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Mary Isobel, these look and sound terrific. Can you provide some measurements, please?

Merveilleux! Any idea where to buy some in the American Midwest?

Was the meat wrapped in the first stage, Jo?

I'd be interested in seeing a photo of the setup of each event, if you can manage it sometime, Jo.

Hello @pideja, I haven't much to add about fishy stock. Glad you've found us a eG. Welcome!

My usual rule is: from refrigerator, 1 hour at original temp less 5°. If it's frozen, then add another 45 minutes. Edited to add: this is my opinion (after a bit of reading), not science. 😃

Hi @Sipegaos123. Great people here, you'll soon make friends. Welcome!

Hello @CookingWithoutLooking, I shall be very interested to learn more about your cooking. There are many great people here on eGullet, you'll soon make friends. Welcome!

@ElsieD, it turns out that lots of things would fall through the standard Anova racks; I even find that toast does better on the Silpat (doesn't stick). The crosshatch pattern @palo referenced comes from the additional rack, not the original Anova rack (which is like a standard oven rack). The crosshatch rack has 3/8" holes, so blueberries will fall through when partly dried. 5 racks may be too many if you're not planning on doing much dehydrating. From one groove to the next is approximately 1 1/8" to 1 1/4" (the grooves do not have the same shape throughout). Accounting for the thickness of the standard APO rack (3/16" ?), the food has to be cut into 1/2" - 3/4" cubes to fit on 5 racks; though it won't take very long before the food shrinks. The additional rack is thinner. I regularly use 3 racks when cooking: one for the fish, one for the potatoes, and another for slices of eggplant, etc. I find it simpler to rotate trays when there's only one tray on the rack. One thing I've found is that @Ann_T's Summer Torte works better with peaches that have been dried for an hour or two, to cut down the moisture; 'course I probably use too much fruit. But this way, the cake is not gummy in the middle. And it's almost certainly true that because I have the Silpats and extra racks already, then they come in handy. I'm not sure how well I truly understand how steam roast works, but I will use a Silpat on the racks for some vegetable where I want the food surrounded by steamy air. With the pan at the base of the oven, I don't care about drips. Like @palo says, this method takes the place of the perforated pan. I haven't bought a baking steel because I have a pizza stone for my regular oven (and a bread machine) and eGullet already makes me want to spend too much money. 😁 Also, it's not necessary to buy these accessories until you determine that you absolutely need one (or two)!

@ElsieD, you asked about accessories. Here's what I bought (sorry these are all US links) Multiple racks (I bought 3 of these, which fit in the grooves, recommended by Palo and Jo). https://forums.egullet.org/p2308023 Perforated Silpat (I bought 5 of these, recommended by Jo) One can cook anything on them (heat to 500°F, -40°C to 260°C). Clean with soapy water. They absolutely prevent anything from falling through the spaces on the rack. https://forums.egullet.org/topic/p2307121 Fruit Leather Silicone Dehydrator Sheets, with an edge. Useful for cranberries too. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NVRVVPF/ Here's the eG topic for Dehydrating Foodstuffs with the APO. You'll see the components mentioned above. https://forums.egullet.org/p2309118 Jo has a baking steel, which I don't have yet https://www.mcmaster.com/9745K79-9745K19/ I am grumpy about no self steam clean though https://forums.egullet.org/p2307288

@ElsieD, same as @palo. So that gave me one sturdy and one flimsy pan. Then the APO failed and Anova sent me a new machine, with a new pan and two oven racks. Eventually I realized that Anova had no intention of trying to repair or salvage my old machine. So I should have had sense enough to keep all the other removable bits, like the drip tray and water container, as a hedge against a future need for spare parts. But I didn't.

My flimsy pan was replaced by Anova, then the APO was replaced, so I have a flimsy pan and two sturdy pans. I leave the flimsy pan in the oven at the bottom, in order to reduce burnt on juices.

@ElsieD, it's not like the toast in a pop-up toaster. The bread surface is made dry-ish and develops a very small amount of browning. The APO toast cycle made DH crazy, so I spent $50 and bought him a toaster. I could eat the APO toast, but often choose to use the pop-up toaster. I understand APO will make great grilled cheese but I have not yet understood how that works (so I haven't tried).

Hello Chef. Folks are fairly friendly here, and you'll find plenty of opinions. I'm interested to see your favourites. Welcome!

Yes, absolutely. When I first bought it, I thought having a 220 circuit would be better (I'd planned to upgrade if Anova ever released one). I don't think I'd be tempted anymore. The APO oven heats quite quickly. Size: It's large enough to take the place of the regular oven, i.e. if you ever needed 2 ovens. It's large enough that it will hold a 7 quart cast iron Dutch oven; lid, handles and all. I bought extra shelves (APO comes with 2), so it's possible to use all 5 oven racks. Thus I have dehydrated many fruits and veg. Steam roasted vegetables are great. Probe temperature can be set, also the oven temp, so you can roast a chicken (I have cooked by probe, but not a chicken) . I know one can do many sous vide items, but I have mostly done sous vide fish this way. Put a little topping on the fish, then cook for 20 minutes at your chosen doneness (113°F for me). I've got a great recipe for fish and chips (with homemade mayonnaise). I only use the APO app to make toast (multi-stage). Everything else I do from the knobs on the front of the machine. (This is because I want to learn how the APO works). I have had the machine not work at all. Unplugged it for 10 seconds, replugged, the machine's brains reset and it's ready to go. I like the all-roundedness of the APO, steam and broiling. If I had a busted small steam oven, I'd upgrade in a jiffy. Watch the video posted by @gfweb here.

Oh Norm, this is priceless. How on earth did you respond?

Sous vide?

I'm looking for ham without a smoke flavour. Promo mailings from Benton's and Edwards which I've read closely but can't find one in their offerings. I might end up being bored by a really good unsmoked ham, but I'd like to track one down first! Thanks for your help.

Thanks. What would I search for and where would you suggest?

Yes, please, @Marlene. Your recipe for bbq sauce.

@btbyrd, does this "Country hams are salt cured and then aged" mean that all country hams are smoked? Are all city hams injected with smoke flavouring? Sorry to be such a pest about this topic, but I've developed an aversion to "smoked" flavouring. Which appears to have contaminated many chicken sausages, including my beloved Aidells Chicken Apple. @JoNorvelleWalker, I don't mind porcine humour but I didn't want my question to be forgotten.

So, @JoNorvelleWalker, it's not possible to get low smoke flavour?

Can you give us a recipe, @Marlene? I have a lot of bourbon bought for someone's ex-husband who won't be visiting any more.

Last year, I had some pricey Turkish delight with pistachios which was delicious. The pieces were about the size of a thumnail, 3/8" thick. I rationed myself to two per day. Afterwards I taste tested the Turkish delight options in my local Middle Eastern store, which, unfortunately, were not even close. Likely, I shall treat us with a batch this year too.

Oh, yum, @Ann_T. A link to the recipe perhaps?