dcarch

Chinese used to feed truffles to pigs. dcarch

"----Well, it's worth remembering that the vast majority of humanity survives without refrigeration.---" I remember many homes I visited kept their food days in cabinets made of insect screens to keep flies and bees out. The four legs of the cabinets would be in four dishes of water to keep ants and roaches from climbing up. Food would get moldy in hot and humid weather, they just wash the mold away and add more spices. I had never gotten sick either, nor had seen anyone else did. It is worrisome to me that here in the US we are creating humans who are incredibly weak. dcarch

It is also interesting that food is not kept in "safe zone" temperature and people are not getting sick. dcarch

I meant originally. For instance, Kiwi fruit is native in China, now is grown everywhere. Speaking of bananas, I remember having seen red skinned bananas in China. The picture above. The lady with the dragon fruits, behind the dragon fruits, those greenish ones, are those fresh dates? dcarch

It has the same texture as kiwi fruit, tastes like kiwi, kind of, one part kiwi mixed with 6 parts water. :-) The many times I have been to China, I don't remember seeing dragon fruit in the past. Could they be imported and not native? dcarch

That can be because a new popular variety "Golden Pillow durian" from Thailand is not very smelly. https://www.google.com/search?q=%E9%87%91%E6%9E%95%E5%A4%B4%E6%A6%B4%E8%8E%B2&safe=off&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=d2W9U6OrCoKtyATpsIDwBA&ved=0CCQQsAQ&biw=768&bih=436&dpr=2.5 dcarch

I remove the metal press, just use the glass container, which holds one cup of coffee. It takes 1 1/2 minutes in my (900w ?) microwave. dcarch

May be I am the only one. French press with ground coffee and water. Microwave. press and enjoy. dcarch

Camera is not much use unless it is 360 degrees view in all XYZ directions. Hot air BTU lost is minimal from opening door, if you calculate air specific heat. dcarch

Scanning high power IR laser for the cooking, IR scanning remote read temperature sensor, software database for various foods' cooking conditions. I believe all the above technologies are not new. dcarch

I have a lot of respect for cultures which uses all parts of the animal they kill. dcarch

That's what I have been doing. I use SV to pasteurize the eggs first for carbonara. dcarch

To me, a burger with all kinds of stuff on it, in it, is a wonderful burger, of course assuming using the right recipes. It is like a lady with makeup on, in a seductive gown. That said, nothing wrong with a naked burger. dcarch

It's also interesting to see how the Japanese make Tamagoyaki on a special pan, the slightly sweet rolled Japanese omelette, dcarch

"----------I'm not sure why the 120v model doesn't got 18KW ... other brands do. Otherwise looks like a killer for $400.---" Number one, You don't need more then 1000 watts to maintain temperature. I prefer a lower wattage heater. They last longer. In a small confined space, the higher wattage will have to burn the heating element at a higher temperature. dcarch

This is a very interesting topic, Liuzchou. Food smell memory is a completely different kind of memory physiologically. All the other memories can fail you, but not food memory. You will immediately recognize the taste of, say banana, 50 years later. Interesting too, many people can tell you they can visualize flavors. I often dream (when I am sleeping) about the street food smells and tastes of street foods those times I was in China. dcarch

Actually, all the science I have read does not make much sense to me. I am still confused. An experiment I have done: We know there is air inside an egg, fresh or old egg. We know air expands when heated (Boyle's Law?). We know that egg shells are permeable. If you put an egg in water and draw a vacuum, you can see air bubbles coming out from the egg thru the shell. If you put an egg in hot water, you also see bubbles coming out, indicating the inside of the egg is pressurized. So, if in hot water the egg is pressurized, how can water with baking soda get into the egg white? So I put a few eggs in water, and colored the water with food dye and baking soda. I boiled the water. I can see air bubbles were escaping from the eggs. A few minutes later, I washed the colored water away, and crack opened the eggs. There was no indication that the egg white was colored. I therefore assume that baking soda was unable to penetrate the shell while the eggs were pressurized. All the science I have read some how I don’t remember anyone talk about the fact that the shells never touch the egg white, in fact it is the thin membrane which sticks to the egg white. I have a feeling that atmospheric pressure may have a lot to do with the egg white sticking to the membrane. Do you remember a classic physics 101 experiment? Take two pieces of flat glass, put them together. You can easily pull them apart. But put a small drop of water in between the glasses, you will not be able to pull them apart. Because if the glasses are 5” x 5”, you will have to use: 5” x 5” = 25 sq. in. x 15 lbs = 375 lbs of force to overcome the air pressure acting on the glasses. You must have seen people who can walk up a glass skyscraper using suction cups. That’s air pressure sticking to the building. So what would happen if a tiny bit of water is in between the membrane and egg white? Go to frame 5:45 of this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3qcAZrNC18 dcarch

All methods work, and none of the methods work. Interesting that people assume that there is only one kind of chicken for egg laying, and all the egg laying chickens are the same age, eat the same diet, only lay eggs in the same temperature, same season, ------------------ therefore, all the eggs are identical, therefor all you need is one method. dcarch

Why sous vide scallops? I don't like under cooked scallops, and I don't like delicate scallops cooked at 212F. Sous vide scallops at 122F has such nice succulent creamy texture. dcarch

The formula for the silicone rubber is for it to be nonstick. Therefore, the fiberglass reinforcing fibers are not glued to the rubber. If you cut the rubber, the fibers can work their way out. There are reports of fiberglass can be dangerous like asbestos. There are plenty of silicone mats without fiberglass on ebay. dcarch

I like fiddle head fern. Last of the season from farmers market. dcarch Sous vide scallops Boneless stuffed wings Sous vide chicken thighs, Polenta More Scallops, with shrimps.

Cut a 1/2 hole, fill it with Styrofoam beads, or Perlite. Duct tape the hole. Will work much better. I have not had a chance to try this out: A few drops of oil on the water will prevent evaporation. dcarch

Quite the opposite. I find cheap beans, other people have expensive exotic beans which will improve my beans. LOL! Interesting that the first POP comes much faster. I don't know if that would mean anything to the flavor. dcarch

Not yet. I have many batches of beans to grind. I usually go to Trader Joe's and use their machines. dcarch