pep.
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Posts posted by pep.
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Going back to Parmigiana, how about dropping the last syllable - Parmagian, making it sound like Parma John. Most commonly heard on Top Chef - "So like I hit it up with a little Parma John!!".
I noticed several people in this thread talking about "Parmigiana" and apparently meaning the cheese (and not a dish "in the style of Parma"). The cheese is called Parmigiano(-Reggiano). I find this much more grating than an anglicized pronunciation.
As for the theory that a French company wouldn't change the pronunciation of the company name for a foreign market: Just look at Michelin. They use a German pronunciation for TV commercials in Germany (but not in Austria), e.g. something like [mi-khe-lean]. So despite the French penchant for linguistic purity, making money comes first ;-)
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So back to the original question. Is this the level of detail and the kind of options you would like to see in the app? Is the surface-only option useful--i.e. do you trust your rancher and butcher that much? Or is core pasteurization what most people want?
Definitely both, please. And while you are at it, could you please add temperatures below 0 °C to the starting temperature selection? I like to cook stuff directly from the freezer and while the temperature curve doesn't change much, it is a concern with relatively short term cooking. I think going down to -30 °C should cover most non-laboratory freezers.
Anyway, thanks for such a great SV tool - it is the first SV app that is really useful! Great work!
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Those 2 statements seem contradictory..any thoughts? Is it 130 in 6 or 130 in 4? The size of sous vidable meat would be quite different between the two.
I would assume that the FDA code is more strict to allow for a greater margin of error (like an interruption in the cold chain that went unnoticed).
Could be, but wouldnt' that be applicable to sous vide food?
If you're very sure about your supply chain (or just cooking for yourself) ...
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Those 2 statements seem contradictory..any thoughts? Is it 130 in 6 or 130 in 4? The size of sous vidable meat would be quite different between the two.
I would assume that the FDA code is more strict to allow for a greater margin of error (like an interruption in the cold chain that went unnoticed).
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Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately, your camera captured only the left page. On the right page, you will find information on the nominal operating pressure/temperature. If one looks closely, one can even see one temperature in the current image: 228 °F or 108.888... °C. This corresponds to the 109 °C given in the UK manual for the first ring. I'm quite sure that on the full page there is a second temperature given: 241 °F or roughly 116 °C for the second ring. This corresponds to a nominal operating pressure of 0.8 bar or 11.6 psi. The actual maximum pressure (before the valve blows) of the European models is 1.5 bar or 21.7 psi.
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The Artisan has exactly one nylon gear (the wormgear), exactly like the previous model (Ultra Power). It is meant to protect the motor in case something blocks the movement of the attachments/beaters. It is easily replaceable by someone unskilled in machinery (i.e. me), but the operation is somewhat messy due to the grease.
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[i, personally, have a Blue Point and the manual states the ACTUAL maximum pressure - and it's 15PSI. If the metal lid, next to the handle has a little "U.S." engraved in it then you can be sure of it.
I'd really like to see a scan of that manual page.
If that "article on the web somewhere" was on a website of a certain pressure cooking "Miss" I can assure you that we ironed that out in her forums - she was referring to the online manual of the European model and not aware that the company specifically made a version for the U.S. This also explains why the Fissler Vitavit, which is currently in production and for sale in Europe is not yet available in the U.S. - they need to make and test tops just for this standard.
You are correct about the the website (I found it via Google, never been there before). The article did not directly pertain to the Fissler models, so I'm not sure what the discussion you mentioned "set straight" (I've just looked it up, again via Google). I'm sure there are different certification requirements for the US, I'm not sure that a higher cooking pressure is one of them. While it is possible that they manufacture separate lids for the US and for the rest of the world, without some written documentation, I doubt it.
Please don't spread vague knowledge without looking up the facts and information for yourself.
I think I put enough qualifiers to my statements to make that accusation very much unwarranted. Furthermore, there is no manual for a Fissler US model online anywhere. The European manuals (as well as a Taiwanese one) all state that the nominal operating pressure in high pressure mode is 0.8 bar. The maximum pressure (before emergency venting occurs) is 1.5 bar. In between, the pots start to vent more and more steam. So yes, the Bluepoint models can reach 15 psi, but no, it is not their designed operating pressure (see page 10 of the UK manual).
Please be assured that I'm not slamming FIssler's products - in fact, I own both a 4.5 liter Bluepoint and a 10 liter Vitavit and I like them very much. However, the existence of the special US line of pressure cookers hinges solely on your word at the moment. Sorry, but that's not enough proof for me. I've always been somewhat of a Doubting Thomas.
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The Australian distributor of Henkelman made a DVD video showing the oil change procedure - it's pretty amateur in production etc, but if you are unsure about what to do it is a fantastic resource compared to the oblique instructions in the manual. If you want I can explore posting it somewhere after checking with the distributor - after all I don't need to make an enemy of him ;-)
Thanks, that would be great!
Greetings,
Peter
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Carluccio's recipe uses the Common Wood Pigeon (3 to be exact), including their liver. I adapted it to one pheasant and some chicken liver. You marinate the bird(s) for an hour and roast (bake in MC terminology) them in a 220°C oven for 30 minutes. Then you remove the meat from the bones (which could be used for stock making) and add it to the marinade. The mixture is simmered for 10 minutes and pureed with a stick blender. The puree is spread on toasted crostini (12 according to the recipe, but that obviously depends on your bread size).
My variation of the recipe included not simmering the breast meat. Instead I simply diced it and used it as decoration on the crostini. The marinade contains the following ingredients:
- 2 glasses of red wine
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- some sage leaves
- 1 tbsp salted capers (watered)
- 1 clove of garlic
- 3 anchovies
- salt and pepper to taste
All are mixed together and blended with a stick blender.
- 2 glasses of red wine
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I haven't got it yet. The oil has been changed by the seller (a restaurant kitchen technician). I'll ask about when the filter was last changed (according to the manual I found on the web, it should be changed once per year, although I think for private use some larger interval should be sufficient).
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After some agonizing, I've opted for a used, but supposedly well-cared for, Henkelman Boxer 35. It's only the basic model without the vacuum or boiling point sensor control, but it has got softair, a good pump and easily available replacement parts. Once the unit has arrived, I will perhaps ask Henkelman if it is possible to retrofit the sensor control. OTOH, all the other options in the EUR 1200 pricerange have far fewer features, so even with just the time control, it should provide good value.
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The bird is 770g/27oz (no feet or wings, since they were unfortunately trimmed away and discarded as garbage), so probably smaller than the bird recommended for the recipe, but I'd love to hear it, anyway... adaptation is always an option.
770 g sounds about right, but I'll check the recipe. My pheasant was also much smaller than what I remembered from my childhood, which is why I made the crostini. I think the original was 4 pigeons or quails. Unfortunately, I'm not near my cookbooks. I'll report back on this on Sunday.
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Ok, it seems I took too long to answer. Is the heart respectively the circulatory system really large enough to distinguish with the naked eye?
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True, but the exact location of the "vein" was not that clear from the various postings (I've never encountered the phenomenon itself). Since there are not too many body length organs in a shrimp, it has to be the digestive tract (ok, that one's out
, the (female) reproductive system or the nervous system. All the culinary sources seem to only discuss the first and the last of these ("sand vein" and "blood vein"). -
It's the shrimp's nervous system:
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For how many people? A few years ago I made pheasant crostini adapted from a Carluccio recipe. Basically the whole bird was roasted, then all the meat except the breasts was simmered with wine and herbs before being pureed. The breast meat was cut into small cubes and put on top of the crostini. The yield was sufficient as an appetizer for 12 people.
I'd have to look up the details. The original recipe used several pigions in place of the pheasant.
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Yes, but the MiniVac is too small for my needs. I didn't mention it before, but I've got a rather large freezer and vacuum almost everything. I realize that I need to keep an edge sealer for the really large cuts of meat, but of course I would rather use the chamber machine as much as possible.
In addition, the MiniVac has none of the extra features that would make the premium machines worthwhile (GreenVac, soft-air). For this price, I'd look at Allpax.de machines (which at least have the external GreenVac connector).
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I'm looking for an affordable chamber vacuum sealer (in Europe). Currently I'm using a very cheap edge sealer (Caso VC 10) for my sous-vide cooking, but my experiments with sealing liquids were complete disaster. I'd like to seal stock etc. without first freezing it. I'd also like to do more vacuum compression (which can be done with an edge sealer and an external container, but takes ages and of course the results are not as good).
I've been looking at various options, unfortunately, the devices with the really cool features (vacuum sensor, soft air) are all in the > 2500 Euros range. Even the slightly cheaper Henkelman models don't have those features. On the more affordable side, there are slightly dubious products like the Schengler SVM 600 (which is supposed to have a 6 m³ pump, but the technical specification is quite vague) which you can get for 500 or 600 Euros.
There are also more robust looking professional machines from non-established companies like Rotek. They have a 20 m³ pump and look very solid, but the offical stats say only a 96 percent vacuum. I contacted them and a technician told me that it's unrealistic to get even a 96 percent vacuum in a bag due to the resistance of the bag on the sealing bar. However, their pump has a final pressure of 2 mbar, which seems to be comparable to Busch and other quality vacuum pumps. As for special features, the Rotek machines all have two (!) broad sealing bars (13 mm on each side) and are available with a gas filling valve. They currently don't have a GreenVac gastronorm connection, but the technician claimed that it should be easy to retrofit.
So what's the deal with the maximum vacuum specification - just an overly conservative technical company or sub-par technology?
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Yesterday I made the caramelized carrot soup for the first time. As I made it from the Kitchen Manual and not from the third book itself (I'm reading them linearly, currently somewhere in the middle of the second volume), I used store-bought carrot juice and plain butter – missed the instructions for making the carotene butter without a centrifuge.
I had used my last fresh ginger in the sauce for a SV pork loin roast (57°C, 12 h) and wasn't able to scrounge up fresh tarragon or ajowan, so I substituted dried ginger powder and roasted black sesame seeds for the garnish.
The soup was fabulous! The ersatz-garnishes worked very well, but a bit of green would have benefited the presentation. I briefly thought about using some Thai cilantro. However, I decided against it at the last moment. Next time, I'll prepare the carotene butter beforehand. Unfortunately, I will have to continue to use the store-bought juice. A juicer is somewhat lower on my list compared to other equipment (say, a chamber vacuum sealer ;-). Our local supermarket has some nice directly-pressed organic carrot juice with just 0.5 percent lemon juice as an additive.
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To follow up my perplexed outburst with something more on-topic: In continental Europe, there are a lot of people who don't eat seafood (or at least not the more "exotic" stuff like molluscs or crustaceans). You mainly find them in regions that do not have access to the sea. While some people might not even eat fish, this phenomenon is much more rare as lakes and fishable rivers can obviously be found all over Europe. I agree with the theory that it mostly depends on what one gets to eat while growing up. For example in Austria, it is unlikely that child casually comes into contact with mussels or shrimp, whereas they most likely would get to eat trout or some other freshwater fish. The situation is obviously very different in a coastal German city like Hamburg where there will be early contact with seafood of various kinds.
Addendum: There would seem to be a class aspect as well. City-dwelling kids from the lower social strata are unlikely to encounter fish of any kind other than the greasy-tasting deep-fried variety (previously polar cod, in recent years pangasius/iridescent shark).
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We are the most generous nation and people on the planet and yet we not only get grief from the rest of the world, but from our own citizens.
[...]
It's very puzzling to me, in fact it makes me angry when I hear my friends talk about "the world" hating us as a nation and what lousy tourists we are. What does that even mean? Isn't the duty of the host to make the guest comforable, especially when they are spending money, and not to snot at them for having different habits? I find that quite rude.
Surely this is supposed to be satire?
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Edit to add... The Amazon.co.uk price is $35.25 with shipping. I was wondering if the UK version has metric or imperial measurements. Any other differences that will be differences I should be aware of?
Metric where things are given by mass/weight (spices are measured in teaspoons, asparagus, shallots etc. are simply counted)
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MC says to not use a spring-valve pressure cooker for canning purposes because you can't make sure that all the air has vented when the valve shuts due to pressure. However, the instruction manual of my pressure cooker (Fissler Vitavit) includes a chapter with canning times (20-25 minutes on level II/0,8 bar for food containing meat). In addition, I can always manually vent (there is a switch that opens the valve when you press and hold it).
So is it safe or not? BTW, I haven't seen anything but spring-valve pressure cookers in Europe. Do the American style cooker/canners even exist over here?
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Well, except that it really doesn't (check the manual) - unless they sell different models by the same name in the US. There's an article on the web somewhere that claims that the elusive 15 psi stem from some older pressure cooker that really worked at 12.5 psi most of the time due to manufacturing tolerances. Supposedly, that pressure is "not needed in modern pressure cookers" and European manufacturers sometimes still claim 15 psi in the US as to not "confuse" the public.
Chamber Vacuum Sealers, 2011–2014
in Kitchen Consumer
Posted
Thanks a lot for the video, it is helpful. My Boxer 35 arrived today and I have to say, it is a monster. Where do you store the even larger Boxer 42? I haven't changed the default programs yet, but I will. As for maintenance, do you run the pump cleaning program each day (which is more or less what they say in the manual) or only when it hasn't been used for a longer period of time (say, a month or two)?
Greetings,
Peter