Anonymous Modernist 5975

You should be able to achieve similar results. You should check the specs for the temp range in steam mode (you need one degree increments from 100F to 195 F) and see if the units can accommodate a sous vide type temp probe. You will need to do a lot of experimentation on time and temp combinations as most of that type of cooking is commercial and hasn't reached the home cook yet. The internal cooked food temp will remain the same as in a circulator but time will vary. Overall the benefits of the combi oven outweigh the sous vide process in my opinion, so start with the oven and go from there. The combi oven will reach the higher temps needed for vegitables much faster.

Your best bet for a crisp sugar crust is sugar in the raw. After you have made you brûlée store them in the fridge till well chilled. Then place enough of the raw sugar to form a nice dense single layer on top. Rotate the dish on an angle to distribute the sugar evenly around the top. Light a blow torch and slowly wave it just above the sugar granules. You will be able to see the cone shape of the flame, keep it just above the sugar. Move the flame around constantly, if you have any excess brûlée i.e. drips on the side of your ramekin it may burn, so take the time to pour your custard cleanly. The key to a crisp sugar is the right balance of heat and motion. Your looking for a deep brown not a scorched black. Holding the flame to close or in the same spot will burn either the sugar or the custard. If your flame is too far away you won't get enough heat to caramelized the sugar. It just takes a little practice. Remember you need to serve it quickly or your sugar will get soft and gummy. So make the custard and then when ready brûlée the sugar at service.

I own a Vp-112 unit and at the price point, I found it to be a serviceable unit. Another post referenced the inability to start the process until a little pressure is placed on the lid. I have experienced the same issue, so I would assume it is a design flaw. It has gotten better with use however, so it may just be the gasket needed to break in a little. My understanding of compression (search compression on this site to see the watermelon chip demo) is that -.92 millibars of pressure is required to archive compression for most vegetables. The VP-112 has a gauge with max pressure listed -76 cmHg. Let me preface this by stating I'm a cook not an engineer but I believe my math is correct. -76 cmHg is equal to -1.013250164 millibars of pressure at sea level. A vacuum of -.92 millibars is roughly -.69 cmHg. The VP-112 pulls that in about 30 seconds. The maximum pressure that I have been able to obtain on the unit is-73 cmHg which is -.9732 millibars of pressure. I hope this help! I am pleased with the unit. I would like to have a digital control of pressure rather than time and a gauge but that's what you get when you buy the cheap one. I use a Koch machine at work so I have a realistic point of comparison. Cycle speed and pinpoint accuracy are the major differences. Chamber size is sufficient for most tasks. Its not big enough to seal a whole tenderloin or a whole prime rib but not many units are. It is a powerful tool and used in conjunction with the entry level polyscience circulator you will achieve superior sous vide results. I was at polyscience yesterday and had a chance to look at the chef series unit and it looks like a great machine but it's $3,500. For my buck in a home application I'd keep the cash and buy a host of other equipment.

In MC 3.42 the process of dry aging beef is explained. My question is in a home application does one need a dedicated space to limit the potential for cross contamination? I was hoping for a little more detail regarding potential health concerns, is this process really this simple?

If you can, join the professional chef program at Williams Sonoma, you will get 20% off on most products. My polyscience circulator came in at $650 with a 22 qt stainless stock pot and a 25.88 liter cambro included. On a side not they offer an ary chamber vac set up for about the same price. The chamber vac works well. The vac is regulated by time not pressure but you can hit the stop button once you see the pressure you want on the gauge which will seal the bag and release the vacuum. The chamber is large enough for all home jobs and a smaller professional application.