dcarch

As I said, I bought one of those cheap ($10) eBay pocket scales. I have a set of laboratory calibrated weights for a balance. I used those to check the digital scale. The cheap scale was very accurate. I replaced the batteries in the scale with much weaker old batteries, and the measurements were still accurate. dcarch

My food habits change often. Changes happen whenever I have a new cooking appliance. I smoke a lot when I first got my smoker. I eat lots of meat when I got my sous vide setup. I start making smoothies when I got my Blendtec I am using my new rotisserie a lot now. dcarch

Many new gas stoves have burners with a part that can be easily removed to give that jet engine flame blast. However, I would not show how that is done on a general forum. I don't want to be responsible for someone who is not handy and end up having his/her house blown up. dcarch

What LiuZhou said. Also, 水饺 can be boiled in plain water or sometimes steamed, but wontons must be served in very good soup (stock). dcarch

HaHaa! In reading further, they agree with me that the thing is not giving you more heat, and a lot of heat can be directed downwards by the device. dcarch

I have question about that device. 1. The total output of BTU for any burner is fixed, unless you fool around with the gas pressure or size of gas jet. That device will give you the impression that you are getting more heat, but in fact not one single BTU is more than before. 2. Normal burner transfer heat to your wok by conduction. You can see from the picture that the device gets red hot, which means it is taking some BTUs from the wok, and converts the heat to infrared radiant heat, and radiant heat goes in all directions. Lots of heat will be lost in being converted to radiant heat. 3. The device also focuses/traps heat downwards. Some stove/range finish can be damaged by the high heat. dcarch

BTW, Nickel is magnetic. Nickel magnets (Alnico permanent magnets) are used in many earphones and loudspeaker voice coils, and in some DC motors. dcarch

Thanks guys for the soft shell crabs information. One thing you don't find here in NYC, unlike in Canada, is live king crabs. I will be going to Canada next month. Look forward to that! dcarch

It was pretty good, but not spectacular. Next time I may up the sous vide temperature to 155F, and may be 10 hours instead of 5. I don't see why not. I may try that sometime. dcarch

Also check the temperature calibration of your setup just to be sure. dcarch

I seem to think that there are more than one kind of ramps. Also, how old/young? where they were harvested? They may taste different. Best to tryout a small quantity. dcarch

By definition (science), all gas and electric ovens are 100% efficient. The so-called inefficiencies are actually meaning poorly insulated ovens, In that case keeping an unused stone inside makes even less sense. It's like people keeping lots of sandbags year round in the trunk to get good winter snow traction. dcarch (To be clear, efficiency means a lot for induction cook tops and microwave ovens. The ability to convert Watts to BTUs)

As Rotuts explains exactly. Not only that, there is no need to pre-heat your oven for many baking/broiling/heating/roasting recipes. Pre-heating oven is a big waste of energy. I think making naan bread, pizzas, dough proofing, etc., you do need to pre-heat. dcarch

Where do you NYC guys get good soft shell crabs? dcarch

For those of you who keep your baking stone or steel in the oven full time, I think it's a big waste of energy. It takes a lot of heat to heat it up, then it take lots of air conditioning to cool it down. All for nothing. dcarch

Well said Liuzhou. Welcome to the forum Steven, and thanks for posting the video. Just curious, are you the author of the video? If so, you have amazing skills. If not, perhaps it's a good idea to say so in your post. I have not read the rules here in this Forum regarding re-posting someone else's material. There is another essentially identical youtube video uploaded by Han meimei, Published on Dec 20, 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2IegQSfe70 dcarch

Razor Clams in an Asian store are generally 1/2 the price. I would assume the clams are from the same sources. Love live jumping shrimps. I don't know where else you can get them except in Chinese or Korean stores. You do not cook live shrimps any other way except boil or steam them plain. Peel them and dip them. Heavenly! dcarch

Sure. What i did: 3 cups lilac florets (no leaves or branches)3 cups half-and-half1 cup heavy cream8 large egg yolks9 ounces inverted sugarsmall pinch salt1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract · The Steps: · · Heavy cream, half&half, inverted sugar, salt and lilac florets in a container into sous vide cooker set at 150F for 5 hours. · Remove from sous vide cooker and strain off lilac florets. · Beat egg yolks. · Pour slowly mixture into egg yolk, stir while pouring. · Put mixture with egg yolk back in sous vide cooker and set temperature to 170F for 2 hours. · Leave in refrigerator overnight. You should also have your ice cream maker container in the freezer overnight. · Add vanilla and follow ice cream maker instructions and make ice cream. dcarch

This was what I did: 3 cups lilac florets (no leaves or branches)3 cups half-and-half1 cup heavy cream8 large egg yolks9 ounces inverted sugarsmall pinch salt1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract · The Steps: · · Heavy cream, half&half, inverted sugar, salt and lilac florets in a container into sous vide cooker set at 150F for 5 hours. · Remove from sous vide cooker and strain off lilac florets. · Beat egg yolks. · Pour slowly mixture into egg yolk, stir while pouring. · Put mixture with egg yolk back in sous vide cooker and set temperature to 170F for 2 hours. · Leave in refrigerator overnight. You should also have your ice cream maker container in the freezer overnight. · Add vanilla and follow ice cream maker instructions and make ice cream. dcarch

Got some fiddlehead fern. :-) dcarch

Thank you! I make it. Posted here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/147685-back-yard-foraging/?p=1968880 dcarch

Still more! I love early spring! dcarch sous vide prime rib on violet greens and hosta shoots Lilac ice cream

Chicken parts: http://preymodelraw.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/chicken-giblets.jpg Gizzards have texture like heart, except tougher, that's why I pressure cook them first. Kidneys have texture like liver, except softer. I think if you have a quantity, I would try to make a pate. dcarch

Gizzards. They don't function as kidneys in chickens. Pressure cook them first, then use in stir fries. They make wonderful stock. dcarch .

I don't have a spray gun like yours, but I am familiar with similar tools. I don't think there is a motor in the device. The unit uses a vibrating magnetic drive ( which makes terrible noise) to propel the liquid. From your picture of disassembled components, I think you may be missing to take apart another component. The vibrating magnet pushes a steel piston which sucks the liquid up the siphon tube. Often the piston gets stuck because the coil spring is not strong enough to push back against high viscosity liquid. You will need to take apart and open up the whole tool. It is not very complicated inside. You need to find a way to force the piston out and wash it clean so that it can move freely again. dcarch