So I decided to go to a Chinese Restaurant and I ordered Abalone. I am sorry to tell you guys that it was not pounded, and based on the taste, I don't think it was cooked for hours. It was fresh tasting and incredibly tender, dcarch

Abalone meat is completely different than other meats. It has 0 fat, and it has 0 fiber, no grain structure. You can buy live abalone in Chinese stores. dcarch.

When I plan on making pasta for a meal, I pre-soak the pasta in water for an hour or longer. Cooking pre-soaked pasta is much faster than any regular method. Pre-soaked spaghetti is also pliable to allow any shaped pot to be used. I don't see a need for me to have a microwave pasta cooker. dcarch

Freeze drying food uses low pressure reduction. dcarch

Great dishes! How do you clean the sand out from the inside of the bok choy. They tend to be very sandy. dcarch

Too bad, you have no say in this. :-) Art is in the eye of the beholder; me, is the beholder and I say you have great plating and I like what you have been doing. There is something for everyone to realize. Today art is a very different thing. In the past, you must paint or sculpt in whatever style that was prevalent, or you are not an artist. But today if you go to an art museum, you see Andy Warhol, Grandma Moses, Picasso, Josef Albers, Keith Haring, Jackson Pollock, Claes Oldenburg, Georgia O'Keeffe -------------- --------. Don't copy what you see in magazines, don't copy other's, just do what you feel looks good to you. dcarch

Liuzhou, you have been truly an inspiration in your food postings. You have expand everyone's horizon in cooking. I also want to mentioned that, your plating is very well done too, in your own unique style. Thanks! dcarch

The best stuff for your compost are bones, meat and fat. You know, vegetables are not vegetarians. I freeze my bones and use my inexpensive garden shredder to pulverize them into the compost heap. This way animals will not dig up the bones and the bones get composted quicker. dcarch