JoNorvelleWalker

I can speak only for the Amazon Vine program: one does not apply. Based on unknown metrics an invitation to participate shows up one day. Presumably the invitation is based on a history of quality Amazon product reviews. But this is just a guess. It could be because Jeff and I have a degree from the same institution of higher learning. It could be because Alexa likes me. Who knows? At any given time a Vine reviewer is presented with a small selection of Amazon products to order. At the moment 12,999 -- 6162 of which are in the category "Kitchen and Dining". Almost always these are products from third party Amazon sellers, but occasionally the products are items sold by, as well as shipped from, Amazon. I can order up to eight products per day. Some days my doorway is blocked by boxes. In addition to items in the kitchen category, I shamelessly adapt industrial and scientific devices for my culinary projects. Today I ordered two more centrifuges.

I can choose from what I am offered, but unfortunately I cannot suggest.

No beaker. I don't pay for the stuff I evaluate for Amazon, but this press is not something I would recommend at any price.

First cake I've baked since my health difficulties began. The recipe is Rose Levy Beranbaum's All-Occasion Downy Yellow Butter Cake, perhaps my all time favorite. The batter was baked as a single layer in a 10x3 inch aluminum pan I needed to evaluate for Amazon. Because of the pan size, baking time was an hour and fifteen minutes, twice what the recipe calls for. And the crumbs are excellent.

I stand corrected. I checked the product listing and my new spatula is "Midnight Blue". Sure looks black to me though.

My mystery press has reappeared on Amazon with more information and a different ASIN: (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

I had a Whole Foods 365 egg roll night before last. It was OK, perhaps nothing to write home about.

I received a black plastic spatula tonight.

The more things change the more they stay the same. The first article relates that at its introduction the Toshiba rice cooker cost about a third of the typical Japanese monthly salary. Now -- after almost seventy years of progress -- my Zojirushi model is selling on Amazon for about one third my monthly salary.

I shall never again... A bit of backstory: for weeks I have suffered a plague of fruit flies. Not even in the old days of end-of-tomato season have I seen the like. The flies are biblical. I've been searching for a source without success. Today a phone company technician came. He needed access to the corner of my bedroom closet that has not seen the light of day in years. I shall never again.

I figure 500ml is about the right size for the press, does that sound right?

Thank you @liuzhou! The press you linked is exactly the same as mine. Strangely I note only one of the Alibaba product pictures shows a beaker, such as the beaker in the video. Would it be common for Chinese kitchens to have metal beakers to use with the press? I have beakers, but my beakers are glass. As always, I love eGullet!

No tube and no place to affix a tube. No room in the (plain unmarked) box for a tube to have been. The plunger has teeth, though said teeth are not sharp.

Any guesses as to what this is? There are no wrong answers because I have no idea. Actually I have some idea, it is a kind of press. It was sold as a citrus press. A citrus press it clearly is not. There is no place for juice to drain. Height is 15 inches in the lowered position. It is heavy. It works as a nut smasher if you are fond of shell fragments. The asking price was $158. The device has since been removed from Amazon. The fact remains someone designed it for something.

I've been known to use my hand.

I received my new Cake Bible copy two days ago. Fortunately the binding seems more sturdy than on the first edition!

I've been reading it. I'd say it is their best book so far.

I've done the same.

I have the 35th Anniversary Edition of The Cake Bible preordered: (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) Will be fun to see what's changed. Thirty percent new content is promised. Besides, my thirty year old Cake Bible copy is showing its age.

On the way home from the hospital tonight my kind friend who was driving stopped at Jersey Mike's, a sandwich shop, so that I could get a bite to eat. The man who made the cheese steak handed the bag to me and said "On the house."

Their unground ras el hanout is a wonder to behold. I'm in the US and have not had trouble ordering from Canada. Most of my spices though I get from Penzeys. Penzeys offers Tuscan Sunset, an Italian style seasoning, as well as Italian Herb Mix. I have never tried them.

For the time being I've decided on grapeseed oil. Last night I used the new contraption to spray my porkchop.

Did you ever get an oil sprayer for your air fryer? I received an air fryer a few weeks ago, and I am evaluating an oil sprayer that I received to test. I have to say I am a little worried about breathing an aerosol of oil. Another question is which oil to use in a sprayer? The particular sprayer I am playing with works well with water, but the fluid container is clear glass, thus exposing the oil to oxidation. I'd like to keep the apparatus in the refrigerator, however most cooking oils are solid or close to solid by 0C.

I posted the footnote because @rotuts had wondered about the discrepancy between 700F and the maximum stated cooking temperature of 450F.

No.