EnriqueB

That's part of the reason why I discard the soaking brine and then cook in unsalted water. Also, using salt for soaking and not for cooking is supposed to be the option that cooks beans faster (even twice as fast) according to Harold McGee.

I make hummus from dried chickpeas. I don't use the soaking liquid (a brine) to cook the chickpeas. Some people do as it seems to be tastier and more nutritious, but also likely produces gases... I do use the cooking liquid (unsalted water with bay leaf, garlic and cumin) in the hummus, it does clearly make a difference. And the remaining cooking liquid is excellent for soups, cooking rice, etc. More details here (very inspired by the hummus thread).

Hi Pedro, I have a meter, data logger and a few K-type thermocouples from Thermoworks, but I am looking for a EU-based provider. I had a look at the Greisinger site but they claim to be "directed exclusively at commercial or industrial consumers" and prices are not shown. Do they sell retail, or do you buy at a reseller?

A recent video from ChefSteps also favors pre-searing:

But presearing forces to wait, the food can't be vacuum packed until it has completely cooled again... Which often is a hassle!

I must be deaf, it's been already a good while and ingredients don't talk to me as they do to you... :-)

Pedro, the full text is no longer available for download on the site. I would be grateful if you downloaded a copy you can share...

Carbonell is one of the biggest brands here in Spain, but I would not consider it specially good, rather all the way round. On the other hand, if there are no better options easily available...

Salt potatoes are wonderful! They are a typical dish from the Canary Islands called "papas arrugás".

The bars are in addition to the atmospheric pressure. Meaning the pressure inside the PC would be 1.8 ATA (atmospheres absolute) at sea level when the second red bar is hit, if I understand correctly.

Probably, and I agree with others that this was likely marketing talking without much knowledge. I was surprised that they wrote that, especially because it was not in answer to my questions. Maybe they thought I was planning to use it commercially as I asked a good number of technical questions... In any case, as Pedro remarks above, the PolyScience Creative specs are also somehow lower than those for SWID of SousVideChef II, at a similar price tag. These 2 are from European makers and I don't know whether they have 110V versions and how easy it is to import them into US. All 3 units are new models (SWID has not changed the name but it is a completely remade version, more powerful than the one being sold until last year), so how well they will resist time and use is still unknown.

I own a couple of Kuhn-Rikon Duromatic Hotel PCs. As far as I know the second red line is 0.8 bar and pressure is released when 1.2 bar is achieved. This means that if you look for a point somewhere between the second red line and the moment steam is released you will have around 1 bar, as asked in MC recipes. The issue of European Pressure Cookers having 0.8 bar as the high pressure setting, as opposed to US Pressure Cookers, was commented earlier in the thread by Laura from hippressurecooking: see http://egullet.org/p1850356

I bought the SWID by Addélice, and the eiPOT by FreshMealsSolutions (SousVideMagic).

Yes, I emailed them with a few questions about the unit and their answer included that "the unit should not be used more then 2/3 days per week". I interpreted that as low quality building and went with another unit.

I got the new eiPOT from Fresh Meals Solutions, my third sous-vide system!

The stones are always on a steel pan devoted only to that.

I use the tray with rocks as well as a mist sprayer when baking bread in my electric convection oven and never had any problem with the glass. This was a trick I learnt in a course from the best-known home bread maker in Spain and I know many people that also use it. No problem has been ever reported by any of them, that I know of.

It seems to me that a few of the sous-vide equipment makers are essentially one-person companies. I understand it is a small market and that it is the price we pay for being somehow "innovators" with the technique at a domestic level. Don't get me wrong, I do own units from both Addélice and FMM, which both seem to be just one-person, and I am happy with them, but this poses a risk in terms of support or brand survival which has to be evaluated when buying...

I'm surprised at that, I have also recently bought their new eiPot system, had several questions and they were all answered by email really promptly (in minutes or hours rather than days).

I use plastic pouches for chamber sealers that are rated for 120C, precisely for use in pressure cookers. But still, using a sealed bag would not be a good idea, as it would easily explode with the water vapour produced inside the bag. The jars are never tightly closed inside the PC for that reason.

...and that it's intended for only home/casual use, which they define to be "used no more than 2/3 days per week"

Sorry Laura, it's true there's almost no evaporation, but what do you mean than the meat preserves all its juices? It does not, according both to theory and to my experience in pressure cooking. It may loose its juices at a different rate than a traditional stew, due to the different temperature/time profile, but give the meat enough time in the pressure cooker and almost all its juices will be drained.... As Lisa Shock said, the meat is not dry due to collagen converting into gelatin, as far as I know.

Timely and useful thread, Bob. Since I started my blog, I'm also trying to do a similar job of informing about sous-vide to Spanish home cooks, as the technique here is much less used and known that in the US. In that vein I posted (all in Spanish, I'm afraid) a "reasons to cook (or not) sous-vide at home", a thorough review of SousVideSupreme Demi (where the potential galvanic corrosion is mentioned, but see below), and a series of detailed explanations on the equipment (types, advantages and disadvatages, and available models) that starts here . Most of the makers have new models since I published it (january 2012), so I'll publish new comparatives soon, especially since now I also own a SWID circulator and have just bought the iePOT. Also, anyone searching for serious reviews and comparatives should have a look at http://www.sousvidecooking.org/ About the potential galvanic corrosion of the dissimilar metals in the SVS Demi, I think it must depend on the water hardness, as I and several others I know have had their Demis for more than one year now, often leave it full of water with the rack and plate inside and I had experienced no problems at all. For people fearing plastics, the recent article "No danger in sous vide plastic bags" may be good reading to convince them.

Go figure...

I wrote to PolyScience asking about what do they refer to when saying "only for casual/home use", and they answered that the unit should not be in use more than 2 or 3 days per week. A heavy constraint, so, in my opinion, the price is not justified.