Deryn

dbinokc - Since chocolate is really a very short term solution (and subject itself to degradation from heat and time), chocolate is not going to make FD'd food last very long outside of a good storage container (glass/mylar/metal) with an O2 absorber, etc. The thicker the coat, the longer it would last however. Kerry could probably address that better than I can. I guess you could coat it in wax - but, you would have to peel it off to eat the contents. I am not sure what immersion in honey would do for a freeze-dried food but I suspect it would go soggy over time even if there was no oxygen - perhaps moisture would be the reason.

I have no idea where I got the recipes but I recall when I was a new bride (back in the dark ages, in the far north) I made a mulligatawny soup with apples in it and also a creamed curry with apples too. I am guessing that there was absolutely no chance those were authentic Indian - but I didn't know that when I was 20. They were good but very, very mild compared to most curries I eat these days. We were wimps I guess.

My idea of a perfect stovetop would be something along the lines of a Jenn-air modular one - with a grill section and another section which could use either an electric (prefer coil but for cleaning purposes I guess ceramic/radiant would do) or an induction module - all with some kind of powerful downdraft vent/fan (since it will go into an island to replace the lousy glass/ceramic one that is there right now). I have had 2 Jenn-air slide ins in the past and loved them but they don't make a modular induction unit too that would fit. Can't figure out why they don't but if they did I would (even though I know they are not as good as they used to be when Jenn-air was actually Jenn-air) buy another one in a heartbeat. Right now I have NO fan/vent and the cooktop sits right below 2 suspended lights, open downwards. I didn't design this - bought the house from a woman who I guess never actually cooked. This is dangerous and must be replaced soon. Not to mention that now my cupboards are peeling from the humidity that remains in the kitchen after I have been boiling pots of water for things like pasta. I have extra induction units and a 'griddler' style grill I can set up but I am getting tired of my entire island being covered with those items and really only using the glass electric cooktop as surface area to put pots and pans to go on or cool off from the induction units or to hold a cutting board. Would go with just an induction/grill unit if I could find it but I still have a few old pans I like to use from time to time and don't want to have to then have a single coil unit to plug in and use on the side - which just would mean I effectively have the same problem I currently am dealing with. Downdraft is necessary for me - two storey house with not enough room to open up the ceiling for a pipe so nothing can vent out the top. Never thought about whether the same downdraft that works well enough for me for both grill and electric modules would be sufficient for induction as well. Perhaps because it would be pulling down from close by it wouldn't matter?

Why would there be far less heat rising upward with an induction burner (covered with a pan of boiling water for instance, or a frying pan with a steak sizzling in it) than there is if the same items are heating on a conventional electric coil or radiant burner? I am sure there is a technical explanation but right now it is definitely escaping this simple mind. I hope someone will answer as I would also like to know if a different fan would be required for induction than any other type of cooktop.

I also agree that a club sandwich to me generally contains 'chicken', not turkey. I didn't mention that in my first comment however because without further information, it appeared that 'turkey' must be the meat used where Beth works - and perhaps they just call it a turkey club (which seems to be more and more common these days). If the sandwich is what I would call a club worth paying for, it would include thick slices of real freshly cooked meat too. But, more and more these days, what I see are deli-style 'cold cuts' being used. I will keep making my own at home and stacking it any way I want - but that doesn't help Beth.

I never much thought about whether there is a 'standard' (although when I think about it, I would make a club sandwich more like the first way you mentioned) however, to address your question about whether there is a set standard YOU should be following, I would say that is up to management. If they feel they want to standardize how certain things are made in the cafeteria, I am sure they will outline it for all staff (thus those who disagree could argue with the boss, not tell you to do it a certain way they like). Since it sounds as though there is no such standard you can refer to, it will be up to you if you want to deal with the particular staff member's method and criticism on a given day or not. If It were me, I would probably be a bit defiant and put both turkey and bacon on both layers.

What? As opposed to using spiralized riced vegetables instead?

Welcome to eGullet, Christopher. Thank you for the that link. I think, as time goes on, we may see this thread evolve (or a new one created) to talk about recipes which call for entirely (or almost entirely) freeze-dried ingredients. Anna - I love that you strayed in here with a freeze-dried ingredient idea to complement the current topic on spiralizing vegetables. When I saw that thread, not only did it remind me that I own two spiralizers that I rarely to never use, but, it also got me thinking about freeze drying spiralized vegetables. They might be a bit fragile I fear but I think I may experiment with that concept soon anyway.

Scotch - If the ice cream sandwiches are wrapped in a plastic-like wrap, I would definitely make some kind of slit/opening in the wrapper. If you don't, there is nowhere for the humidity to exit during sublimation. I am not sure if paper is porous enough either to allow the water out. I had an 'exploding ice cream sandwich' accident too. Cheap ice cream is what I thought was the problem - but not having them frozen enough I am sure isn't good either.

How exciting, Seabream! Please let us know how you like it once it is installed. You got the XL?

Cowboy - It loops up or down? Do you mean right at the pump end? Could you have put too much oil in the pump perhaps? Have you taken the oil out to be sure it is all oil (not an oil/water mix)? My pump is on a utility cart on the same level as the bottom of the freeze-drier. The hose comes out of the FD side, loops down and then a bit up again to the pump. Is yours higher up than that? Canon - Welcome to eGullet and our world of freeze-drying! The setup instructions are really pretty simple and good as issued by HR - follow them and make sure that all your hoses/connections are tightened at the nuts with a wrench (after hand tightening). I use a large stainless pot for my defrost water - not anywhere near a 5 gallon capacity - but I find that is even more than needed so far - usually only get an inch or two of water in it. Clean the gasket well. Make sure to close the front door well - do that extra turn. Time your first run so that you can be there when the freeze cycle ends and the pump comes on (9 hours after setting the FD to on) - just to be sure it comes on and there are no leaks you need to address. The only thing I did that is not in the directions (but I think was suggested somewhere in this thread) was to take the long twist tie that came around the electric cord and use it to very loosely tie a piece of paper towel over the exhaust so that if it mists, much of the mist will be caught in the towel. I left it slightly open at the side to allow air (and my hand) in and also bubbled it up so it doesn't rest on the exhaust hole area. Good luck. You are going to love this machine!

What prevents someone from making a recipe, tasting it, deciding if it needs a bit more 'depth'/umami and adding a small pinch of MSG to get it (even if that is not part of the original recipe)?

Ingenious use of an IV pole. If I ever do any panning, perhaps I will have to ask my doctor for a 'prescription' so I can buy one of those. That aside, thank you Kerry for the journey through panning with you. I only knew how to pan for gold prior to this - and I never got rich at that. I think panning items enrobed in chocolate would have been more lucrative.

Jim - a BIG thank you from me for that explanation of the cycles/timing. Definitely won't get a thumbs down from me when you make long posts (heck, I often drivel on and provide little to no info - yours are info packed!) I have been bugging the poor guy I deal with at HR for some of that information - wanted to understand exactly what was happening so I can troubleshoot if necessary. I had already learned that the heaters come on at 500 mTorr and they go off usually around the 600 mTorr mark - but my last question was about whether the heater comes on at all during that initial untimed Cool/Dry cycle (particularly because I have had the timer come on at 0 minutes in and another time it wasn't on yet at more than 2 hours in so I was trying to figure out what was going on - and whether I needed to intervene). My system has not yet gone up to your top number but I am not sure that is critical. It has however run a long time at your lower number (and even at xxx - meaning below the ability of the sensor to display) - I was told not to let it do that but it still seems to be ok if it runs a while on a lower than 500 mTorr setting though that does mean there is NO freeze-drying going on at all since the heater can't be on if the sensor is working properly). I probably should not 'think' about any of this - I should just 'run' it (it is a great little FD'er and 'it' knows what it is doing) - but, I have this need to understand the process and at times that has caused me to overreact and stop the machine to check whether there was a leak I hadn't noticed 10 minutes prior.

Barilla here too. Since you are using a recipe designed for use with no-boil noodles, gulfporter, the liquid proportion and timing 'should' be right for it already.

Now there's a great 'green' idea - a 'community' ice cube. Make them in reusable organza-like tea bags, with strings. Pass them around the room from person to person so they can dunk into their drinks to cool them off and pass it on to the next person.

Amazing, Kerry! And I too love those Flower Power colours (and the whole concept makes really good sense)! Darn it. Just looked at the (Signature) website - may have to call them. Do they sell to individuals or only wholesale?

Alex - You know your friend, but, you said SHE is 60 ... does she still eat 'heavy' food? I know that a lot of Scottish food is what I would call heavier, more masculine food (a la Haggis and rich beef dishes). Just a suggestion but I were you, I might look at doing the traditional dishes in mini and/or much 'lighter' versions - and perhaps make sure you focus more on the seafood specialties that Scotland is renowned for - smoked salmon and scallops I believe being two of them. Maybe some oysters too. The mini Scotch eggs using quail eggs would be a great alternative to the standard size ones. My point - keep it a bit lighter than you might if cooking for a 30 year old birthday boy (even if a crowd of 30 year olds will be present - the party IS for her).

Scotch eggs Some kind of cheese-based (or other savoury) shortbread

Welcome to our world of eGullet and freeze drying, Cowboy. I had trouble with blueberries too but Kerry seems to have mastered those (after a run that I think was not too good for her either). I took my wild blueberries (are you using commercially grown? they are much larger, perhaps you need to cut them a bit if really large - and were they pre-frozen?) straight out of the freezer but I think I just piled them up too high because they were small - and some stayed in clumps too. They were stuck together and sticky even after several runs. Some dried well, others didn't. I am still learning about this beast - believe me. I would say that, from what I have learned so far about the way this machine works, I would a) do ONLY high sugar and/or high water items together (they will need longer and why run the machine another cycle or two for half the contents which is already dry - in other words, don't mix loads with easy to dry items) and b) pre-freeze the machine for an hour or so, take these items straight from the freezer as frozen as you can get them, spread the pieces out as much as you can (don't do 2 layers even if small), and be resigned to the fact that you will probably run up to 36 hours for (particularly) the pineapple because it is no doubt cut in bigger chunks. That said, I haven't tried to do pineapple yet.

The XL has a probe I believe. Miele has several models - some are plumbed, some are not.

I have Bosch in my house in Nova Scotia. I have Samsung in my house in NC. I like both (the Bosch IS quieter but also seems to run much longer to do the same job) but then I don't use either of mine very often any more. For my purposes, I like the interior layout of the Samsung better, mind you. As much as any appliance in this 'throw away', 'built in obsolescence' society is going to 'last', I would say look at the Bosch (especially given all the 'yay' votes here so far) because it probably is the better option for you. And, perhaps also invest (much as I HATE this 'marketing' strategy) in a long term warranty as well since you are such a heavy user - it is more likely to be worth it for you in a couple of years than for those of us who don't use their machines as often.

Can't say I have ever seen President's Choice puff pastry in the States, but, interestingly, a local grocery store in the Asheville area occasionally has some products labelled President's Choice - with a slightly different packaging 'look' than the Canadian ones but the same script/layout for the PC name so I am pretty sure they are from the same company. Who knows, perhaps the butter puff pastry will migrate too, especially with the Can $ so low these days.

Dog - first and foremost. If I thought I could make it back out alive, I would be running back for the chamber vac, the Thermomix and the HR freeze-drier. Everything else is wonderful but much cheaper to replace, and I doubt insurance will reimburse me enough to pay for the big items. However, it seems to me that if I could safely run back and forth 3 times I probably should have grabbed the extinguisher and put it all out instead.

Lucky you, btbyrd - Santa has amazing taste in cookbooks it seems! He must be a Heston fan (as I am - at least as far as his cooking and creative instincts). I got hooked when I watched his historic and fantasy-type shows a couple of years ago. I just recently bought myself his Fat Duck cookbook - there is a lot of reading there, not just cooking!