dcarch

All storage/rechargeable batteries have limited recharge cycles, and they age every time you use them. The system which charges the battery and invert the battery power full time to power line voltage devices may have a shorter life. Also, The charger is not 100% efficient and the inverter is even less efficient. You will be wasting energy if you use a ups to power your other devices. Except super capacitors, which operates not by chemical reactions, and is 100% efficient. dcarch

By definition, electric heating is 100% efficient. I think what you mean is how much $ it would cost to do a long cook. Do remember that also in the calculation, all the BTUs in the cooking is 100% used to heat your house in the winter. dcarch

Things can look very good for electronic units to filter out peaks and valleys in supply line power. With nano carbon technology, there is a new generation of super capacitors which can go into the power section of electronic gadgets. dcarch

There must be a thousand different designs for a UPS, but I have a problem understanding what you are saying, which does not mean your are wrong. A battery is a 12vdc device, you can't send 120vac thru it. A UPS cannot (I think) always be supplying power even when the line power in not out. The only way to do that would be parallel the UPS and line power. But to do that you end up with a difficult situation. UPS is a regulated constant voltage device, let's say at 120vac, with a sine wave or square wave timing that is non-synchronous to line wave's wave form output. Line voltage varies in voltage, when that happens, if the voltage is higher then the UPS, it can burn out the UPS, and if the line voltage is lower than the UPS, the UPS will be powering up your entire house and the whole neighborhood thru the main panel. dcarch

A UPS system can be any power, including a generator. In a battery (portable) system, I am not sure it always mean instantaneous response. A battery UPS trickle charges the internal batteries, typically lead acid sealed 12VDC batteries. When the circuit detect a power interruption, an inverter circuit kicks in to convert the 12vdc to 120vac (or 240vac) at 60hz (or 50hz). All these may take a fraction of a second. A surge protector, OTOH, by definition, acts instantaneously. dcarch

For that may be you don't need a UPS system, just a very good surge protector. UPS is for power outages and only has enough power to allow you time to properly shut down your computer system. A UPS can be big and heavy. A good surge protector is not cheap but smaller. dcarch

No battery can power a 1000 watt heater in a sous vide circulator for too long. dcarch

When I blanch, the blanching water often turn green and have vegetable taste. That indicates to me that some good stuff is lost to the water. So I mostly steam or microwave before sautee-ing. dcarch

I don't eat burgers often, mostly because I can't find good buns. Why waste beef on lousy buns? I did want to try to make SV burger, so I had to make my own buns. I am not a fat eater, so I used lean bottom round, hand chopped. with a few other stuff and seasoning mixed in. SV at 132F, 24 hours. Topped with roasted peppers, sauteed onions. I decided for this go around, I just want to taste the beef. No cheese. They were very good. dcarch

Then there is Balut to be considered. dcarch

I think it is crazy and irresponsible to promote that (Pizza Party) oven for indoor use. The design does not allow for complete combustion, therefore, CO (carbon monoxide) will be a byproduct. It may not kill you the first time, but after a while --------------------- dcarch

I think youtube maybe also a good place to publicize this shameful situation. dcarch

I think it is an important question. But I don't know the answer. I seem to remember that not all the meat from a cow are considered kosher. dcarch

Not that there are no studies which prove this is not true: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/22/picky-eating-genetic-heredity-children-food_n_2926924.html dcarch

Thailand did not invent slavery. Many countries exploit slavery to advance themselves. It's human nature, and it's part of civilization maturing. I see milder forms of slavery today in the USA, but that's off topic. If you stop buying their shrimps altogether instantly, their slavery practice will just move to other industries, and the shrimps in the oceans will be extinct from over fishing. Now that we have digital communication, we should educate them, pressure them, provide assistance to them to transition into more universal humane ways of global economic participation and growth. As for myself, nothing much I can do. I don't buy frozen packaged shrimps, they are tasteless. dcarch

Don't discount the fact that kids (and adults) are picky with food is because of nature, not nurture. dcarch

Done in my oven on a cast iron griddle. dcarch

Sorry to say this, but you can't win. There is no way. You are trying to fight the opposition, who is putting billions and billions of dollars in research and advertisement to seduce your kids into eating junk. dcarch

Some rice cookers can bake bread, and some bread makers can cook rice. My Panasonic bread maker can make rice. I even use it to make risotto! It does all the stirring. There is a bread maker, I have read, that can turn uncooked rice into bread. I like wild rice (real, not farmed) cooked in a PC. A little better texture. dcarch

I have a box of 100 surgical disposable gloves which are very big. May be you can consider using those? They are not expensive. dcarch

A little off topic. For the longest time, I thought Madonna was singing, "'Cuz everybody's living in a Cheerio world And I am a Cheerio girl.----" dcarch

Still, the whole appliance has only one compressor to cool both compartments. Having two temp control helps, but not completely. dcarch

What does the Chinese/Korean character on your radish soup say? dcarch

The best temperature testing device for the freezer is a box of ice cream. dcarch