daveb

I just ordered a new stainless Gyuto to replace a lost one that I'm still mourning. I will use it for large amounts of veg prep - tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, scallions, etc. I want the edge to be sharp but robust enough to maintain the sharpness. My vendor of choice will put that type of edge on it before shipping. It will be up to me to maintain it as best I can. But I've also received knives, new and used, that needed a trip to the stones right now. Some were not particularly sharp, others were fatties. They're usually sharper when I'm done than when I started.

I'm not sure what SV would accomplish with a protein like Abalone. With no connective tissue to break down, why the long bath? I'm not a fan but thought tenderness was achieved by beating it like a stepchild.

Now I can be dismissive. I took the "black dust" challenge and found none with 4 different containers spanning the last 5 years. Poster's claim that if I found no dust "it's because you've eaten it all" seems without merit. Google results found the usual suspects trying to sell youtube views and print. Boring stuff does not sell. A Vmix churning water and releasing black kryptonite does. Found one Vmix reply that any "dust" is from polysomething that is inert. No one seemed to argue the inert part. The technical jargon can be simplified (for my simple mind) to: PTFE is inert until heated over 500F. Boiling point of water is 212F. No problem. The cynical side of me concludes that by posting here about an internet myth (for lack of better word) is just perpetuating said myth and adding credibility to it. Google it again 2morrow and find that EGullet readers not buying Vmix blenders because of mysterious black dust. Video at 11:00.

I see that I was more dismissive than intended. I'll give article a look, but.

This piqued my curiosity. I have 4 Vmix carafes at home now, an older (3-4 yr) tall model, a 3 yr old "dry" jar, a 2 yr old short "wet" jar and a new carafe that came with latest Vmix. One at a time I filled each with enough water to cover the blades and ran it on the "smoothie" cycle - a mix of low, med and high speed running. For each one I poured water out into a white chili bowl. Did not see any black bits from any of the samples. Now I guess it's possible, somehow, that all of the teflon from each of the carafes has migrated and I've no teflon left. But it seems more likely that this is not a problem.. I've not googled vitadust but tend to give little credence to internet phenomena that differs from my own experiences. I'm not sure who "they" are but they are frequently FOS.. Hugs.

I've owned four Vmix over the years - I've given the old ones to daughter, nieces without reservation. I've never had a warranty claim or any other problems with one. A puree or emulsification of a small amount (your mayonnaise example) of product is a challenge for any blender. I take that on with a mini food processor or a stick blender, or just make a lot of product. What it does well includes the usual smoothie type stuff. Does it's best with smooth soups, regardless of temp. (I make a roasted red pepper soup with pistachio that tastes gritty in any other blender), Very good for batches of puree or chimichuri type stuff, pesto, salsa type stuff. I recently pureed 6 heads of cauliflower (two batches) right out of a SV bath and it was almost too smooth. I keep a "dry jar" specifically for grinding dried peppers into chile powder - its kind of fragrant and red inside. The Vmix is quiet (relatively) and I don't think it's ever been accused of being underpowered.. I've never heard of bearing stuff getting into the container. A quick examination of the carafe and I can't see how that would be physically possible. Did you hear that in the Blentec store? Smiley. I would rather have a cheap knife than a cheap blender. And I'm not having a cheap knife. Hope you find a blender that suits you.

In keeping with the "cheap thrills" theme may I submit the humble pair of wooden chopsticks. They can be used to determine if oil is hot enough to fry with, gauge a reduction, hold the oven door open "a crack" and of course gently manipulate food. Not bad for eating with either.

My experience with SV Creme Brulee was also disappointing. In mine the texture was right - recall that it went an hour(?) in the bath. The flavor was a not great, one of those not worth the calories things. I don't have the recipe in front of me but typically start with Chef Step,,sometimes Serious Eats, MC, Keller, and even here. It's on my list to try agani but damn that list is long..

Thanks. My "practice" batch i did at 129F. For the demo I went to 131F..

I like cold. Room temp I'm sure would be fine. For me portioning is best done with salmon cold, after brine, before the bath - Chef Steps notwithstanding. This is how I served it the first time - still a favorite Have fun.

This is the first time I've been able to come up for air since the demo. Went well for the most part. Started the 72 hour ribs Mon afternoon. Tues morning went into the culinary store and two of the baths each had a SV bag swollen with gas. Not a good sign. Cut one open and really wish I hadn't. The two swollen bags were discarded and everything else looked fine. Wed prepared the salmon and into the brine/bath/ice bath/fridge it went, all without issue. Thurs morning I opened a bag with a single rib. Smell was a bit "offish", When cut it looked perfect but taste was again a little off. Chef asked what was Plan B? We decided to pull all the ribs, clean out the baths, get some beef tenderloin and start over with easy and foolproof. This was not the fun part. Had tenderloin in for 3 hours. An hour before class dropped the cauliflower, carrots, eggs. As pieces came together just dropped ice into the baths to hold product at serving temps. Dropped the asparagus 15 min before service. Had bags in a Sous Vide Demi, Sous Vide Supreme, a Poly Science circulator (and at one point had 5 Anovas going in the background). It all came together. 20 interested guests with some good questions, good food and some crappy pictures. The Salmon with an Arugula Puree The Deconstructed Panzanella The Entre - Beef Tenderloin, a Carrot and Puree of Cauliflower Desert - Poached Pear w Ice Cream And your's truly: It was a lot of fun sharing a hobby with like minded guests. Cooking for these type of demos is easy, tap dancing in front of 20 guests is a little more difficult. Two of the guests had been given circulators as gifts but had never turned them on - they said they were now ready to try. BTW the meat guy refunded the cost of the ribs, I'm not sure that ended well but probably as well as it could have. .

My working premise (not quite a plan) is to demo capabilities into the Holiday season. So chicken breast is a good candidate before people realize it's Autumn, turkey breast will be on the agenda, as will prime rib, pork loin and more seafood. Pumpkin, other squash, root vegetables will be going in the bath.. On the catering side I've done close to 100 beef tenderloins over the holidays in the last two years . May get a class out of that as well. Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

Day 1. What have I got myself into. Rush order from the Meat guy. Apparently someone thought we could do 72 hour ribs overnight Wed for a demo on Thurs. I don't think they teach math in chef school. Ready for bagging. Well I thought they were. About half did not fit in 12x14 bags. Cut into individual ribs and bagged 2x bag. Rubbed ribs with mixture of grapeseed oil, black garlic, thyme, s&p. Swimming.

At a local culinary store I have a hobby/job helping local Chef's do cooking demonstrations, prepping for catered events and all kinds of other things that let me play with new toys and other peoples food. I've been asked to prepare a Sous Vide Demo meal to stimulate interest in SV and modern technique - and hopefully sell some SV units. Menu to be Mi Cuit Salmon (104F from Chef Steps), Asparagus Salad w poached egg, 72 hr Short Ribs w Cauliflower puree and a Poached Pear desert.

I bought a Vic FIrth several years ago for myself and a few since as gifts. Nice quality. Firth was a drummer for BSO (if memory serves) and licensed drum sticks, rolling pins and pepper mills under his name. Never held a drum stick but the rest was good stuff.

I can't speak to the imported or high end food mills but have an Oxo that meets my needs. Augur, sieve at the end. How complicated can it be? That said I just used a VMix and strainer to puree some arugula. The Oxo never entered my mind.

Shelby - Thanks, the price is the same roasted or green. When I lived in NM I loved the whole parking lot thing where you buy a bushel, they toss it in at long tube roaster and the smell is everywhere. Seem to recall that frosty beverages were involved..... I'm not sure that's what Fresh Market has in mind for roasting - another reason for the question..

I've enjoyed the Hatch chiles a lot but geography has made it almost impossible to have any for the last few years. Now our local Fresh Market is selling them this weekend for 35/bushel. Bit high but it's the only game in town. The peppers are available in bulk as pre-order only. Buyer to choose roasted or green at time of order. My question is do I skip the fuss and order them roasted or will they keep better green and I can roast per use? I plan to chamber seal pint bags and freeze when I get them home. And I could eat that cheeseburger right off the screen. TIA

Tonight was an easy day. 72 hour short ribs @ 129F. Made a reduction of wine, a little balsamic, some black garlic and some shallot. Reduced, ran it through the VMix, strained it then back into the warm saucier. Broiled the ribs fo sear them, mounted sauce with butter, and plated. Did not suck. This was a trial run for a SV demo I've been asked to do next week. Mi cuit salmon, asparagus salad with poached egg, short ribs and poached pears.

Anna, Like some many things SV, the Chawan Mushi was a result of assumption, interpolation, trial and error and some luck. I found a recipe for the Chawan (but can't find it now) that I liked. Took the recipe to some of the SV sites, including this one and did not find a match but did find desert custards. I think I used time and temp for a similar volume creme brulee. I took the first one out of the bath after prescribed time and it was not set yet. Let the rest it go another 30 min and the next one was tight.

I don't get the "overpriced" part. If I go by Duncan Donuts I know a coffee and a muffin are about $3.50. It's neither underpriced or overpriced - it's a good value to me and I go down the road a happy camper. If I go into Per Se, with date, and think I'm getting out for a hundred bucks, I'm an idiot. Whenever one selects a dining choice they are buying into what the cost will be and those costs are not unknown. How can a known cost be overpriced? I can appreciate the time, artistic value, food cost, facilities cost and everything else that goes into a Per Se ticket. It's worth every dime. Reality rears it's ugly head though and I spend (considerably) more time at the DD than in restaurants of that caliber. Don't get the greed part either. A chef owner artist should not be able to make a good living putting out quality food night after night? People gladly pay a hundred+ bucks a seat to sit at a basketball game and watch grown men in their underwear run up and down the court. The seats are a hundred so the players can make a gillion dollars a year. It's not my thing but if it's yours then have at it. . .

Kudos.

Chawan Mushi - A savory Japanese custard. Texture was spot on, flavor was good, but out of a Mason Jar??? My Japanese food group almost lynched me.

Down. You would prob get more "bumps" from awkwardly holding a knife upside down to insert it instead of letting it slide into place as designed.. Some safety concerns about knives being upside down when friend/vistors expect them to be stored conventionally as well.

Ntxt