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lordratner

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Everything posted by lordratner

  1. EU prices also must incorporate taxes, whereas in the US the price is advertised without tax included. It makes it worse that EU taxes such as the British VAT are over double what the highest US sales taxes are. Changes in the exchange rate are also a factor. It looks worse for a company to raise the price if the exchange rate fluctuates, than to just build some buffer in the original price. Finally, it's just cheaper to buy things in the US. I'm am American living in the UK, and there are even BRITISH products that I can get cheaper in the states. It's crazy, but it's a function of population sizes and politics.
  2. So you just rub the stones (same grit) together under water? I was considering the leveling kit, but if this trick works, it would be about the same price, but I'd get backup stones. What is so stunning about the 400?
  3. Few people are good enough with a stone to get their knives smooth on a microscopic level. If that's what he meant, my mistake.I use the EdgePro as well, though I still only use the 320 and 220 stones included. I think I'll get the 800 now, just to see if there is much of a difference. If there is, I doubt it will be noticeable during normal use. In fact, I just finished sharpening. As usual, the tomatoes didn't stand a chance.
  4. Contrary to popular belief, a serrated or toothy knife is not better on tomatoes than a sharp one, but it is better than a dull knife. Tomatoes are mindlessly easy to cut with a well sharpened knife.
  5. I'll start. I'm interested in Sodium Caseinate, so I can make some Hi-tech veggie burgers from ChefSteps. Willing to split a pound (400g bag) with someone.
  6. I apologize if this is the wrong section of the forum, I will move it as required if it is. I'm going to be buying some things from MP in a week or two, and I know many of the things there are hard to find in the UK. I don't have to pay for International Shipping, so if people want to piggyback on my order, I will sort it all out. You can post in here and I'll build the order. I will use the exchange rate I pay through my credit card (usually the lowest possible with no fees attached), and add a generic shipping fee to send everything out. Everything will be rounded up to the nearest GBP, to simplify payment. If I end up with a bunch of extra money, I'll recalculate so no one gets screwed. I'll place the order after everyone pays. Bank transfer seems easiest in the UK, but Paypal is fine too. I'll be more than happy to email/speak with anyone who wants to make sure I'm not a scam artist. This is purely to help out the Brit modernists who can't get what they need. I feel that pain. Please be specific with what product/quantity you want. If enough people want to split a large quantity, sort it out in this thread and let me know. I'll divide it up and send it out, plus the cost of containers. Some items need refrigeration/freezing, so keep that in mind. Questions?
  7. Tomatoes I like cold, especially the bite sized ones. Same with ketchup, apples, cucumbers and avocado. The cucumbers actually can go bad faster of they get too cold, but I like the chill with that flavour.
  8. I love my Iwatani. A lot of people here don't like it because there are hotter torches available, but I like it for the large flame it produces. The gas is easy to get as well, and the fact you don't have to hold the trigger down while using it is actually a huge bonus.
  9. 2 hours. It started at about 75F when the pump water was sub 50F, and rose to about 100F when the water was at room temp.
  10. Red Wine and Vinegar Reduction I decided to make the ChefSteps Red Onion Jam, which calls for 1000g of wine and 50g of vinegar to be reduced down to ~105g This time I kept the rig running without any pauses to measure the weight. Benefit: no uncontrollable foaming like with the Jack Daniels. Downside: over-reduced down to about 70g. But it still worked well in the jam. Instead I used a dry erase pen to mark the starting level. Not an elegant system, but it at least provides a reference. The entire process took about 2 hours to reduce The jam was really good. Very oniony still (which store-bought versions seem to lack IMO), but with a great sweet flavor. A great addition to our burgers What I do not know is whether the product would have tasted any different being reduced on the stove, as the orange juice did. More experiments to come.
  11. Yes, but until I come up with a permanent place in the home for this (and a few other not-so-kitchen-decor setups), I don't want to have a bunch of things hanging off the hose.
  12. For now I just ease the hose off the flask port. If the pump turns off before the hose is disconnected, the flask sucks in water (lots of it) from the aspirator tank, ruining the product. I'm going to install an intermediate flask with a more permanent venting system that will also act as a water catch in case of pump failure. Not a permanently open vent, but one that allows for bubble control. If I stick with the system long enough, I'll buy a vacuum control valve so I can control the temp of the liquid as it boils.
  13. Second Attempt: Jack Daniels Whiskey The set up on this one was easy. Dump a bottle of Jack into the flask and go. When starting a liquid in this rig, an initial boil-over period has to be watched carefully. If left on its own, the liquid will bubble up to the hose port and liquid will get sucked out. Not a threat to an aspirator pump, but a waste of good ingredient. Relieving the vacuum momentarily crushes the bubbles. and after a few vents, the system reaches some sort of equilibrium. Each time the system is stopped, this process has to be repeated. Because of this, I won't be taking periodic weight measurements after this attempt, but relying on liquid height in the flask. Choosing the speed of the spinner has a larger effect on the over-boil effect than temp. It gets trickier as the liquid gets thicker. The Jack turned a rather ugly brown towards the end and made huge, but mostly manageable bubbles And the end result: Honestly I consider it a failure. Apparently whiskey is made of smoke and alcohol. Any "flavor" was lost in the solvent; you could smell it in the aspirator tank. This is where a rotovap would shine. I'm not sure if I'll do anything with the end product. It tastes like the inside of a burnt barrel, which is fitting considering how Jack is made. I may try to add some sort of smokey flavor to a sauce or gravy with it. Next up, Red Wine and Vinegar for the Red Onion Jam from ChefSteps
  14. If you can point me to a recipe or set of directions, I'll whip something up with the orange concentrate either tomorrow or this weekend. Thanks! This is exactly the type of info I wanted for this thread... and hopefully some other people trying the technique out.
  15. I have, however that's really only likely to happen if I can figure out a reliable way to get liquid nitrogen in the UK for less than a billion pounds. We're only here for a few years, so buying a ton of UK appliances isn't something we're willing to do, and an ice cream maker is a bridge too far. I like the idea. The concentrate is quite sweet, considering the initial clarification took out a lot of the sugars. I should know the LN2 feasibility in a few days.
  16. IIRC, the discussion I was referencing was before MC was released. I'm guessing cryo-searsing wasn't yet a consideration. But I'm honestly too lazy to find the posts. Thanks for the link though, I had forgotten about that one.
  17. Not quite what I remember hearing. What I remember is NathanM saying you can't have a perfectly cooked breast as well as perfectly cooked skin without separating the two. Crisping the skin after SVing the breast will overcook the part of the breast closest to the skin. But my-oh-my does that look tasty.
  18. The Nuovo II used in my setup is probably the most common stirrer hot plate on ebay. I waited to find one that looked clean and functional. Mine had a very badly frayed cord, pushing the price down to $87 IIRC. I replaced it with a computer power cord (took about 10 minutes) and it's good to go. It doesn't get terribly hot (300C max) but that's more than enough for my needs. I figure if I use it long enough and really find value in the setup, I can buy a digital stirring hot plate and newer aspirator pump with pressure gauges.
  19. Ideas for recipes specifically using these concentrates are welcome, in fact, I'm hoping the ideas here can justify the unit itself. I've since thrown the orange sauce into the freezer. I like the duck idea, and I'm planning on fooling around with duck meat for burgers this weekend, so a side project of duck l'orange may be the ticket.
  20. For those of you (like myself) without a copy of Modernist Cuisine, the Vacuum Concentration rig can be seen on this page. I have successfully eBay-ed myself into a functioning vacuum concentration setup. Hopefully this thread will not only serve as a chronicle of the various successes and failures I have with the technique, but as a place where others can do the same. If I end up being the only one (dumb enough) to play around with this setup, at least everyone can pitch ideas for what to concentrate next. I know there are a few people here who played around with rotovaps. I don't have the ability to capture solutes, but this idea for this thread is more to discuss the actual products of vacuum concentration, rather than the strengths or weaknesses of the technique (I think that would go in the Kitchen Consumer forum anyhow). First attempt: Concentrated Clarified Orange Juice This idea stemmed from Dave Arnold's agar clarification technique, which I was moderately successful with. The end product had a very mellowed-out orange flavor, and I thought vacuum concentration would be perfect for getting that kick back in it. This attempt was rushed, so I don't have as much data to provide, but the next project (Jack Daniels) was done in a more controlled, recorded manner. 500g of Clarified OJ for ~75 minutes yielded ~160g of clear amber syrup. Vacuum Concentration in action - https://www.filepicker.io/api/file/ZJLGs3YJQbpAV0aV5MAb (sorry for the huge pic, I'll resize future images) End product - https://www.filepicker.io/api/file/mtDDhDrQD21ZYFQrmtek The sauce was very orangey, with a fair bit of bitterness (though not unpleasant) from the citrus. I'm going to try adding it to sparkling wine for a less-diluted mimosa. I don't have many orange recipes, so it'll probably spoil before I use it for something else. I'm reducing a bottle of Jack Daniels right now. I'll post results tomorrow.
  21. What would make that recipe taste like bbq sauce?
  22. If you're worried about adding too much salt, here are a couple suggestions: Find the amount of salt you are comfortable adding, and start playing around with timing. Add the salt to the ground mixture and ensure good dispersion. Form into patties and let sit for one hour. The salt is drawing out myosin, which will make the meat stick together. Cook after the hour has past, and evaluate cohesion. If it's not cohesive enough, increase the time (this is in the fridge for food safety considerations) to allow more myosin release. This way you aren't changing the salt content. When you get the cohesion you're looking for, record that sitting-time. Also, I'd look into using table salt rather than kosher or other large-grained salts. The smaller grains will make it easier to spread smaller amounts of salt throughout the entire mince without over mixing.
  23. I recommend salting. I don't have the exact amount handy, but I'll look it up at home. Grind, salt, lightly mix to incorporate, then form the patties. After 60 to 90 minutes, cook. I was amazed at how well it works the first time I tried.
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