splice42

Yolk! Yolk, yolk, yolk. Yolk.

To everyone wondering about Wondra, I'm pretty sure I found a replacement here in Canada. In fact, I'm pretty sure I saw it listed in MCAH as a direct substitute. I use Robin Hood Easy Blend flour. It's the one that comes in a cylindrical container, the one that looks like this: http://i-store.walmart.ca/images/WMTCNPE/114/496/114496_Large_1.jpeg I've been using it in lieu of Wondra in the MCAH creamed spinach recipe and it's been doing the job just fine.

I'm not sure if it's a provincial thing, but I think I've always received my amazon.ca orders through Canada Post. I'm in Quebec, right next to Ottawa, Ontario. I do tend to select super-saver shipping on most of my orders, maybe that plays a part as well.

I received my new copy today. I have no idea why Canada Post is delivering today, the delivery man said it was "exceptional". Nice match for the book. This one came in the MC@H cardboard box, which I'll now use to ship back the damaged copy. Pretty smooth process, and you just have to love the fast shipping from amazon.ca, at least for me; always 1-2 days from order to door. Now I just have to start gearing up the kitchen. Up next: a pressure cooker, then a siphon. Lots of fun ahead, thanks to the MC crew!

That's a bit of a strange procedure. The Amazon.ca "return package" process seems to be the better option. It gives you a label to print out, and it doesn't charge you any extra $$. If you don't return the original, damaged copy within a month, then it gets charged to you as a second copy. Otherwise, it seems to be straightforward enough; go through the process, print the label, wait for the new copy, box up the old one, affix label, and ship it back at Amazon's cost.

According to Modernist Cuisine, it actually does make a difference. The pressure reading from the gauge may not represent the actual pressure inside the vessel if the vessel contains a mix of steam and air instead of just steam. This has to do with Dalton's law of partial pressures. For example, if the pressure cooker has a mixture of 50% air and 50% steam inside, the gauge could indicate a pressure of 1 bar/15 psi while the actual vapor pressure inside the cooker will be 0.5bar, meaning the water will be at 111C/232F, which is not enough for safe sterilization and not the 120C/248F expected temperature. Spring valves such as are present in Kuhn Rikon models will leave some air trapped as the valve locks, which means you can't be sure of the exact temperature of the water inside. I imagine that you won't have 50% air in there and that the temperature you reach is "close enough" for cooking purposes. When you cook a stock I think it's not a huge issue if it's going at 115C instead of 120C, for example, especially given that you'll expect some variation in the pressure reached by various different pressure cooker models. When you get into canning and are concerned about food sterilization for extended storage though, I guess it's much more important to reach the right temperature for the right amount of time. The more I think about it the more I'm sure that if it's not for storage or preservation, that small temperature difference will not matter for what I'll be doing with it. EDIT: Thanks, pazzaglia, what you're saying makes sense to me. And it looks like there's some good deals on Amazon today, so I'll probably be getting a 6qt Kuhn Rikon, as soon as I confirm my available storage space and all of that...

From what I understand from what I've read, the Kuhn Rikon pressure spring valve models do not let out a lot of steam, and they lock and stop letting out steam when the pressure is achieved, meaning that some of the original air could be trapped inside. This is why I am asking the question.

I had a quick question regarding pressure cookers before buying one. It's been mentioned in this thread (at least I think so) that models from Kuhn Rikon, for example, operate with a pressure spring valve and will not let much steam through after coming to pressure. This makes for more flavourful stocks since not much escapes from the cooker while it's cooking, but a trade-off is that those models may not be appropriate for pressure canning because there is no way to ensure that all the air has escaped before the pressure valve locks. I am not so concerned about canning for preservation, but there are a number of recipes in Modernist Cuisine at Home that involve cooking in canning jars in a pressure cooker. Will a Kuhn Rikon model be appropriate for this purpose? I'm thinking that the food safety issue is related to keeping the jars for a long time before opening them, and since I'd just be using them to cook things for near-immediate use it wouldn't be an issue. Am I right?

Neither, it was sent through Canada Post. I'm in Canada and ordered from Amazon.ca, as far as I know they ship through Canada Post as a normal shipping option. Really hoping that my new copy will either be boxed up or undamaged, estimate on when it will be here is next Monday or so.

Thanks for the pointer to the returns page, it's a pretty straightforward process. From what I've seen so far, the book is amazing. Can't wait to try those recipes and get some new kitchen toys.

I received mine just two days ago... in the plastic wrap and nothing else. A corner got mashed in on the sleeve and on the book as well. I sent some "packaging feedback" to Amazon Canada with a picture of the damage but no reply yet. Does anyone have any advice on how to get this handled by Amazon Canada? How did those of you who are getting replacement copies get that done?