boilsover
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Posts posted by boilsover
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9 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:
Then again I have a friend whose hobby is flipping houses.
His own houses? It's tough to get as much money out of doing a luxe appliance upgrade as you put into it.
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Mashers are a problem with ECI. Better to use a ricer or tamis.
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People tend to buy the biggest and best they can install and afford (and know about). It's a pretty sensible rule if you enjoy cooking and eschew flipping houses.
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22 minutes ago, Shalmanese said:
Anecdotally, I've found from my friends that those who just have the Joule use it way less than those who have both a Joule and an Alexa. The ability to voice command the Joule removes a lot of fiddliness vs using the smartphone app.
Yet is lame in it's own inimitable way. Alexa, how do I tie my shoe?
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OK, someone in an earlier thread asked me to post photos of this effort to make insulated, evap-resistant bathtubs for my new Anova ciculator.
I decided to make two. The first was to just use my medium-sized Coleman PolyLite 40Q cooler. This is my Go-To grocery cooler, so I didn't want to sacrifice it just for SV, so I cut a plexiglass scrap into a cover that sits down inside on the cooler's interior rim, and then hole-sawed the corner of the clear plexi to accept the Anova. Someone specc'd the hole at 2.5" diameter, but I found that's a bit too large. 2-3/8" or 2-7/16" diameter would probably have been better. I solved the issue by adding a toilet flush gasket that seals the hole and stabilizes the Anova.
The second was a smaller 9Q Igloo picnic cooler I never used, is only $15 new , and therefore didn't mind sacrificing. This I hole-sawed directly through the cooler's removable lid. Because the lid was hollow, I sealed the thing up with squirt foam and silicone caulk. The gasket seals this one, too, just moving from one cooler to the other with the Anova.
So far, after a few uses, I can say that the setups hold heat extremely well, and don't lose much water by evaporation. The 40Q only dropped a few degrees after being banished to the back porch overnight in 40F weather. It would not have taken much time or juice to get it back on-temp.
I'll break out the Kill-A-Watt later, and compare energy use.
Cost was $6 for the IKEA rack, and $3.49 for the gasket. I had everything else.
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39 minutes ago, weedy said:
that's the crux of it for me, and why I WOULD dissuade anyone from getting it
A mere "like" can't possibly convey my agreement strongly enough. This Smartphone Uber Alles sycophancy is getting so tiresome...
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2 minutes ago, weedy said:
I think egg freshness also has a major impact on the 'wateryness' of the whites.
Maybe. These were from a friend's hens, <1 week old.
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On 30/10/2017 at 1:07 PM, boilsover said:
Yup, it is very strange. The whites were much less done than those pictured. They were closest to Dave's 62Cs. In retrospect, I should have done two cold eggs and two at room temp, to gauge the difference.
Thanks for the additional information.
OK, so I ran the 75C/167F 14-minute program for soft-boiled eggs again. Same batch of medium eggs, but I kept 2 in the fridge until the start. The other two had come to 65F overnight. The Anova was spot on in reporting 75C.
The room-temp eggs were marginally better; there was no soupy clear white. The fridge pair was the same fail. After the tops came off, I measured the temp at the center of the eggs. The reefer egg was 149F/65C, and the ambient egg made 152F/66.6C.
Obviously, more time would have been required to firm up the whites, but with a high setting of 75C, the yolks would be putty-like at that point.
Based on the Arnold video, I'll try the 45-minute at 62C, just for the callenge of it. I just don't see the point of SV for this.
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1 hour ago, btbyrd said:
It's strange that your whites were still on the "egg soup" end of the spectrum -- especially if they were medium eggs. They shouldn't be soupy, though I wouldn't describe them as firm. They should definitely be opaque and non-fluidlike -- at least for the firm white. Anyway, the real draw of SV egg-cookery is precision with yolk texture. The egg whites are always a little gross. Dave Arnold's egg chart video is a good indicator of what you can expect at various temps for the yolk and white.
As far as soft boiled eggs are concerned.... I mean, SVing a soft-boiled egg isn't always a total waste of time. It depends on how much time you've got and how much you care about producing a particular result. It's just that to get a proper soft-boiled texture on the whites, you have to do 2-stage cook, and that's very fussy for most cooks and applications. But if you were doing a tasting menu in a fine dining context, it could make sense. I mean... I've done the "boil it first, then SV it" trick on a couple of occasions when making ramen. But nowadays I just do it on the stovetop like an ordinary chump... because I know I can get good-enough results in very little time.
Yup, it is very strange. The whites were much less done than those pictured. They were closest to Dave's 62Cs. In retrospect, I should have done two cold eggs and two at room temp, to gauge the difference.
Thanks for the additional information.
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3 hours ago, ElsieD said:
Salad shooter?
Ooh, if you like the Salad Shooter, uou might also want the Jerky Shooter!
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4 hours ago, btbyrd said:
As I was typing this, Anna beat me to the punch. But.
If you want a soft boiled egg, soft boil an egg. It takes less time and will give you the firm whites you seem to be wanting. And it should be noted that I've never seen anyone advertise a SV egg as a close alternative to a soft boiled egg. A poached egg, sure. But not a soft boiled egg. You may have set yourself up for failure simply by having inaccurate expectations about the result.I don't know how you're eating them, but if you're using a "clacker" to do it and eating it directly from the shell... I'd just leave SV eggs alone. Best practice for serving SV eggs is to first crack them onto a plate or into a slotted spoon so that the loose whites will run off. Using fresh eggs can help things there, but you'll still have problems some of the time. There's always some percentage of egg white in low-temp eggs that's goopy and less than appetizing. Or you could boil your SV eggs for 3 minutes before-or-after their time in the bath to set up the whites. But that's silly.
I'd just boil an egg.
I think you misunderstand how firm I want. This was like egg soup. It would have taken additional time or a hotter bath to approach even a coddled state. These were only medium eggs, too.
But thanks for confirming that SVing a soft boiled egg is a waste of time. It's what I figured, but I suckered into the whole precision/better texture thing. Silly me.
I may give it another go, if for no other reason than to assess the internal temps vis a vis refrigerated start and room temp
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On 10/27/2017 at 11:47 AM, boilsover said:
This is useful, thanks. I'll try that.
Hmmm. The soft-boil attempt (75C for 13:30) was another epic fail. Every bit as liquid and mixed clear and white "white" as the 45:00 at 65C. Basically, the eggs exploded when the clacker was applied.
Per advice, this was 4 eggs straight from the fridge into 8Q of water. After the 3 egg grenades, I put the 4th one back in the bath--after breakfast, the white was just barely uniformly white.
Next time, I'll verify the Anova does 75C/167F when it says it does.
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13 minutes ago, andiesenji said:
Am I the only one who uses a food processor to "grate" - actually shred - large amounts of semi-hard cheeses.
Every food processor I have owned, since I got my first one decades ago, has had a shredding disc and it works fine for cheddar, fontina, swiss, jack, colby, &etc.
Just cut the cheese into a long piece that will fit in the tube, chill it in the freezer for at least half an hour to an hour if it is not real hard turn the motor on and gently push on the column of cheese.
I use the larger for these semi-hard cheeses and I use the smaller for hard cheese.
Well, count me among the people who hate cleaning the FP. So much so, I'd rather take 4x the time doing it by hand. Not completely rational, I know...
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12 minutes ago, lindag said:
When I last attempted a recipe for mac & cheese I was disappointed that said recipe called for 4 cups of grated cheddar.
I really hate grating that much cheese because I don't like having to wash up my big 14-cup food processor and I hate grating on a box grater even more, it's hard on my hands and it takes a bit of effort.
Isn't there a (somewhat) easier way? I've looked at the Moilinex-type rotary graters; are they good for larger amounts of cheese? Or maybe something like this?
Comments, please.
You might like one of these graters with West Blade technology. https://www.gourmetinsider.com/lifetime-debuts-west-blade-graters-and-zesters-at-williams-sonoma/
I fooled with these at the 2017 IHHS show. Lifetime Brands' head of development showed them to me. I was prepared to be underwhelmed, but this blade design is truly wonderful. The cutting edges are recessed, they cut in both directions, and are easy to clean. Good ergonomics, too.
The West Blade citrus zester is semi-miraculous, insofar as you get all zest and no pith.
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8 hours ago, quiet1 said:
I think I just found my perfect stove. But it'd be a chunk of the cost of our current house so it feels a bit silly.
Frankly, I was surprised that these small Lacanches were not more expensive. 5 grand isn't terrible for what you get.
I cooked on a larger Lacanche in Paris last month (that orange color!), and I see the appeal.
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6 hours ago, Anna N said:
Fooled around with this today and found the 14 minute egg to be just about where I would enjoy it most. 13 minutes was still too goopy. Actually I think a 13 minute and 30 second egg would be even better and that will be my next try. I am using relatively fresh supermarket eggs graded large.
This is room temp, or straight outta da fridge?
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18 hours ago, Pan said:
I had to look that up. A wild pepper from Madagascar. What's great about it, and who do you get it from?
It's not especially hot, but it is powerfully aromatic. In my limited experience, it makes the freshest Tellicherry seem like it's been on the shelf for 2 years.
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3 hours ago, andiesenji said:
Yes! I posted the link when I said I had placed the order.
I had gotten Madagascar Pepper from Pepper Passion (now Sir Spice) a couple of years ago but I used it up. They were sold out when I checked so I went to my "alternatives" and noted one of the blogs I follow had recommended this place.
Here's my collection of peppers from early 2015
The Passion packets look identical to the G. Detou packets. I paid 9 Euro per 125g packet.
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1 hour ago, Smithy said:
Pan, I too am delighted to see you back - and with such an interesting store idea!
Here is my current favorite mustard. I have no idea whether a native German would consider it to be high quality, but it has a nice piquancy that fits our household tastes. I first found it at a HEB grocery store in Texas; it's now available in a few of our grocery stores. Amazon also carries it, but at wildly varying prices.
And a cute 1/4 Liter stein, to boot!
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4 hours ago, btbyrd said:
I'm mostly on that 13-to-14-minute 75C egg tip recently. Yields a slightly firmer white than "usual" SV eggs and takes a fraction of the time.
This is useful, thanks. I'll try that.
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5 hours ago, rotuts said:
it just means you have to plan ahead
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for a weekend breakfast that takes no time at all.
Well, it takes 45 minutes on Day 1, chilling them, storing them, and then "re-therming" them on Day X. How long does that take? Plus setting up the baths and waiting for them to come to temp, dumping them a second time.
Sounds like the antithesis of "no time at all". Compared with 3 minutes in simmering water?
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Great. I couldn't find any from the better spice merchants where I am. I was told that there was a crop failure, and that the French buy up 98%. I ended up having a friend get me some packets in Paris.
Where did you find yours?
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I recently learned about and experienced Madagascar Pepper. It's a revelation, but the damn French hold a near-monopoly I've learned.
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7 minutes ago, weedy said:
they made crappy eggs, and tough grey banded meat.
that's how
Speak for yourself on the eggs, kimo sabe.
I totally see a value for SV'd meat, especially larger, tougher cuts. But poached eggs? Basically, you wait 45-49 minutes, THEN open and poach them. Why not just poach them? Sort of the same for green vegetables--just blanch and taste...
Shapes of Pans
in Kitchen Consumer
Posted · Edited by boilsover (log)
This shape is known by several names: "sauteuse evassee", "Windsor", "Fait Tout". You are correct that this shape is of venerable history in the classical French batterie. The one on the right had no place in that history, although now it's called "saucier" (or less frequently here, a "sauteuse bombee").
The splayed shape was adopted for two main reasons: (1) it allows increased evaporation; and (2) as pan contents are reduced, the surface-to-volume ratio remains relatively constant. That constancy relieves the cook from making as many transfers to progressively smaller straightwall saucepans/casseroles when doing a reduction. The increased access with utensils and specifically whisks was incidental, IMO.
The Windsor can be made using both the old joinery and the lathe-turning that was later adopted. The bombee would be very difficult (and wasteful) to do the old way, but easy on a lathe with the right mandrel. Only if the curvature turns back on itself (think bean pot or Ruffoni stocker) does it become harder. But it is still do-able--you just need to use what's called a "split chuck" in the turning. In the modern world of die pressing, you can stamp out either shape, but you can't turn the curve back to narrow.
For use, I consider the two shapes mostly interchangeable. The Windsor is more linear in the surface:volume sense. I suppose, if you're one of those cooks who buys the theory of whisks better "fitting" into the bombee (I don't), you might be happier going that route. Note that even these compound-curved pans still have a bottom corner, and many whisks are fine and flexible enough to work in even a vertical wall "corner" (all of which have some radius anyway). The bombee probably would be better as a makeshift wok on the cooktop and as a zambaglione/sabayon pan.
The Windsor is so versatile it would be my Desert Island pan.