Anonymous Modernist 16119

Thanks for the reply! I was reheating in the microwave. I will try the stove top reheating and see if it produces better results. I agree that risotto is better when eaten the same day. However, it does seem counter to a modernist philosophy to stop at that conventional thought and not press the issue further. Is it possible to leverage the techniques of MC and MCAH to sufficiently stabilize the risotto for microwave reheating? Would lecithin or sodium citrate work, or perhaps something else altogether?

Dave Arnold tackles that issue with a creative setup in this blog post by Paul Adams: http://www.cookingissues.com/2013/03/17/patent-pending/

I made a variation on the steel-cut oats recipe on p331 of MCAH using arborio rice and skipping the snails. The result was delicious. However, upon reheating the leftovers, the risotto was greasy and unappetizing. How can I stabilize the butter and cheese deliciousness so that they survive reheating? Lecithin, like the home jus gras (MCAH p93)? Or sodium citrate, like the mac and cheese (MCAH p310)?

Check out this discussion along the same lines: http://modernistcuisine.com/cooks/forum/other-appliances/steel-sheet-for-pizza/ The MC baking steel doesn't appear to be stainless. I believe it's made from plain carbon steel (A36 is fine), but it looks like it might have some sort of finish. Stainless would set you back about 3X the cost of mild steel.

I noticed that. I guess that's what inspired the inquiry. I'm not sure I understand what differentiates the MC baking steel from a regular old steel sheet from a bulk metal seller. The website states that it's pre-seasoned with an organic blend of oils, but I'm not convinced that justifies a 3X markup ($100 vs ~$35). It looks like it's plated/coated which might be nice, but there's no mention of it on the website. Anybody know what the difference is? Also, still wondering about the steel vs aluminum question from a heat transfer perspective...

Was any testing done on solid sheets of aluminum? My understanding is that the intent is to dump heat as fast as possible into the pizza crust. If that's the case, aluminum has a thermal conductivity 10X that of steel. The volumetric heat capacity of steel is about twice that of aluminum, but doubling the sheet thickness would still give you a sheet that's half the weight. Cost wise, a carbon steel sheet is going to be the cheapest, but do the performance gains (i.e. better heat transfer, corrosion resistance, lighter) justify the additional expense?

Does anybody have any good uses for the non-butterfat byproduct of making carotene butter?